Binder1 24 september, 2014

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Vol. 1 No. 218

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N150

Shell considers ‘secret' sale of Ogoni oil blocks Adeola Yusuf

S

hell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) is secretly working to sell its licences in Ogoniland, Rivers State, including its stake in the

750 million barrels Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11, New Telegraph gathered yesterday.

Shell has 30 per cent holding, its partners, Total has 10 per cent while ENI holds 5 per cent in OML 11

located in the heart of the Ogoniland.

The company has shut down 23 producing fields on the OML 11 block, particularly Bomu and Ohuru.

These fields have re-

mained idle since clashes between the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) headed by the late Saro-Wiwa and the Nigerian Army between 1992 and 1995.

For over 20 years, some

of the assets have been lying unused and are becoming rusty as Shell and its host community in the area have been at loggerheads over the high level of oil leaks that have polCONTINUED ON PAGE 6

MD, SPDC, Mutiu Sunmonu

Rage over $9.3m seizure

lReps in rowdy session lSenate begins probe }3 Quick Read

Editorial Lessons from International Day for Democracy }19 Akwa Ibom 2015: Court declines to void zoning }6

Police, protesters clash as Rivers judiciary crisis worsens }4 Court stops Suntai from appearing before medical panel }6

Tambuwal, IG in crucial }47 meeting Scenes from the invasion of the premises of Rivers State High Court by the police in Port Harcourt...yesterday.

Lagos suspends probe of Synagogue

lSenate blames incident on corruption, unethical practices Chukwu David and Muritala Ayinla

T

he Lagos State Government has suspended investigation

into the collapse of a building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations that killed over 100 worshippers and injured 131 others.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, said the state would no longer proceed with the investigation

following the decision of the Federal Government to set up a different committee to look into the cause of the collapsed building.

He added that all findings on the disaster would be withheld pending the outcome of another probe panel set up by CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Only Jonathan can decide running mate, says Presidency }3 Lagos

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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

NEWS

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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Rage over $9.3m cash seizure lAPC lawmakers kick, Senate begins probe Chukwu David and Philip Nyam Abuja

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ggrieved lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) walked out on the House of Representatives yesterday to protest the alleged poor handling of a motion seeking to investigate the seizure of $9.3 million for arms purchase

by South Africa.

The motion, which was defeated after a voice vote, angered the lawmakers and plunged the House into a rowdy session.

It all began when the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Abdulrahman Suleiman Kawu, through a

point of order sought the leave of the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, to present a motion under matters of urgent national importance on the seizure of the money.

The motion entitled: “The need to investigate the attempt to smuggle $9.3 million cash into South Africa” was stood down last Thursday following the absence of the sponsor.

Kawu explained that he was performing a national assignment on behalf of the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; a claim which Ihedioha corroborated.

Ihedioha, however, sought the advice of the Chairman, Committee on Rules and Business, Hon.

Albert Sam-Tsokwa, as to the appropriateness of Kawu’s request.

Sam-Tsokwa told the House that since the motion was stepped down last week due to Kawu’s absence and no excuse was also given for this, “there was nothing we could do about that. I advise we step it down."

Sam-Tsokwa said his advice was based on the fact that Kawu did not inform the committee that he was travelling with the speaker and the committee was not given enough notice for the motion to be taken.

When Ihedioha asked if Kawu would take the motion the next day, he said:

"Mr. Speaker, I hope you are giving me the assurance that my motion will be taken tomorrow if it is stepped down today."

Ihedioha quickly consulted with Sam-Tsokwa and Chief Whip, Hon. Ishalu Bawa, after which he gave Kawu the nod to move the motion.

In moving the motion, Kawu sought for a "thorough investigation of the matter" by the House Committees of Defence and Aviation.

He also asked that the two committees should be given two weeks to report back to the House.

According to him, if legislative action was not taken on the "national em-

barrassment, the situation may further degenerate and overheat the polity."

But instead of allowing a debate on the motion, Ihedioha called for a vote on it.

When the motion was put to a voice vote, those against it carried the day.

Kawu, who was visibly angered by the manner Ihedioha ruled on the motion, beckoned on his party members and they all walked.

Addressing the reporters after the walkout, Minority Whip, Hon. Samson Osagie, said: "We are here this afternoon to bare our minds on a very scandalous, very disgraceful and very appalling event that

L-R: Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Benue State Governor, Mr. Gabriel Suswam and his wife, Dooshima, during a public presentation of a book, titled: ‘Suswam: Politics and governance in Benue State' in Abuja…yesterday.

PHOTO:TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN.

Only Jonathan can decide Sambo’s fate –Presidency Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

T

he presidency yesterday declared President Goodluck Jonathan has the prerogative to choose his running mate if and when he decides to accept the offer to run as consensus candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.

Political Adviser to the President, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali also said the adoption of President Jonathan as consensus candidate of the PDP was

a result of wide consultations.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Alkali noted that a lot of noise has been made about the position of Vice-President Namadi Sambo even when the president is yet to declare whether to accept the offer or not.

"I don't know why people will continue to over flog the issue of the vice president. Why don't you wait for him (Jonathan) to accept before any other thing on the fate of the vice president," Alkali added.

Alkali's statement came barely 48 hours after PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, debunked reports that Sambo might not run with Jonathan in 2015.

Like Metuh, Alkali described Sambo as a part of the "winning team".

He, however, noted that "for various organs of the party to adopt Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate means that a lot of work was done."

According to him, the decision was taken based on the achievements of the president as well as

to stabilise the polity.

The presidential aide, who is also the National Coordinator of Goodluck Support Group (GSG), gave an assurance that President Jonathan cannot refuse the people’s clamour for him to contest election come 2015.

"There is no how Nigerians will call on him to step forward and lead and he will say no. I believe he is going to do that but he is just waiting for the appropriate time,” he said.

On the clamour for the postponement of the general election, Alkali said

it was the handiwork of anti-democratic forces.

"There are always antidemocratic forces in the country that are not happy with the progress the country is making; not happy with what government or the president is doing, always looking for an opportunity to throw spanners in the wheel of progress. Otherwise everybody knows the consequences involved in postponing an election.

To postpone an election there are so many stages, we don’t pray for that,'' Alkali said.

took place a week ago that borders on the image of our country, Nigeria. Let me state clearly that we are not just here as the members of the APC Caucus of the House.

"We are also here as concerned Nigerians who hold the mandate of the Nigerian people to defend their interest, to ensure that corruption is reduced to the barest minimum if not totally eliminated, to ensure that our country's integrity remains intact in the eyes of the international community.

"We are all aware that a week ago or so, the South African government impounded an aircraft purportedly belonging to a top religious leader in this country that was used to carry $9.3 million. They were said to be in mints and have never been used.

"As if that was not enough, the Federal Government has come up to own up that it was that such money was carried and that it was made for the purchase of arms and munitions for the purpose of fighting insurgency."

Osagie wondered why the Federal Government should be moving such a huge amount of cash outside the country when it could have wired it to the beneficiaries.

He said: “If indeed, the matter involves security issues like the purchase of arms by foreign government like Nigeria, why was the South African government not brought into the picture before hand and how could South African government be sure that the arms were purchased legitimately by the Nigerian government and not by the insurgents when there were no officials of the NSA office or the Director of state security department that accompany such money?

“If indeed the manufacturers of such equipment were expecting large sums of money by cash, why did they not make adequate arrangement with the authorities in South Africa to declare the cash on arrival since it was the law in South Africa that you must declare any amount in excess of 2,500 dollars.

“Why were the officials of our embassy in South Africa not on hand to make the entry easier and smoother? Since the South African governCONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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NEWS

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Police, protesters clash in Rivers over Ag CJ lParty thugs attack PDP stakeholders Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

P

rotesters yesterday clashed with the police in Port Harcourt, Rivers State when heavily armed security operatives escorted Justice Daisy Okocha, acting Chief Judge of the state to the court.

Okocha was favoured by the National Judicial Council (NJC) as the Chief Judge of the state and backed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but strongly opposed by Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

The men of Rivers State police command had early in the morning broke into the court’s premises and escorted Okocha for a meeting with High Court Judges in the state.

Justice Okocha on entering the premises presided over a meeting with 25 High Court Judges in attendance.

One of the judges said it was a routine gathering of Judges, and that they had notified the relevant authorities for the meeting.

FLIGHT SCHEDULE FIRST NATION AIRWAYS LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06.50; 09:30; 11:45; 16:00 (SAT) 06:50; 11:45 (SUN) 11:45; 16:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 11:30; 13:40;18:30 (SAT) 09:00; 13:40 (SUN) 13:40; 18:30 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 14:45 (SAT) 16:15 (SUN) 14:45 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:50 (SAT) 18:20 (SUN) 16:50 AEROCONTRACTORS LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06:50; 13:30; 16:30; 19:45 (SAT/SUN) 12:30; 16:45 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 13:00; 19:00 (SAT) 12:30 (SUN) 15:30

L-R: Head, Corporate Sales, Globacom, Mr. Kamaldeen Shonibare; Lagos State Coordinator, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Yinka Fisher and Acting Coordinator, Business Solution, Globacom, Mr. Ike Oraekwuotu, during a meeting with chairmen and secretaries of business member organisations and cluster development in Lagos…yesterday PHOTO: Suleiman Husaini

Sources said that the large contingent of police dispatched from the state police command's headquarters got to the court premises as early as 6a.m.

and broke the keys used to luck the court entrance gate.

As the meeting progressed, hundreds of youths that were mobilised

from the council made attempts to force their way into the court premises and disrupt the meeting.

But the Police Commissioner, Dan Bature, directed the youth to leave the area in their own interest, while his men fired several teargas canisters to force them to leave.

The police also barricaded the road leading to the court premises and the secretariat of the Port Harcourt City Council, and in the process disrupted vehicular movement within the area.

But the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari described the meeting as invasion, alleging that the police broke into the court premises.

Semenitari said hundreds of Rivers men and women were attacked with teargas canisters by the police at the premises of the court, stressing that the action was an infringement on their rights.

She said: "Today, innocent Rivers people were tear-gassed at the premises of the State High Court by the police… We heard the invasion of the court premises is one of the orchestrated plans by CP Bature to forcefully open the State Assembly as to bring in six lawmakers to commence impeachment of the state governor."

In another development, a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was disrupted as youths stormed the venue and attacked some party chief-

tains with plastic chairs.

Several people sustained various degrees of injury.

A group, Concerned Rivers State PDP Stakeholders, was in the middle of a press conference to seek for the dissolution of the state working committee of the party when they were attacked.

The group claimed that the party executive led by Felix Obuah had distanced itself from majority of members, alleging that it was being run unconstitutionally to favour the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who is believed to have governorship ambition.

About 10 people got injured in the process, as the press conference was halted, but later continued after a detachment of police, restored law and order.

Those who injured were taken to some undisclosed hospitals.

The spokesman of the Concerned Rivers State PDP Stakeholders, Prof.

Israel Owate, said the Rivers PDP, under Obuah, had "been docile and riddled with inactivity, culminating in mass exodus of our members to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC)."

He urged the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) to dissolve the state executive in the state, by invoking Part VIII, Section 5, sub-section 5 (2) (e) of the party constitution (as amended), just as he called for a caretaker committee should be appointed to run the affairs of the party until the election of another executive committee.

MEDVIEW AIRLINES LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:50; 12:00; 15:30 (SAT) 10:00; 15:00 (SUN) 17:30; 18:30 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 14:00, 15:00; 18:30 OVERLAND AIRWAYS LAGOS-ILORIN (MON-FRI) 07:15 LAGOS-IBADAN (MON-FRI) 7:00 IBADAN-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:00 IBADAN-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:30 ILORIN –ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30 ILORIN –LAGOS (MON-FRI) 17:00 ABUJA-ASABA (MON-FRI) 10:00 ASABA-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 14:15 ASABA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 11:30 LAGOS-ASABA (MON-FRI) 13:00 ABUJA-ILORIN 16:00 ABUJA-IBADAN 15:00 ARIK AIR LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:00; 09:00; 11:00 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00; 20:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 09:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 (SAT) 07:00; 11:00; 15:00 (SUN) 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 09:00; 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 (SAT) 07:30; 11:30; 09:00; 13:00; 17:00 (SUN) 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 ABUJA-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30; 16:50 (SAT/SUN) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30 PORT-HARCOURT-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10; 18:30 (SAT/SUN) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10

NEWS

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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NLC seeks lighter sentence for convicted mutineers lSays execution would not restore discipline to Army Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

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he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the authorities of the Nigerian Army to commute the death sentences recently passed on 12 soldiers found guilty of mutiny to light sentences.

The Labour union cautioned that while the sentences passed on the

soldiers may be 'legally correct', their execution would not restore discipline to the military by fiat.

While addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, acting President of the NLC, Comrade Promise Adewusi, warned that executing the soldiers could sow a seed of major security problem in the armed forces.

He described the sen-

tences as harsh, insensitive and unacceptable when "the problem of corruption, poor kitting, equipping and treachery are said to be common to virtually all the military units or formations in the conflict area." Recalling the circumstances that led to the mutiny last May, Adewusi lamented that the General Officer Commanding (GOC) in question was not tried,

but rather promptly posted out and retired, even though when he gave the tragic orders, he represented the Nigerian Army.

"Our belief is that true justice should go beyond legalism to address fundamental issues in any given situation. We expect the military council or the appropriate authority, whose responsibility it is to review sentences of this nature, to commute

this sentence to a more tolerable or acceptable one," he said.

Adewusi stressed that it became important that commanders earn the confidence of their troops, adding that cohesion was needed in the armed forces now more than ever.

He also called on Nigerians to rally round

APC lawmakers protest over botched bid to probe $9.3m cash seizure CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

L-R: Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN ), Mrs Sarah Alade; representative of the Minister of Finance, Mr. Jonah Otunla; President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mrs. Debola Osibogun and Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, at the eighth Annual Banking and Finance Conference in Abuja …yesterday

Lagos suspends probe of Synagogue tragedy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

the Federal Government.

"We have some issues coming up and they had to be taken care of. More so, we (federal and state) are in the same government and we are one. We would not want to do anything that will compromise ongoing investigation being carried out,” he added.

Asked for the rationale for setting up another probe panel by the Federal Government, Ibirogba said the fresh probe was in order since nationals of other countries were involved in the disaster.

The Senate has also expressed concern about the rampant incidence of building collapse, blaming it on corruption, breach of building regulations and lack of patriotism on the part of professionals and other sharp practices in the building industry.

It, therefore, mandated its Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development to

organise a sensitisation public hearing on the menace of building collapse in Nigeria in order to forestall future occurrences of the nightmare.

The Senate also urged the federal and state Ministries of Land and Housing, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and other regulatory agencies to wake up and ensure compliance with building rules and regulations.

Moreover, it urged all rescue agencies, including National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Fire Service, Red Cross, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Army, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to always be at the alert and facilitate rescue of lives and property in case of future occurence.

Also, the senators observed a minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives in the Synagogue tragedy.

These resolutions were made by the Senate, following a motion of urgent public importance, moved by Senator Abdulmumin Hassan, which he entitled, "the alarming rate of building collapse in Nigeria."

Leading the debate on the motion, Hassan observed that the rate of building collapse in Nigeria was not only alarming but "horrifying, unfortunate and worrisome."

He regretted that the rampant cases of building collapse had claimed many lives and property worth billions of naira, especially in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and Port Harcourt.

Contributing, Senator Benedict Ayade argued that the failure of regulatory bodies to effectively check the incident was destroying the image and integrity of the country in the international community.

Also, Senator Joshua Dariye noted that reli-

gious bodies, including churches and mosques had become more notorious in the scandalous disregard for building codes in the country.

Senator Bernabas Gemade, an engineer, said the rising cases of building collapse had to do with the use of quacks and deteriorating quality of supervision and control in the industry.

In his remarks, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the session, expressed dismay that agencies of government charged with the responsibility to regulate the building and construction industry had failed in their duties, thereby throwing the nation into the prevailing mess.

He condemned what he described as increasing rate of corruption on the part of building regulators, threatening that the time had come to bring the unfortunate situation to an end.

the armed forces in their struggle to end insurgency and protect Nigeria's territorial integrity.

"And as part of the process of addressing the conflicts and crises in our armed forces, we demand that the war be prosecuted in a more, transparent, human and orderly manner," he added.

ment has said the amount is above the limit of cash allowed into the country, why would a whole government like Nigeria not know the simple immigration law of a sister country and why would they have to take it out of the Oliver Tambo International Airport and went to land in a village where you have a local airport?"

According to Osagie, the APC lawmakers “find this unacceptable, unethical, illegitimate and in our view, it is an illegal transaction. Nigerian government owes the Nigerian people an explanation as to what that source of money came from.”

But reacting to the development, Sam-Tsokwa dismissed the APC lawmakers' protest, saying: "What transpired today on the floor of the House is nothing new because in advanced legislature of the world, lawmakers walk out of the assembly."

He Kawu and other lawmakers to lobby their colleagues it they have such an important motion for consideration.

"We had advised Kawu to step down his motion for another legislative day but he refused and the majority had their way; and like you know the minority will always have a say, but the majority must always have their way,” he stated.

However, while the House is bickering over the bid to probe the $9.3 million cash seizure, the Senate has begun a probe of the incident.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence and Army, Senator George Sekibo, told reporters in Abuja that the they had started investigation into the matter.

Sekibo said last Thursday his committee had summoned the National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd); Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh and Chief of Army

Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, over the cash seizure.

He stated that the Senate had commenced full investigation into the matter, and therefore he would not say much until when the report of the probe was ready for release to the public.

On whether the Senate will intervene in the death sentence passed on 12 soldiers tried and sentenced to death by the military authorities for alleged mutiny, Sekibo said this would not happen as they convicts were tried based on the Act of National Assembly, which established the military.

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST ABUJA

29o C 21oC Storms

PORT HARCOURT

21o C 17oC Storms

KANO

37oC 23oC Mostly Sunny

ENUGU

29o C 22oC Storms

IBADAN

29o C 22oC Storms

CALABAR

26o C 22oC Storms

MAIDUGURI

37oC 23oC Mostly Sunny

ONITSHA

29o C 23oC Storms

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NEWS

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

A'Ibom 2015: Attempt to void PDP zoning plan fails

lCourt declines jurisdiction Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

A

n attempt to void the governorship zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, which favours Eket Senatorial District, has failed as an Abuja High Court declined jurisdiction to hear the case.

Justice A. S. Umar refused to hear the suit on the grounds that his court lacked the 'territorial integrity' to hear the case.

The court ruling was on the preliminary objection raised by PDP against the suit, filed by a lawyer and a governorship aspirant of the party in Akwa Ibom State, Leo Ekpenyong.

Justice Umar upheld the argument by the respondent that the suit ought to be instituted in Akwa Ibom State and not in Abuja.

The state PDP chapter and prominent indigenes have consistently maintained that for the sake of equity, fairness and jus-

tice, the governorship seat should be zoned to Eket since it was the only zone yet to produce a governor; a position also supported by the Akpabio administration.

The plaintiff had contended in the suit that the policy contained in the PDP's constitution is not only discriminatory; it negates the constitutional provision for the right of every citizen to contest election without being discriminated against, regardless of his place of birth.

He stated, in a supporting affidavit, that the suit was informed by a publication by the Akwa Ibom chapter of the party, in a national newspaper of April 24, 2014 indicating that it has zoned the governorship position to Eket Senatorial District.

Ekpenyong said as a member of the PDP, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State, from Etinan Local Government, in Uyo Senatorial District, the zoning policy had breached his constitutional rights.

The plaintiff had urged the court to decide whether he or any other to governorship aspirants in the state could be excluded from contesting the party's forthcoming primary elections or placed at a

disadvantage because of where they hail from.

Justice Umar was, however, not persuaded by the arguments of the plaintiff, as he declined to entertain it.

The plaintiff has said

he would appeal the ruling.

The state government, reacting to the ruling, described it as a triumph of justice and rule of law.

Commissioner for Information, Mr. Aniekan

Umanah, said the ruling showed that the plaintiffs had no strong case ab initio.

"Fairness and equity equal justice. We hope the plaintiffs would allow a sleeping dog lie," he said.

Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda (left), with Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu, during Yuguda’s farewell to the pilgrims at Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport in Bauchi…yesterday.

Panel: Suntai’s suit Shell considers ‘secret' sale of Ogoni oil blocks suffers setback CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Sabiu Mustapha JALINGO

T

he moves by the loyalists of ailing Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai, to stop the probe of his health status suffered a setback yesterday as a High Court in Jalingo said it lacked jurisdiction to restrain the medical panel from carrying out their work.

The court presided over

by Justice Silas Haruna said: “An order of interim injunction restraining any medical panel or body of persons constituted or set up by the 1st defendant (the Speaker, Taraba State House of Assembly) pursuant to directive of the Taraba State Executive Council appointed by the 3rd Defendant (Alhaji Garba Umar) from carrying out any action or taking any step or any further step whatsoever to verification or examination of the plaintiff for the purpose of determining his medical status, preparing and submitting any report to any person whatsoever is hereby refused.”

The court further granted an order of interim injunction against the

three defendants either by themselves, their agents, servants or assigns from taking any further steps or actions or otherwise in relation to the office of the Executive Governor of Taraba State occupied by the plaintiff (Danbaba D. Suntai) pending the determination of the motion on notice fixed for September 26.

The court, however, ordered all the parties to maintain the status quo and to desist from taking any further actions or step with respect to the office of the governor that is capable of occasioning a breach of the peace and breakdown of law and order in the state.

The court hinged his action on the fact that a case relating to the governor’s ability to remain in office is already before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) filed the ex-parte motion on behalf Suntai.

The Taraba Assembly had on September 20 constituted a five-man committee to probe the health status of Suntai, who was involved in a plane crash on October 26, 2012.

luted the Ogoniland.

An industry source familiar with the deals, however, said the planned sale is a part of the bigger scheme for the company's total exit from Ogoniland.

The major assets' auction will, however, be executed only if the local Ogoni community agrees to it.

A news agency, StreamNG, had earlier reported that the Shell group wanted to kickstart the disposal process before Nigeria’s presidential election scheduled for next February "but it won’t complete a deal with a buyer until Goodluck Jonathan’s successor has been elected."

"The future buyer will need to find a partner with particularly deep pockets.

After 20 years of lying unused and damaged from sporadic clashes, oil infrastructure, and particularly pipelines, are in a disastrous state, and oil leaks have polluted the entire region," the report said.

As in the case of other transactions, the decision to sell came only after several attempts by Shell to safeguard its interests in OML 11.

In the early 2000s, fol-

lowing a decade of conflict and court cases with local communities, Shell ended the last legal wrangles in 2009 by forking out $15.5 million to the community.

It also agreed to allow two of the marginal fields – Oza and Asaramatoru – be carved out of the block and sold to local groups.

Millennium Oil and Gas, which got Oza, has since joined forces with Britain’s Hardy, while Suffolk Petroleum, headed by Henry Macpepple, acquired Asaramatoru.

But that failed to improve Shell’s relations with the Ogoni people as none of the two companies did the least work on the fields.

"The company is yet to secure Minister’s Consent for the sale of its stakes in OML 18, 24, 25 and 29 in the Niger Delta (AEI 728), as well as the major crude pipeline.

"What is more interesting in this new and even bigger auction, is that some prominent indigenes of Ogoniland who are active in the Nigeria's oil industry are on the top cadre of preference for the transactions.

"This is because the group perceives this as a major plan to put an end to the seeming intractable

challenges it had at Ogoniland," the source said Ogoniland was the theatre of violent clashes between residents and Nigeria’s security forces in the 1990s.

The Nigerian Content Act prescribes that Shell can only sell to a Nigerian group and, if possible, one that is controlled by prominent Ogoni figures, who alone can restore good relations with the local population.

Following stormy negotiations 10 years ago, the Anglo-Dutch giant agreed to secretly transfer its operating role in OML 11 to Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the exploration and production unit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Spokesperson for the NPDC, Mr. Ugo Atugbokoh could not be reached for comments on the new plans to sell the assets. His cell phone was switched off when New Telegraph called him.

It was learnt that some prominent businessmen that had served for years as intermediaries between the Ogonis and the Federal Government could be called back for the transactions.

One of those who the source said could be involved in the renewed talks is Special Adviser, Research and Document to the president, Mr. Oronto Douglas, who was a former lawyer to the executed Ogoni leader, Mr. Saro-Wiwa.

Douglas is the author of the fiery anti-Shell book titled: "Where Vultures Feast."

Another prominent Niger Deltan, who could also get an offer, is the former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ms. Ama Pepple, a native of Rivers State.

Pepple and her son, Osamede Okhomina, CEO of Energy Equity Resources, are directors of a trust fund in favour of the Ogoni community that was financed by the $15.5 million damages that Shell paid following judgment in a suit filed against the oil company in 2009.

Spokesperson for Shell in Nigeria, Mr. Precious Okolobo, declined to comment on the new transactions, which is coming before the close of other assets sale worth $5 billion in Nigeria by the company.

"No comment," he said by telephone in response to enquiries from New Telegraph yesterday.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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8

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

PDP integration team begins work in Abia Igbeaku Orji, Umuahia

T

he ten member national integration committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commenced its work in Abia State with a call to those who feel manginalised to accept the offer of reconciliation from the party.

Speaking at the party secretariat, Finbars Road, Umuahia, yesterday, chairman of the committee, Senator Ahmadu Ali, said

“our job is to come here to encourage marginalized people to come back; we are not here to dismember the party but to solidify it.”

Ali described the PDP as a crucible for resolution of conflicts in the country as well as an amalgam of like minds.

The chairman said the terms of reference of the committee which he directed the national vice chairman south east of the party, Col Austin Akobundu to present, include “to reach out to all estranged members of

PDP and resolve issues affecting them.”

Others are to work out a harmonious reunion between members and estranged members, to mobilize new members to join PDP and to make the new and old members to become advocates of government and responsible leadership.

In his welcome address, chairman of the party in the state, Senator Emma Nwaka commended the foresight of the national chairman, Dr. Adamu Muazu for setting up the

Olabimtan: Ondo’ll be one party state Babatope Okeowo, Akure ith the planned defecW tion of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State

from the Labour Party (LP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Southwest Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan Actualization Movement (JAM), Hon. Victor Olabimtan yesterday said the state will soon become a one-party state.

Similarly, former Nigerian High Commissioner to Greece and Australia, Prof. Olu Agbi said President Jonathan and the PDP would get not less than 90 percent of the votes when the governor eventually joins the party.

The duo said the PDP which was already repositioned would now be reinvigorated to win the state with ease once the governor joins the league of PDP governors.

Olabimtan, who is also

the Commissioner representing Ondo and Ekiti states at the Federal Civil Service Commission said the coming of Mimiko to the PDP would eclipse the rival All Progressives Congress (APC) and deliver the state to President Jonathan in next year’s election.

Speaking at a town hall meeting for the southwest geo-political zone in Akure, the Ondo state capital, Olabimtan said the state would deliver not less than one million votes to President Jonathan in February next year.

He assured Ondo people and the rest of South West geo-political zone of PDP’s commitment to deliver dividends of democracy.

Similarly, the National Coordinator of JAM, Mrs Basirat Nahibi said for the unity, peace and development of the country, there is no alternative to the second term ambition of President Jonathan and the PDP.

Nigerian High Commission, others fingered in £670,000 UK tax saga Bayo Akomolafe

T

he Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom was yesterday fingered among the 50 embassies and high commissions named in a tax evasion saga.

Top on the list is the Ivorian embassy, which was described as the worst offender.

It was learnt that the embassies have been refusing to pay their share of business rate bills.

Over50embassiesanddiplomaticmissionsaccordingto AgenceAfricainedePresseowe the British tax office £670,000, with the deficits being funded bystrugglinghighstreetfirms.

The bills run-up includes funding street cleaning and lighting outside their embassies.

The offenders’ list released after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office intervention showed that the Ivory Coast embassy currently owes £97,987, whilst

the Sierra Leone High Commission is refusing to pay £55,060. The High Commission of Cameroon has a £46,538 backlog; as well as China £40,169 and Nigeria with £38,235.

This according to the report, followed years of pressure being applied to ambassadors over millions in unpaid congestion zone fines and parking tickets, which a handful refuses to pay.

Business rates are charged on all premises that operate commercial activities and are based on a percentage of their value.

Diplomatic representatives from foreign countries are officially exempt from all national, regional or municipal taxes for their buildings. But the government has encouraged most to pay a beneficial portion of their bills, which works out at just six per cent of what any other business would pay.

7,000

committee, saying the state PDP is a family with uncanny ability to resolve its differences.

He said the aim of the committee is to cement and improve the bond among party faithful in the run up to the 2015 general elections.

The chairman however said that the meeting was for new and estranged members. He explained that estranged members refer to those whose membership is current but are marginalized by any form of ill treatment, adding

The estimate number of large dams and reservoirs in Europe in 2008.

Source: Unesco.org

that the meeting was not for non-members.

Other members of the party who spoke at the meeting including the deputy speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Asiforo Okere said the visit of the committee was not really necessary but for the feeling of marginalization among the people since the party is at peace already.

He called on the committee to help draw the attention of the federal government to the infrastructural decay of the

75%

The approximate percentage of all miscarriages occurs in the first trimester. Hopexchange. com Source: Hopexchange.com

zone, especially the Enugu –Port Harcourt expressway, to intensify work on the road in order to sustain the peace in the state with the dividend of democracy.

Also speaking, Chief Kingsley Imaga, secretary of body of PDP chairmen and chairman of the party in Ohafia LGA, an elder of the party, Dr Eme Okoro, and Dr. Kate Obiechina, said the Abia PDP enjoys peace which they said was necessary for the 2015 elections.

83.7%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Korea Republic in 2010.

Source: Itu.int

L-R: Head of European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador, Michel Arrion; Director General, Bank of Industry, Rasheed Olaoluwa and Counsellor/Head of Trade and Economics Section EU Delegation to Nigeria and Ecowas, Massimo De Luca, during the 3rd EU-Nigeria Business Forum in Lagos

CBN takes financial awareness campaign to Calabar Clement James, Calabar

I

n furtherance of its commitment to deepen financial access in the country, the Financial Inclusion Secretariat of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken its sensitization campaign to Calabar, the Cross River state capital.

The campaign, which is being anchored by Mrs. Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, Head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat of the apex bank, was meant to educate and sensitize the banking public in the state on their rights and duties with regards to financial inclusion.

According to her, similar campaigns had been held in Osun and Ogun states in June 2014 and plans are underway to cover additional states within each of the six geo-political zones in the country before December 2014.

She explained that the Cross River state campaign involves several stakeholder activities, including courtesy visit to the State Executives to discuss financial inclusion and its benefits for the people of the state.

Akin-Fadeyi also disclosed that the campaign involves workshops for service providers such as deposit money banks, micro-finance banks, and insurance firms, among others, to showcase opportunities for serving the un-banked and underserved markets.

The sensitization campaign, she added, would be rounded off with road shows in three markets namely Watts, Akim and Marian Markets to provide a platform for regulators, service providers and the general public to discuss and address pertinent issues on financial inclusion.

She promised that facilities would be guar-

anteed service providers to have exhibition stands for their products and services in the markets; link up with potential customers for account opening, general enquiries and issue resolution.

Her words: “Our focus is 80 percent by 2020.

With the collaboration between the Central Bank of Nigeria and other industry stakeholders, we are confident that eight out of every 10 Nigerians will be able to access formal financial services in the near future. “The task ahead of us is a big one and all stakeholders from enablers, that is regulators, to providers i.e. banks, microfinance banks/institutions, insurance firms, pension fund administrators, telecommunication companies, supporting pubic institutions and government at all levels have critical roles to play in the successful implementation of the NFIS in Nigeria”.

She assured that Industry analysts have confir med that the national gains of financial inclusion were enormous, listing some of them to include improved standard of living, building household assets, stimulation of micro-enterprises and long-term economic development.

The National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) was launched on October 23rd, 2012 with an overall target of reducing the percentage of adult Nigerians that do not have access to financial services from 46.3% in 2010 to 20.0% in 2020.

Importantly, the financial exclusion rate dropped to 39.7% in 2012.

This has been attributed to the concerted industry efforts to include more people in the formal financial sector.

The workshop in Calabar runs from September 22-24.

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

education

Stakeholders face consequences of Patrick Sawyer's Ebola tragedy Mojeed Alabi

P

arents and other key stakeholders in the education sector have continued to express worry over the disruption of primary and secondary schools’ calendar, occasioned by the delay in the resumption of schools nationwide, saying it will further affect the delivery of education in the country.

24

Parents, teachers bemoan delayed resumption of schools Irked by the development, they said all concerned authorities should find a way of addressing the loss occasioned by the postponement the Ebola Virus Disease.

The uncoordinated resumption plans, which made some schools resume academic activities on September 22, while others will be doing same in October, according to them, portends a bad omen for the 2014/15 school calendar.

But the teachers, who

The life expectancy (in years) of women at age 60 years in Anguilla in 2000-2002.

Source: Un.org

assured the parents of their commitment to recover from the loss, pledged their commitment to complete the syllabuses within the available period so that the pupils and students will not suffer.

New Telegraph gathered that contrary to the declaration of September 22 as the resumption date by the Federal Government, more than 15 states of the federation floated the directive, saying the provision of basic preventive measures against the

61.04

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of Hong Kong, China in 2009.

Source: Itu.int

dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was not yet completely achieved.

However, teachers in various states apart from Sokoto, Taraba, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, among others, insisted that the schools were not yet safe for teaching and learning, adding that basic needs such as water, gloves, thermometers and hand washing kits, were yet to be provided.

Therefore, states like Niger, Adamawa, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Benue, Riv-

$US328.4bn The nominal GDP of Argentina (World Bank) in 2009.

Source: Blatantworld.com

ers, Zamfara, Adamawa, Kano, Lagos, Kwara, Kogi, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi, have rescheduled their resumption to October, 2014.

The teachers under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) asked members not to resume until the concerned state governments provided the needed atmosphere that would guarantee conducive learning environment.

In Lagos State, visits

by New Telegraph to some schools, revealed that

L-R: National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress [APC], Alhaji Lai Muhammed; Chairman, Lagos APC, Henry Ajomale; Chairman, Apapa Iganmu Local Council Development Area [LCDA], Dr, Samuel Adedayo and former Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] leader, Apapa Iganmu community, Kayode Obadiah, during the official unveiling of Prince Kayode Obadiah and Voice of the Peoples Group as members of APC, in Lagos…on Saturday

Adeleye tasks survey, mapping units on standard Makurdi

M

inister of State for Works, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye, has called on surveying and mapping departments in ministries of lands and survey across the country to place more emphasis on harmonising standards for spatial data capture and exchange.

Besides, he also tasked the ministries to always coordinate data collection and maintenance activities as well as encourage the use of central geospatial database by public institutions to promote the use of spatial information in decision making.

Adeyeye spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of this year's conference on Survey Co-

ordination and Advisory Board on Survey Training held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

The minister, who stressed the need for improvement in data sharing, said it was equally needful to embrace measures aimed at ensuring that the spatial data collected are readily available and useable among potential users in both public and private sectors of the economy.

While describing surveying and mapping as the bedrock of national security, the minister said the purpose is to make accurate and timely geospatial data readily available to support critical decisions with minimum duplication.

He acknowledged the support of federal

and state governments through adequate consideration for surveying and mapping technology as well as products and projects associated with the procurement of mapping tools for mapping the nation on various scales and themes, and the use of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing applications, which he said are geared towards achieving the set goals of national security.

Also speaking, Surveyor-General of the Federation, Prof. Peter Nwilo, who hailed the theme of the conference; “Nigeria's Centenary: The Impact of Surveying and Mapping on National Security,” said the conference came at the right time, considering the security challenges confronting the country.

both private and public schools were not opened to students and pupils in spite of the threats by private school owners to resume academic activities.

At the Ogba Junior Grammar School, as suggested by Governor Babatunde Fashola, teachers were on ground to prepare the school for the October 8 resumption date, particularly following the conclusion of investigations into the gaseous emission crisis that rocked one of the schools for months.

AGF, rights commission push for ageing people’s rights Tunde Oyesina Abuja

ttorney-General of AMohammed the Federation (AGF), Bello Adoke

Cephas Iorhemen

9

and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday said they will push for the introduction and implementation of the rights and privileges of people above 60 years, who are referred to as ‘Senior Citizens.’

The duo said this in Abuja during a oneday symposium on the “Rights and Privileges of Senior Citizens,” organised by NHRC in collaboration with Senior Citizens Advocacy Network of Nigeria (SCANON).

In his welcome address, NHRC Executive Secretary, Prof. Ben Angwe, said the rights of aged persons are recognised in developed countries, adding that other parts of the globe has mechanisms that protect

such rights.

He, however, noted that such is not available in Nigeria, but that work is in progress to introduce such policy that will not only protect the rights of old people, but also see to its implementation.

He added that the commission had joined other countries under the United Nations to put up a legal framework that will be implemented in Nigeria.

Speaking on behalf of the AGF, Emmanuel Akah said the office of the AGF will ensure that it gives effect to any policy made to aid the rights and privileges of the ageing.

The National University Commission’s representative, Dr. M. M. Omokaro, called on the National Assembly to as soon as possible pass a law to protect the rights of the old people as they have spent the better parts of their lives to serve the country.

Makinde to declare Oyo guber ambition tomorrow Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

of the governorship Oplesneaspirants of the PeoDemocratic Party

(PDP) in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, will tomorrow make his formal declaration to contest the 2015 election.

Makinde, an electronics engineer is set to make good his plan to slug it out with other aspirants in the party, including former Gov-

ernor Adebayo AlaoAkala, former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, former Sports Minister, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, among others, expressing the optimism to emerge the next governor of the state.

The decision to make his declaration tomorrow was made known yesterday at a press conference addressed by some elders of the PDP led by Hon. Kehinde Ayoola, former Oyo State House of As-

sembly speaker.

Among the leaders of the party in attendance were the former Chairman, Chief Michael Adegbite, Alhaji Kamoru Shittu (former Oyo East Local Government chairman).

Described as a grassroots politician, who has impacted the lives of many since his foray into politics, Ayoola said the aspirant enjoys the support of people from all the zones in the state.

Chime declares work-free day for Jonathan nugu State Governor, ised to honour President financial institutions Edeclared Sullivan Chime, has Goodluck Jonathan, by in Enugu State will be Thursday, Sep- the Enugu State Move- closed on that date as a tember 25, 2014 a work free day in the state.

A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke, said this was to enable citizens and residents of the state participate in the rally organ-

ment for the Re-election of President Jonathan (EMJ).

The rally will hold at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu by 10.00am.

According to the statement, all schools, markets, banks and other

consequence of the workfree-day.

It further advised relevant authorities to take note of this directive while urging Enugu citizens to honour the President by turning out en masse at the rally.

metr

WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

NEW TELEGRAPH

10

www.newtelegraphonline.com/metro

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun. bello@newtelegraphonline.com

0802 393 8212

Oil spill: Three hospitalised after alleged clash with soldiers Joe Obende Warri

T

he people of Erhioke community in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State have accused soldiers guarding an oil flow station of molesting them after oil spilled in the area.

The flow station is operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

The people, who spoke through the President-General, Matthew Oyibocha, said that two men and a woman were hospitalised after the community’s brush with the soldiers of the 222 Battalion, Agbarha Otor in Ughelli North Local Government Area.

This, according to him, resulted from the community’s move to confront NPDC on perceived irregularities in the attempted clean-up of the spill.

He said: “The spill occurred precisely on September 6. It damaged our ponds, farmlands and it is affecting our economic and social lives as a people. We

Mrs Victoria Efuko on her hospital bed

reported the matter to NPDC, operator of the facility, which promised to address the issues.

“We were surprised to see a company on Wednesday September 17 coming in with youths from Otagbuwe in Kokori community to clean up the spill-impacted areas.

“This is a spill that has not been reported to the National Oil Spill Detection and Re-

sponse Agency (NOSDRA) for expected JIV to ascertain spread and impact on the community.

“The soldiers led by one Lt. Jatau, who claimed he was under the orders of the commanding officer of his unit to deal decisively with us, shot sporadically in the air, molested and injured our people who were compelled to start a protest.”

When contacted, Command-

er, 222 Battalion, Lt. Col. Kenneth Chigbu, denied that his men molested at Erhoike.

Chigbu accused the community of making false claims.

He said: “One Choice Umode, lawyer to the community based in Warri, drew my attention the allegation. This is not the first time I have related with him.

He has been to my office on several occasions pleading that the

community has grievances with NPDC and wants to shut down the facility.

“I told him shutting down the facility would lead to altercation and violence. I told him to let us leave that aside and pursue dialogue.

“On several occasions, he listened to me but I discovered he stays in Warri and whenever these people perceive anything, they call and tell him and he comes running down to me and begins to talk as if he was on ground.”

A senior external relations manager with NPDC, who spoke on anonymity, said that no farms or economic activities were impacted.

He said: “The spill is minimal and the spread is within the company’s right of way.

I think the real issue is that the community has a divided leadership. And the immediate trouble may not be unconnected with the choice of the contractor to handle the clean-up. These internal crises are not helping our operations at all.”

I only sold stolen items, says suspect Juliana Francis and Taiwo Jimoh

A

55-year-old man, Jude Dike, has been arrested by the police in Lagos for giving out guns to young men to rob on the highways.

Dike was among seven suspected robbers paraded yesterday by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti.

Others are Joel Eghon, Ifeanyi Onwegbuchi, Solomon Igwe, Emmanuel Ifeanyi, Ejike Omegwo and Leonard Afoakwu.

While admitting sending the young men to go and rob, Dike vehemently denied selling or handling guns.

The suspect said he did not go on robbery operations, but only collected stolen items from

the gang.

According to him, he sells the stolen items and shares the proceeds to all members.

A police source said that Eghon was first arrested at a ‘beer parlour’, where he was planning a robbery operation.

It was through Eghon that Dike and others were arrested.

Aderanti said that the suspects were arrested in EbuteMetta area of the state during an attempt to launch a robbery attack on law-abiding residents of the state.

He said: “On September 20, information got to us that some armed robbers, who had earlier snatched a Toyota Hiace bus on Ile-Ife Road had converged on a place in EbuteMetta area of the state and

were planning to go out for another operation.

“On my instructions, the officer in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police, led two decoy teams to the area and as a result, six suspects were arrested.”

A Berretta pistol with the Serial No PL 75131, nine rounds of 9mm ammunition, three locally-made cut-to-size pistols and 33 live cartridges were recovered from Eghon.

The suspects confessed to several robbery operations within Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states and also claimed that they sold most of their stolen goods to Afoaku.

“The robbers used to bring stolen items to me. Once they

Dike (left) and Eghon

rob, they bring the goods to me to sell. I don’t sell guns. Eghon said he had lost the phone number of the person he wanted to buy a gun from. He came to me to assist him with the person’s phone number,” Dike added.

The police said that a few years ago, Eghon was arrested for car theft and imprisoned.

After serving his jail term, he came out and was planning another robbery when he was arrested.

METRO

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

11

N20m robbery: ‘I needed N20,000 for my daughter’s school fees’

Police move to mop up small arms

Juliana Francis and Taiwo Jimoh

Juliana Francis

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33-year-old man, Babatunde Makinde, has told the police in Lagos that he was forced to join a robbery gang because of his inability to raise N20,000 for his daughter’s school fees.

Makinde, a printer, said he was frantic to raise his daughter’s school fees after he heard that school would soon resume after the holidays.

The suspect said he went to his friend, Dayo, who used to assist him financially. But he was stunned when Dayo, rather than help him as usual, asked him to look for someone who would team up with them to go for a robbery operation, which would fetch them N20 million.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Aderanti, who paraded Makinde along with other suspects at the Police Command Headquarters yesterday, said the man and his accomplice, Faruk Lawal alias Baba-Oba, were arrested on Monday, based on tip-off.

Aderanti said that one locally made double barrelled pistol, two locally made single barrelled pistols, 28 live cartridges and a Honda Accord car, marked NH293AAA, were recovered from them.

Lawal (left) and Makinde

He said: “Our men accosted the Honda Accord at Daleko roundabout and arrested the two suspects; Makinde and Lawal. A search conducted on the vehicle led to the recovery of the guns.

“The suspects confessed to have snatched the car from the owner at gunpoint at Morrocco Street, Alade area of Yaba. They said the third gun belonged to their member, Dayo. He narrowly escaped police arrest.”

Recalling how he joined

the operation, Makinde said that Dayo told him that the owner of the money had just returned from London.

He said: “Dayo said I should look for someone who would go on the operation of stealing the money. I told him that I have a friend called Baba-Oba, who had just returned from prison. He was sent to prison after he was arrested for ‘OneChance’ robbery. It is not up to three months that he came out prison.

When Makinde told Lawal

Gunmen kidnap expatriate in Kogi Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

A

rmed men yesterday invaded Kogi Sate Water Works in Lokoja and abducted a Chinese expatriate from his residential quarters.

The incident happened barely 24 hours after gunmen bombed a police station in Adogo in Ajaokuta Local Govern-

Two killed in rival cult war Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

T

wo suspected cult members were killed yesterday when two groups clashed at Oloku, near the University of Benin in Benin, the Edo State capital.

The suspects’ bodies were dumped by the road side in

ment Area of the state.

The hoodlums, who invaded the premises located at Ganaja village about 2am, shot sporadically into the air to scare away neighbours.

One of the residents of the village, Alhaji Sambo Usman, who spoke with our correspondent visited the village, said the community had never witnessed such a horrible situthe area.

This came as the police yesterday paraded 46 suspected armed robbers, rapists, cult members and car snatchers terrorising the residents of the state.

One of the suspects, a 60-year-old man, Edekin Ojaogbe, defiled a 13-year-old girl.

The Commissioner of Police, Funso Adebanjo, who paraded the suspects, said the command was on the trail of the “useless” killers.

ation.

He said the villagers were terrified by the gun shots which lasted for almost three hours.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Elvise Aguebor, could not be reached for comment as he was not around.

But a senior police officer confirmed the incident.

about the deal, he insisted on meeting Dayo. After discussing with Dayo, Lawal said that Dayo and Makinde must go on the operation with him.

“Dayo brought the guns. Baba-Oba took one and gave me another. As we were going, he saw the Honda Accord car. A guy and a woman were inside.

They were romancing. He went to meet them and brought out the gun. Initially I wanted to run but he hit my mouth with the butt of the gun,” he added.

According to him, the man who brought the N20 million robbery operation was calling.

On the way, the men dropped off the lovers around Anthony and proceeded with the car.

When they finally reached the man, whose name they both claimed not to know, he asked them how they got the gun. They told him, unaware that he was an undercover police, posing as robber.

The detectives told them to wait, that his brother who had just returned from London would soon come.

Church holds Independence praise feast Bola Kareem

T

aste A Little Power of God Ministry will on October 1 hold a “Mega Independence Day Praise Feast.”

The programme holds inside the church auditorium at Tejumola Estate, Egbeda, Lagos.

Pastor Ebenezer Akinwande will minister along with other anointed men of God at the praise feast, which starts at 10am.

According to the organisers, participants are expected from various parts of the country.

Akinwande said that arrangements had been concluded to have a hitch-free programme.

T

he Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, yesterday gave two weeks’ ultimatum to owners of unlicensed firearms in the state to surrender their guns to the police.

Aderanti’s directive followed eruption of violence at Isale-Eko area of the state on Saturday between members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At least six people were killed in the three-day confrontation while many others were injured.

The commissioner said that he would not allow thuggery to pervade the state and vowed to speak with political leaders concerning their conducts and those of their supporters in the preparation for the 2015 general elections.

He said: The Isale-Eko situation, where law and order has been restored, is what informed my decision in clamming down on proliferation of small arms in the city. We should not encourage thuggery. There should be no violence in the state. Politics should not be a matter of life and death.”

Aderanti said that he had observed within his first two weeks in office that there was proliferation of unlicensed small arms in the state.

According to him, many people may want to use such guns to commit crime and intimidate innocent people.

Aderanti, CP Lagos

Court restrains monarch from parading self as Oniro

A

High Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, has ordered a traditional ruler, Oba Najeem Aromaye, to stop parading himself as the Oniro of Iro in ObafemiOwode Local Government Area of Ogun State pending the determination of the suit before it.

Aromaye was reportedly installed by the state government on September 16, despite the order for interlocutory injunction restraining the government

from installing the monarch.

The presiding judge, Justice Oluwagbenga Ogunfowora, who granted the claimants’ request on the interlocutory injunction, ordered that the first defendant should stop parading himself as the new Oniro of Iro pending the final determination of the suit.

The claimants, Sikiru Adebari and Kamoru Adebari, who claimed to be the head

and secretary of the ruling family respectively, disowned the monarch as a member of Oleyo family.

Granting the request for an order for interlocutory injunction, the court restrained the state government, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, the regency and Council of Chiefs from recognising the first defendant as the new Oniro of Iro.

12 NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Oshiomhole presents N156.5bn 2015 budget Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

do State Governor, AdEterday ams Oshiomhole, yespresented a bud-

get of N156, 551billion for the 2015 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly.

Oshiomhole said in the presentation that next year’s “budget of consolidation of the development” efforts of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, which hopes to cover all the 192 wards and the three senatorial districts of the state consists of N87.56 billion capital expenditure, representing 55.77 percent of the total estimate and a proposed recurrent expenditure of N68.99 billion, which represents about 44.23 percent.

Besides, the presentation of the 2015 budget was colourfully done at the old executive chambers of the Government House, Benin City, without the nine Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers in attendance.

The breakdown of the budget, according

to the various sectors, includes administration — (N17.873bn; for recurrent expenditure and N4.031 billion capital expenditure); economic - (N5.342bn and N36.029); Law and Justice - (N2.955bn and N0.837bn) and social services - (N20.173bn and N46.665bn) respectively.

The 2015 budget is about N3.549bn short of the 2014 N160.1bn estimate.

Governor Oshiomhole, who reviewed last year’s budget said the total expected expenditure was N117.48bn, but as at June same year, a total of N43.256 was realised, stressing that the budget was affected by a drop in the revenue allocation from the federation account that adversely nosedived the revenue target of the state government.

He expressed optimism that the revenue for next year’s fiscal budget would be same as that of last year as the state derives the bulk of its revenue from the federation account.

Agbaso set to dump APGA for PDP Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

E

rstwhile leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Imo State, Chief Martin Agbaso, is set to pitch his tent with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Following the resolve of the party’s leadership to reach out to aggrieved members in the spirit of reconciliation, a PDP delegation led by Senator Hope Uzodinma and Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie, the party chairman, was hosted on Monday by Agbaso in his Emekukwu country home.

Giving reason for the visit, Uzodinma said the party leadership at all levels places so much premium on stability

and strengthening of the party’s structure ahead of the visible challenges of the 2015 elections.

He said part of their mandate includes wooing founding members of the party back to its fold to form a formidable party platform that would stop the present maladministration and mediocrity foisted on the state by Governor Rochas Okorocha.

Anyaehie told Agbaso that necessary machineries have been put in place to address all the issues that forced some of the founding fathers out of the party, adding that the role of Agbaso in the politics of the state and Igbo land makes it a priority to the party to reach out to him.

11 killed in fresh Nasarawa crisis Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

t least eleven people Amany were feared killed and houses set ablaze

in an early morning raid yesterday on a community in Gidan Gambo, Eggon, in Lafia East Development area of Nasarawa State.

The attackers believed to be Fulani mercenaries armed with AK47rifles defiled the early morning rain and launched a surprise attack on the village, killing eleven people and injuring scores of others while also setting many houses

ablaze.

New Telegraph reports that the attack on Gidan Gambo is the latest in the serial attacks on Eggon communities carried out

by Fulani insurgents in recent times since hostilities broke out between the warring parties.

A resident of Gidan Gambo, Likita Alaku, who escaped from the attack, told our correspondent that the Fulani numbering over 300 armed with AK47 rifles invaded the village at 6.00am and opened fire, killing people indiscriminately and burning houses.

L-R: Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed; Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaogun Soyinka and Chairman, House Committee on Health, Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Akinpelu Aina, during a courtesy visit on the governor in Ilorin...yesterday

Seized $9.3m: ASRADI writes CBN, demands transaction details south africa

From impounded dollars to Synagogue building collapse, Pretoria and Abuja must be doing some negotiations Temitope Ogunbanke

F

ollowing controversy trailing the arrest of two Nigerians and an Israeli citizen in South Africa for attempting to illegally bring $9.3 million into the country in a private jet, a non-governmental organisation, Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Develop-

ment Initiative (ASRADI), has written a letter to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to apply for information surrounding the movement of the $9.3million from Nigeria to South-Africa by private citizens.

ASRADI in a letter titled; “Application for Information (Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2011),” and addressed to the CBN Governor, asked the apex bank to provide response to its request within seven days.

The group in a letter signed by its Executive Director, Adeolu Oyinlola, and made available to New Telegraph, also asked the CBN to

provide the quantum of foreign currency cash that the Central Bank of Nigeria has imported this year.

“What protocol or convention guides the release of foreign exchange (in cash) to government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by the Central Bank of Nigeria?

“Do government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) purchase foreign currencies from autonomous sources?

“What is the quantum of foreign currency cash that the Central Bank of Nigeria has imported this year?

“What is the break-

down of foreign currency cash (i.e. quantum, MDA, date) that the Central Bank of Nigeria has released to government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) this year?”

ASRADI asked.

The group also demanded a full scale public inquiry into how a government department or agency would carry loads of cash in a private jet, ostensibly to transact official business.

It also noted that anything short of a transparent public inquiry would not be acceptable to Nigerian, adding that heads will have to roll to get to the root of the matter.

PDP wants Ekiti CJ sanctioned, raises the alarm over Fayose’s safety  I managed Ekiti treasury with integrity, says Fayemi Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

E

kiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to call to order the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola.

The party, which spoke through its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Oluwawole, in Ado-Ekiti, also raised the alarm that leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are planning coordinated attacks on PDP leaders including the Governor-Elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose.

Reacting to Monday’s incident during which some people invaded an

Ado-Ekiti High Court while hearing two cases filed against the eligibility of Fayose for the June 21 governorship election, Oluwawole said his party had it on good authority that Justice Daramola had vowed to personally handle the cases.

“Governor Kayode Fayemi came to the high court today boasting that the CJ will re-assign the case to himself and that hearing would commence immediately. We wish to state that it is an aberration for the CJ, who would administer the Oath of Office on the governor-elect to at the same time assign to himself a suit against the governor-elect.

“We have it on good authority that Fayemi, earlier held a secret

meeting with the CJ and Justice Segun Ogunyemi, where it was resolved that the swearing in of the governorelect should be scuttled through black market judgement,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fayemi, has said that he is always ready to give account of how he managed the finances of the state in the last four years of his administration.

The governor, who was addressing citizens during his ‘Thank You’ tour of Ajoni, Ekiti South East, Ekiti East, Ayekire and Gbonyin council areas of the state, said he had managed the finances of the state with integrity and this was why the antigraft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

(EFCC) has had no reason to come to the state since he became governor in 2010.

Fayemi added that he had no reason to tamper with public funds in order to earn a living; saying that his source of livelihood is not hinged on the state’s treasury.

He said he ‘came into politics with a name that is reputed for integrity and will not quit politics with a soiled name.’

The governor while sharing information on how he has managed the state treasury to a jubilant crowd at the receptions held in his honour at the headquarters of the councils, said he would be waiting for anyone who has any information that can indict him for financial misappropriation.

Boko Haram, Ebola unite Senate / PAGE 17 | Odo: Confrontation is not a viable legislative option / PAGE 16

POLITICS

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/politics

ayodele Ojo

Deputy Editor, politics

ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

ayodeleojo@yahoo.com

WEDNESday, September 24, 2014

Low turnout of voters witnessed in the recent elections indicates that there is still apathy among the electorate, a situation which calls for an aggressive voter education by the relevant agencies and stakeholders, writes FELIX NWANERI

Adeyeye: Nigeria’s future’ll be bleak with APC in power

p-14, 15

Voters’ apathy: Still long road to popular participation

P

rior to the 2011 general election, electoral turnout was on the decline mostly because of the rigging and manipulation that characterised the process before then. However, the appointment of Prof. Attahiru Jega as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on June 8, 2010, by President Goodluck Jonathan, brought some measure of hope to the system, given the antecedents of the Kano State-born academician.

To many Nigerians both at home and in Diaspora, Jega’s appointment then was the tonic needed for the nation’s thirst for free, fair and credible elections.

Everyone who knew the former National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said he was nonpartisan and had integrity to restore confidence in the country’s electoral system.

This was to be justified with the outcome of the 2011 polls. Besides the turnout, which was an improvement compared to that of previous polls – 1999, 2003 and 2007, the elections were described by local and international observers as the best in the country’s election history. But, Jega shortly after the polls, disclosed that only about 35 per cent of the country’s 70 million registered voters participated in the exercise.

“There exists voters’ apathy in Nigeria and this is no longer contentious.

Voters’ turnout in the just-concluded general election had provided a scientific and empirical evidence of the existence of voters’ apathy and non-challance of sections of the electorate in elections.

The National Assembly elections, the presidential election and the gubernatorial and the state Assembly elections conducted showed that voters’ turnout hovered around 35 per cent. This ugly scenario has implications for popular participation and governance.”

Ordinarily, there should be an improvement in the forthcoming 2015 general election, given some innovations by INEC to improve on the electoral process. But there are fears that even the 35 per cent recorded in 2011 may drop, given the low turnout of voters in the recent governorship polls conducted by the electoral body in Anambra, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states.

Though reports had it during the elections that there was large turnout of voters, a critical analysis of the figures viz-a-viz the number of registered voters in the respective states shows that there is still low level of participation in the electoral process by Nigerians of voting age.

In the November 2013 governorship election in Anambra State, for example,

Election ad hoc staff waiting for voters

State

Population Registered voters

Total votes

Anambra

4.1 million

1.7 million

442, 242

Ekiti

2.3 million

733,766

369,257

Osun

3.4 million

1.4 million

764,582

reports suggested high turnout of voters based on the large crowd that milled around some polling units, but the actual accredited voters fell far short of the number of registered voters in the respective polling units.

The state has a total of 1.7 million registered voters, but the result of the election showed that the total number of votes cast was 442, 242. This means that 1.3 million registered voters in the state

abstained from the poll.

The situation was not different in Ekiti and Osun states where governorship elections held in June and August, respectively.

In Ekiti, where the incumbent, Governor Kayode Fayemi (All Progressives Congress, APC) was trounced by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ayo Fayose, the total number of registered voters was 733,766 out

CROSSFIRE The PDP Governors’ Forum hereby endorses President Jonathan…We urge all PDP faithful to support this gesture, which should enable the President to become the sole candidate of the PDP come 2015 -Godswill Akpabio

I told Nigerians that PDP will become a weaker party whose democratic value will erode. Now they have chosen President Jonathan as their party’s sole presidential candidate without going for primaries -Rabiu Kwankwaso

of which 369,257 voted. This means that 364,309, about 50 pre cent registered voters did not take part in the election.

It was the same story in Osun State despite the massive mobilisation by the three major parties that contested the poll – APC, PDP and Labour Party (LP).

The state has 1.4 million registered voters, but only 764,582 voted during the election. This means that 646,791 representing 46.1 per cent of eligible voters stayed away from the poll.

In the August 30 by-election for the Niger East senatorial election, while turnout was relative high in some of the local government areas of the district, it was dismal in Minna, the state capital, which is part of the district.

This worrisome development may have prompted the position of the INEC chairman at the recent retreat of the National Inter-Agency Advisory Committee on Voter Education and Publicity.

Speaking at the event, Jega said there is still apathy on the part of the electorate despite the enormous resources committed to voter and civic education by the commission and other bodies.

His words: “In our elections, there is still a high degree of apathy, an intolerably high percentage of voided votes traceable to limited knowledge and awareness, too few females are participating in elections as candidates and other disadvantage groups still feel left CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

14 INTERVIEW

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Adeyeye: Nigeria’s future’ll Politics has been a mixed bag for Prince Dayo Adeyeye. His hope of being a senator and governor had been dashed due to intrigues. But seven years after his name was withdrawn from the Senate as a ministerial nominee, he was sworn in as Minister of State for Works by President Goodluck Jonathan. In this interview with AYODELE OJO, he speaks on his travails in politics, the concept of stomach infrastructure, Ekiti election, South-West politics, and why Jonathan will win in 2015. Excerpts: How do you feel being a minister and how has it been so far?

I feel good being a minister particularly given the fact that I have suffered serious disappointments in my political career in the past. If you recall, I was first nominated as a minister in July 2007 by the late President Umar Yar’Adua and on July 9, 2007 when I was supposed to appear before the Senate, my name was withdrawn. It just happened that on July 9, this year, was the day I was sworn in as minister by President Goodluck Jonathan. You can see the coincidence. Everything happened in July and seven years apart, exactly the date. So, I believe it is divine. I feel very good about it. I thank God for being very faithful.

So far so good. I am working with a very pleasant person, a great leader who mean well for this country and I am so happy that I am serving under President Jonathan, who by all means is a very nice person and a man that I believe when history shall be written would be rated as one of the best leaders Nigeria has ever produced.

When you were nominated as a minister, were you thinking about the repeat of what happened the first time?

I never imagined that there could be a repeat of 2007. I thought I have been nominated this time around and surely I was going to be a minister. So, it never occurred to me that that kind of thing would happen anymore.

But, my people were bothered and I remember that the traditional rulers and some men of God in the town organised a three-day prayer and fasting for me.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was said to have been instrumental to the withdrawal of your ministerial nomination.

What really happened?

I don’t want to go back to all that because I have made up with the former president. The withdrawal of my nomination has to do with my antecedents as an Afenifere spokesman, which he felt I said a lot of disparaging things about him. But that is history, we have made up.

Before the Ekiti election, you were also one of the aspirants who on principle decided to stick with the party’s governorship candidate, Ayo Fayose, at that time. What made you take that decision because most of your colleagues got angry and left the party?

The truth of the matter was that the two principal contestants in Ekiti primaries were myself and Ayo Fayose.

Buhari, Atiku lack wherewithal to confront Jonathan

Adeyeye

Others also have their own followers but anybody in Ekiti will tell you that these were the major two camps. After the primaries, the party leaders spoke to us and I always like to align myself with the people. Ekiti people have made up their mind more than two years ago that they did not like the present government and I have seen the suffering of the people under that government. I have seen a lot of mismanagement. The perception of people sometimes is very far from the reality. The perception outside of Ekiti is that we have a performing government and the governor was being given a lot of awards here and there. But journalists never bothered to go to Ekiti to find out their feelings. What is the reality on the ground? How did the people perceive the government? As a grassroots politician, I could see that there was disconnect between the government and the people.

After the primaries, a lot of pressure was coming from every angle. Some people wanted me to leave the PDP and team up with them in Labour Party and you know the governor of Ondo State is my very good friend. The All Progressives Congress (APC) made their overtures and of course I looked at everything and my decision was that it was better to stick with the PDP. I have been in the PDP since 2006. I was a founding member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) from 1998 to 2006 before we went to Action Congress (AC). I am in a position to judge all these

The South-West people have no choice than to support Jonathan because the alternative is not there. Tell me, who is the alternative in APC among all those people who are parading themselves as presidential aspirants? parties. The constitution of all political parties are virtually the same, therefore it is individuals that populate these parties that matters. Forget about policy. What is the difference between the parties really, where is the ideology? Which ideology is APC propagating that is different from that of the PDP? So, it has to do with the individuals who are in this party and I found out that I was not going back to Egypt, which I considered to be APC. Why? Because I know the kind of people who are there and I don’t want to work with them.

Are they not progressive-minded?

They are not. The fact that you mouth progressivism does not mean that you are a progressive. You have to tell me the content of your progressivism? In the days of Obafemi Awolowo, he was a progressive because he has free education policy, free health policy, and employment opportunities. So, what is the content of the progressivism of APC, where they are increasing school fees everyday? Education has gone out of the reach of the masses? All the APC states increased the school fess of tertiary institutions astronomically.

But they have reversed the tuition fees.

It was because of the victory PDP had in Ekiti that is making them to reverse the tuition fees. I also knew that a victory in Ekiti State would probably make these people to have a rethink on their reactionary policies and it is happening.

Awolowo had a free education up to the university level. He gave scholarships as Premier of Western Region for overseas training; 200 per year. That was the number of people available then. People like MKO Abiola got Awolowo scholarship to go and study abroad. Abiola from a poor family would not have had that genuine opportunity.

The Ekiti election threw up the concept of stomach infrastructure....

This is another insult to our people.

And I believe that Ekiti people are so

INTERVIEW 15

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

be bleak with APC in power angry about it and honestly those who came out with that idea only God can punish them. What do they mean by stomach infrastructure; were they saying that we bribed the people to make them vote for us? No, when propaganda is carried to a ridiculous level, these are the kind of things you get. I saw it and I was very disgusted.

These are the facts regarding the elections in Ekiti State. In the run-up to that election, the government had criticised former PDP government of giving traditional rulers vehicles, which was not for election purpose at that time. But in the run-up to this election, Governor Kayode Fayemi too did it. Several motorcycles were distributed in the local governments. House of Assembly members were finally empowered to begin to distribute all sort of things in their various local governments like sewing and blending machines, motorcycles and other equipment. Bags of rice and salts were distributed. The PDP was not in position to distribute any of these things.

We did not distribute one single motorcycle or grinding machine. We never did. Now, a person outside of Ekiti gave us some bags of rice to distribute and we did, which was far below what they distributed and they now implied that it was stomach infrastructure. That they have the real infrastructure on ground but people were after what they would eat and we gave them rice.

They have tested the PDP in the past and love the party, compare to their own.

People were ready to throw them out.

So, they took their bags or rice and they never voted for them. If anything, Ekiti people should be praised for not aligning themselves to be induced monetarily to vote for any party. I think I am proud of my people in Ekiti State for been extremely principled; for refusing to be induced in anyway, monetarily or otherwise. So, instead of being commended, what do we get? They now start talking of stomach infrastructure, bringing our people to ridicule.

In 1999 you contested the AD senatorial election and you happened to be the only candidate that lost in the South-West. How did you get involved in the contest and what really happened?

Some of my friends wanted me to run for governorship of Ekiti in 1999. They felt that my contribution to the struggle was great and that I should run for governorship. As a matter of fact, they approached Chief Olu Falae and others that they should allow me to run for governorship but I objected to it. I said I am not going to run for governorship. After the governorship election, people now approached me from my area in Ekiti State and other places that I should run for Senate. So, I decided to put in for that.

I became the candidate of the party. And by the time we had election in February 1999, the AD succeeded in all senatorial districts in the South-West apart from my own senatorial district. In other words, we won all the elections apart from my own. I was the only one that lost.

Why? That is another matter. A lot of people knew about it and they have written about it and it was even a subject of enquiry in Afenifere. The leaders knew it and I believe all these things will come out in a book later. I lost the election and I came back to Lagos. It was sad because how could I be the only one that lost in the election when all my party members won. So, you see a misery. I was the only one that lost but I then decided that I was not going to give up.

In 2003 again, I ran for Senate. But you know that by 2003 we have lost a lot of ground in the South-West. The people who were put forward to be our flag

bearers and elected in 1999 were rejected because South-West people decided that they have not done well and we lost in the entire South-West apart from Lagos.

You also made attempts for the governorship?

I went for governorship in 2006 when they moved AD to Action Congress (AC).

But the forces in the party used their power to marginalise us. And when I saw that we have lost this battle, not just the primaries, but I know we have lost the battle for the soul of the party, so I joined the PDP. A lot of people said to me: ‘How could you do this? You are a progressive; National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere and National Publicity Secretary of AD and you now go to the PDP.’ To me, that was the best option.

How do you see that decision, was it painful to you?

It was painful to me. First because all the things we have worked for has finally collapsed; all the principles we have worked for collapsed. So, I felt bad for that reason and I saw Papa Abraham Adesanya and others became helpless. Papa was even sick and Bola Ige had died, nobody was there to challenge anybody.

Those old men were just marginalised.

That was painful to me. So, I decided to opt out when I knew I could no longer work within their system.

It was totally frustrating. So, I decided to move to PDP and then I convinced 13 other aspirants to move with me. We went to PDP and won the election. Of course, they went to court later and got judgement but I know that in 2007, Segun Oni won the election.

And of course when I got to PDP, the first thing was to offer me the ministerial nomination, which was very good. Let me tell you, while I was in AD with all my sacrifice, commitment and hard work, I had no government position. I was put in one of the most unimportant and very innocuous board of a company and the governor [Niyi Adebayo] then removed me after I had quarrel with him and then re-instated me after we settled again. People felt I should have even be a chairman of a bank.

The man that contested with me in the primaries in 1999, they made him chairman of the bank.

the PDP remains the best hope and God love this country and all our prayers are being answered.

You worked with former Governor Segun Oni and he is now in APC as the Deputy National Chairman...

Oni remains my very good friend, so I don’t want to comment on anything about him. He has his reasons for joining the APC but I don’t want to comment on it. My opinions he knows in private and as a friend, I won’t want to talk about that in public.

Do you see APC doing better if given the opportunity to rule Nigeria?

The APC will not do better. Let me start from there. If they are given opportunity, they will turn Nigeria into their private estate. Look at what they are doing in their various states. They talk of PDP people as greedy, who is greedier than the APC governors? That is the truth.

In fact, they will perform worst. In the SouthWest, compare the record of the APC with that of the PDP, put the record in Ekiti where I come from, put the record of Segun Oni, who

How would you compare PDP to your former party?

The PDP remains the party that is more liberal. The PDP is the party that can guarantee freedom more than any other party. Give it to any of these people and you will see the worse of dictatorship. We know it.

In their little corners, see the kind of dictatorship, we see everywhere. So,

The future of Nigeria is going to be bleak with APC in power because these people don’t mean well for the country; they like personal power, personal aggrandisement

have joined them now and against even Fayose, who was before them. Put down their records and let them stand side by side. These are people who don’t even care about improving what they met on ground. All their policies are to give impression of performance.

They are doing urban beautification, which they call urban renewal and rural areas are neglected, schools and hospitals are neglected but they are building cosmetic overhead bridges, expanding roads so that people would say the man is performing and he is doing well.

We have seen the APC governments in their states; they are not better than the PDP government. The PDP governors know nothing about propaganda. Look at a person like Segun Oni, he has great achievements. I will say that Segun Oni did very well as a PDP governor and this is a man that did not take a single kobo of the state’s money. In fact, he left the office of governor in penury, as a poor person.

He was PDP governor and under him there was free education, free health, employment and a lot of things were done. And this man was doing selfless service; he made no noise at all. Even if he was making noise, APC will not allow his voice to be heard, they will suppress it. So, you don’t even try it. But he did all that as a PDP governor. He may be in APC now; it is a PDP thing then. So, the APC is not better than the PDP. As far as I am concerned, PDP is a better performer than APC government.

So, what will happen in 2015?

In 2015, President Jonathan will win the APC hands down in the South-West, and he is going to win the presidential election. God loves this country and He knows that we need a person like Jonathan at this point in time, to stabilise this country and because Jonathan is so patriotic. I have worked with him for two months and I can see the zeal in him and this government has great achievements. So, President Jonathan will win the election in the entire country and in the South-West, he will win with landslide. The South-West people have no choice than to support Jonathan because the alternative is not there. Tell me, who is the alternative in APC among all those people who are parading themselves as presidential aspirants.

What of Buhari?

Buhari is a no-go area.

We were all here in 1983 when Buhari became Head of State and those of us that were active journalists then knew what he did in the Second Republic. Who were the victims of Buhari’s probe then? They were the UPN governors; people like Ambrose Alli, Adekunle Ajasin, those who did selfless service and did not build houses for themselves.

Ajasin continued to live in his old house in Owo, the same thing with Alli, who was a professor before he became governor. In fact, Alli before he died, they were contributing money for his medical bill. Buhari put all of them in jail; they developed sicknesses there and many of them died.

Buhari is not the best thing for Nigeria. You remember the case of

Adeyeye

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

16 INTERVIEW Eugene Odo, a lawyer, has been Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly for the past seven years. The third-term legislator is a contender for the Enugu State Government House. He speaks on the stability in the Assembly, impeachment of the deputy governor and why he wants to govern the state.

ONYEKACHI EZE reports

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Odo: Confrontation is not a viable legislative option

Enugu House of Assembly has witnessed unprecedented peace in the past seven years. What has been the secret?

First and foremost we were elected to represent the people. By the grace of God we’ve been able to discharge our responsibilities effectively. But the secret behind the success of our journey for the past seven years and three months now is that we have tried to work together as a team. The entire House members see themselves as a family. And for me there is no difference between Speaker and members. The position of a Speaker is merely first among equals. I don’t consider myself as a Speaker, I consider myself as a member of the House because any member of the House is eligible and qualified to be a Speaker. That level headedness among the principal officers working in tandem with our members has actually brought stability in the House.

Most importantly, we have equally worked to represent our people, we are not in the House to make trouble.

We were elected to make quality laws and motions to represent the people of Enugu State and that accordingly we are discharging.

You have broken the jinx as the first person to preside over the affairs of the Enugu State House of Assembly for two successive terms. How have you been able to enjoy the confidence of your colleagues all these years?

Well, the tenure is yet to finish. What we have actually done is to make sure that we are transparent. We give all our members access to my office and my private residence. Most decisions taken in the House of Assembly were taken collectively devoid of principal officers alone. Every member has a stake in what is happening in the House. What we’ve done is to engage ourselves constructively if we have issues to discuss. So, the secret behind our working together is that we have decided as a group to see ourselves as one. We have decided to remove the shackles of speakership, deputy speakership and majority leadership of the House to surrender ourselves to the people who elected us.

There has been cordial relationship between the legislature in Enugu State and the executive arm of government, and people believe it is affecting the independence of the House.

If there is any House of Assembly in the country that is independent, I think it is the Enugu State House of Assembly.

Most people have mistaken confrontational legislature as a viable legislature.

Confrontation is not a viable option.

What we do is that we relate with the executive constructively with a view to moving the state forward. What we have been doing in Enugu State is to make sure that most executive bills brought to the House were properly scrutinized, and amendments are normally made where necessary. It is a product of what came out of the public hearing, which we allow people to come and witness.

The relationship between the executive and legislature in Enugu State is more or less a mutual one. We have con-

Odo

fined our responsibilities to lawmaking; they have confined theirs to executing the laws made by the House of Assembly. That mutual respect has stimulated what we are witnessing in terms of infrastructure growth and general good governance and service delivery in Enugu State.

The disturbing issue which Nigerians want to know is the impeachment of deputy governor of Enugu State. People begin to wonder the excuse given; did it amount to an impeachable offence? How did the House arrive at the decision that the man has actually violated the law that warranted his impeachment?

Well, as a Speaker, I did not initiate impeachment. The procedures are very clear. Once one-third of members sign an impeachment notice it is served either to the governor or the deputy; whoever they want to impeach. And then, after replying and setting up panel, the House as well, will naturally, under the constitution, require two-thirds to remove the affected officeholder.

As a Speaker, I may not be in a position as a matter of fact, to give reasons as to why my colleagues served impeachment notice because mine is to cast a

We have confined our responsibilities to lawmaking; they have confined theirs to executing the laws made by the House of Assembly.

That mutual respect has stimulated what we are witnessing in terms of infrastructure growth and general good governance vote when there is a tie. The speaker is more or less an umpire, even in the deliberations of the House, be it motion, be it bill, unless there is an equality of votes then the speaker will then cast the vote to determine the winner.

For the past seven years, the House, in your estimation, has done very well. Can you give us some of the achievements recorded under your leadership?

The House of Assembly has essentially been alive to its responsibilities.

When we came in, we had to amend the hitherto Enugu State Environmental

Protection Agency law to ESWAMA (Enugu State Waste Management Agency) because we are trying to make sure that ESWAMA confines itself to solid waste (disposal). We have equally made a law setting up the Enugu State Capital Territory Ministry. This ministry has, as a matter of fact, done very well and made sure that people who are building houses in Enugu State conform to the laid down plans especially that of the Ministry of Town Planning. That has been in focus.

We have actually passed a lot of laws that are of high impact nature. Recently, there was a private member bill on Enugu State Investment Promotion Council that is capable of attracting investors to Enugu State. Even before I became a Speaker, I was able to sponsor a bill that prohibited the stigmatisation of people living with HIV and AIDS, which of course was signed into law by the former governor.

In a nutshell, we have passed over 30 bills between 2007 and now, and well over 117 motions to the glory of God and for the welfare of people of Enugu State.

Last year, Nigerians were worried when the governor travelled for a long time for medical treatment, and there was a near leadership vacuum. How were you able to manage the situation without crisis?

The noise about the governor’s travel was unfounded. The governor travelled CONTINUED ON PAGE 43

POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

17

Boko Haram, Ebola unite Senate In this piece, CHUKWU DAVID highlights how the threat and resilience of Boko Haram insurgency and the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) suppressed the usual dissenting voices among senators and uniting them in seeking solutions to the national emergencies

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ince the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the main opposition political party in the nation’s political scene, the pattern of politics in Nigeria has practically changed. Whether the type of opposition the APC presents conforms with the international standard practice or not in the estimation of right thinking citizens of the country is a different question. In the National Assembly, which is Nigeria’s apex parliament, the impact of the opposition has been obvious.

Both in the Senate and the House of Representatives, debates and contributions of members on issues of national importance, in most cases, started losing patriotic outlook and objectivity; while partisanship, ethnic slants and religious inclinations gained roots in the two legislative chambers. In some cases, the lawmakers latently brought these parochial influences to bear on their contributions, and in some occasions, expressly voiced their biases.

These divisive tendencies adversely hampered legislative functions of the Red Chamber.

For instance, at the inchoate stage of the activities of the Islamic militants in the North East, many legislators of northern origin in the two chambers publicly played politics with the issue.

That was why they initially opposed the idea of imposing a state of emergency on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

They also tried to justify the activities of the insurgents by blaming the menace on unemployment, injustice and what they usually described as general leadership failure in the country. Their biased disposition always reflected in their views and contributions to parliamentary debates.

The situation deteriorated during and after the defection era in the Upper Chamber. When the defection brouhaha rocked the Senate, some good bills, which if passed into law and implemented, would have catalysed national development, were killed as a result of the partisan views of some legislators.

Certain critical national issues, which would have attracted the sympathy and support of the lawmakers were thrown away. Public interest was sacrificed on the altar of selfish and sectional concerns.

Taking the issue of emergency rule in the North-East as a case study, when President Goodluck Jonathan brought a proposal to the National Assembly on May 13, requesting for approval to extend the state of emergency for six months, the request received stiff opposition from the Senate. Then, a careful observation of the pattern of reactions to the request from the legislators portrayed that the lawmakers were divided along sectional, party and religious lines.

A closer look at the behavioural tendencies of the politicians showed that most of the members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supported the initial imposition and subsequent extension of the martial rule by the Fed-

Senate in session

eral Government while the members of the APC opposed the idea and even castigated President Jonathan for it.

Playing politics with emergency rule Further examining the factor and impact of partisanship politics in the legislative work of the Senate, the PDP senators, especially from the South had to give their total support to most policies of the Federal Government because they knew that a failure in the system would be blamed on the incompetence of the party in power. Therefore, many of them naturally supported their party to succeed at all cost.

On the other hand, members of the opposition party were not favourably disposed to supporting the extension.

The national leadership of the party has been seen criticizing President Jonathan and the PDP for the lingering insurgency and other social vices in the country.

It was also observed that senators from North East and North West were most vehemently opposed to the proposal to extend the state of emergency in the affected states. They argued that for the fact that the military was unable to tackle insurgency and terrorism in the three states within 12 months was a proof that emergency rule was not the solution to the problem. They called for the suspension of the rule, and advised the Federal Government to look for other options to deal with the problem.

Religious factor The factor of religion appears to be the most critical, even though it is hardly mentioned by those who hinge their positions and campaigns on it while contributing on issues in the chamber.

Though they would not mention religion as the reason for their viewpoints, their body language usually betrayed their religious bias. A careful look at the handling of the emergency rule extension controversy also reveals that, while majority of those opposing the emergency were Muslims from the North, those who supported it were essentially Christians from either the North or South.

National emergencies as turning points However, it appears that the worsening socio-political malady confronting the nation via the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East and the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is proving to be a panacea for this trend of politicking in the Senate. What trans-

pired in most of the legislative activities of the Upper Chamber last week shows that the senators are on their way to jettisoning divisive and self-centred politics and are beginning to place national interest above self.

The EVD broke out while lawmakers were on an eight-week annual recess.

Hence, the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark mandated the Senate Committee on Health to collaborate with the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies to fashion out strategies on how to tackle the challenge.

Nigerians had become apprehensive that the contagious ailment erupted at the same time the Boko Haram insurgents intensified their terrorist activities in the North-East. The sect had resorted to capturing cities and villages and mounting their flags in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. Also, more worrisome was the rate at which the insurgents reportedly intimidated, disarmed and killed Nigerian soldiers, in addition to scores of innocent and helpless civilians being massacred wherever the sect launched their offensives.

When the Senate resumed plenary last week Tuesday, the lawmakers were practically overwhelmed by the increased activities of the Boko Haram Islamic sect and the concomitant threat to national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria. Accordingly, the Senate, through a motion brought to the floor of the Chamber by the Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba and 107 other co-sponsors, urged President Jonathan to declare a total war on the sect in the North East and any other parts of the country where they might exist.

The Senate also mandated its leadership and chairmen of relevant security committees to meet with President Jonathan and the leadership of the security agencies to find out the steps taken so far and further steps to be taken to provide a lasting solution to the alarming state of insecurity in the country.

It is, however, instructive to note that, before the senators made their resolutions on the security situation in the country, Mark had in his address to welcome his colleagues refreshed their mind on the needless heinous activities of Boko Haram and the need for Nigerians to unite and fight the battle.

reverse and held that there would be no dialogue with the terrorists until they were defeated by the federal might.

His words: “The escalation of violence and the heinous crimes daily perpetrated by insurgents and terrorists including the declaration of a Caliphate has reached alarming proportions.

Regrettably, the Boko Haram sect, these harbingers of death have become more emboldened and daring, killing innocent Nigerians and destroying property at will. From abductions, kidnappings and bombings, the situation has now degenerated to capturing and occupying some parts of Nigeria. In what is obviously intended to humiliate us as a sovereign nation and test our resolve, the terrorists have brazenly hoisted their flags to confirm their assault and affront on our collective will as a nation.

“I have consistently advocated dialogue as the needed panacea to this malaise. Sure, dialogue must not be ruled out but this time around, with this scale of warfare, we must first demonstrate our strength, confront and defeat these terrorists and insurgents before we resort to dialogue.

“This war has certainly come to our doorsteps. As Senators of the Federal Republic, destiny has entrusted us to be at the helm of affairs today. We must all rise to the current challenge. The government must be supported fully by this Senate to confront the challenge headon. Therefore, we must devise a better strategy to win this war at the earliest possible time. We must come out with clear, concise and unequivocal mission statement on how to win this war. As I have repeatedly said, we must as a matter of urgency, fish out the financiers of these terrorists and all collaborators wherever they are, and bring them to book. My appeal to you, my bosses, is to continue to provide the necessary legislative framework that is needed to win this war.

Mark opts for force against dialogue Mark, who had severally advocated for dialogue with the insurgents at the early stage of their attacks, now made a

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

Senators spoke in unison In their contributions to the motion, which was entitled, “threat to national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria by insurgents,” all the senators irrespective of party or religious inclinations, even those who were known to be antagonistic to Jonathan’s adminis-

More stories on Pages 40-43, 48

18

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

OPINION PDP and its ‘state of the states’tour Sufuyan Ojeifo

N

ational Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, on Sunday announced plans by the Publicity Directorate to take nation-wide tour of all projects executed by the PDP governments at the federal, state and local levels since 1999.

He rationalized the tour at a press conference in Abuja during which he harped on the imperativeness of adequately publicizing to the entire world key achievements that the PDP government has recorded in its 15 years of being in the saddled. Since the ultimate objective of the tour is to showcase the achievements of the PDP government, the enterprise should be seen as a welcome development by party members who are concerned about the under-reporting of the party, its government and achievements.

Against the backdrop of the popular axiom that “if one does not blow one’s trumpet, nobody will do it for one,” the PDP Publicity Directorate Tour, which has already begun, as at the time of writing this article, should have taken place long before now. But, as they say, “it is better late than never.”

For those who may not quite understand the shape of the tour and how it is different from the Good Governance Tour embarked upon by a team led by the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, in earlier part of this administration, the PDP Publicist said: “While the Good Governance Tour focused on the projects executed by the Federal Government under the current dispensation, the PDP Publicity Tour focuses on all projects executed by PDP-elected or appointed officials at the federal, state,

local government and ward levels since 1999.”

This, no doubt, is an ambitious enterprise. It is a huge task in which the Publicity Directorate Tour Team must invest quality time and sharp focus. It must muster the capacity to articulate, in lucid language and strategies through the various media, what the concrete achievements are, what the development situation is in the different sectors and states and what the situation was before the PDP-Government stepped in the saddle.

As the nation approaches another general election in 2015, the recurring question has always been: what has the PDP-Government achieved? Some even introduce an element of mischief into it, aimed at eroding the political footing of the PDP, by asking what the Party has done since 1999 to deserve being in power beyond May 29, 2015.

They seem to give the impression that, beyond Metuh’s celebratory declaration that the PDP has, for 15 years, continued to be the custodian of the sacred mandate freely given by Nigerians, there are no ample democracy dividends to match the number of years and the huge amount of money that had been spent, through budgetary allocations, for capital development.

The PDP Publicity Directorate Tour, according to Metuh, is a unique way of responding to the shenanigans of the opposition parties. According to him, “In the next couple of months, the Publicity Directorate will embark on a comprehensive nationwide PDP Performance Tour to visit and publicize all projects executed by all PDP elected and appointed officials at the federal, state and local government levels in all sectors of the economy since 1999, including constituency projects and interventions using special bodies such as NDDC, PTDF, SURE-P, etc.”

It will certainly excite members of the PDP who have

been worried about the negative profiling of their party by the opposition over the years to know what the PDP Publicity Directorate Tour Team intends to “recover” the projects executed by the PDP Government and return the credit to the party. Interestingly, attention is being paid to such states as Edo, Rivers, Nasarawa, Kano, Kwara and Sokoto, among others, where opposition parties controlling the mechanics of government are now laying claims to the projects executed by PDP Government.

The Tour Team will stretch itself to the limits by also keeping a tab on constituency projects by federal and state lawmakers, which were mobilized by the PDP-led Federal Government. Overall, the tour is expected to entail a comprehensive sector-by-sector appraisal of the performance of the PDP Government in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and the successes recorded in transforming the lives of citizens in the last 15 years of democracy.

Perhaps, what will be missing during the period of the tour are the brickbats that have for a long time characterized relationship between the PDP and the opposition.

The PDP Publicity Directorate, as understood, would no longer focus on replying to the opposition diatribes and, perhaps, propaganda. How then does the PDP intend to rebut possible falsehood against it by the opposition?

“Our answer to such is that we meet at the polls,” Metuh said. Well, it is difficult to place a bet on Metuh’s words as far responding to the opposition is concerned.

What is likely to happen is that he may find it necessary at some point to put the lie to the opposition’s claims.

• Ojeifo, journalist/publisher, wrote from Abuja.

Willie Obiano and the changing face of Awka (2) James Eze Continued from yesterday ix months down the road, no one is in doubt that Obiano has demonstrated his resolve to be the change he preaches. A few weeks after his inauguration, the governor had felt deeply dissatisfied with the nearpristine state of Awka. He had assembled some of the state’s most distinguished town planners, engineers and architects to work together as the new Board of the Awka Capital Development Authority and named Chike Egwuatu, a renowned architect and an indigene of Awka as the Chairman of the board. Egwuatu is known to have done a great job as the coordinating consultant for the Federal Capital Development Authority back in 2004. Setting the task for the 9-man Board, Chief Obiano showed them a picture of pre-transformation Dubai and a photograph of Dubai 13 years after transformation. He assured them that if the Arabs could turn a desert into a paradise, then, Ndi Anambra with all their gifts and talents could match or surpass that feat. He therefore charged them to dig deep into themselves and deploy their ingenuity create extra-ordinary designs that would stand Awka out among its peers.

Now, what is most fascinating about

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Awka is that long before the Awka Capital Development Authority Board could even produce the first draft of their designs, the town has commenced a gradual shedding of its old, bedraggled outlook. The massive work that is going on simultaneously in the locations designated for the three flyovers that governor Obiano had promised to build in Aroma, Amawbia and Kwata Junctions in the capital has turned Awka into a huge construction site. Yes, in six months, Willie Obiano has given Awka the look of a town in transmutation – the look it should have worn about 20 years ago when it assumed the status of the capital of an illustrious people. In areas where construction is not going on, Awka is fast getting familiar with its new skin – the street light sparkle into the night and more often than not, there is vehicular traffic to contend with at some major intersections. Work is progressing at a frenetic pace at the newly designated Three Arms Zone that will host all the organs of government. Sited on the rolling hills of Agu Awka, the Three Arms Zone looks majestically down on vast plain of splendid greenery, offering a breathtaking view that will tickle the senses of any tourist on completion.

Perhaps nothing can be more indicative of Awka’s strong aspiration to emerge from the cocoon of its old, quiescent self than the amazing return of nightlife. In

chasing kidnappers and violent criminals out of Anambra State, Willie Obiano has unwittingly opened the floodgates of a city lifestyle that was hitherto inconceivable in Awka. Like all go-go cities, Friday night comes wrapped in a rainbow for most residents of Awka. There is a certain libertine spirit that holds sway on Friday nights that shows Awka’s extra-ordinary abundance of beautiful women. A walk between the famous UNIZIK Junction and Aroma Junction in the early evening offers a rare peek into Awka’s treasure trove of delectable ladies. A typical Friday night begins slowly at the many bars that dot the landscape stretching from High Tension to UNIZIK Junction where night crawlers set the mood for the rest of the night with large glasses of beer. Close to midnight, the clubs explode into panoply of colours, inviting revelers from all corners with their assorted lights. Clubs like Gaga, Lounge 24 and Cofi hold things down like their contemporaries elsewhere in the world.

A friend who went on a recent night out was surprised to see that Cofi was packed so full that there was not enough space for people to dance freely. He stepped out in frustration and saw a long queue of flashy cars packed with fun-lovers heading to the same club. The open bars are just as busy with people thronging popular spots where delicious barbecued fish sizzle on the fire.

Hotels in Awka are usually out of space on weekends as fun-lovers storm the town from neighbouring Onitsha and Nnewi to indulge in Awka’s new found freedom and assorted pleasurable offerings. The population is also boosted by indigenes visiting from all over the world who now feel safe enough to come home to marry and be given out in marriage and to participate in major cultural festivals like Ofala, Igu Aro, Nwafor, Iri Ji, Afiolu and a host of others. It is now common place for people to sit out in their gardens and relish the taste of Oh-Mpa (Hero) or any of their favourite beer and take a long drag at their cigarettes and exhale in the open air of Awka’s new freedom. The fear of kidnappers and armed robbers that had denied the people the joys of re-uniting with their families and communities at such moments has ended with Obiano’s clinical approach to crime-fighting.

In all, the changing face of Awka is a fascinating narrative that underscores the constancy of motion; the fact that everything eventually changes with time. But it is also a story of courage and determination – a testimony that when leadership is focused, resolute and committed, no challenge is insurmountable. Above all, it is the story of Willie Obiano’s six months in office as the governor of Anambra State.

• Eze writes from Ifite, Awka.

EDITORIAL

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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Lessons from International Day for Democracy

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he ultimate goal of democracy is to preserve and promote the dignity and fundamental rights of the individual, achieve social cohesion and justice and foster economic and social development to ensure social stability and well-being. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly resolved to observe September 15 as the International Day of Democracy—with the purpose of promoting and upholding the principles of democracy—and invited all member states and organizations to commemorate the day in a manner that contributes to raising public awareness. The preamble of the resolution affirmed that “while democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy and that democracy does not belong to any country or region...democracy is a universal value based on the freelyexpressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life.”

This year’s theme - Engaging Young People on Democracy - highlights the challenges and opportunities of young people engaging in democratic processes. People between the ages of 15 and 25 constitute a fifth of the world’s population. In many developing countries, the proportion is even higher, with the majority of

young people today living in low and middle-income countries. Yet, study after study shows declining faith among young people in politics as we know it, with decreasing levels of participation in elections, political parties and traditional social organizations across the world. This applies to both established and emerging democracies. At the same time, informal, youth-led movements for democratic change are on the rise in a number of countries – including in fragile states.

Using new communication channels in social networks, young people are making their mark on democracybuilding in untraditional ways.

The word “Governance” appears frequently these days in the discourse of aid agencies, civil society groups and government at all levels. Governance in a societal youth development context means to engage with the authority in the conduct of policy and affairs of the organization or society to which one belongs or is part of.

The idea of youth participation has become a popular part of contemporary political talk in every part of the world except Nigeria where youth participation in governance seems often to end at the polls and during electioneering campaigns where they are used as muscle men.

There is need to challenge some of these bad practices among some of our politicians in the interest of our

society. The institute for youth, education and families states that “Nothing is more important to the health of our democracy than the active engagement of young people in representative government.” If we concur with this statement, youths are important agents of social and economic transformation. Therefore, there is the need to demonstrate commitment to addressing the problem of youth marginalization in our country.

Opportunities should be provided for youths to be a voice in the nation’s decision making process, which will help to develop the skills and knowledge required to be effective and confident leaders. Enhanced youth participation is now advocated in the western world as part of a discourse about modern citizenship. Indeed, it has become a cliché to say that increased youth participation will empower young people, help build the society and remedy a range of social problems.

Nevertheless, it is argued that government’s enthusiasm for youth participation is problematic for some reasons. First, it fails to recognize the significant obstacles that young people currently experience when trying to participate socially, economically and politically. Secondly, there is failure to think through what democratic practice requires. Thirdly, both the conceptualization and operationaliza-

tion of official youth participation are at odds with the rhetoric of democratic participation.

This raises questions about whose voice is actually being heard and to what effect. Youths are basically an indispensable integral part of the society, so issues affecting them should not be ignored. They should not be seen as problems to be fixed because if they are involved in decision-making and governance through socio-economic empowerment, they become assets and resources to the government and nation at large in proffering lasting solutions to societal ills, thereby creating positive social change in our society. The question now is, has the Nigerian government taken adequate measures to address youth matters?

The government should explore ways to have youths between 18 and 35 on various advisory boards, commissions, ministries and as representatives at councils while creating commissions or boards to adsice councils on matters related to youths.

The youths represent the strength of every nation. Therefore, it is important that today’s youth be encouraged to take interest in governmentdecision making activities and that opportunities be created to foster civic participation by young people. It is only when this done that democracy can have real meaning to the people in our clime.

MANAGING DIRECTOR/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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20

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

LITERATURE

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“THE DIFFICULTY OF LITERATURE IS NOT TO WRITE, BUT TO WRITE WHAT YOU MEAN.” ―- ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

TONY OKUYEME

tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com okuyemeogom@yahoo.com

Revisiting raging national question through fiction Title: Blast from the Past-Aftershocks of the Nigeria Civil War Author: Ukoha Kalu Publisher: Xlibris Publishing Company Number of pages: 347 Reviewer: Tony Iyare

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s a contribution to the growing number of literature on the 30 month old Nigerian Civil War, this compelling book titled Blast from the Past-Aftershocks of the Nigeria civil war by my colleague, friend and brother, Ukoha Kalu is a refreshing and interesting fictional prose account of a war that underscore the raging national question in the world’s largest Black nation that was cobbled together by Lord Luggard exactly 100 years ago.

This book is being launched against the backdrop of the recently concluded referendum in Scotland which has rekindled interest on how to effectively manage separatist agitations in different parts of the world. We need to thank the writer for renewing our thoughts on this pertinent issue and thrusting it to front burner.

But the question will be why do a fiction of a living story. When an acclaimed columnist and former Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, Mr Ray Ekpu was once confronted on why he does not write fiction, his response was that he does not see the essence of writing fiction when all the social and political issues are alive and raging around us.

Many may also wonder why Ukoha Kalu opted to do a fictional prose account of the Civil War with fictional characters when the crises of the national question that led to the Civil War are still alive and raging around us.

Some are yet to resolve whether Biafra was a national or secessionist question.

More than 40 years after the Civil War, the country’s political plain is still awash with different groups professing disparate ideas and angling for either confederation or a total breakup of the Nigerian space.

As much as we pretend that everything is fine, we are daily confronted with these rhetorical questions some of which are posed by the writer. With the heightening level of religious and ethnic bigotrytribalism, statism and corruption, can we safely say the Civil War has ended in Nigeria? How effectively have we dealt with growing inter and intra-regional struggle for primacy and pre-eminence?

With rising agitations for independence by Scotland, Wales, Quibec, Tibet and other parts of the world, can we afford to sweep the raging agitations for devolution of power in Nigeria under the carpet and simply continue to govern ourselves the old way? Have we fully come to terms with inter and intra nationalities dialogue

In a rather lucid account, the writer seeks to strike a chord and symmetry between literary form and content, making it a compelling read... amongst the different peoples in Nigeria?

Why have we opted to govern a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country along a unitary path, clearly away from the federalist vision of our founding fathers?

The outcome of the recent referendum in Scotland cannot be simplistically reduced to a triumph of the No vote but underscores the expediency of devolution of powers. With a 55% to 45% close shave between the Yes and No vote, it is clear that Scotland cannot be governed the old way.

If Scotland that has been in a 307 years union with United Kingdom did a referendum on independence, why have we prevented same in Nigeria? If a little over five million people are allowed to conduct referendum for independence, why have we denied same for the Igbo or Yoruba ethnic nationalities who together must be close to 70 million people? Even the Ijaw

that are smaller in population are much bigger than 50 nations that are members of the UN. Can we say we have learnt anything from Biafra? In what way have we managed disparate agitations for self-determination in different parts of Nigeria? The issues around the Civil War is alive around us. The curtain was lowered only recently for some of the dramatis personae of the Civil War like Biafran leader, Gen Odimegbu Ojukwu who died a year ago, Brigadier General Benjamin Adekunle, commander of the 3rd Marine Commando who died last week, while Major General Mohammed Shuwa who commanded the northern sector of the war was cut down recently in the Boko Haram offensive in Maiduguri.

From Frederick Foresyth to Chimamanda Adichie and Ukoha Kalu, different writers of the Biafran story have sought to express their literary license and freedom.

We cannot therefore fault Kalu for opting for a fictional prose style.

Some writers opt for a rather pedantic and turgid style or what is sometimes perceived as a riot of form and content and do not see the need to weave their account in such a way to deeply sustain the interest of the readers.

This book printed in the United States by a frontline outfit, Xlibris Publishing Company and with a design that read-

ily complements the subject is different.

The draft also had the benefit of passing through the editing rigours of Dr Chidi Amuta, one of the country’s most distinguished scholars of Sociology of Literature.

In a rather lucid account, the writer seeks to strike a chord and symmetry between literary form and content, making it a compelling read not only for further discourse of the Civil War but also for literary appreciation.

From how many survived by eating human parts to being sodomised by persons much older, Kalu sought to paint the dark sides of a war that pushed many in the defunct Eastern region to live in conditions worse than the pristine condition of the early man as they battle for survival.

And before we began to resort to narrow and parochial ethnic shells, he told the story of how Nigerians lived in settings which threw up polyglots as they picked up several languages spoken in their respective neighbourhoods raising a poser as to whether that Nigeria is still possible.

This is depicted by the writer as he explained how the “unadulterated” Igbo mother of his fictional character was at ease with exhaustive conversations in Hausa and easily switched into Efik or Yoruba depending on whom she was holding court with.

So from a pan-Nigerian setting we’ve all receded into our cocoon ethnic shells which has arrested national development and dimmed the vision of our forebears.

Perhaps the inability to foist a genuine and admirable national essence is a bi-product of the successor cyclical and near rudderless and marauding elite, which have not given much to cheer since after replacing the first generation elite.

In spite of the immense human and material resources, Nigeria’s level of development remains abysmal as it is ranked 152 out of 189 countries in the current United Nations Human Development Report.

Countries like India, Singapore, Brazil and Malaysia that were at per at independence are now light years ahead of Nigeria.

Average Life Expectancy still hovers around 43 years while mortality rates for children and their mothers remains one of the highest per thousand in the world.

Meeting the different indices of the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) by 2015 remains a mirage.

As a reviewer, I’ve not attempted to regurgitate everything said in the 347 page book but to whet your appetite about the need to read it as part of the compendium of the growing story of the Nigerian Civil War. It is my view that all those who yearn for a new Nigeria should indeed get a copy of this book.

•Tony Iyare is a journalist and development consultant.

E-mail: ehiame2009@gmail.com or ehiameton@yahoo.co.uk

TETFund laments rotten N15b equipment in schools

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EDUCATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

ANXIETY

Anxiety over the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has continued to taunt the nation’s education system, with the postponement of resumption date by almost a month

Encomiums as Azikwe varsity inducts 72 medical graduates

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New Telegraph

newtelegraphonline.com/education

KAYODE OLANREWAJU, Editor, EDUCATION

kayode.olanrewaju@ newtelegraphonline.com kayolanre@gmail.com 08037127417

School resumption: Anxiety over Ebola mounts

Mojeed Alabi

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his is not the best time for Nigeria’s education system.

There is palpable instability in the sector.

No thanks to the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) that has thrown the sector and the country into disarray since July, when it first reared its head in the country through the Liberian-American, late Patrick Sawyer, who brought the disease to the country.

Since the outbreak of the disease in Lagos and later in Port Harcourt, neither the country nor the education sector has known peace.

The resumption date for public and private primary and secondary schools across the country, earlier scheduled for September 15, had since been put on hold, following the directive from the Federal Government that all public and private primary and secondary schools should suspend their resumption.

The government also directed that all summer school programmes and holiday coaching classes should be cancelled till further notice.

The action, according to the government, is to allow the country contain the spread of the disease.

Following the immediate closure of the school system, the Federal Government through the Minister of Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu, few weeks ago, announced Monday September 22, as the new resumption date and directed all primary and secondary schools to resume.

He said the country had contained the spread of the Ebola virus, citing the fact that all cases of the disease had been overcome while those under investigation in various Quarantine Centres had been discharged.

But, the new resumption date and action of the Federal Government did not go down well with other stakeholders in the sector including the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the teachers under their umbrella union, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and parents, who kicked against the resumption date.

Following the controversy trailing the September 22 re-

Some pupils of King's College, Lagos who were sent back home on Monday

sumption date, the NUT ordered its members in public schools not to resume over the outbreak of Ebola, except the government at all levels provide sanitisers and other EVD prevention materials to public and private schools to allay the fears of parents ahead Monday’s resumption date.

Besides, before the recent

challenges posed by the Ebola Virus Disease things could not be said to have been right with the nation’s school system, as prolonged industrial action, lack of infrastructure, poor funding, among numerous others, had characterised the sector.

With the new dimension added to the myriad of challenges

facing the sector by the dreaded Ebola virus, the school's academic calendar has been totally disrupted.

However, in spite of the directive by the Federal Government that all public primary and secondary schools nationwide should resume academic activities on Monday following assurances by stakeholders that Nige-

Methodist Boys School screens pupils, shifts resumption date n compliance with the Lagos Iand State directive that all public private primary and sec-

ondary schools should no longer resume on September 22, as earlier directed, Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, which resumed for the new school year on Sunday, has suspended its resumption.

The Principal, Reverend Adebayo Okunoren, on Monday alerted parents, who had earlier taken their children to the school for resumption to come and pick them.

He said this was in line with the directive of the Lagos State Government that all schools should remain closed till Wednesday, October 8 as part of measures to ensure total sanity in schools.

The school, according to its spokesman, Mr. Olorunfemi Olayinka, will now resume on October 8 as ordered by the state government.

He blamed the education planners for not the putting into consideration the public holidays

Rev. Okunoren

before announcing September 22 as resumption date.

Olayinka, who hinted that though the school opened on Sunday, pointed out that all the pupils who reported to school as well as their parents had their temperature measured to ascertain their health condition.

Apart from this, he said sanitisers were provided at the point of entry into the school compound for the pupils, while

washing hand kits were provided at four locations within the school premises.

According to a parent, "the temperature of parents and pupils was also taken by medical personnel before parents were allowed to take vouchers to the cashier's office to pay their children’s fees.”

He said that hostels, classrooms and teachers' offices were also sanitized to make the school environment more conducive for learning.

The pupils, it was gathered were not allowed to enter the school with their personal water, as water had already been provided by the management.

However, visit by New Telegraph to some private schools in Lagos on Monday revealed that parents who had taken their children to schools were sent back.

Many private schools, following the directive of the state government did not open on Monday, as they have shifted their resumption date to October 8.

ria is free of EVD threat, each of the 36 states of the federation has chosen when the pupils will return to classrooms based on their convenience, setting aside the Federal Government’s directive.

In view of this contradiction, the states have chosen between October 6 and 13 for their schools’ resumption date.

For instance, while Niger and Kwara States have chosen Friday October 10, others including Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ogun States have announced Monday, October 6.

In its last minute order, the Lagos State Government on Sunday rescinded its earlier decision that schools in Lagos State should resume on September 22, owing to the state’s wing of NUT insistence that teachers in public schools would not resume as ordered by the state government. The state has now chosen Wednesday October 8 as new resumption date for its schools.

The NUT National President, Comrade Michael Alogba-Olukoya, in his directive had insisted that adequate protective measures against the spread of EVD should be taken before resumption, such as provision of sanitisers, water, washing hand kits and thermometer in all schools.

At the NUT National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Tuesday, the union concluded that as long as the teachers are satisfied with the sanitary CONTI NUED ON PAGE 22

22 EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Schools fix diferent resumption dates CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 1

situation in their schools, they could resume, but warned that excuses would not be taken for any circumstantial problem.

Olukoya had lamented that public schools across the country lack even the most basic hygiene properties, and have remained in the same state since schools went on vacation, despite contrary claims by government officials that the situation had been improved.

He had described, as unfair attempts to tag the union as a group that does not care for the welfare of the country, insisting that the union is a critical stakeholder in Nigeria’s development.

He said: “But where the Federal Government insists on the September 22 date in spite of the wise counsel, the union will rather direct teachers to resume whenever they are sufficiently trained and their schools have been provided with basic sanitary facilities.

Anything short of that the schools would remain under lock and key.”

Relying on this NUT NEC decision, the teachers in various states have concluded plans not to resume especially in states such as Kano, Ekiti, Lagos, Enugu, Cross River and Rivers among others.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the National Parent Teachers’ Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) advised the concerned parties to sheath their swords and allow the resumption order by the Federal Government to stand.

According to the association, the umbrella body of parentteachers association, said the longer the pupils stay at home, the unhealthier for the education sector.

Its National President, Alhaji Babs Animashaun, in an interview with New Telegraph, said the country’s school system had suffered so much, that it should not be allowed to experience another round of avoidable disruption.

But in his reaction to the demands, Animashaun, who revealed that his association had

Hand washing facilities at the Methodist Boys High School, Lagos

Shekarau, Education Minister

engaged the concerned parties, especially the government and the teachers behind the scene on the need to reach a middle ground, said the teachers were right making the demands, but that all the conditions could not be met at once.

Prior to the last minute change of mind by the Lagos State Government to reverse schools’ resumption to October 8, the Chairman of the state’s chapter of NUT, Mr. Segun Raheem had vowed that none of his colleagues would resume on September 22.

According to Raheem, in spite of the ample time given the state government to make

provision for the required items, the authorities have failed to meet the teachers’ demands and would therefore not be risking the life of the pupils and the teachers to forcefully resume.

He said: “As at this evening, the Governor of Lagos State is yet to make available the necessary items that will guarantee smooth academic activities in schools and as such, the teachers in Lagos State have decided not to resume to schools, and we would be committed to this vow until the situation improves.”

As part of moves to ensure the containment of the spread of Ebola in schools, the safety gadgets agreed by the Federal Government and states’ Commissioners for Education to provide in schools include: hand gloves, sanitizers, thermoscans, running water, enlightenment of the school community, among others.

On the readiness of Lagos State to provide prevention materials in schools, the Governor, Babatunde Fashola said at a meeting with teachers and their union leaders in Ikeja on Sunday: “My proposal is that the teachers, headmasters and principals should go to their various schools tomorrow (last Monday) and sort out whatever

Fashola

is missing in the prescribed Ebola preventive facilities.”

In Ondo State, the government said it had since commenced the distribution of the EVD prevention materials to public schools to allay the fears of parents, pupils and teachers.

Also, the Enugu State in conjunction with UNICEF, said it had taken measures to check the spread of the disease by training teachers on strategies for control and prevention of the dreaded disease.

Last week, as part of Rivers State moves to contain the spread of Ebola Virus Disease, the state government organised a one-day training and

sensitisation programme for teachers and school administrators in public and private schools in the state.

The programme, facilitated by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Health was to sensitise the teachers ahead of the school resumption for the 2014/15 academic session.

According to the Ministry, the essence of the programme is to prevent the spread of the disease in the state.

But, a section of the stakeholders has described the insistence of NUT not to resume school as ill-conceived.

They expressed worries that regardless of where schools are located and who the teachers are, the pupils would eventually be tested by the same external examination bodies and also at the same time.

Their concern may not have been unconnected with the poor academic performance in external examinations by the secondary school students nationwide, especially in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO).

The National Association of Private School Proprietors (NAPPS), South-West chapter, condemned the postponement, arguing that primary and secondary schools in Lagos and Ondo States are free to resume.

The association berated Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Ekiti states for postponing resumption date till October 6 and 8.

Flaying the position of the stakeholders, the teachers argued that “of what benefit is the learning that takes place in an atmosphere of fear, where teachers and their pupils are unsure of their safety?”

Animashaun, who said NUT was right in its demands, noted: “They have a case with their requests but at the same time most of the demands in terms of running water in all the schools may take some time but the government is considering other palliative measures to address the issue.”

Plateau to close down 618 illegal schools, says Commissioner Musa Pam Jos

plans by the Plateau State IthefGovernment see the light of day, some owners and pro-

prietors of private schools in the state will soon be out of business.

The state Education Ministry has concluded arrangements to close down 618 illegal private schools operating in the state.

Unfolding the government’s plan, the Education Commissioner, Dr. Nanle Dashen told the New Telegraph in Jos, that the action was part of efforts at ensuring high standard and quality education in the state.

According to him, the administration of Governor Jonah Jang is putting all necessary steps to rid the state of all illegal private schools op-

erating without the approval of the ministry.

"The ministry is working tirelessly to ensure the state is free of such menace. The state plans to put in place a comprehensive data base of all the private schools in the state, and to also build schools of higher standard with qualified teachers. Towards this end, the ministry has put in place efforts to fish out private schools that are operating illegally."

He said already about 10 schools have been approved so far in the ongoing screening exercise, adding that these schools shall undergo re-accreditation, that will be a continuous process to ensure the required minimum standard in the state’s education sector.

He further explained that the management had commenced the issuance of sanc-

Gov. Jang

tion letters to private schools operating illegally to avail themselves the opportunity to be accredited or be sanctioned.

Dashen advised private schools proprietors that have

breached the rules and procedures of running schools in the state and who have not registered, to do so as soon as possible by obtaining the approval to operate or have their structures destroyed and arrested.

However, as schools reopens for the new session, the Commissioner said the state had made adequate arrangements to prevent the outbreak and contain the spread of Ebola virus in any institution in the state.

According to him, no fewer than two members of staff each from private and public schools in the state had been trained to test the students of Ebola on their resumption in order to determine whether or not they are fit to remain in the hostel.

He noted that already ther-

mometers had been provided and distributed to all primary and secondary schools, adding that any child with high temperature or fever need not bother to resume school, but to remain at home until they have completely recovered.

The Commissioner explained that in order to ensure proper hygiene among the pupils in schools, a proper hand washing culture is to be introduced while hygiene clubs would be re-visited by the government in schools.

On whether it is compulsory for parents to provide their wards with hand sanitizer as they return to school, Dashen said parents who could afford it could provide such for their children and wards, otherwise soap which is cheaper and affordable would be provided in the schools.

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Rivers sensitises, trains teachers on Ebola

EDUCATION

23

Govt College, Ughelli old boys get Ancient Mariners award Gabriel Choba UGHELLI

ld Boys Association of GovODelta ernment College, Ughelli, State, has bestowed the

Cross section of participants at the programme

A

s part of moves to contain the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the Rivers State Government, last week, organised a oneday training and sensitisation programme for teachers and school administrators in public and private schools in the state.

The programme was organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to sensitise the teachers ahead of the school resumption for the 2014/15 academic session.

According to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Minabelem Michael West, the essence of the programme is to prevent the spread of the disease in the state.

While insisting that the state government placed much value on education and would do everything to protect it, West said that the children's health would not be compromised.

He hinted that the ministry would ensure that adequate measures were put in place to stop Ebola from being spread

to any of the schools.

He noted that officials of the ministry of health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) would continue the training in the three senatorial districts of the state with a view to containing the Ebola in Rivers State.

The Chief Educator, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr. Doris Nria recalled how Ebola virus was brought to the country by the late Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, saying the haemorrhagic fever could be spread through human to human contacts, and by coming in contact with infected animals, as well as by coming in contact with the semen, urine, faeces and blood of infected person.

On the prevention measures to be adopted in the schools, Dr Nria insisted on regular washing of hands with soap and clean water, while calling on principals to ensure regular supply of water in their schools.

She, however, demonstrated how to wash the hands with soap and water, how to put on

the personal protective equipment (PPE), and use the thermometers.

The medical doctor, who advised the teachers on the need to report any suspected case of Ebola symptoms to the nearest health centre or the State Ebola Emergency Centre, listed some of the symptoms of the disease to include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pains.

The World Health Organization official, Dr. Gaya Gamhewage commended the Rivers State Government and Federal Ministry of Health for their response in containing the disease, saying that the government’s efforts has proved that Nigeria can nip in the bud any challenges that comes its way.

She advised the people to always adhere to and maintain proper personal hygiene as part of ways to contain the disease.

The state’s House of Assembly Chairman, House Committee on Education, Mr. Augustine Ngo lauded the Ministry of Education for organising

TETFund laments rot of N15b equipment in schools Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

E

xecutive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Professor Suleiman Bogoro, has expressed concern over the failure of many technical institutions in the country to utilize equipment provided through N15.3 billion intervention funds allocated to them since 2011.

Bogoro, who expressed the worry during a capacity-building workshop for Laboratory Technologists in tertiary institutions at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Kwara State, said TETFund was fully committed to the delivery of high quality and forward looking interventions for the education development of the country.

The theme of the capacitybuilding workshop was: “Enhancing the Capacity and Productivity of Technician/ Technologists.”

The Executive Secretary, who was represented by Mr. Oniyangi Abdulmumin, explained that the workshop was organised to create an avenue for interaction between the management of the Fund and Laboratory Technologists of the benefiting institutions. According to him, the workshop was imperative in view of the observations about the utilization of the equipment procured through the N15.3 billion funding window.

He said: “Some of the equipment have not been installed, while others are either underutilised or are not being properly maintained by the respective

Bogoro

benefiting institutions due to the lack of training of laboratory technologists. This makes it imperative for the Fund to design adequate strategies to ensure that the equipment procured are fully utilised and properly maintained.”

Bogoro called on stakeholders in the education sector to sustain their collaboration with

the training, even as he explained that the sensitisation and training exercise would go a long way in assisting the teachers to be fully abreast of the Ebola virus.

To this end, he advised the state government to extend the resumption date for schools till when it must have completed the training and sensitisation on the EVD in the three senatorial districts of the state.

The President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private School (NAPPS), Mr. Victor Green expressed happiness over the training for teachers and school proprietors, stressing that NAPPS as a stakeholder in the education sector, would assist the state in ensuring it is free from Ebola.

He hinted that the association would ensure that private school owners maintain total cleanliness in their schools in order to ensure that the disease is totally contained.

Some participants spoke glowingly about the exercise and praised the government for being proactive in the fight against Ebola virus. the TETFund with a view to ensuring the development of the required high quality manpower to drive the nation's economy towards the attainment of the goals of Education for All (EFA) and the Vision 20:2020.

According to him, the workshop was organised to, among others, increase the efficiency of technicians; address problems encountered with installation and maintenance of the equipment procured, and ensure that equipment procured through TETFund interventions are fully utilised.

Other objectives of the programme, according to him, are to ensure proper maintenance of the equipment; and to bring technologists up-to-date in modern technology.

“It is important to note that TETFund is greatly interested in ensuring the transformation of the education sector, in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government,” he said.

award of ‘Ancient Mariners’ on immediate past President of the home branch of the association, Dr. G. U KaghoOmomadia, and the Very Reverend S. U Erivwo, a Professor.

While conferring the award on the recipients in Ughelli, the President of the home branch, Lord Mayor J. H Tagar explained that the award was designed for old boys of the college who have successfully attained 55 years from the day of their entry into the school.

Tagar, who congratulated the recipients, expressed optimism that the skills and knowledge they had gained would enhance their competence and enable them provide value added services to their alma mater.

He added that their induction as Ancient Mariners had imposed on them the challenges of having to henceforth, stand tall in integrity and uphold high ethical and moral standards.

While urging the recipients to strive at all times to do their alma mater and humanity proud, he maintained that their present rank “is not limited to the college alone, as the school has imbued in them exemplary conduct and success in private sector as well as in other fields of endeavour.”

Tagar added: “The knowledge acquired at Government College, Ughelli has positioned them to be gainfully excelled in any sector of the economy in the world. In this respect, I am delighted to note that the two accomplished ‘Ancient Mariners’ that have honoured our invitation today, have been successful in their chosen fields since leaving our great college.”

According to him, the association had in the past few years, been benchmarked with some of the most successful global associations in the world.

“Your alma mater has been able to turn around its fortunes in infrastructural development, academics and sports in the last few years comparable to the best known schools in the world, thus providing a conducive learning environment for the students,” he stressed.

In this regard, Tagar recalled that the National Executive Council of the association had at one of its meeting approved the framework for the award of the rank of Ancient Mariner to deserving old boys.

In their remarks, the duo of Dr. Kagho-Omomadia, and Prof. Erivwo expressed gratitude to the association and enjoined the young members to contribute meaningfully towards lifting the association to greater heights.

24 EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

US schools to have non-white majority

T

he school population figures show a demographic milestone in the United States.

White pupils in state schools in the US are set to be in the minority for the first time when schools return for the new term.

According to official forecasts, enrolments for the 2014/2015 school year will mark the threshold when ethnic minorities become the majority.

This demographic shift has been driven by rising numbers of Hispanic pupils.

Figures gathered by the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, recorded the number of pupils in the state school system across the United States - and it publishes forecasts of enrolments in the years ahead.

As a population shifts, the figures show a steady decline in the number of white pupils since the mid-1990s and a broadly stable number of black pupils, but a sharply rising number of pupils identified as Hispanic.

The school figures show the number of Hispanic pupils has more than doubled over the past two decades and is projected to continue rising in the next decade.

It means that in autumn 2014, the proportion of white pupils is expected to have fallen marginally below 50 per cent for the first time, with about 26 per cent of Hispanic pupils and 15 per cent black.

Obama

There are also smaller ethnic groups of Asian pupils, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. Fewer than three per cent are identified as mixed race.

The figures show how the increase in the Hispanic population has changed the demography of the school population, rising from 14 per cent of pupils in the mid-1990s and forecast to reach 30 per cent by the mid2020s.

In the mid-1990s, white pupils represented almost 65 per cent of pupils in the US state school system, while the projections show that by the mid-2020s that

figure will rise to about 45 per cent.

But the Pew Research Centre, which analyses public policy and social trends, has highlighted how there is a very different pattern in private schools, with a high proportion of white pupils. About one in 10 pupils attends a private school.

There have also been questions raised about the use in education of the term ethnic "minority", when there is no longer a majority ethnic group within the school population.

• Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

‘The most educated countries in the world’

M

ore people access higher education today than ever before. One in three adults in developed countries held a college degree in 2012, a substantial increase from 2000, when just over one in five had attained such qualifications.

According to data recently released by the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD), more than half of Russian adults held tertiary degrees in 2012 - the equivalent of college degree in the United States - more than in any other country reviewed.

Meanwhile, less than four per cent of Chinese adults had tertiary qualifications in 2012, less than in any other country.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 countries with the highest proportion of adults holding a college degree.

The most educated populations tend to be in countries where tertiary education spending is among the highest.

Tertiary education spending in six of the most educated countries was higher than the OECD average of $13,957, as the spending on tertiary education in the United States, for example, was $26,021 per student, by far the most in the world.

According to Andreas Schleicher, director for education skills at the OECD, education in the U.S. has become much more expensive, and student debt burdens have reached troubling levels in recent years.

Despite these facts, it is still considered a good investment, as U.S. residents with higher degrees earn substantially more than their less educated peers.

It is also a worthwhile investment for the government, Schleicher explained, adding that "taxpayers in the U.S get $200,000 more out of every graduate than what they actually invested, so it's a good business for the government as well."

Despite the value of investing in education, there are exceptions. Korea and the Russian Federation both spent less than $10,000 on tertiary education per student in 2011, considerably lower than the OECD average. Yet, they still have among the most educated populations.

Qualifications do not always translate into stronger skills.

While only one in four of United States’ college graduates reach the top-end of literacy skill, more than 35 per cent reach that level in Finland, Japan, and the Netherlands.

Schleicher explained: "We typically describe people by their formal qualifications, but this data suggests that the skill value of formal qualifications vary considerably across countries."

Nevertheless, countries with strong higher education systems tend to have higher levels of advanced skills. Roughly 12 per cent of adults across the OECD performed at the highest literacy proficiency level in 2012. The percentage of adults performing at the highest literacy level exceeded that figure in five of the most educated countries.

Those higher skills may be paying off for residents. Only Ireland had an unemployment rate higher than the OECD rate of 7.5 per cent in 2012.

SCHOLARSHIPS/FELLOWSHIP/AWARDS Type

Institutions

Research Scholarship

University of Adelaide, Aus- Six weeks tralia

Duration

Eligibility

No of Awards

Period

Course

International Students

60

2014/2015

Under-gradu- Oct 10, 2014 ates

Deadline

Assured Scholarship

Texas State University, USA.

4 years

International Students

Not known

2015/2016

Under-graduate Dec. 15, 2014

SINGA PhD Awards

Singaporean Universities

4 years

International Students

240

2015

PhD

Jan. 1, 2015

Oxford-Radcliffe Scholarship

Oxford University, UK

Not Stated

International Sstudents

12

2015/2016

PhD

Jan 23, 2015

International Student Scholarship

Australian Catholic Universi- Not Stated ties

International Students

20

2015

Under-graduate Sept 30, 2014

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship

USA Universities

6 months

International Students

Not Known

2014/2015

Under-graduate Varies

CASVA Visiting Senior Fellowship

National Gallery of Arts, USA

2 months

International PhD Stu- 12 dents

2015/2016

R e s e a r c h e r/ Sept 21, 2014 PhD

Fulbright Award

London School of Economics, Not stated UK

International Students

Not Known

2015/2015

Masters

Full Free Scholarship

University of Westminster, UK Not Known

International Students

Not Known

2015

Under-gradu- Oct 17, 2014 ates/ Masters

Reach Oxford Scholarship

UK Universities

3-4 years

International Students

Not Known

2015

Under-gradu- Oct. 15, 2014 ates

5 years

International Research 12 Fellows

2014/2015

PhD Research Sept 25, 2014 Fellows

Nigerian Graduates with Not Known First Class Honours

2015/2016

Post-graduate

Ernest Rutherford Research Fellow- Any University ship

Presidential Special Nigeria Schol- Top 25 universities in USA, UK, 1 year arship Canada, Japan, etc

Delta spends N30b on teachers’ salaries Dominic Adewole ASABA

T

he Delta State Government is spending a whooping N23 billion yearly to offset the wage bills of 13,000 secondary school teachers in state, while another N7 billion is being spent in assisting the 25 Local Government Areas of the state

in the payment of salaries of primary school teachers on their pay roll.

This amount, according to the state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof.

Patrick Muoboghare, did not represent the amount spent on their other emolument yearly.

Speaking in Asaba on the teacher-friendly package of

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan since assumption of office in 2007, the Commissioner said the government has been investing massively on education and the development of infrastructure in schools across the state.

He noted that the huge investment was aimed at justifying the popular saying that “education is the passport to the future, and

the future belongs to those that prepare for it.”

Muoboghare explained that Governor Uduaghan-led administration decided to pump so much money into such “generational infrastructure”, through the N50 billion bonds it accessed from the Stock Market, in view of the government’s belief that ‘knowledge is power.’

Oct. 15, 2014

Oct 18,2014.

The Commissioner reiterated that the state government placed high premium on education of the children and welfare of the teachers, especially the 13,000 teachers in the 470 secondary schools in the state.

He said: “The state government has since 2007, ensured prompt and regular payment of the teachers’ salaries and allowances, and also provided conducive environment to enhance effective teaching and learning.”

EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

25

Winners of Ogun national green essay for Europe

Some of the winners in a group photograph shortly after the competition

Kayode Olanrewaju

T

welve winners of the maiden edition of the National Green Essay competition for secondary schools in the country are billed for Europe to acquire green education and skills on conserving the environment.

The students, who are from the six geo-political zones of the federation, emerged winners of the competition organised by the wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun in conjunction

with Channels Book Club.

The pet project is part of her contribution towards enhancing the education of the younger ones on environmental issues and sustainability, with a view to producing young talented students who are now being described as Ambassadors of Green Education for the Youth (GEFTY).

The winners include Fadipe Isabella Oluwadamilola, Fatima Aliyu-Gebi, Ann Enjoyo Austin, Akudinobi Kasarachi, Igwe Chinaza, Judith Hassan, Sule O

Nathan¸ Amadi Sarima Kyna, Agboola Daniel, Ramos Ayomide, and Ibitokun Oluwanifemi.

Speaking during the grand finale of the competition at the Progress Hall, South-West Resource Centre, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Mrs. Amosun explained that the aim of the competition was to encourage Nigerian youths to work towards sustaining the environment to reverse the current adverse effects of climate change.

She congratulated the win-

ners, saying her Uplift Development Foundation will continue to engage in human capital development among children and youth to promote reading culture that would help improve education standard in the country, and thereby contribute to national development.

Mrs. Amosun added that her green advocacy strategies would include the Green Empowerment for the Youth (GEFTY), describing youths as vibrant, adaptable, mobile and upward moving group.

She, however, explained her plan to organise a Green Youth Conference to educate youths on green culture.

In his remarks, the coordinator of the competition, Mr. Kunle Kasumu of Channels Television said over 200 entries were received out of which 40 were selected for the final rounds, in which the 12 winners emerged.

He urged the candidates to avail themselves of the opportunity of the competition by putting in their best in their future endeavour.

Vibrant Fields College celebrates prize-giving day amid frills Abraham Oladipupo UI

he Director of Vibrant Fields College (forTLocal merly Zenith College), Ajangbadi in Ojo Government Area of Lagos, Mr. Ola-

L-R: Amana, Adelana and Larry-Izamoje at the press conference. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Imperial College alumni unfold plans to boost economy Mojeed Alabi

W

ith its impressive array of scholars, professionals and businessmen and women, the Nigerian graduates of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, United Kingdom, no doubt have contributed meaningfully towards the growth and development of the nation’s economy.

They include the former Minister of Petroleum and eight-term President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), late Dr. Rilwanu Lukman; former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Donatus Etiebet, and a renowned Professor of Engineering at the University of Lagos, late Prof. Ayodele Awojobi.

However, the desire to pool their individual resources together to make their impacts more noticeable and rewarding has inspired the graduates of the institution in Nigeria to form the Nigeria's branch of the ivory tower’s alumni association, which is christened “Imperial College Alumni Association of Nigeria.”

At a media briefing organised to spell out the association’s objec-

tives, held at Hotel De Island, Victoria Island, Lagos, the newly elected members of the association’s board of trustees and its executive committee, itemised their plans and strategies aimed at impacting virtually on all sectors of the nation’s economy.

The Chairman of the association’s Board of Trustees, the former President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering and 1966 graduate of the university, Dr. Edet Amana, spoke of the readiness of the association to ensure the mix of the young and the old generations of the institution’s products and imbibe the innovative and creative spirit of their alma mater to impact the society.

Reeling out the statistics of the graduates of the recently ranked second best university in the world and their endowments, Amana, who was his set’s overall best graduating student with First Class degree in Civil Engineering, hinted that Nigeria ranks seventh on the table of the countries with foreign nationals on the campus trailing other countries such as China, Malaysia, Singapore, among others.

However, he lamented that Nigeria

unlike China and other Asia nations, is yet to be greatly impacted by the human resources it is endowed with.

The association’s President, Olugbenga Adelana, explained that the body would next month hold a reunion meeting with its members at the conference hall of the African Heritage Foundation in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he said participants would in a more relaxed mood share ideas and strategies to actualize ideas.

Adelana added that other programmes billed for between 2014 and 2015 include the association’s annual alumni dinner and award night, barbeque meeting, annual general meeting and annual symposium to discuss pertinent socio-political and economic issues and proffer solutions that could take Nigeria out of its current woods.

The Publicity Secretary of the body and Assistant Brand Manager, Amstel Malta brand of the Nigerian Breweries, Miss Phoebe Larry-Izamoje, pledged the commitment of her committee to spread the gospel of the association to the global space and as a result attract meaningful contributions to the reform of national economy.

dipupo Dare has said that appraisal of past activities of the school and students in order to adequately prepare for the future, is key to the learning process.

He disclosed this in his speech at the fourth graduation/prize-giving day of the school, held on the school compound and which attracted dignitaries from all walks of life.

According to the director, the pupils had already been exposed to various learning opportunities and activities that are aimed at assisting them to explore their surroundings and enhance their skills.

He said: “This school is blessed with quality and qualified teachers, who are professionals in their fields and the best you can find anywhere around. Our structures and environment make teaching and learning easy as we strive to make our pupils better. We provide them with learning and instructional materials and engage them in activities that aid their learning and development. A testament to this is the performances of our pupils in internal and external examinations.”

The high points of the ceremony were various performances by the pupils in the playgroup, kindergarten, nursery, primary and college, with which they trilled their parents and teachers.

The event was climaxed when the pupils dressed in their traditional and colourful attires which represented the three major tribes (Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo) of the country for their fashion parade.

Other activities include talk-show, choreography, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa cultural dances, news presentation and debate, among others.

The pupils were applauded and cheered by their parents with thunderous ovation for the demonstration of their zeal, which they described as uncommon.

Meanwhile, the parents lauded the school for imparting well on their children and wards, just as they pledged their support for the growth and development of the school in all ramifications.

26 EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

UNILAG community stands still for Ade-Ajayi Mojeed Alabi and Shadrack Yusuf

I

n torrents, the tributes rolled in, as members of academic community, contemporaries, friends, relations and other stakeholders in the nation’s education sector assembled last week at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, to pay tribute and last respect to the former Vice-Chancellor and renowned Historian, Prof. Jacob Festus Ade-Ajayi.

He died on August 9 at 85.

The occasion was the Special Senate Session organised by the university in honour of the late Emeritus Professor, where his former students and associates took turns to extoll his virtues and read out glowing tribute of their late mentor, inspiration and academic model.

In their words, they described the life and time of the academic icon and great historian of his generation, as the most impactful in the annals of the university.

The event, which was attended by Vice-Chancellors, Chancellors and Pro-Chancellors from other universities, was chaired

by UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rahman Bello and supported by some of his predecessors including the former President of the Nigerian Academy of Science and now Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Ndufe-Alike, Ebonyi State, Prof. Oye IbidapoObe. In his well outlined tribute, Bello described the late icon as “a transformational leader; and an architect of modern UNILAG,” saying Prof. Ade-Ajayi’s love

L-R: Provost, UNILAG College of Medicine, Prof. Taiwo Ogunsola; Registrar, Dr. Taiwo Ipaye; Prof. Bello; Deputy VC (Academic and Research), Prof. Babajide Alo and Prof. Ibidapo-Obe, at the Special Senate sitting in honour of late Ade-Ajayi.

for the greatness of UNILAG was never in doubt, and that his achievements during his twoterm tenure proved his worthiness of honour.

He said: "In the area of physical development, Prof. Ade-Ajayi certainly left his indelible mark.

Of course, his demise has robbed the intellectual community of one of its most effusive voices especially in the field of African History. He would be missed for his humility, his profound commitment to intellectual debate and dedication to the African continent, not only as a place filled with raw data, but also as a space from which we can begin to theorize on the world politics and human affairs.

“At the same time, we must celebrate the passing of this great academic colossus, who in

diverse ways touched the lives of many especially those of us in UNILAG. Prof Ade-Ajayi was obviously a great scholar, humorous and warm-hearted. He was, of course, greatly admired by his colleagues, associates and students especially for his ability to inspire success and spur those around him to new heights of personal achievement. For his fine example of leadership and adherence to principle, we honour him and commend his life and career to the consideration of our young and upcoming scholars in the convinction that he will be remembered especially as a true pioneer in the conduct of life as well as in the pursuit of knowledge.”

The Vice-Chancellor, however, recalled the contribution of the late Historian to the struggle to

retain the name of the university when President Goodluck Jonathan renamed it Moshood Abiola University, after M.K.O Abiola, winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, saying the old man (Prof. Ade-Ajayi) wrote the President explaining the reasons the status quo ante should be maintained.

In his contribution, the renowned playwright and literary icon, Prof. John Pepper Clark, commended the contributions of the late Ade-Ajayi to the promotion of African History, noting that it was the late vicechancellor, “who positioned the university to gain international recognition.”

Clark, who condemned the relegation of History to the background in the nation’s secondary schools, said part of the

Amaechi tasks govt to adequately fund education R ivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi has expressed the need for government to improve funding to the education sector in order to achieve greater productivity.

He said this had become necessary for the government to create an educated and enlightened citizenry for the country.

Amaechi made the call during the combined 18th, 19th and 20th convocation ceremony of the Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori, where no fewer than 4,000 students received their scrolls for the award of National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND).

He said: “Our country must have the capacity to create the human capital needed for economic development. There are serious concerns that our higher institutions of learning at all levels are producing graduates not fit for employment purpose.

In other words, our children are leaving school without the knowledge to sustain them or contribute to the development of the national economy.”

The governor, who hinted that education is the bedrock of development, said that was why his administration since 2007 made huge investment in the state education sector.

Amaechi noted: “Early, in the life of this administration, we declared a state of emergency in the education sector to make Rivers State the hub of education, not only in Nigeria, but also in sub-Sahara Africa. Our

Governor Amaechi (right) discussing with Nwolu-Elechi during the ceremony.

commitment is to improve the sector , the quality of education and make it more relevant to productive activities, including value re-orientation, employment and wealth creation.

“We shall continue to pursue that dream vigorously and also confront the challenges bedeviling the education sector. Even as we strive to revitalize the sector, I am delighted to say that our efforts are bearing fruitful results. The naming of Port Harcourt as the World Book Capital 2014 earlier in the year and other achievements gave eloquent testimony of the recognition. It is an unprecedented achievement

as we put Rivers State and Nigeria in the global map.”

The governor expressed commitment to continually fund education in the state to forestall a situation in which youth resort to crime and other social vices, but redirect them on the path of self-actualization and economic growth for societal development.

“We have made tremendous efforts to replace the guns that were in the hands of our misguided and uninformed youths, thus, providing them with windows of opportunities and endless possibilities," he stressed.

The governor, however, warned the lecturers, other

members of staff and students against indiscipline, as well as other forms of criminal activities, such as cultism and examination malpractices.

To this end, the governor ordered the Rector of the polytechnic, Sir Obianko Nwolu-Elechi to sack and expel erring lecturers and students to serve as a deterrent to others.

According to him, “government will not condone indiscipline and criminal activities amongst staff and students. I will ensure that the full weight of the law is brought to bear on such cases, particularly cultism and examination malpractices."

honour the Federal Government could bestow on Ade-Ajayi is to return the teaching of History to the school syllabus.

He said: “Prof Ade-Ajayi was a good teacher and mentor. He stood out among his peers in the academic community. Let us celebrate him. He demonstrated humility. He was confident and firm looking. He left a foot step in the sand of time, so, let us continue to follow the indelible marks he left behind.”

Also, the Professor of Chemical Engineering, Ayodele Ogunye, described the deceased as a “mentor,” who he said was confident, highly cerebral, serene and shy-looking, who left an enduring stamp on the course of academic developments in the University of Lagos.”

While extolling Prof AdeAjayi’s virtues, Ibidapo-Obe noted that he would be remembered for the restructuring of the academic programme of the university and his discipline, commitment to academic excellence and integrity.

Also, the university’s Dean of Engineering Faculty, Prof.

Omotayo Fakinlede, in his tribute, said: "We are here to say our last goodbye to our former ViceChancellor, who lived a remarkable life. In his stewardship of the leadership at this university, he held the baton in the remarkable way that a third-leg runner in a race can make a significant difference and change the fortunes of his relay team by putting the anchor leg at a major advantage. He contributed to the physical development of the university.”

His words: “Discipline erring lecturers and the rest will stop.

If you dismiss the lecturers and expel the students, others will learn. The Rector should not tell me another day that he is overwhelmed. There is no special lecturer or friend of the Governor."

He described the ceremony as an important milestone in the annals of the polytechnic as it fulfilled its mandate to turn out technical manpower for the economic development of the state, even as he praised the Rector and lecturers for efforts at repositioning the polytechnic for academic excellence despite the challenges confronting the institution.

Amaechi, who described as heartwarming that all the courses offered by the institution had been accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), pledged his administration’s commitment to address the problems confronting the institution.

He congratulated the graduating students on their achievement and challenged them on the task of building the state into enviable heights of possibilities, saying the government would appoint a Governing Council for the institution by the end of this month.

The Rector recalled that in the past 24 years, the institution has effectively discharged its mandate and continues to meet its benchmarks, even as he expressed the management’s determination to sustain its transformation initiative within the limits of available resources with a view to bringing the polytechnic to enviable heights.

CAMPUS | EDUCATION 27

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Poly students oppose computer-based test for UTME

Emeka Onwudinjo UNIZIK

I

t was jubilation galore last week at the Faculty of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, when 72 medical graduates of the university were inducted into the medical profession.

The induction ceremony, which was the 36th in its series, took place at the Gilbert Uzodike Auditorium, Nnewi campus of the college.

This brings to 1,792 medical doctors produced by the university’s College of Medicine, located at Nnewi Campus.

The graduating students were led by a female medical graduate, Egwuekwe Sopuruchukwu Ogonna, who won four awards out of five available awards of the College.

Okafor Chika Nkiru another female graduate won one of the awards, but Ogonna emerged the overall best medical student of the set.

The graduating students, who dressed in black and white to match were full of praises to the outgoing Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Prof Joseph Ikechebelu, an expert on Endoscopy, the Sub-Dean of the Faculty, and the Chairman of Planning Committee of the 36th Induction ceremony, Dr. Charles Okafor for their contributions to their success.

The trio was said to have advocated for a good dressing habit for the medical graduates by rejecting the former mode of dressing in which the graduating students wore half-naked dress.

“They wanted us to appear in our best at all times in order to set the pace in the community while serving humanity,” the students said.

 Faults N65 ATM charges

aced with the reality of partFtheir ing with the little stipend parents or guardians

A cross section of medical granduands at the ceremony

Encomiums as Azikwe varsity inducts 72 medical graduates In his remarks, the ViceChancellor, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, charged the graduands to be worthy ambassadors of the institution and help to mobilize resources to facilitate the production of high-level manpower for the country and humanity in the health sector.

Ahaneku, who was represented by Prof. Brian Adinma congratulated the graduating students, saying the event was a moment to crown their efforts for the tedious years they had put into their medical studies.

"I am most delighted to be present at this 36th induction ceremony of our new 72 medical graduates, the first I will be attending in my capacity as the fifth substantive Vice-Chancellor of the university,” he said.

The Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu, thanked the Chief Medical Director of NAUTH, Prof. An-

thony Igwegbe, and the board for the provision of a conducive learning and teaching environment for effective training of the students.

While congratulating the graduating students and their parents and guardians for their support throughout the students’ study, he offered prayers to God to continue to guide the fresh medical doctors.

Ikechebelu, a professor of Obstertrics/Gynaecology advised the new doctors to ensure they excel especially in areas where they have comparative advantage. He cited a situation where several young doctors failed in the Residency programme while in pursuit of specialisation in Clinical Medicine, when their natural ability is in Biomedical Research or policy issues.

He noted that such graduates would have become great

researchers/mentors in the university system or good policy makers in the ministry or international organisations.

On his part, Dr. Nnadozie Paul Obiegbu, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Health, charged the graduating medical doctors to put God first in all they do and to discover themselves.

Nnadozie further reminded the graduands that the patient remains the most important person in any hospital, and therefore should be treated with respect and managed well with great compassion.

Speaking on behalf of other medical graduates, Ogonna assured the university and their parents that they would make them proud, having imbibed the requisite virtues and learning as well as hard work imparted on them by their lecturers.

She expressed gratitude to

A cross section of matriculating students at the ceremony

OAU warns freshers against indecent dressing, cultism Ayodeji Ogunjobi and Tosin Ojo, OAU

O

bafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Bamitale Omole has read a riot act to newly admitted students into the university, saying the management’s eagle eyes are effective enough to discover student involved in any social vice such as cultism, drug and rape.

Besides, he warned the students, especially female students to shun indecent dressing, which he pointed out could lower their dignity and make them face the wrath of the university.

Omole, who stated this during the 52nd matriculation ceremony held at the university’s Afrika Amphi Theatre, also congratulated the students on

their success during the admission exercise.

“I wish to welcome you, our dear matriculating students, to this great university. After the oath you have taken today, you have now become part of the university community with all the rights and privileges of being a member of this unique institution,” the Vice-Chancellor said.

He told them to consider themselves lucky for scaling the screening hurdle, while also advising them to take their studies seriously and refrain from examination malpractices and vices that could truncate their academic activities.

He added: “You must avoid cultism, examination malpractices and vices such as indecent dressing, drug abuse, theft, sexual

harassment and fighting in order to ensure peaceful atmosphere and stability on campus. Your primary purpose in this university is the pursuit of academic excellence. You are, therefore, expected to study hard,” he charged.

The event, which attracted parents and well-wishers of the matriculating students, who dressed in their matriculation gowns and caps to fit, featured cultural plays and dances by the different ethnic groupings in the country.

Some of the fresh students, who spoke to New Telegraph Campus, expressed determination to excel in their academic work, while they also pledged to abide by the rules and regulations of the university.

One of them, a 100-Level Law student, Olusegun Ajibola, ex-

pressed gratitude to God for him to have scaled through the rigour of the university’s admission process. ''I cannot just quantify my happiness today because my admission into this institution of academic excellence is more of a privilege than luck,” saying: “My expectations are high for the journey ahead; to be a man of character and great reputation at the end of it all.”

Abiola Temitope, a fresher at the Department of Linguistics and African Languages, said: “OAU is an enviable institution of learning any student will be proud to associate with even friends from other institutions regard its students as special. I feel so excited and fulfilled to be among the Great Ife.”

send to them as pocket money, as ATM charges by the banks, polytechnic students, and their colleagues at the mono-technics and colleges of technologies nationwide under the umbrella of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), are calling for the reversal of the charges.

The banks recently introduced N65 charges on the use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards in banks other than the issuing ones.

In fact, they also opposed the full use of the computer-based test in the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as proposed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in 2015, arguing that several candidates in the remote parts of the country will automatically be disenfranchised by the policy if allowed to stand.

The students, who rose from its Senate meeting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) described the policy as unfriendly to Nigerians particularly the students.

In a communiqué signed by the association’s Senate President, Salawudeen Lukman, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was condemned for reintroducing the policy, which they claimed had earlier been cancelled by his predecessor, and now the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

The statement read in part: “NAPS Senate has rejected the re-introduction of N65 charges on ATM transaction and we call for its reversal within the next three weeks or the will CBN face the wrath of Nigerian students. We also object the use of full computer-based examination by JAMB for the conduct of its examination and that it should remain optional at least for the next academic session so that the enlightenment currently ongoing in schools could reach the nooks and crannies of the country.”

According to Lukman, the association had met with the officials of the apex bank on the matter and that the excuses offered so far were not satisfactory to the Nigerian students, who he said, were struggling to cope with the high cost of survival on campuses.

They, therefore, suggested that if at all the policy would stand, it would be ideal that all ATM machines installed on campuses nationwide should be exempted from the charges.

The students also commended the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu and Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State for what they described as their rapid responses to the containment of the scourge of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), saying their action have further rekindled the people’s hope in the country.

28

EDUCATION | CAMPUS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Mass Comm students inaugurate officers

Emeka Onwudinjo, UNIZIK and Nnachi Bright, OKOPOLY

H Some of the FUTA students before departing for US in an exchange programme

FUTA students depart for US varsity on exchange programme Mojeed Alabi eight students of the Federal UniSlastome versity of Technology, Akure (FUTA) week departed for the Florida Ag-

ricultural and Mechanical University, (FAMU), Tallahassee, United States of America on exchange programme to complete their first degree programme.

After their first degree, the students are to commerce their postgraduate programme.

The exchange programme is in fulfillment of the existing collaboration between the two institutions.

The students, who constituted the second batch of FUTA students to benefit from the partnership under the 4+1+1 international linkage programme, expressed their happiness for being chosen for the programme and pledged to be good ambassadors of the university.

At a pre-departure event organised by the university management for the beneficiaries and their parents, Miss Tolulola Adeyewa of the Department of Food Science Technology on behalf of her colleagues expressed gratitude to

God and the university authority for the opportunity given them.

Besides, she thanked those who had in one way or the other contributed to their success so far, particularly their parents and lecturers, even as they promised to make the ivory tower proud.

Speaking at the forum, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola explained that the students would complete their undergraduate progarmme at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University to earn FUTA certificate and would also be eligible to proceed for their Masters degree and earn FAMU postgraduate certificate.

Daramola, therefore, advised them to be upright and focus on their programme in order to achieve excellence in their academic pursuit just as their counterparts who left for the U.S.A in 2013.

The Vice-Chancellor, who described the development as a thing of joy and pride to the institution, reiterated the benefits of the exchange programme to the university and the country as a whole, saying it would avail the beneficiaries the opportunity to broaden their

horizon and reshape their future and that of their country.

While adding that the collaboration has gone a long way to position FUTA on the global academic map, he pointed out the university’s efforts to collaborate with Fort Valley University, Georgia; Texas Southern University, Houston, and Pennsylvania State University as part of FUTA’s way of firming up its repositioning and world class marketability.

Other principal officers of the university including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Adedayo Fasakin; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Prof. Tolulope Akinbogun and the Registrar, Dr. Modupe Ajayi congratulated the students, whom they said were fortunate.

Fasakin traced the beginning of the 4+1+1 programme with FAMU to 2013 to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding as approved by the university’s Senate and the National Universities Commission (NUC). He enumerated the award of scholarships, payment of instate fees and opportunity for postgraduate studies as some of the benefits of the transfer programme.

gos, Oyedija beat other contestants with the Okro Soup and Amala recipe she prepared.

However, the first regional winner from the North, Xyztus was said to have dazzled other contestants with a combination of Miyan Kubewa and Tuwo Masara to win the cooking contest.

Apart from the regional winners, who went home with Deep Freezers as part of

their reward for participating in the competition, the first runners-up and second runners-up also received a gas oven each.

Other contestants also laughed home with various consolation prizes.

Reacting to her outstanding performance, the UNAAB’s representative (Azeez) said she never expected to win, but that the exceptional aroma of Onga

igher school students under the aegis of the Association of Mass Communication Students (ASMACS), Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State chapter has inaugurated new members of executive for the association.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the Editing Laboratory of the Department of Mass Communication.

The new executive officers are led

by Okafor Chuka as the President.

The Dean of School of Information and Technology and Head of Department of Mass Communication, Mr. Godwin Ibe tasked the new executive members to keep faith with the mandate of association by ensuring stability in the department.

Ibe, who expressed delight over the landmark achievements and stride of the out-going executive officers especially in the area of sustaining the stability and unity in the department, urged the new officers to keep the pace in ensuring and maintaining peace and tranquility within the association and in the department.

His words: “You should keep the pace, by ensuring and maintaining the peace, oneness and stability your predecessors have built and most pertinent you should desist from anything that would endanger the good image and reputation of this noble department.”

In his acceptance speech, the new President (Okafor) urged his colleagues to work as a team for them to surpass the achievements of their predecessors.

“Let us put aside whatever selfish interest we may have or are nursing and concentrate on how to build legacies and set the pace that we would be remembered for after we would have left the scene,” he said.

He, however, pledged his commitment and that of other members of the executive towards uplifting the association and positioned it for the challenges of the 21st Century.

UNILAG, UI, others win in Onga cooking contest

T

he need for students to engage in other vocations and skill development activities apart from their normal academic work, last week came to the fore, when some four students emerged regional winners of this year’s edition of the 2014 Onga National Campus Cooking competition.

The students were winners picked at the Campus Activations programme of the competition carried out in four universities out of the 14 selected for the campaign.

They will join other winners from other zones of the federation to compete at the grand finale of the competition, billed for Lagos, where the national winner will emerge.

The regional winners include Jessica Egbenwonu, a student of Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan (UI); Arafat Azeez, a student of Environmental Resources Management at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB); Temitope Oyedija, an undergraduate of Faculty of Law at the University of Lagos (UNILAG); and Christopher Xyztus, from the School of Natural and Applied Science, Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMinna).

Egbenwonu was picked as one of the best in her zone with her Egusi Soup and Semo recipe she prepared during the contest, while Azeez led the pack of her peers with Efo Riro and Eba that delighted the judges.

For the contest at the University of La-

L-R: The winner: Oyedija, Uwazie and Ejim during the activation at the University of Lagos.

Seasoning might have contributed to her success in the contest.

Her words: “Onga is a very good seasoning; it has a very nice aroma and it is delicious in one’s cooking. So, I think every woman, who wants to be a champion like me should always use Onga seasoning.”

The objective of the competition is to give students across select campuses the opportunity to sharpen their culinary skills; enlighten the public on the wide variety of dishes enjoyed by different cultures in the country; as well as create an emotional bond between the brand’s target audience and the Onga Seasoning through active engagement and one-onone interaction.

Speaking on the competition, Mr. Kachi Onubogu, the Executive Director, Commercial, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, manufacturer of Onga Seasoning and sponsor of the competition, said one of the tested platforms Onga uses to engage its target audience is the Onga National Campus Cooking competition.

Represented by Mr. Festus Tettey, Head of Marketing, Onubogu said: “Onga brand employs a wide range of platforms in engaging our target audience.

One of such tested platforms is the Onga National Campus Cooking competition, which takes place in selected campuses of universities in Nigeria. It is an effective platform for interacting closely with our target group and engaging them in the art of cooking.”

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Medical students appraise nation’s health sector Oluwafemi Ogunjobi and Alex Ojekunle, OAU

M

edical undergraduates of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, under their umbrella association, the Ife University Medical Students Association (IFUMSA), have proffered solutions to the myriad of challenges facing the medical profession and the health sector in the country.

It was at the 30th Annual Health Week of the association, which served as a platform for the students and other healthcare providers from public and private sector to appraise the health sector and its numerous challenges.

Tagged: “Improving the Health Indices of the Second Generation, Nigeria: The Task Ahead,” the programme was held at the institution’s Teaching Hospital Complex, Opa area of Ile-Ife. Dignitaries at the event, which include key stakeholders in the health sector are: the Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Yinka Oladimeji; Provost of OAU College of Health Sciences; Prof A.O Fatusi; the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Prof. V.A Adetiloye; the Chairman of the Oyo State chapter of the

Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Ade Malomo, Chairman, and the Chief Executive Officer of Sifax Group of Companies, Dr T.O. Afolabi.

The President of the association, Akinwale Iyeku, while welcoming guests to the event, explained that the theme of the discourse was so chosen to reflect the concerns of the organisers especially as they plan to join hands with their senior colleagues in the efforts to provide sound and affordable healthcare for the Nigerian people.

He said: “As doctors-to-be, we believe that the future of healthcare in the country rests largely on our shoulders, and we should be awake to our responsibilities. Even at that, we hope this public forum will serve as a clarion call from the association to the government at all levels, private sector, and other key stakeholders in nation’s health sector.”

The guest speaker, Prof.

Malomo, while dwelling on the theme of the lecture, explained that the programme offered him an opportunity, like other stakeholders to rise to the challenge of healthcare practice in the country.

He, therefore, drew the attention of appropriate authorities to the challenges, and prospects in the sector for

the country to move forward.

Malomo, who argued that the real health of a nation lies in the quality of the mind, added that the country’s health sector is in poor state because of the poor quality of mind, character and mobility.

He expressed his displeasure on the recent cases of Ebola disease outbreak in some parts of the country, saying: “Unfortunately in Nigeria, every disaster is an opportunity to make money for some people. We know the truth, but we have not been able to embrace it and until we face that reality we are going nowhere.”

The speaker also identified poor governance, policy inconsistency, corruption and weak private sector, as well as poor coordination as some of the factors militating against the health sector.

He urged the participants to develop their self-perception and avail themselves the precautionary measures that will take the sector to the desired heights.

Apart from Afolabi, who was honoured with the merit award of the association for his contributions to the development of heath sector and association, some parents and lecturers were also bestowed with the association’s award for supporting the association’s activities.

Some of the medical undergraduates at the event

CAMPUS | EDUCATION 29

ABUAD, UNILORIN, KWARAPOLY screen workers, students for Ebola Adesina Wahab, ADO-EKITI Biodun Oyeleye, ILORIN and Olaide Oyewole, UNILORIN

of its planned resumpAic head tion for the 2014/2015 academsession and amid fear of the

spread of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the authorities of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Kwara State; Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) and Kwara State Polytechnic (KWARAPOLY) are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the campuses are free of the threat of the virus.

Parts of these efforts or measures put in place to contain the disease, according to the institutions, include the acquisition of anti-Ebola kits comprising face masks, boots, hand gloves, automatic soap dispenser, infrared thermometer and disposable bed spreads.

Under the screening exercise, UNILORIN management said it had not only procured the items, but would also screen the over 20,000 students, one after the other, before they would be allowed into the campus on resumption.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, who disclosed the plans of the university to screen the students, pointed out that though it could be cumbersome; the institution’s Ebola Response Committee was up to the task of achieving the desired goal of a safe campus.

Ambali stated this last week while unveiling the preventive kits procured by the management valued at over N1.2 million at the university’s health centre.

Meanwhile, the authorities of Afe Babalola University, AdoEkiti (ABUAD) have commenced the screening of returning and new students as well as those accompanying them to campus for the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease as the institution resumed for the 2014/2015 academic session.

Also, members of staff of the university are not left out in the screening exercise.

According to the Head, Public Relations of the institution, Mr. Tunde Olofintila, the step was in consonance with the institution’s determination to ensure that none of its students or their chaperons habours the deadly Ebola.

To this end, the Founder and Chancellor of the university, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has set up a committee of competent and reputable medical personnel from the university’s College of Medicine and Health Sciences, headed by the Director of Medical Services, Dr. Foluso Jubilee, to ensure that everyone entering the university, including

Aare Babalola

staff members, is appropriately screened.

Besides the screening at the university gate, Aare Babalola has invested heavily in the procurement of automatic sanitizers, dispensers, infra-red thermometers, protective gowns, face masks and goggles, Jik water sanitizers, special water stands which are placed at strategic locations within the campus and the ABUAD Enterprise Farms for students, workers and visitors to be properly sanitised.

Babalola said the university which has held five sessions on sensitisation campaigns and other Ebola preventive measures, said many more of such campaigns would be held with the resumption for the new academic calendar.

His words: “We are determined that we don’t lose any of our student or staff to Ebola. We are made to understand that the incubation period of Ebola is 21 days. And so after screening them at the point of resumption, they will be screened again every Saturday for four weeks to ensure that our university is completely Ebola-free.

“We have therefore decided to codify all the necessary and relevant information about Ebola in hand bills, fliers and posters and made available to all staff and students, including our visitors.” Besides, the management of the Kwara State Polytechnic (KWARAPOLY), Ilorin has concluded plans to conduct Ebola Virus Disease screening on the students and members of staff when the polytechnic opens for the 2014/ 2015 academic session.

The Rector, Alhaji Mas'ud Elelu, who disclose this during a sensitisation training on the control of Ebola disease organised by the institution for members of staff, said the workers of the polytechnic would under-go Ebola Virus screening exercise in addition to the various sensitization programme lined up for both workers and students of the institution.

Boko Haram: UNIMAID students express anxiety over exam Mojeed Alabi

T

here are strong indications that the ongoing second semester examination at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Borno State, may not produce better results, if the fear of the students are anything to go by.

The students have expressed worry following what they described as the unsafe atmosphere enveloping the

campus and the entire NorthEast region of Nigeria over the activities of the dreaded Islamic sect- Boko Haram.

Some of the students, who spoke to New Telegraph, expressed dissatisfaction over the situation, saying students now read in fear, and that the situation had distracted both the lecturers and the students from concentrating on their primary assignment on the campus.

According to Taiwo Hammed, a 300-Level student

of the Department of Anatomy, the examination, which had commenced on Monday September 1, could not be said to have been smooth with issues of trepidations and sounds of gunshots characterizing the exercise.

He said the ongoing attacks and counter attacks between men of the military and the members of the sect in Konduga Village, which is about 15 kilometres from the university, has kept the entire

campus shaking heavily.

Another student, who preferred anonymity, said she could not describe her experience in the university within the last two years or thereabouts, saying some of her friends had left the institution to begin afresh elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the university management has insisted that lives and properties on the campus are safe, but acknowledged the fact that the scenarios of repeated vio-

lence in the neighbourhood could affect the members of the community.

According to one of the lecturers, who craved anonymity, the students could confirm that no single incident of attack had taken place on the campus, “because we have provided adequate security measure with armoured tanks and large number of security men from both the military and the police drafted to secure the environment.”

30

EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Attack on Babalola: Poly students, council apologise Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

T

he Governing Council, management and students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti have tendered an unreserved apology to Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) who was recently attacked by some irate students of the polytechnic who were protesting the lack of electricity on their campus.

This came at a time the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari and Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, sent representatives to sympathise and show solidarity with the frontline educationist, philanthropist and farmer over the unfortunate incident.

Babalola, the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), was said to have been attacked by some rampaging students of the federal polytechnic following the allegation that their polytechnic had faced acute water and power supply, while the ABUAD and its junior staff quarters opposite the polytechnic in Erinfun have been enjoying uninterrupted water and power supply.

Every attempt by Babalola to placate the restive students

was rebuffed, including his calling the institution’s Rector, Dr. Theresa Taiwo Akande, the PHCN Manager in Ado-Ekiti and three representatives of the students to a meeting to resolve the imbroglio in favour of the polytechnic students.

The students was said to have turned down Babalola’s overtures, and instead forced the octogenarian to alight from his car and walk to his four and half-year-old university, which was quite some distance from the scene of the protest.

At the stage, the police was said to have come and dispersed the students and arrested no fewer than 30 of the students for alleged disturbance of public peace.

Since the event, the polytechnic community had been begging Babalola.

The National President of the National Association of Polytechnic Students, Mr. Sunday Ogbonnaya, who was part of the polytechnic team, eulogised Babalola for allowing them to visit him, not only to apologise for the misdeed of some of his colleagues, but also to see the marvelous work he (Babalola) has been doing in ABUAD which has attracted the

world to Ado-Ekiti.

His words: “There is something many of you here do not know about our father, Aare Afe Babalola. I spoke to him after I heard about the incidence and he promised that he would intervene in the release of those that were detained and they were indeed released. That is the kind of listening, caring and sympathetic father that we have. Our prayer is that God will continue to strengthen you sir.”

Also, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the polytechnic, Chief Victor Edos Ebomoyi, who led the members of the Council and the management of the polytechnic, as well as Mr. Soji Bello, who represented Mimiko, thanked Aare Babalola for his unusual sense of maturity, fatherly love, stressing that “Babalola is a God-sent man who had already forgiven the errant students before the meeting.”

He commended him for his all-round investment in education as a result of which Ekiti State has been convincingly put on the world map.

According to him, Nigeria needs more of Afe Babalolas in the interest of the good of all, stressing that what happened penultimate Saturday was not against Babalola, but against those who stood against development and the good of the Nigerian society.

The newly crowned MR and MISS PARIS of the French Club International of Federal Polytechnic, Oko (OKOPOLY) during the activities marking the inauguration of the club’s new executive members.

Ndoma-Egba’s N73m scholarship rekindles students’ hope Clement James Calabar

S

enate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba has so far spent about N73 million on students scholarship through his scholarship initiative programme, instituted in 2003.

He disclosed this in Calabar, Cross River State, at a ceremony heralding the award of the 2014 scholarship to no fewer than 42 indigent students in higher institutions across the country.

Recalling that although he started awarding scholarships to indigent students since 1980, the Senator pointed out that the programme, had been expanded in scope since 2003 when he was

elected to the Senate.

According to the statistics, he noted that about 330 undergraduates and postgraduate students across various tertiary institutions in the country have so far benefited from scholarship scheme.

Each beneficiary in the undergraduate category received N70,000, while in the postgraduate level received N100,000 each for a session.

Ndoma-Egba said he did not institute the scholarship programme for political reasons, but to give back to the society which, he claimed, has been good to him and his family.

His words: “I did not establish this scholarship scheme because of politics. When I started awarding scholarship,

I did not contemplate going into politics. I wanted to give back to the society because the society has been good to my family. We are looking at those who have capacity but do not have resources.”

The Senator, who insisted that charity should not be politicized, otherwise it will no longer be a charity, noted that “the moment you politicise charity, it is no longer charity and those who take advantage of their charity, I wish them luck.”

The Chairman of the Ndoma-Egba Scholarship Board, Dr. Margaret Ndoma-Egba said the Board was passionate about fairness in selecting the beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme.

EDUPEACE

with Mahfouz A. Adedimeji (08066372516, sms only)  Dr Adedimeji is a Senior Lecturer and Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, Unilorin

Bring back our peace

T

he world marked the International Day of Peace this Sunday and the message of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban KiMoon, is apt.

The message seems to be directed at Nigeria, which continues to bleed due to insurgency and counter-insurgency.

In confirmation of the belief that God loves Nigeria, though Nigerians do not appear to love one another, the shocking revelations of the actual sponsors of the Boko Haram terrorist group make a chilling re-awakening.

Suddenly, the Boko Haram terrorist group loses its invincibility probably because it did not have more supplies after the South African botched arms purchase.

Things happened fast and the terrorists that were making our soldiers to make “tactical manoeuvre” into Cameroon are being routed.

Things happened fast and the leader of the group or the impostor using the name, “Abubakar Shekau”, is reported to have been killed by our troops or Cameroonians.

It is difficult not see a connection between the cash-for-arms scandal and the recent victories of our troops in containing the insurgency.

The attempts to cover up the scandal with unintelligent lies amount to the futile attempts of covering the smoke: stupid.

The continuous attempts to blackmail a section of the country and adherents of a particular religion have failed in the face of hard, irrefutable facts.

The urgent need of the day is: bring back our peace.

The innocent blood that has been spilled is large enough to make an ocean and it is high time we brought back our peace, our girls, and our sense.

We seem to be stupid enough to appreciate that power is temporary but human life is scared.

To mark this year’s edition of the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2014, the Secretary General of the United Nations has a message that is still fresh for us: “Today is the International Day of Peace.

“Each year, on this day, the United Nations calls for a global ceasefire.

“We ask combatants to put down their arms so all can breathe the air of peace.

“Armed conflict causes untold grief to families, communities and entire countries.

“Too many are suffering today at the brutal hands of the warmongers and terrorists.

“Let us stand with them in solidarity.

“Peace and security are essential foundations for social progress and sustainable development.

“That is why three decades ago, the United Nations affirmed the right of peoples to peace.

“Throughout the coming year, we will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

“Our organization is founded

Too many are suffering today at the brutal hands of the warmongers and terrorists on the pledge to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

“We have made much progress.

“But much remains to be done.

“We must douse the fires of extremism and tackle the root causes of conflict.

“Peace is a long road that we must travel together – step by step, beginning today.

“Let us all observe a minute silence, at noon.

“Let us all reflect on peace – and what it means for our human family.

“Let us hold it in our hearts and minds and tenderly nurture it so that it may grow and blossom.”

In the light of the Secretary General’s appeal and the reality of life in our dear country, again let us give peace a chance.

This message is more urgent and pungent for us as we are confronted with the reality of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

We are blinded with hate and hypocrisy at the expense of the lofty teachings of our religions.

Our political and religious leaders are enemies of the masses.

They kill. They maim. They displace. They torture. They rape.

They shed the blood of the innocent; they aid and abet gunrunning because of power.

They have all the connections.

They have all the money. They have all the millions. They have all the private jets.

The purpose of Government is security; Nigeria is not secure.

The purpose of religion is to be good; our religious leaders are bad.

For the sake of vanity, they trade honour.

In Christianity, Jesus (PBUH) said, “In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets (Matthew 7: 12).

In Islam, Prophet Muhammad (SAW): “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.”

In Judaism, it is recorded in the Torah, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.

This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary (Hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 31a).

In Buddism, “Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful” (Udana-Varga 5:18).

In our traditional religions, we are all enjoined to be good.

As we mark peace, let our political leaders and religious gunrunners bring back our peace.

Nigeria is sick and tired of conflict.

God save Nigeria from Nigerians. God, bring back our peace.

BUSINESS Wednesday, September 24, 2014

What's news N20b Calabar Port contract awarded without procurement Fresh crisis is brewing in the maritime sector over the recent award of the N20 billion Calabar Port capital dredging contract without procurement.

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31 NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/business

ayodele aminu, Deputy Editor, business

ayodele.aminu@newtelegraphonline.com ayodeleaminu@yahoo.com

Telcos lose N267bn to inactive lines –Investigation COMPETITION

Subscribers tend to drop one SIM line for another because the new one is offering reduced tariff

Nigeria, others import maize from US to meet local demands

Kunle Azeez

I

n the face of declining Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), the subsisting case of inactive telephone lines in the Nigerian telecoms market is creating another revenue drainpipe for telecoms

operators in the country.

According to New Telegraph investigations, telecoms operators, including the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), have lost an estimated N266.9 billion to inactive telephone lines re-

Cordros Capital Limited traded N76.4 billion or 4.97 per cent exchanged in 3.3 billion shares.

FBN Securities Limited staked 14.7 billion shares worth N70.4 billion or 4.58 per cent, while BGL Securities Limited accounted for N56.6 billion or 3.68 per cent exchanged in 9.7 billion shares.

Meristem Securities Limited traded N43.7 billion or 2.84 per cent. Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited exchanged 2.4 billion shares worth N41.2 billion or 2.68 per cent, while Primera Africa Securities Limited accounted for N35.2 billion

corded monthly in the first half of 2014.

The revenue loss is arrived at using the subscriber figures released monthly by the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the current industry’s ARPU as provided by the operators.

The ARPU is a financial performance benchmark in the telecoms industry that measures the average monthly revenue generated by operators from each customer.

According to industry reports, current monthly ARPU in the Nigerian telecoms market is put at $6 (N936), with exchange rate of naira to dollar of N162.

According to investigation, from January through June, this year, telecoms operators recorded inactive telephone lines, leading to loss of potential revenue that would have accrued to them.

It was gathered that with 172.6 million connected telephone lines on all telecoms networks in January, only 127.9 million were active, leaving about 44.7 million inactive.

This, according to investigation, cost telecoms firms a whopping N43.7 million.

In February, when telecoms networks had 177.2 million connected lines, only 129 million were active, leaving 48.2 million lines inactive, which cost operators another N47.1 billion.

Similarly, a loss of estimated N44.9 billion was suffered by the operators when in March, of the 173 million connected lines, only 127 million were active, leaving a whopping 48 million redundant.

Also in April, with 177.3 million telephone lines on the networks, only 129.3 million were active, with 48 million lines not used to access networks, leading to a loss of N46.9 billion.

The estimated losses recorded by the telecoms firms in May was N45.9 billion with 178.1 million connected lines, of which 131.1 million were active, leaving 47 million telephone lines inactive.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

Nigeria and some other African countries are in short supply of maize import the commodity to meet local demands, investigation

by New Telegraph has revealed.

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Import data: Web Fontaine snubs Customs Internet technology service provider at the seaport, Webb Fontaine, is yet to handover data on import value to the Nigeria Customs Service in the last nine months.

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NPA approves firms' expansion at ports Technical approvals have been granted to Digisteel Limited and MRS Oil & Gas by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), to expand their services at Ogogoro village and Tin Can Island Ports respectively.

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BUSINESS CREW AYODELE AMINU, Deputy Editor (Business) Simeon Ogoegbulem, Dep. Business Editor BAYO AKOMOLAFE, Asst. Editor (Maritime) SUNDAY OJEME, Asst. Editor (Insurance) Godson ikoro , Asst. Editor (Money Market) DAYO ADEYEMI, Property Editor ADEOLA YUSUF, Energy Editor WOLE SHADARE, Aviation Editor

L-R: Group Head, Retail Banking/3PA (Third Party Acquired), Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Don Pas-Edokpolor; Executive Director, Finance and Strategy, Mr Abubakar Suleiman and Mr Murtala Usma of 3PA (Third Party Acquired) Unit, during a press conference on the introduction of the bank’s 3PA in Lagos.

PHOTO: Sulaiman Hussain

Top 10 brokers transact N926bn deals in eight months DOMINANCE A few dealing firms control trading activities on the local bourse Chris Ugwu

T

en leading stockbroking firms in the Nigerian Stock market exchanged 68.9 billion shares worth N925.7 billion in the first eight months of this year.

Investigation by New Telegraph showed that the N925.7 billion was responsible for 60.16 per cent of the total value be-

CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor Abdulwahab Isa, Finance Editor KUNLE AZEEZ, Senior Correspondent Chuks Onuanyin, Energy Nnamdi Amadi, Reporter JOHNSON ADEBAYO, Asst. Production Editor

ePayments: More confidence, less information }p-35

tween January 1st and 31st of this year.

Also, the 68.9 billion shares accounted for 51.84 per cent of the total volume during the period under review.

An analysis of the data showed that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited led with N241.7 billion, accounting for 15.71 per cent, exchanged in 12.9 billion shares.

CSL Stockbrokers Limited accounted for N162.7 billion or 10.57 per cent invested in 9.4 billion shares.

Rencap Securities (Nigeria) Limited equally followed with N162.5 billion or 10.57 per cent, which was staked on 7.7 billion shares.

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE August 2014............................8.5% July 2014.................................8.3% May 2014.................................8.2%

LENDING RATE

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parallel As at Sept 19)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N169.50 InterBank Rate . . . . . . . . . . 11.57% Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N277 Prime Lending Rate. . . . . 16.93% Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N220 Maximum Lending Rate..25.83% • Foreign Reserves – $39.59bn as at 18/09/2014

EXCHANGE RATE

(Official As at Sept 19)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N156.75 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N255.60 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N201.26 Source: CBN

32 business | NEWS CONTROVERSY The award of Calabar channel dredging is generating controversy among contractors Bayo Akomolafe

F

resh crisis is brewing in the maritime sector over the recent award of the N20 billion Calabar Port capital dredging contract without procurement.

Aggrieved stakeholders in the sector are challenging the choice of Calabar Channel Management, which never participated in any procurement process for the plum contract.

The last procurement exercise for the capital dredging of Calabar Channel was held in 2010. Six companies, Jan De Nul, Dredging International, Westminster Dredging, China Harbour Engineering, Lagos Channel Management (LCM) and Van Oord - participated after scaling the pre-qualification hurdle. But the exercise was later nullified and a reprocurement ordered following an attempt by the Ministry of Transport and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to manipulate the process in favour of LCM. Calabar Channel Management, which is at the centre of the current controversy, was incorporated after this episode. It is a partnership between NPA

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

N20b Calabar Port contract awarded without procurement and Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited, which allegedly belongs to a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator representing Imo State. Available records show that Niger Global owns 46.7 per cent of the joint venture, while NPA owns 53.3 per cent.

The re-tender organised recently for the six companies that participated in the 2010 bid witnessed the inclusion of Calabar Channel Management.

Even then, the bid never saw the light of the day.

Soon after the commencement of the process, NPA called off the exercise, citing Section 28 of the Procurement Act. That section of the Act stipulates that “a procuring entity may: (a) reject all bids at any time prior to the acceptance of a bid, without incurring any liability to the bidder and (b) cancel the procurement proceedings in the public interest, without incurring any liability to the bidders.

But to the aggrieved maritime stakeholders, the rejection of the bids was a ploy to circumvent the procurement process and deliver the contract to a party faithful who, according to them, has been in the forefront of the campaign for President Goodluck Jona-

than’s second term bid.

They claim that soon after the procurement process was truncated, Transport Minister Idris Umar announced to visiting traditional rulers from the South-South and South-East that the contract had been awarded to Calabar Channel Management.

The decision to discontinue with the re-procurement process was conveyed to contending bidders about three weeks ago through a letter signed on behalf of NPA’s Managing Director by the General Manager (Procurement), Mr T. S.

Izukun.

The letter, entitled Re: Re- Procurement of Capital Dredging of Calabar Port Access Channel: Cancellation of Bidding Process, reads: “This is to convey to you government’s decision to discontinue with the procurement process of the above-mentioned project.

“The cancellation is pursuant to Section 28 of the Public Procurement Act 2007.

“However, you are please requested to forward your account details to the Secretary of the Tenders Board to facili-

tate the refund of the money paid for the bidding documents. Any inconveniences are highly regretted.”

Going by the account of the aggrieved parties, it was through a similar ruse and a purported ‘Presidential Approval’ that the maintenance dredging of the Calabar Port went to the same company last year. The implication of this is that Calabar Channel Management is now entrusted with both the capital and maintenance dredging of the Calabar channel estimated to cost several billions of naira.

Telcos lose N267bn to inactive lines C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

In June, NCC's report revealed that telecoms operators had 170 million connected lines on their networks but only 130.7 million were active, leaving 39.3 million phone lines redundant, a scenario that cost telecoms firms N38.4 billion.

New Telegraph thus gathered that the total estimated potential revenue losses by telecoms firms was N266.9 million in the first six months of the year.

Commenting, an industry analyst, Mr Akin Akinbo, noted that many subscribers tend to drop one SIM line for another,

"ostensibly because the new one is offering reduced tariff or special value-added services or as a result of a promos being run by an operator, which promises more goodies for the operators or as a result of poor coverage of an operator in preference for another one.”

Another analyst, Mr Bayero Aganbi, believes that the launch of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), where a subscriber can drop multiple lines and use only one, which can be switched from one network to another is another trend capable of inducing increasing incidence of inactive lines in the country.

Top 10 brokers transact N926bn deals C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

or 2.29 per cent. Alliance Stockbrokers Limited traded N34.9 billion or 2.27 per cent.

In a bid to stimulate demand and engender competition in the stock broking community, the management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had in September 2011 introduced the ranking of the brokers by transaction value and volume.

The Exchange disclosed recently that among 307 licenced dealing members, only 235 are active.

It noted that there was a disproportionate amount of broker per dollar amount of capitalisation in Nigeria.

This, according to the Exchange, has made the market become unattractive to big

players and limits the size of the market.

Analysts believe these ten firms that have continued to dominate the activities on the Exchange, have some of the most diversified portfolio of clients.

Market watchers are worried that the activities of these big stockbroking firms have made the local bourse moved towards a market dominated by few buyers and sellers, who create room for all sort of imperfect competition, in order to accrue greater revenue and market share.

In addition to being the biggest trading houses for Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs), they also play big among the local institutional and high networth investors, thereby keeping other players at bay.

L-R: Vice-President, Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Babaganna Mohammed, President, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Nnoli Akpedeye; President, NSE, Ademola Isaac Olorunfemi; Chief of Staff to Osun State Governor, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola and immediate past president, APWEN, Olayinka Abdul, during the 2014 National Conference in Ilesa, Osun State.

Nigeria, others import maize from US to meet local demands DEFICIT Farmer groups and commodity merchants are importing corn destined for poultry into the country Bayo Akomolafe

N

igeria and some other African countries who are in short supply of maize import the commodity to meet local demands, investigation by New Telegraph has revealed.

Consequently, Africa still imports 28 per cent of maize to meet domestic needs.

Nigeria produces eight million tons of the global maize output translating to 785 million tons, but this is not enough to meet local needs.

Nigeria depends on the United States that produces 42 per cent for her deficit.

Currently, commodities in

the national strategic grain reserves are not enough to sustain the nation. Some of the grain reserves are corn (8,735 tons), sorghum (7,227 tons) and millet (2,299 tons).

Post-estimates, Nigeria’s corn production in MY2013/14 is put at 7.7 million tons, up from 7.6 million tons in 2012/13.

Last year, Nigeria took delivery of 100,000 metric tons of corn through the seaports due to high demand by the brewery sector and animal feed.

In 2006, the country imported maize worth $28,112, 2007 ($215,033), 2008 ( $136,699), 2009 ($1,731,380) and 2010 ($2,189,412) Africa produces only 6.5 per cent and the largest African producer is Nigeria with nearly 8 million tons, followed

by South Africa.

Worldwide consumption of maize is more than 116 million tons, with Africa consuming 30per cent and SSA 21per cent.

However, Lesotho has the largest consumption per capita with 174 kg per year. Eastern and Southern Africa uses 85per

cent of its production as food, while Africa as a whole, uses 95per cent compared with other world regions that use most of its maize as animal feed.

According Global Agricultural Information Network on 2014 feed and grain report, “at the moment, only a few large connected farms have been able to import maize from other United States to other country.

It was learnt that some farmers in the country broke the logjam on corn importation with arguments that the flooding in Nigeria of 2012 destroyed corn farms and this resulted in limited domestic supplies.

“Although wary about the fluctuating exchange rate since 2013 and possible sudden policy change in customs, more farmer groups and commodity merchants are bringing in corn imports destined for poultry feed. Imported corn is shipped in bulk but they are bagged in 75kilogrammes and 100kilogrammes bags upon arrival at Nigerian terminals.

33

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

AEPB: High-handedness of a taskforce that he came and they got him arrested? I also have an 18-yearold boy living with me - he also came around to help me and the AEPB officials also arrested him too. My friend that I called to come and help me out was also arrested immediately she got here. They even arrested me too. According to them, I was under arrest for public disturbance. I asked how I was disturbing them that I wanted the release of my husband.”

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

F

or Mrs Jennifer Chukwu, a housewife, her experience in the hands of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Task force will not be forgotten in a hurry. The husband who was beaten to a pulp at the Banex Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja, has God to thank for sparing his life after having a raw deal from officials of the Task Force.

Narrating her ordeal to New Telegraph, Mrs Chukwu explained that her husband who operates a business outfit at the Banex Plaza had left home on Thursday morning having been informed of a crisis going on at the plaza. She explained that her husband had rushed to the plaza to ascertain what was amiss.

Her words: “My husband has a business office in Banex Plaza and that Thursday there was a crisis there and he went there to see for himself what was happening. According to him, when he got there, he met thoese AEPB officials and some policemen. My husband said that he just stood around and was watching what was happening.

Then, the head of their operations announced to my husband and others that they (the AEPB officials) did not want to see anybody close to the plaza.”

Physical assault Thereafter, nobody could tell what transpired that led to the merciless beating meted on Chukwu.

The woman added that her husband was then taken by the rampaging taskforce men to a Police Station. “After beating him up at the Banex Plaza, they took him to the police station. By the time I was called upon and I got there, my husband could not speak. I had to get close to him, put my ears in his mouth to hear what he was saying,” she said.

But that was not all. Mrs Chukwu said that her insistence on taking her husband out of the Police Station for proper medical treatment earned her the wrath of the policemen on duty. “I told the DPO that I wanted to take my husband to the hospital but he told me that he could not release him without the permission of the AEPB so I had to go back to the plaza to meet the head of the operations of the AEPB, asked to be told the offence my husband, committed but rather than answering me, they dragged me about and tear-gassed me. In fact, it was God that saved me that Thursday.”

What shocked her most was when her husband was brought to the Area 3 Transit Camp of AEPB. The man, according to the wife, was almost passing out by then. “After this experience, they asked me to go to their office to collect a paper that would allow me take my husband to

Muhammed

the hospital. On getting there, I was re-directed to this particular office of theirs in Garki Area 3. I was still there when they brought my husband.

By this time, the man was totally down. His condition had worsened than the way it was when I met him at the police station.

“He could not stand, could not sit down and was breathing through his mouth. This was about three hours after he was beaten and denied medical attention. I became and started insisting that they release my husband to me for him to be taken to the hospital. That was when they now set up their mobile court after which I was allowed to take him to the hospital,” she narrated.

Arrest galore But if she had thought that was all, she got it wrong. Her effort to get her relations to come to rescue herself and her dying husband was yet another trouble.

Her friend and brother-in-law that she called on phone were

I insisted on knowing who beat my wife. The next thing I knew was that somebody hit me from behind and I was on the floor. From what eyewitnesses told me afterwards, they were over 20 AEPB men beating me both arrested and detained at Kuje Prison for what “was later charged as public disturbance.”

She explained: “Because of the nature of this case, I called my brother in law who is a lawyer to come and speak to this people. Can you believe

Beat journalist to pulp The manner of operation in the attack of the Chukwus was not different from what happened to a frontline journalist and publisher of a popular online newspaper, elendureports.com, Jonathan Elendu and his wife. It was a case of double assault for both the husband and wife.

What happened to the couple and those who were with them that fateful Saturday was just one case out of the numerous instances of highhandedness frequently exhibited by men of AEPB in the name of carrying out their duties in the Abuja city centre.

It was supposed to be a quiet Saturday for the Abuja-based United Kingdom-trained journalist and fashion designer, Muomah Wego. But unknown to her, agents of AEPB were lurking around the popular Julius Berger Bridge on that fateful day to turn her day to a nightmare she will not forget in a hurry.

Trouble started when Wego, in the company of her friend in a private car, attempted to allow the latter’s baby’s nanny alight from the car around the Julius Berger Bridge when a policeman approached the driver of the car to park well. This request however went awry when some men in AEPB uniform emerged suddenly, demanding the car keys on allegation that the driver parked wrongfully.

This, according to Wego, degenerated to a rowdy situation.

“They were violently pulling at the door to force it open while the others were making efforts to collect the car key,” she said.

But she incurred their anger when she brought out her mo-

bile phone to video the ensuing drama, particularly when a passer-by who cautioned the policeman and the AEPB officials was descended on for his gut to intervene in their official duty.

Wego who had a swollen eye to show for the encounter, alleged that the official was actually aiming at her teeth. He said: “Actually, they brought me to this their office in a bus and in that bus, I could not really help myself but I still thank God for the way I shielded my face from the beating, else the young man was majorly aiming at my face and teeth.”

Publisher of elendureports. com, Jonathan Elendu, went to the Area 3 Transit Camp of AEPB having been called on phone that his wife was in trouble. He was also allegedly thoroughly beaten by the rampaging environmental officials.

According to him, he was barely rounding off his routine handball training session at the Abuja National Stadium when he got a call to rush down to the Area 3 office of AEPB. Hence, in his sporting kits, he headed for the transit camp.

A confused Elendu narrated that he met his wife with a swollen eyebrow while her driver was being detained at the AEPB office at Area 3; He told New Telegraph that he was left with no choice than to find out who beat his wife. With bruised knee caps and weary look, Elendu said that no fewer than 20 men gave him serious beating for daring to ask who beat his wife.

“I came to the office of the AEPB and saw my wife’s face swollen and I asked who did this to her. I asked twice. A man told me he was the coordinator of the operations and was seeing it for the first time. I didn’t buy his answer and I insisted on knowing who beat my wife. The next thing I knew was that somebody hit me from behind and I was on the floor. From what eyewitnesses told me afterwards, they were over 20 AEPB men beating me.

You can see bruises all over my body. As I speak with you, I am in serious pains; I have difficulty sitting or standing.”

Northern firms lose 85% sales to insecurity –Bazaria Yusuf Shuaib Abuja

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usiness operators have continued to lament the negative impact of the current insurgency especially in the north-eastern part of the country.

Chairman of Natals Investment Limited, Aliyu Bazaria, said that security challenges facing the country has led to a significant reduction in turnover of companies operating from the northern part of the country.

He noted that most companies with branches in the northern part of the country are recording a low turnover as a result of mass exodus of people from the troubled states.

“The security situation has become a major challenge for most business-men and investors alike because of the activities of the insurgents,” he said.

The major distributor of goods and services urged government to take a more decisive action in tackling the security challenges in the country.

He further noted that the economy of the affected states is on the verge of complete collapse, pointing out that if the situation is not arrested, the implications for investment, job creation and hospitality would be more disastrous for the national economy.

According to him, many who cannot relocate their companies and business have been trapped in some locations in the affected states, just as many firms have lost up to 85 per cent per cent of their sales because they cannot ac-

cess most part of the northern market, hence manufacturing firms sourcing raw materials from the north are now facing serious challenge.

He said: “It is also disheartening to find out that many projects under construction in the north have been abandoned, while persons with landed properties have sold them at giveaway prices; security budgets have been scaled up by many firms, not to talk of the hassle the military and other law enforcement agents are going through,” he said.

34 BUSINESS | THE INVESTOR

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Capital market: Need for effective regulation Chris Ugwu

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perating environment relates to both the internal and external milieu under, which the companies operate.

The internal operating environment includes the vision, purpose, values and strategy of the organisation; its leadership competence, ethics and governance issues.

The external environment on the other hand, has to do with the adequacy of capital market institutions (defined as the rules, laws, practices and norms that regulate the conduct in the capital market.

A strong regulatory environment is crucial to protecting investors against infractions and enhancing investor confidence in the market.

Market watchers believe that the regulatory framework that is in place for the monitoring of market activities seems sufficient. However, the framework alone without effective supervision and enforcement will render a market prone to manipulation and lack of transparency.

Essence of regulation As a result of the dependence of the modern free market economy on a sound capital market for capital mobilisation, regulation has become necessary to ensure the market is always there and market failure is prevented or where it occurs at all, the impact is minimised.

Chairman, SEC Committee on Capital Market, Mr. Oladotun Sulaiman, in a paper he presented recently at a forum entitled ‘Regulating Nigeria's Capital Market: Road Map for the Future’ listed the three objectives of capital market regulation to include the need to protect investors, ensure markets are fair, efficient and transparent and reduce systemic risk.

Sulaiman noted that as in the case of the three-legged stool, the above three objectives are closely related and interdependent, and in some respects, actually overlap.

“Many of the measures to help ensure fair, efficient and transparent markets also help to protect investors and reduce systemic risk while many of the provisions to guard against systemic risk provide protection for investors,” he said.

Managing Director, Crane Securities Limited, Mr. Mike Eze, said one of the greatest benefits offered by strong regulatory environment is market discipline.

According to Eze, market discipline is believed to be capable of bringing out the best from not just quoted companies, but also other participants in the market.

He noted that companies should be encouraged to come into the market and all operators to play strictly by the rules.

“The discipline of corporate governance, forces of demand and supply, market valuation of stocks and companies, the requirements and encouragement of free information flow and regulatory provisions for protecting investors all add to the ability to deliver superior returns to shareholders.

Full disclosure requirements must be continually pursued in furtherance of the demands of market discipline,” he said.

Challenges of regulations Speaking on the challenges of regulatory issues, Sulaiman said one thing that was incontrovertible is agreement

Oscar Onyema

that the failure and inadequacy of regulation has been a major causative or contributory factor.

“Some of these have been traced to the inadequacy of capacity and capability of our SEC (in terms of people, systems and technology) to implement the provisions of the ISA and effectively exercise its authority over market operators, exchanges, SRO's and other market participants, especially as the market grew very rapidly (almost too rapidly) in size and complexity,” he said.

Other regulatory issues and challenges faced by the market have according to him, included: inadequate co-operation and co-ordination between and among our various financial markets regulators (SEC, CBN, PenCom, DMO & NAICOM) to assure coherent policies.

“Frequent inconsistent and uncoordinated policy initiatives and pronouncement from these regulators and agencies have created considerable uncertainty and market confusion.

Widespread market perception that the NSE, an SRO, is an entity independent of SEC authority and oversight and not subject to SEC rules and regulation.

The NSE is seen or sees itself as being at par with the SEC. “Lack of clarity in the ownership and governance structure of the NSE (even to market operators) and apparent inability of principal stakeholders to adequately exercise right of participation in the governance of the NSE. The foregoing are just a few of the regulatory shortcomings that were observed in the Nigeria capital market,” he said.

“Without a doubt our market has by and large served us well. This attests to the fact that it has not been all gloom and doom with market regulation in Nigeria. While the state of capital market regulation may have been adequate thus far, it is clear that in the post- meltdown world that will emerge from the ongoing crises, what we have today by way of capital market regulation will be totally inadequate.

Aruma Oteh

We also know that the current state of our capital market regulation will not be adequate to deliver our vision for the Nigerian capital market or for the market to realise its full potential,” Sulaiman added.

NSE’s efforts The Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, speaking on the next phase of growth at the 2014 Annual Business Luncheon of Capital Market Solicitors Association, said operating a fair and orderly market was at the heart of the exchange regulation.

He said that developing a sustainable investor protection framework has been a key pillar of the Exchange’s transformation journey.

To this end, according to Onyema, the Exchange has ensured that it has clear and enforceable rules, with a zero tolerance policy on all infractions.

“We have worked tirelessly to revise key rules for dealing members and issuers, and developed several new rules to create the much needed order, equitable treatment, efficiency and protection for all participants in our market,” he said.

To ensure that this is successfully achieved, Onyema noted that the Exchange has introduced a number of compliance measures, which include:

We have worked tirelessly to revise key rules for dealing members and issuers, and developed several new rules to create the much needed order, equitable treatment, efficiency and protection for all participants in our market,” he said

X-Issuer – a secure platform that allows issuers to electronically submit financial and other relevant information to the market and the Exchange in a seamless fashion. It was introduced to facilitate information disclosure, transparency and accountability in the market place; X-Whistle – which became operational this year, and empowers participants to confidentially report any fraud, or possible violations of the rules and regulations of the Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). X-Compliance Report – a transparency initiative designed to help maintain market integrity, by providing compliance related updates on all listed companies.

Others include: BrokerTraX – a tool that was introduced in 2012 to provide transparency into broker and brokerage firm compliance with the rules of the market; and market quality report (X-Qual) – also introduced in 2012. It is a tool, which offers brokers and analytical investors insight into how to derive best execution of orders in the market, and the quality of execution that can be expected.

The NSE boss noted that the compliance measures are supported by tight enforcement procedures, which include inspections, market surveillance and a vigorous penalty system.

“In any event, as a safeguard for the investor, the NSE has reinvigorated its Investor Protection Fund (IPF), which will provide investors a statutorily backed solution for reducing losses they might suffer as a result of the bankruptcy, insolvency, negligence or wrong-doing of a dealing member.

Beyond that, both the Exchange and the wider financial community recognise that sound financial education is a prerequisite for harnessing investors’ potential to save, invest and build wealth, while managing risk.

Thus, the Exchange does not only run a financial literacy programme to educate investors, it is a member of the Financial Literacy Steering Committee (FLSC), which is chaired by the CBN, and whose mandate is to develop and implement the financial literacy framework for Nigeria,” he said.

Onyema noted that in an effort to raise the overall level of competitiveness, the Exchange has recently developed a Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) for listed companies in partnership with the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI).

This rating system according to him, raises the bar for listed companies, in terms of acknowledging those that farewell on compliance with the rules of the Exchange, fiduciary awareness, and their ability to manage business risk.

“By remaining at the forefront of promoting good business practices, we can further increase our contributions toward the sustainable development of our listed companies, and invariably, the economy,” he said.

Conclusion As the market grows, especially in terms of the nature and variety of players as well as in transactions size and activity, regulatory vigilance must grow. The bigger the market gets, the more real the scope for efficiency but at the same time, the greater the tendency for sharp practices and downside market risk. Regulatory strength must therefore be continually reviewed and beefed up to match growth. Failure to do that will undermine the attractiveness of the Nigerian capital market and dampen its return prospects.

BUSINESS | MONEY 35

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Godson Ikoro

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ublic confidence in electronic payment system is on the increase.

Whether it is in the form of mobile payments for person-to-person payments, electronic payments of government suppliers, settlement of securities transactions, electronic payments of salaries and pensions, or electronic payments of individual or corporate taxes, Nigerians are increasingly falling in love with electronic payments.

Rise in transaction volume A testimony to this is a research conducted by Nextzon Services Limited and data from the banking payments systems department released at the weekend, which shows positive indications of consistent growth.

According to Nextzon’s report, the volumes and cash transactions in Nigeria increased from 355,252,401 and N1, 6741.4billion in 2011 to 382,252,401 and N2, 095.7billion in 2012. This depicts an increase of 7.7 and 25.4 respectively.

Similarly, the channels are equally doing well. For instance, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) accounted for 94.7 percent, Point of Sale (POS) terminal 2.3 percent, web and mobile payments, 1.5 percent each.

Specifically, volume and value of ATM transactions amounted to 375,487,756 and N1, 984.65billion in 2012 respectively.

These indicate an increase of 8.1 and 27.1 percent over the volume and value of 347,560,999 and N1, 561.75billion respectively in 2011.

Nextzone said that although the volume of mobile payments decreased by 37.0percent to 2,297,688, from 3,649,374 in 2011, the value increased by 65.8 percent to N31.50billion in 2012, from N19.0billion in 2011.

Going by research findings, data on various e-payment channels, showed that ATMs remained the most patronised, accounting for 98.1percent; POS terminals 0.7percent, and web and mobile payments accounted for 0.6 percent.

Indeed, at the turn of the millennium, banks were counting the total number of ATMs in the country in tens; today they are in thousands. Just three years ago, we barely had 5000 active POS. But today, there are over 100,000 installed in various merchants across Nigeria. The last decade indeed has been revolutionary for the national payments system.

All these are attributed to the growing public confidence in electronic payments system.

Similarly, data from the banking and payments department of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Nigerian interbank settlement system (NIBSS) instant payments (NIP) used for online transfers has grown at an annual growth rate of 199 percent and 190 percent in volume and value, respectively with total transfers on the platform in 2013 grossing N10.85trillion.

According to the Director of Banking and Payment System Department, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, the development goes beyond electronic payments growth.

Job creation Even jobs have been created with over 21 mobile money operators (MMOs) licensed with each employing not less than 20 staff along with about 66,930 agents.

He explained that electronic payments companies both indigenous and foreign have come into the market with positive impact on investment and employment.

He said the impact has been significant on financial inclusion, with banks’ physical channel density growing (though POS, ATMs, and branches) at an annual compounded growth rate of 59.6 percent between 2009 and 2013.

Fatokun noted that access to finance is being improved and is expected to further grow with the commencement of agency banking.

ePayments: More confidence, less information

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele

He said, “We are not unmindful of the challenges on our path to strengthening the electronic payments system culture.

“The infrastructural issues remain daunting, fraud is unfortunately booming globally and Nigeria is having her fair share especially with the low level of sophistry of our people on financial services.”

However, he said that the banking watchdog is effectively responding to these challenges.

Fatokun recalled that the CBN, sequel to the realisation that payments system especially through the settlement process usually indicates the initial distress signals among banks and the potential impact on the CBN’s role of lender of last resort and by extension monetary policy, gave deliberate attention to effective management of payment systems.

This he said led to the establishment of settlement framework from cheque clearing in 2004 to implementation of the real time gross settlement (RTGS) system in 2006.

Consequently, cheque clearing system into the RTGS, which settles the transactions on gross basis instantaneously, was adopted.

This, he emphasised, eliminated substantial risk from the payments system and maximum transaction limit of N10million was imposed on cheque transactions along with the cheque standard of 2006.

He also recalled that after the RTGs, upcountry-clearing cycle was harmonised in 2008 at T+2. Since then, the apex bank has not rested on its oars.

Fatokun explained that the apex bank deployed the appropriate technology such as the Chip+PIN for card transaction, mandating banks to comply with requirements for highly secured online payments platform by implementing cutting edge electronic banking security solution including but not limited to the implementation of hardware tokens, behavioural monitoring, SMS/email transaction alert, and anti phishing solutions.

In addition, the CBN is exploring the option such as its project with NIGCOMSAT to leverage the satellite technology for improvement of connectivity for its payments channels.

Minister of Communication, Omobola Johnson

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) should revisit call rates and ensure that communication companies improve on quality of delivery. This is important to increase the use of e-payment channels While CBN encourages service providers to deploy resilient technologies suited for environment such POS with multi sim pots and enhanced battery life, fatokun said the payments Terminal Service Providers (PTSPS) were licensed to tackle issues as they arise at various merchant outlets, to further ensure that downtimes are reduced to the barest minimum.

He said the apex bank is: “Committed to the singular objective of facilitating economic activities by providing safe and efficient mechanisms for making and receiving payments with minimum risks to the CBN’s payments service providers and end users, extending the availability and usage to all sectors and geographies, banked and unbanked, and conforming to internationally accepted regulatory technical and operational standards.”

Fatokun averred that CBN is focused on creating a future pervasive electronic payments usage through the implementation of additional initiatives in certain sectors, such as agriculture, hotels and entertainment, transport, education and health. While targeting existing as well as Greenfield cities such as Eko Atlantic in Lagos and the Centenary city in Abuja, CBN he said, will ensure that less cash is used for payments at retail outlets

for transportation and other services.

The future outlook for electronic payments in Nigeria is positive and we are convinced that our collaboration with media to sensitize the teeming populace,” Fatokun enthused.

History of payment system Efforts at entrenching robust payments system commenced with the establishment of the Lagos clearinghouse in 1961 by the CBN, which itself started operations in 1959. Over the years, the bank created clearing houses in all the states of the Federation including the FCT. The clearing house was however, nimble. Banks introduced cards and ATMs in the nineties, while the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) Technology was adopted in 1991 for enhanced processing of cheques. Sequel to the establishment of the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc in 1994 and a number of private switches 10 years later, cards, ATMs and POS transactions started gaining traction, while cheque clearing cycle improved to T+2 and T+5 for local and upcountry cheques respectively in 2002. The CBN issued the first guidelines on electronic banking in 2003, which covers a whole spectrum of electronic payments.

Constant service But Segun Aina, former president of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Onafowokan Oluyombo, in their book, “Financial Inclusion 2014’ emphasized that there is need for stable electricity supply to drive infrastructural facilities provided by banks, telecommunication companies and other related service providers such that fluctuation in the internet and other network communication is eliminated.

Conclusion This will also ensure stability and wider network coverage, as more ATMs, POS devices, mobile money are deployed to areas not yet covered. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) should revisit call rates and ensure that communication companies improve on quality of delivery. This is important to increase the use of e-payment channels.

36 BUSINESS

INEFFICIENCY Service providers bring sorrow to stakeholders in the port sector Stories by Bayo Akomolafe

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nternet technology service provider at the seaport, Webb Fontaine, is yet to handover data on import value to the Nigeria Customs Service in the last nine months.

The import data is expected to be imputed into the PreArrival Assessment Report (PAAR) but the company was

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Import data: Web Fontaine snubs Customs

reluctant to comply with Customs order on the matter.

President of the National Association of the Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Chief Eugene Nweke, said that the service provider had crippled business activities in the port in the last two years.

He explained that the company’s “inefficiency” had contributed to the failure of the Nigeria Customs Service’s Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) in the ports.

Nweke identified the service provider as one of the challenges facing the Customs’ PAAR at the port.

According to him, “the PAAR portal is not complete. The contract of the service provider stated that at the expiration of their contract, Web Fontaine should hand over historicalgenerated data on import value which will now be imputed into the PAAR,” which he claimed is yet to be put in place.

He alleged that the high cost of issuing PAAR was as a result of the challenge masterminded

by Web Fontaine.

“Consultants have gone around the world to gather necessary information and by the time we have a merger, they should come around with minimum information, but Web Fontaine refused to hand over the historical data.

“The value issued by PAAR is very high. We also found out that customs has gone out to find commercial invoice or our form M.

In June, General Manager of the West African Container Terminal (WACT) Nigeria Limited, Onne Port, Mr Innocent Ogbuji also complained over non-compliance with the 24hour service directive by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to the IT service provider.

He said that the attitude of the company had limited the scope of work at the port.

Ogbuji noted: “The Federal Government has pronounced that the ports should operate 24 hours; 24/7 seven.”

He said that the IT providers open for services between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., thereby limiting the scope of work in the port.

“On weekends, the officials don’t even work at all, thereby slowing down the free flow of containers in the port. Another challenge we have is in the area of the road. The road leading to the port is in bad shape.”

Customs seize 7,531 bags of rice, 40 vehicles in Ogun, Oyo he Nigeria Customs Ser- agricultural sector, especially Tsmugglers vice have arrested some in the area of rice production. using illegal route “Our resolve to deal with

Container ship moored to discharge consignments at Lagos Port Complex, Apapa

IMO to introduce new safety code for gas-powered ships T

he International Maritime Organisation’s sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC 1) has agreed at its inaugural session to introduce a new safety code, International Code of Safety for Ships using gases or other low flashpoint fuels (IGF Code), along with proposed amendments to make the code mandatory under the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS).

But the code would not apply to cargo ships of less than 500 gross tonnage, but the provisions of the code could be applied to such ships on a voluntary basis, based on national legislation.

The draft SOLAS amendments along with the draft code, it was learnt will be submitted to the parent body, the Maritime Safety Committee, at its ninety-fourth session (MSC 94, 17 to 21 November 2014), for approval with a view to subsequent adoption.

The basic philosophy of the code is to provide mandatory provisions for the arrangement, installation, control and monitoring of machinery, equipment and systems using low flashpoint fuels, such as liquefied natural gas to minimize the risk to the ship, its crew and the environment, having regard to the nature of the fuels involved.

The code addresses all areas that need special consideration for the usage of low flashpoint fuels, based on a goal-based approach, with goals and functional requirements specified for each section forming the basis for the design, construction and operation of ships using this type of fuel.

It was agreed that the new code should apply to new ships and to existing ships converting from the use of conventional oil fuel to the use of gases or other low-flashpoint fuels, on or after the date of

entry into force of the code.

The draft amendments include a new Part G in SOLAS chapter II-1 (Construction – subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations) related to ships using low-flashpoint fuels, requiring such ships to comply with the IGF Code; and related amendments to SOLAS chapter II-2 (Fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction), covering to the use of fuel with a low flashpoint. Further draft amendments would update the form of safety certificates, to include reference to the new Part G. Since the draft IGF code focuses, as a first step, on the specific requirements for ships using LNG as fuel, the Sub-Committee also agreed a work plan for the next phase of development of the IGF Code, to take account of the need to consider future proposals for the use of additional fuels for inclusion in the Code.

in Agbaja, off Igbeti area of Olorunsogo Local Government Area, Oyo State, with 2,000 bags of rice valued at N20 million.

The arrest was made by the Oyo/Osun Area Command of the service. Also, 5,531 bags of rice were intercepted in Ogun State by Customs. The rice is worth N65 million.

Its Comptroller, Richard Oteri, said 40 that vehicles were used in the smuggling, adding that the bags of rice in the seizure were worth N20 million.

He explained that the command’s anti-smuggling teams intercepted 40 vehicles with smuggled imported rice after a week of surveillance and monitoring.

He said: “In the face of the Comptroller-General of Customs’ zero tolerance for rice smuggling, the service has continued to intensify efforts at border policing to keep the recalcitrant, unpatriotic Nigerians off this unwholesome business.

“The command has again recorded another significant breakthrough over these saboteurs who do not have the interest of our nation at heart.”

The comptroller was worried over the spate of smuggling in the area despite repeated arrest of goods, vehicles and the criminals.

He lamented that smuggling of banned food was hampering the Federal Government’s efforts in transforming the

this problem remains unshaken, more so that the present management has boosted our capacity by the re-training of our men.

“The dedication, patience and commitment of our men to duty have paid off several times. I also thank other security operatives in the state for their support in enhancing security and intelligence gathering in the command.”

Also, the Ogun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service said it generated N672 million in August as against N505 million collected in the corresponding period of last year.

In a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Usman Abubakar, the amount which represents an increase of N166 million was the highest in the history of the command.

He said that the command also made a total of 143 seizures with a duty paid value (DPV) of N144 million as against 93 seizures with DPV of N47 million recorded in the same period of 2013.

A breakdown of the seizures shows 5,531 bags of rice, 1,480 cartridges of live ammunition, 9 sacks of Indian hemp; 25 sacks of second hand clothing were impounded in the period under review.

Others are 67 vehicles, 1,258 cartons of frozen poultry products, 10 motorcycles and 125 kegs of premium motor spirit also known as petrol.

BUSINESS | MARITIME 37

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Stories by Bayo Akomolafe

ICTSI invests in Nigeria, Congo as revenue hits $510m

global ports operator, International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), is currently investing in Nigeria and Republic of Congo as revenues jerked up by 23 per cent to $510.3 million in the first quarter of 2014.

The company is also eyeing port deals in North Africa as it continues to bet on fastgrowing emerging markets in the continent.

Diversifying abroad has been a key part of ICTSI’s strategy, helping it sustain earnings moving forward. It

INVESTMENT Shipping firm sees African countries as investment destination

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said in a filing last month that net income during the first half of 2014 hit $101.7 million, ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 3.57 million twentyfoot equivalent units (TEU) for the first six months of 2014, 18 per cent more than the same period last year.

The company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Administration Officer, Fernando Gaspar said that the group was focused on opportunities in Africa, even as it prequalified for port deals in Greece and Israel.

“Africa is coming up right now. We want to do in Africa

MV Ionian Wind discharging bulk cement at the Lagos port terminal

over the next few years what we have done in Latin America over the last seven years,” Gaspar said on the sidelines of the Asean Business Awards.

“The place where we are making a very big push is Africa,” he added.

ICTSI, which operates the Manila International Container Termina, the country’s main gateway for shipping cargo entered Africa in 2005 via the Madagascar International Container Terminal.

Gaspar said many nations in the continent offered various growth opportunities, even in more developed countries like South Africa.

He explained: “Right now South Africa has not gone into privatization. But we would be interested if they were.”

The company’s seven key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Madagascar, China, Ecuador and Pakistan accounted for 70 per cent of the group’s consolidated volume in the first half of 2014.

For the quarter ending June 30, 2014, total consolidated throughput was 18 per cent higher at 1.81 million, it said.

Capital expenditures for the first half of 2014 amounted to $104.5 million, approximately 34 per cent of the $310-million capital expenditure budget for the full year 2014, ICTSI noted.

Nigeria, Poland to partner on maritime, shipyard devt M inister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, has said that Nigeria and Poland would partner on maritime and shipyard development to boost the industry.

He disclosed this in Abuja when the Polish Deputy Minister of Economy, Mr Andrzej Dycha, accompanied by some Polish entrepreneurs visited him.

He informed the visitors that Nigeria had a lot of maritime opportunities for investors, especially in the on-going development of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency’s (NIMASA) shipyard and dockyard facility which groundbreaking ceremony was performed by President Goodluck Jonathan in May this year.

The shipyard, located in Okerenkoko, Delta State, is expected to build and maintain vessels when completed.

The minister said: “We are currently building shipyard and dockyard in Delta, so we will like to partner Poland, giving the opportunities that it has expertise in, adding: “We are looking for technical partners and private investors in shipyard infrastructural development.”

Umar stressed that discussion on development of the maritime sector would commence between both countries soon, adding that the Federal Gov-

ernment had executed many rail line projects.

He said: “We have a total of 3,505 kilometres of narrow gauge system. We are equally developing the standard gauge system. We have carried out a number of feasibility studies for new rail line corridors. Various investors have signified interest from across the world.”

Earlier, Dycha said that the position of Nigeria in Africa with regard to economy and potential prompted the visit of the delegation to Nigeria.

He said that Poland would cooperate with Nigeria in developing the shipyard and other maritime facilities in the country.

Dycha declared: “We have good platform for ventures; we

have good offers for infrastructure development and can offer soft loan at below one per cent interest, to finance the development of maritime academy.”

The Polish Ambassador to Nigeria, Przemyslaw Niesiolowski, who led the delegation, said that his country was also interested in maritime education.

He disclosed that Poland

had some expertise and technical know-how on railway development and planning of transportation network and infrastructure.

Niesiolowski said if bilateral relationship was established between both countries, there would be great improvement in the maritime industry in Nigeria.

High security level at Onne Port affects economy –Expert

he consistent placement of TLevel the oil and gas hub on Security 2 of the International Ships

and Ports Security (ISPS) Code is having an adverse multiplier effect on the economy of the country.

A Master Mariner and former consultant to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Capt. Abiodun Omotesho, who said this, declared that government has heightened the security level of Onne Port, Rivers State.

He said that the cost was too enormous for the country.

Omotesho also said that the insurance premium on ships coming into the Onne Port as a result of the heightened security level would increase insurance premium and freight rates while ships departing the port will experience delays because they would be required to undergo serious security checks.

At a one-day seminar organised by the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN) on the implementation of the International Ships and Ports Security (ISPS) Code in Nigeria, the master mariner explained that this is also creating apprehension among shipping lines and crew.

He said: “The Onne Port, for over two years now, has been on Level 2 and I wondered the damages it would have done to the economy of this country because I can’t imagine that you tell a captain of a ship you will be going to Onne Ports tomorrow and he knows you are on level two, his fingers will be biting.

“He will ask himself, ‘what is happening?’ How can I keep a ship in the port for so numbers of time?’ He will be praying to leave.”

He added: “The crews will

have to increase their insurance; they will say Onne Port is not safe for us because they are not operating on Level 1.

He advised that security levels at the port must be raised with caution because it is a very sensitive issue that affects a country’s economy.

Omotesho stressed: “The issue of security level is a very sensitive one and the implication that go with it. Can you fancy a ship alongside a terminal and all of a sudden she is advised they have to increase the security level? If you look at ISPS code, there are Part-A that is mandatory and Part-B, which is optional.

“If I am on board a ship as a captain and asked to increase my security level, the first thing I am to do is to tell the owners and by the time I inform the owners in Philippines or wherever, that

means there is a lot of restriction coming in. It is now something that is from one country to another because the ship is a state.

Also, the Port Facility Security Officer (PFSO) of Greenview Development Terminal (GDNL), operators of Terminal E, at the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, George Ubana, said that the reason for the step up of security level at Onne Port was because of incessant pirate attacks in the region.

Ubana said that terminals and port facilities across the country cannot all be on the same security level.

“The security level was raised because pirates attack vessels over there and as soon as a vessel gets there, they must have sent all the necessary information for them to step up their responsibilities and as they are doing that the port facility will also be on Level 2.

38 BUSINESS | MARITIME

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

NPA approves firms' expansion at ports OUTSOURCING Government approves outsourcing of P'Harcourt ports, others Stories by Bayo Akomolafe

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echnical approvals have been granted to Digisteel Limited and MRS Oil & Gas by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), to expand their services at Ogogoro village and Tin Can Island Ports respectively.

The move is to encourage private participation in port development Also, the authority has granted approval to Niger Dock for development of additional berth to its existing one at Snake Island.

Managing Director of the authority, Alhaji Habib Abdullahi, while presenting his two years of stewardship to stakeholders at the Eko Hotels in Lagos, said that NPA had processed some applications from prospective investors.

He said that government had approved the outsourcing of these services in Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri, and Calabar ports.

Abdullahi explained: “Already, applications from Port and Terminals Multiservices Limited, ML and Greenview Development Nigeria Limited, have been processed and recommended for requisite approval.

“In order to accommodate the rapid expansion and development in the port, we are

intensifying effort in the final production of a National Port Master Plan.”

Abdullahi also explained that the strategic developments have reflected in increasing cargo throughput to 77 million metric tons in 2013 from 44,953,073 tons in 2005 excluding crude oil and gas.

The managing director added that the major determinant of a good efficient and user-friendly port is hinged on vessel turn-around time, cargo dwell time, security of ships at berth, as well as safety of the channel.

He noted: “Apart from this, Nigerian ports were also in need of huge resources for rehabilitation and modernisation of its infrastructure in order to meet

most of the ports recorded increase in the Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) of vessels mainly due to the capital and maintenance dredging of the channel by our Joint Venture (JV) Companies, namely the Lagos Channel Management (LCM) Company, for the management of the Lagos channel and the Bonny Channel management (BCC) Company for the management of the Bonny channel,” he stressed.

He listed other major achievements as including: procurement of six Mercedes Benz (Actross 3332) fire engines with foam tenders, complete with accessories and one-year back-up spare parts; supply of two Mercedes Benz (Actross3332) fighting truck with aerial platform, complete

accessories and one year backup spare parts; supply of first aid intervention equipment; construction and supply of four Heavy Duty Fire Trucks; supply of six Land Rover (defender) fire tender with complete accessories and one-year back-up spare parts.

Other achievement include completion of the construction of 1.6km road at Laos port; reconstruction of terminals B and C at old Warri Port; rehabilitation of rail track at LPC; uation of the rehabilitation of TCIP quay wall and quay apron and third party projects which includes;completion of Island Berth on Lagos Channel

by Oando and completion of Eko Support Services at Bullnose, Apapa.

Stacked containers at port

NISA urges govt to make local shipping relevant eneral Secretary, Nigerian jobless/have no contracts while GAssociation Indigenous Ship-owners our domestic trade is taken up (NISA), Captain by foreigners must be reversed.

Dada Labinjo, has called on the Federal Government to adopt policies that would enable indigenous shipping to become more relevant.

He advised the local ship owners who have wandered to London, as a result of the pathetic state of the industry, to come back home to continue the struggle in order to reposition the industry.

He added that under the next dispensation, Nigerian government must consider Nigerian ship owners for contract awards.

Labinjo, a contestant for the post of NISA presidency, gave the advice in his office.

He declared: “We must get our jobs back,” he declared, stressing that with the forthcoming election, NISA must be able to put in place, credible officers who can selflessly protect the interest of the association.

“The forthcoming election will provide us an opportunity to elect those who will run the affairs of the association for the next two years. The new administration will be required to turn around the fortunes of our members for good; the situation where our members are

the demand of stakeholders.

Abdullahi said the management had continued to pay attention to first and foremost, improving existing port infrastructures in the areas of rehabilitation of port quay walls and aprons, deepening of our channels, upgrading of our common user facilities and wreck removal from our channels.

“The biggest vessel to call at any port in West Africa (WAFMAX) with a length overall 232.33 metres and capacity of 4,500 TEUS requiring draught of 13.5 Meters has started visiting our ports due to our consistent dredging campaign. The weekly call of the WAFMAX vessel to Lagos and Onne port is a great achievement.

“Analysis has confirmed that

“We shall call into the association all the Nigerian ship owners and maritime operators who are yet to be members of the association, engage government agencies (NIMASA), Nigerian Content Monitoring Board, Nigerian Shippers Council, NIWA, Nigerian Navy et al) to ensure that the intendments of the Cabotage Act and the Nigerian Content Act of providing jobs/ contracts for our members are realised, in addition to arranging financing for members to develop international and coastal shipping.

“This is indeed a call to service and nothing more.

It will require persons with good knowledge of maritime matters and associated issues, selfless, passionate and team players. Above all, such persons must be ready to sacrifice their time in the pursuit of the good of the association,” he explained further.

Labinjo who praised the selflessness and commitment of the current NISA chairman, Chief Isaac Jolapamo, said he had realised the needs to build on the legacies of the current administration, via new approach.

NPA lauds Ghana port on reforms T he Nigerian Ports Authority has sent some top management to Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to learn the port’s hybrid system where it provides services in the ports alongside the private sector while playing its supervisory role.

General Manager in charge of corporate and strategic planning at the Nigerian Ports Authority, Femi Jegede, led the team.

Jegede said that the electronic data interchange system, the automation of the port, the electronic surveillance system and the deployment of technology in cargo handling and security, among others, are innovations that Nigeria would want to replicate.

He said that NPA had commenced an automation programme, but the GPHA was ahead of it in that regard, adding that the authority would replicate some of the programmes initiated by their Ghanaian counterparts to ensure that they improve on the level of efficiency in port operations in Nigeria.

Jegede who was with his colleagues on a familiarisation visit to GPHA, said they were in the country to learn the Ghanaian experience and to have a firsthand knowledge of how things are done there and explore av-

enues of working together for the benefit of the two countries.

He lauded the authority for its reforms and the enhanced trade facilitation at the ports.

The general manager explained that NPA was using the landlord port model which makes the authority basically the regulator with the private sector employed or contracted to provide services in the ports unlike Ghana which is practicing both the landlord and the hybrid system where GPHA also provides services in the ports alongside the private sector whiles playing its supervisory role.

He noted that the two countries faced similar challenges such as manpower development and the dynamic nature of the industry, which requires a frequent upgrade of skills and knowledge to compete on the global scene.

Jegede stressed: “Port operations depend on the size of the economy and if the economy is flamboyant, port operations would equally match up and soar, and this is an indication that the shipping business is dynamic in nature which requires a lot of skill and expertise to handle.”

He explained that false declarations by importers and congestion at the ports were some of the challenges that confront ports operations in Nigeria. But

he said that the authority had been able to deal with the issue of congestion.

“The problem we have in Nigeria is that some importers deliberately import and leave their containers in the ports for longer periods as though the ports were warehouses,” he said.

Jegede however disclosed that Nigerian ports handled a cargo throughput of 85 million tons in 2013, adding that they expect to do about 100 million tons of cargo throughputs this year.

Head of Marketing and Public Relations at the port of Tema, Paul Asare Ansah, who took the delegation through the workings of the port of Tema, said that the port was happy with the visit of the Nigerian delegation and that it was testimony to the fact that the port was the preferred one in the sub-region.

Ansah declared: “The Nigerian Ports Authority has been sending delegations to us to learn from us what we are doing, you know we have gone through port reforms since year 2000 and they are also in the process of undertaking the reforms; in fact the reforms have been taking place across the sub-region so we have been receiving delegations from all over who come to learn from us how we are doing it and this obviously is one of such visits.”

BUSINESS | GLOBAL NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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philanthropic organisation of the Rockefeller family, along with a coalition of hundreds of other institutions and individuals, have announced a total of $50 billion divestments from the fossil fuel industry amid efforts to fight climate change, according to a statement.

Stephen Heintz, head of the foundation started by John D. Rockefeller - who made his fortune on oil in the early 20th century - said he believed the divestment would be in line with the fossil fuel tycoon’s business sense: “We are quite convinced that if he were alive today, as an astute businessman looking out to the future, he would be moving out of fossil fuels and investing in clean, renewable energy.”

The divestment announcement by the Global Divest-Invest Coalition came a day before world leaders gather at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City on Tuesday to pledge actions meant to avoid the worst effects of global warming. It followed a global climate protest by hundreds of thousands of people around the world on Sunday, with demonstrators calling on their governments to take action.

The fossil fuel divestment coalition began with just a handful of universities and foundations and has grown to 180 institutions and local governments as well as 654 wealthy individuals, according to a report by Arabella Advisors, an organisation working with the global fossil fuel divestment coalition.

“It was born in 2011 on just half a dozen college campuses where the students called on their administrations to divest endowments from coal and other fossil fuels,” the report said.

“Since January 2014, the number of commitments by campuses, churches, cities, states, hospitals,

Rockefellers, others announce $50bn divestment from fossil fuels pension funds, and other institutions both in the United States and abroad have more than doubled from 74 to 180.”

Most of the total $50 billion in divestments was pledged by local governments such as Eugene, Oregon; Ithaca, New York; Seattle, Wash; and by educational institutions including Stanford University, the report said.

Philanthropic foundations such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund accounted for eight per cent of the divestments, followed by high-wealth individuals, faith-based organizations, nongovernmental organisations and health-care institutions, the report added.

The standard divestment pledge included an agreement not to make new investments in the top 200 oil, gas, or coal companies. It also included a pledge to sell any existing assets tied to those investments within three to five years, and to invest in green energy companies.

“The snowball is picking up speed very rapidly,” Ellen Dorsey, executive director of the Wallace Global Fund and founder of the Divest-Invest Initiative, told the San Jose Mercury News. “There’s a new urgency imposed by the science. We have to orchestrate the end of the fossil fuel era in a very short time frame.”

While activists said the growing movement could result in making investments in fossil fuels appear too risky, others argue that the total divestment amount is small compared to the overall value of the industry estimated at $4.65 trillion, according to a report by research and

Mitsubishi to buy firm for $1.39bn state-controlled AhasNorwegian salmon producer, Cermaq agreed to be acquired by

the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan for $1.39 billion.

Cermaq, which has operations in Chile and Canada, as well as in Norway, is one of the biggest companies in the world in salmon farming. It sold 142,300 tons gutted weight of salmon last year, accounting for about six per cent of the global market. (Over 70 per cent of salmon sold in stores comes from fish farms.)

Mitsubishi said on Monday that it had agreed to acquire Cermaq for 96 kroner, or $15.11, a share in cash. The offer represents a 14.3 per cent premium to Cermaq’s closing share price on Friday and an 18.3 per cent premium to the three-month volume weighted average stock price.

“The offer recognizes the financial and strategic value of Cermaq and delivers an attractive offer premium to the shareholders,” Rebekka Glasser Herlofsen, chairwoman of the board of directors of Cermaq, said in a statement. “In addition, Mitsubishi Corporation represents a strategic and industrial

39

fit by strengthening Cermaq’s presence and reach in the important Asian markets.”

The Norwegian government, which owns 59.17 per cent of Cermaq, supports the sale. Still, the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries added on Monday that it could sell its shares to another party “if such party should present a more attractive offer than Mitsubishi.”

analysis company Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Some critics have said that the divestment campaign is hampered by a focus on publicly traded securities such as stocks and bonds, while most of the industry’s investment today is taking place on private markets.

But the originator of the initiative argued that the purpose of the divestments was not to put fossil fuel companies out

of business, but to “raise the specter of the financial risks and to compel ethical action,” Dorsey told the National Journal on Sunday.

In June, New York’s Union Theological Seminary voted unanimously to become the world’s first seminary to begin divesting fully from fossil fuels, eventually taking with it the school’s $108.4 million endowment and calling the world’s ad-

United Arab Emirate Central Bank Governor, Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi (right), with Jassim Al Mannai, chairman of the Arab Monetary Fund.

PHOTO:The National

Qatar infrastructure projects to hit $26.2bn

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he value of new infrastructure projects awarded in Qatar is expected to hit $26.2 billion by the end of 2014. The value of new projects across the GCC is expected to surge 77.8 per cent year-onyear to $86 billion.

Citing data released by leading Mena construction project tracker Ventures ONSITE, Global Investment House (GIH) noted in its second quarter of 2014 GCC Construction Contractors report that value of new projects in the UAE would rise significantly to $15.8billion in 2014 from less than $3 billion in 2013. Small contributors in 2013, such as Kuwait and Bahrain, are expected to witness ten-fold

and eight-fold jump in total value of projects to $3.5billion and $3.4 billion, respectively, in 2014.

Value of new projects undertaken in Oman is projected to increase 35 per cent year-on-year to $7.4 billion in 2014.

However, the total value of new projects in Saudi Arabia declined 13 per cent YoY to $29.3 billion from that in 2013.

The GIH note said that profits of GCC contractors dropped 17.7 per cent YoY to $42 million in Q2, 14 from $51 million in Q2, 13, the first decline in five quarters. Total value of projects awarded fell to $1.6 billion in Q2, 14 from $2.9 billion in Q2, 13, mainly due to a decline in the order receipt of UAE-based companies.

Siemens purchases oil field equipment maker for $6.4bn iemens has announced a Swhich deal to acquire Dresser-Rand, produces compressors, turbines and other rotating equipment, for $7.6 billion.

The German company beat out Swiss rival, Sulzer AG SUN.EB - 4.07per cent, which had been in talks with DresserRand over a stock-based merger, according to people familiar with the situation.

The all-cash nature of the bid likely proved decisive in reaching a deal with the much smaller Dresser-Rand, analysts suggested.

Siemens took in close to ¤76 billion ($97 billion) in revenue last year, while Dresser-Rand’s

diction to oil “profoundly sinful.”

It said it had joined more than 100 religious institutions, universities, cities, counties and other organisations in divesting.

In addition to ethical concerns, some recent reports have focused on the economic costs of climate change. In June, a bipartisan study said the effects of global warming could cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars.

total revenue was $3 billion.

Morgan Stanley MS - 1.54 per cent and Zaoui & Co. advised Dresser Rand, according to the company. Goldman Sachs GS -0.23 per cent and Deutsche Bank DBK.XE -0.76 per cent advised Siemens, according to people familiar with the matter.

J.P. Morgan thinks Siemens’ acquisition of Dresser-Rand is in-line with its strategy and that it will position it for more growth, particularly in the US. However, the bank says the deal is expensive compared to other transactions in the industry, “potentially mitigated by the margin improvement potential at Dresser.” Siemens’ potential

increase in oil and gas exposure comes late in the cycle, says JPM, which sees investments in oil and gas capital slowing this year and maybe next year as well.

DZ Bank further said that Siemens’ agreement to buy Dresser-Rand will improve the German company’s oil and gas business and its US operations.

The offer is high but can be justified because of the very good fit, DZ says. It was a strategic necessity, to keep out Swiss rival, Sulzer, which had also bid for Dresser-Rand, but only “as long as this does not lead to a bidding war,” DZ Bank says.

The GCC construction market is valued at $2.5 trillion, including planned and on-going projects, according to MEED. Qatar has projects worth $270.1 billion, accounting for 11.2 per cent of the total construction market. Saudi Arabia continues to enjoy the highest market share of 44.3 per cent, with projects valued at $1.1 trillion. The UAE holds the second-highest share at 30.3 per cent, with project value totalling $717.7 billion.

Order backlogs surged 10.8 percent YoY to $13.5 billion in the region in Q2, 14, after rising 23.2 per cent in Q1, 14. Total value of projects awarded was $1.6 billion, down 44 per cent YoY from $2.9 billion in Q2, 13.

On a quarter-on- quarter basis, projects awarded decreased marginally by 2.9 per cent. The UAE-based companies dragged the sector’s total project awards.

The region’s construction sector’s gross margin stood at 11.3 per cent in Q2, 14, marginally up from 11.2 per cent in Q2, 13.

However, on a QoQ basis, gross margin contracted from 11.6 per cent in Q1, 14. Operating margin contracted to 4 per cent in Q2, 14 from 5.4 per cent in Q2, 13.

GCC’s construction industry continued to expand in Q2, 14, which is clearly reflected in the 10.8 per cent YoY growth in order backlog. However, the sector’s profits, after growing for four consecutive quarters declined 17.7 per cent YoY to $42 million in Q2, 14.

40 POLITICS The House of Representatives reconvened last Tuesday after a two-month recess and resumed legislative activities immediately. PHILIL NYAM writes that the lower House has already initiated the process of including a referendum clause in the constitution

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Of Reps, referendum and constitution Considering the importance the executive attach to the conference, it may launch a massive lobbying that may compel the lawmakers to expedite action on the bill

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hen on March 17, 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan declared open the 492-member National Conference at Andros Otutu Obaseki Auditorium of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja, one issue that generated controversy was the idea of subjecting the report of the dialogue to a referendum. In fact, even before the inauguration of the August body, debate as to whether the outcome of such a gathering could be subjected to a referendum has been on. However, the framers of the subsisting 1999 Constitution did not envisage referendum and as such it is conspicuously missing from it.

In spite of this, Jonathan had hinted that there was a possibility that the outcome of the National Conference would be subjected to a referendum, based on the ongoing constitutional amendment which he says is seeking to open the space for public participation in governance.

The report of the confab is yet to be sent to the National Assembly may be because of the absence of a referendum clause. But President Jonathan has promised to forward the report of the conference to the federal legislators for consideration.

It is obvious that right from the outset, the president also raised the possibility of subjecting the decisions of the conference to a referendum. While he was inaugurating the committee, he noted: “Let me at this point thank the National Assembly for introducing the provision for a referendum in the proposed amendment to the constitution. This should be relevant for this conference if at the end of the deliberations, the need for a referendum arises.” But in the actual sense, there was no such proposal before the House ad hoc committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution. However, in response to the president’s appeal, the House seized the opportunity to initiate the bill.

The Bill Perhaps, this explains why the House of Representatives has begun moves to amend Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution to provide for referendum in the enactment or alteration of a new constitution. The bill has already been listed twice to be debated and may be given accelerated consideration. The exigency of this bill is no longer in doubt taking into cognizance the privilege it has enjoyed above other bills introduced in the House before it.

Titled, “a bill for an act to amend Section 9 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to make provision for referendum in the alteration or enactment of a new constitution,” is sponsored by Hon. Raphael Nnanna Igbokwe (PDP, Imo). This bill seeks to provide opportunity for the Nigerian people to participate in the process of amending or enacting a new constitution for the country.

Principal Bill Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution

number of members specified in sections 48 and 49 of this Constitution.”

Amendment Bill Igbokwe has proposed that Section 9 of the Principal Act is altered by adding a new sub-sections 3(A)-(G) to read: “(A) An alteration to more than one-fifth (1/5) sections of this constitution shall be subjected to a referendum of the people of Nigeria; (B) After returns are received from State Houses of Assembly in compliance to sub-section 2 of this section, such returns shall be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which shall conduct a referendum within three (3) months of such receipt” The amendment further stipulates in 3(C) that “Where the alteration is passed by simple majority of votes cast in two-thirds of all states of the federation, it shall come into force as part of referendum the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Again, (E) states that “The National Assembly may propose a new Constitution provided that such proposal shall be subject to approval of a referendum of the Nigerian people in accordance with sub-sections J(B) and (C) of this section; “(F) Nothing in this Constitution shall precludes the people of Nigeria from proposing a new Constitution through a National Conference provided that the new constitution shall be subject to the approval of a referendum of the Nigeria people passed by simple majority of votes cast in two-thirds of all states of the federation; “(G) During a period of proposing a new constitution, the existing constitution shall be in force until the new constitution is approved by a referendum in accordance with subsection of 3 (E) or (F) of this section.

Tambuwal

Igbokwe

provides that: “(1) The National Assembly may, subject to the provision of this section, alter any of the provisions of this constitution. “(2) An Act of the National Assembly for the alteration of this constitution, not being an Act to which section 8 of this constitution applies, shall not be passed in either House of the National Assembly unless the proposal is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of that House and approved by resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than twothirds of all the states. “(3) An Act of the National Assembly for the purpose of altering the

provisions of this section, section 8 or Chapter IV of this Constitution shall not be passed by either House of the National Assembly unless the proposal is approved by the votes of not less than four-fifths majority of all the members of each House, and also approved by resolution of the House of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all states. “(4) For the purposes of section 8 of this constitution and of subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the number of members of each House of the National Assembly shall, notwithstanding any vacancy, be deemed to be the

Outcome Just as the conference itself was an issue of debate, the amendment bill proposed by Igbokwe cannot be an exception. It may not be an easy task to get the amendment sail through.

But considering the importance the executive attach to the conference, it may launch a massive lobbying that may compel the lawmakers to expedite action on the bill. This is a signal that the president may delay the transmission of the conference report to the National Assembly pending the conclusion of work on the review and amendment of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The delay will be to facilitate the subjection of the report to a referendum should the National Assembly include it in the constitution.

If this bill passes in the House, the Senate will definitely endorse it if the character of the present upper House is anything to go by.

POLITICS 41

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Knocks as Reps seek repositioning of PCC The House of Representatives has held a public hearing aimed at amending the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) Act by taking away the supervisory powers of the Presidency over the agency to the National Assembly.

PHILIP NYAM takes a look at the bill

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The PCC The Public Complaints Commission (PCC) is an independent organisation established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1975 through Decree No. 31 of 1975, amended by Decree No 21 of 1979. The decree was entrenched in the 1979 Constitution of Nigeria and is now Cap 377 Laws of the Federation, 1990. The PCC has wide power to inquire into complaint lodged before it by members of the public pertaining to any administrative action taken by the federal, state, local governments, public institutions and companies whether in the public or private sector and any official of any of the aforementioned bodies.

In line with the law establishing it, PCC receives complaints from aggrieved persons against government agencies, corporate organisations or their officials has the power to investigate either on its own initiatives or following a complaints lodged before her. It also recommends appropriate remedial measures and shall be competent to investigate administrative procedures of any court of law in Nigeria.

But as it is in the case of most agencies of government, the PCC has been more or less dormant. It has not been proactive and this accounts for why many aggrieved persons in the country today do not reckon with it. This is why the House of Representatives has decided to amend the act establishing PCC in order to raise the ante of the discharge of its duties.

The bill In seeking to take over the supervisory role of the commission from the Presidency, the lawmakers are proposing an amendment in section 6 (2) to read: “The Commission may establish such number of branches of the Commission in all the states of the Federation as the National Assembly may from time to time determine.”

In order to make the commission more effective and independent, the

Azubuike

Nwankwo

BILL OF

WEEK

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he House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution has set out to amend the Public Complaints Act. Consequently, the committee organised a public hearing last week to aggregate the views of the public on how best to make the organisation live to its statutory responsibilities. The public hearing, which took place last Thursday, was made possible with the support of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and the British Department of International Development (UKaid).

At the one-day public hearing, which was attended by members of the House and other stakeholders including the police and the civil society groups, the consensus was that the PCC as it is presently constituted and operates has failed to deliver on its mandate hence the pressing need to make it work.

amendment bill has enumerated various changes in Sections 1 (1),(2), 2 (2) and 3(2). Section (I) states that “The chief commissioner, the deputy chief commissioners and other commissioners shall be appointed by the National Assembly upon the recommendation of the chairmen of the various committees on public petition and shall be persons of proven integrity and shall possess such other qualities as the National Assembly may determine…”

Another amendment, which the lawmakers believe will restore sanity and improve service delivery at the commission is found in Section 2 (3), which stipulates that “subject to subsection (3) of this section, the chief commissioner, deputy chief commissioners and other commissioners shall hold office for a period of (3) three years in the first instance and can be reappointed for another one term of (3) three years only. A Commissioner may at any time be removed from his office of appointment by the National Assembly.”

This shows that the National Assembly will be in total control of the commission. The executive will not have the power to remove any of the appointees except the National Assembly. This is aimed at wading off executive interference.

The bill also proposed an amendment to Section 8 to enhance enforcement and responsibility under the new dispensation. This is by way of reasonably increasing penalties for crimes committed under the new Act. This section, which is now Section 10 in the bill states that “(I) Any complaint lodged before the Commission shall not be made public by any person except a Commissioner and any person who therefore contravenes the provision of this subsections shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of N200,000 or imprisonment for six(6) months or to both such fine and imprisonment. “(2) If any person required to furnish information under this Bill fails

to do so or in purported compliance with such requirement to furnish information knowingly or recklessly makes any state which is false in any material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N200,000 or imprisonment for six months or to both. “(3) Any person who wilfully obstructs, interferes with, assaults or resists any Commissioner or any other officer or servant of the Commission in the execution of his duty under this Bill, or who aids, invites, induces, or abets any other person to obstruct, interfere with, assault or resist any such commissioner, officer or servant shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N200,000 or imprisonment for six months or to both. “(4) Any person who in respect of any complaint lodged by him knowingly makes to a Commissioner any statement, whether or not in writing, which is false in any material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for one year without the option of fine.

enhance their effective performance.

“With my knowledge of the workings of the Public Complaints Commission, I dare say that the commission more than others requires a dose of instrumentalities to make it functional and amenable to the need of the citizens and the society in general,” he said.

The public petitions chairman took a swipe at the commission saying, “Unfortunately, the commission as we know today cannot be said to be living up to its billing. Its long sojourn with the executive has negatively impacted on its status as an impartial arbiter.”

Azubuike also observed with disdain that “there is no doubt that the palpable misgivings on the state of affairs in the commission have caused a level of disquiet on its ability to address citizen’s grievances and discharge matters or cases brought before it. There is no gainsaying that this is not healthy enough for the effective performance of the machinery of government which the commission is to oversight, as the citizenry are left to lick their wounds in the face of official impunity”

The sponsor The sponsor of the bill and chairman of the House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon. Uzo Azubuike (PDP, Abia), in his remarks noted that the public hearing on the bill is aimed at updating statutory institutions to

Tambuwal chides commission Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, while declaring open the public hearing did not spare the PCC as well. He noted that the commission as presently constituted and operated in Nigeria has failed to meet the purpose for which it was established.

According to Tambuwal, “The failure of ombudsman in our country contributes to the failure of government institutions in Nigeria. The consequence is that it has transformed into a citizenry with a lot of grievances against government. By removing the commission from the Presidency to the National Assembly, it has made it more effective. The constitution of the board is a landmark achievement.”

Participants at the public hearing were indeed unanimous in their conviction that the PCC needs to be reworked to serve the nation better.

The Executive Director of PLAC, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, re-echoed similar sentiments ditto the representative of the DFID and other contributors.

The commission as we know today cannot be said to be living up to its billing. Its long sojourn with the executive has negatively impacted on its status as an impartial arbiter

42 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Echoes of federal (dis)favours in Kwara Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State had reason to roll out the drums again last week when they hosted Minister of National Planning, Dr. Suleiman Abubakar at a reception to celebrate his appointment, the reports BIODUN OYELEYE

P

rior to his emergence as Kwara State’s representative on the Federal Executive Council (FEC), there had been much mudslinging among key members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. They had variously jostled to either emerge as the party’s candidate or have their proxy fill the gap. This could be due to the fact that in the absence of any senior political office holder, the minister becomes the political rallying point and therefore leader of the party in the state.

The reception programme was in three parts; a homage to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, a party at the Arca Santa Hall, Ilorin and a time-out with journalists. But in all the events, two themes rang through the minister’s interaction; the first being the promise of a peaceful election in 2015 and the other being the desire of the party to return the state to the PDP fold, in the interest of ‘federal favours’.

Promises at Emir’s palace The promise of a peaceful election which the minister made when he spoke at the emir’s palace was instructive given recent happenings in the state and given fears in some quarters that with the constellation of the state’s political forces in one ward of Ilorin West Local Government Area, the coming elections would be fiercely fought especially in Ilorin emirate and that things could get physical. The list of political actors from Ajikobi ward of Ilorin West include former Governor Bukola saraki, his sister, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, Prof. Shuaib AbdulRaheem, Hajia Bola Shagaya and of course Abubakar. There are also similar scenarios in various communities in the state.

But the minister assured the traditional ruler there won’t be any cause for alarm. He assured the emir that the 2015 general election in Kwara will be conducted under a peaceful atmosphere.

Responding, the emir expressed happiness over the appointment of the Minister and prayed for his success. The royal father prayed for more of such appointment for the state saying “the more the merrier”.

Concept of ‘federal disfavour’ During the reception proper, Abubakar came out to celebrate his boss, President Goodluck Jonathan and to declare that unless Kwara joins the league of PDP states in 2015, the state stands to risk ‘federal disfavour’. According to him, the best decision for kwarans is to remain in mainstream politics of the ruling PDP come 2015 as he pointed out that the state in the last 11 years had not been in opposition and that going with the opposition this time would be a departure from its political tradition.

He assured party supporters and members that the PDP has a winning team that will take Kwara from its rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

The minister said the process of his emergence as a member of FEC had

Abubakar

Shagaya

Oyedepo

shown the changing landscape of politics in Kwara. He mentioned 11 stakeholders who sat down to ratify his nomination as a minister, a development he argued was a sharp departure from the practice in the state in the last 45 years where only one person allegedly decided who got what. He said the Jonathan administration has shown commitment to positively transform Kwara which he said should be reciprocated by the people in 2015 by reclaiming Kwara for the PDP. He listed his appointment as Minister of National Planning and that of the Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, happening within two months among other federal road projects as a demonstration of love the president has for the masses in the state.

politically. But he warned the minister not to rejoice yet until the party takes over the state in 2015.

power and our environment, but the state government has now refused to take that advantage, and leverage on it.

The question now is for you to take up the state government. Most people do not know that our state government here in Kwara collects N200 million monthly from SURE-P and the question is where does the money go?

“These are issues. I wouldn’t want to go into the nitty-gritty of what is going on in Kwara State but the fact remains that if we open our eyes very well as journalists, we would know that Mr. President in spite of the security challenges has been responding to the targets of the transformation agenda in the last four, five years.

“For the past 15 years, we have had steady democracy, we have had uninterrupted civilian government, we have had stable democratic dispensations in spite of our challenges, our differences along party lines, along ethnic lines, Nigerians out of our maturity, out of our new political culture have accepted the system of democracy as the best system.

That we are where we are today is a big achievement and that credit goes to the people, government, and journalists.

“Coming to Kwara State in particular, the state, as we all know in the last 15 years, we have experienced different romances. We have romanced with APP (All Peoples Party), we romanced PDP and now we are romancing with APC (All Progressives Congress). It is quite unfortunate. It’s politics but I want to believe that any state especially a state like Kwara that refuses to join the mainstream politics is vulnerable to suffering.

If Kano does, it has enough internally generated revenue to play with, Lagos has abundant resources to play with, if Rivers State is doing that, perhaps they have something to fall back on. But for Kwara State to decide to be in opposition for no reason other than that of one man is quite unfortunate.

“This is democracy and in democracy, individuals are at liberty to decide where to go.

“For the last three and half years, I have not seen any concrete development in Kwara State, I have not seen any new idea, I have not seen any new initiative in Kwara State and because of our rigid posture, out of our own selfish interest of an individual, what ought to have come to us in terms of driving things from Kwara at the federal level is not coming because somebody must be there to do it. It is all about interest. You can’t fight a government and still believe the government will patronise you,” he said.

Goodwill messages Major stakeholders at the reception expressed their readiness to work as a team with the minister. For instance, Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN) used the occasion to urge his supporters to work towards the success of the party ahead of 2015.

He advised them to resist temptation by the opposition party to lure them into the APC, saying it does not pay to be in opposition.

In her own comments, Hajia Muinat Bola Sagaya, the woman credited with being the pillar of the party in the state, urged the people to key into mainstream politics of the ruling PDP so as to enjoy dividends of democracy. Shagaya said her experience as a businesswoman had shown that it does not pay to be in opposition against the ruling party.

She urged them to demonstrate spirit of sportsmanship by accepting whoever eventually emerges as the party’s standard-bearer for the 2015 governorship election.

Former Minister of Transport and one-time gubernatorial aspirant, Alhaji Bio Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of representatives of Kwara North described the new minister as the current leader of the party in the state in the absence of a PDP governor, urging him “to be fair and just to all of us.”

In his good will message, the Chairman, Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof. Shuaib Abdulraheem expressed confidence that PDP will take over Kwara Government House in 2015 while the Special Assistant to President Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, Senator Suleiman Mkanjuola Ajadi who spoke on behalf of Kwara South, said with the minister’s appointment the state has started heaving a sigh of relief

On transformation, Kwara and mainstream politics Later at the meeting with journalists, the minister spoke about the transformation agenda of the Jonathan administration, particularly as it relates to Kwara and then followed up with arguments about what could happen to a state like Kwara if it refuses to dance along with the mainstream PDP in 2015.

His words: “The transformation agenda of Mr. President has some components and it falls within the framework of vision 20:2020. It is a visionary policy or plan. And a component of the agenda includes things as infrastructure, health system, education, energy, etc. We want to know what government is doing with particular reference to Kwara State.

“For instance, energy is one of the key components of the agenda. The Federal Government has done its own by privatizing the sector. It is now left for each state to key into that. For instance, Kano has keyed into it. When you go to Kano from the airport, you see electricity everywhere but some state governments are not doing that.

“The same thing goes for education.

Most Nigerians perhaps do not know how much government is spending on basic education, how much government is spending on UBEC (Universal Basic Education Commission)? How much comes to Kwara State Government? You and I know that when that money comes and the counterpart fund goes into it, we know how that money is being disbursed, who collects the contract, how much the contractor pays?

“The point I am trying to make is where we were some years ago before this government came into power is not where we are today. In terms of transformation, government has done well in fixing the health system, education,

To believe that any state especially a state like Kwara that refuses to join the... to be in opposition for no reason other than that of one man is quite unfortunate

POLITICS 43

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Hamisu Abubakar

C

hairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, has been called a political tactician-in-chief.

He has been called the Oracle of Uromi.

He also has been called Nigeria’s political Nostradamus. What is self-evident is that, in the firmament of the country’s politics for more than three decades now, Anenih is a man of exceptional importance and reputation. More to the point of this article, the recent adoption of President Goodluck Jonathan as the PDP candidate for the February 14, 2015 presidential election by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) proves once again that Anenih possesses unmatched capacity for political prognosis and strategy.

Anenih it was who, in early 2013, first suggested that the party should grant Jonathan automatic ticket to seek reelection in 2015. At a PDP family dinner held in Abuja on Thursday, May 30, 2013, he reiterated the idea and the suggestion garnered national attention.

During the event, the BoT chairman explained how experience had shown that squabbling for tickets at primaries invariably led to internal crises in the party before the main elections. Consequently, he advocated the automatic ticket option in order to avoid unnecessary and prolonged crises within the party.

At the time, a number of party members supported Anenih’s proposal.

However, there were also a few who did not agree with the BoT chairman’s idea. Fast-forward two years and four months to September 2015 and Anenih’s suggestion took on a life of its own. First, PDP members of the House of Representatives endorsed Jonathan to fly the party’s flag in 2015. Second, the PDP governors followed suit. The party’s BoT also toed the same line and then the NEC crowned it all, thereby indicating that the entire party had seen and accepted the wisdom in Anenih’s proposal.

To further buttress his unrivalled grasp of the intricacies of the nation’s politics, while others were dillydallying and unable to take a stand on whether Jonathan will run for reelection in 2015, Anenih was also the first to take a categorical stand. Speaking at a gathering of party members during a tour of the South-South zone by the PDP national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, Anenih said: “I want the national chairman to go home with a word from the father that come 2015, Jonathan will run for presidency for the second term.”

Clearly, Anenih’s confidence in Jonathan’s intention to run goes beyond what may be regarded as a political filial relationship, being that he re-

Jonathan: A prognosis and endorsement

Jonathan

ferred to himself as Jonathan’s political father. It is anchored in the reality that, as the sitting BoT Chairman and a founding member of the PDP, he is very conversant with the inner workings, challenges, and the many successes of the party.

It is worth recalling here that, to mark the 2014 Democracy Day, Anenih issued a statement in which he not only laid out some of Jonathan’s achievements; he also listed the major accomplishments of the PDP since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

In that statement, Anenih was quoted as saying: “Let me express how grateful we, in the Peoples Democratic Party, are to our fellow compatriots that they have entrusted our great party with steering the ship of state since our nation’s return to democracy in 1999.

It has been a great privilege and a momentous undertaking. And though – as with all human endeavours – we have had differences with our fellow citizens on the other side of the political divide, our on-going democratic journey is

Anenih

I want the national chairman to go home with a word from the father that come 2015, Jonathan will run for presidency for the second term proof that the PDP continues to faithfully discharge its foremost duty to our country, which is sustaining a stable, functional state.”

Anenih also said: “Indeed, in its 15 years at the helm of affairs of our great nation, the PDP has created an atmosphere that allows total freedom of expression, dissent and the greatest level of inclusive political participation ever recorded in our country. A case in point is that never before has Nigeria seen the high number of women in senior elective and appointive positions as obtains

today under the PDP’s leadership.”

Additionally, Anenih further remarked: “Moreover, it is to the credit of the President Goodluck Jonathanled PDP government that this ambience of democratic freedom has encouraged the most combative opposition rhetoric ever experienced in Nigeria’s history.

President Jonathan has also demonstrated respect for the rule of law by his non-interference in judicial, legislative and electoral matters.”

In view of the fact that as Chairman of PDP’s BoT, Anenih has first-hand knowledge of these achievements and many others; he can say with full conviction that Jonathan will seek re-election in 2015. And just as it has been proved that he had incomparable political foresight when way back in 2013 he began canvassing for Jonathan to be granted automatic ticket in 2015, it is safe to say that in the coming months, his certainty in Jonathan’s re-election bid and ultimate success will be proved right.

•Abubakar contributed this piece from Kaduna

Why I want to succeed Chime, by Enugu Speaker

CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 6

and properly transmitted a letter to the House of Assembly upon which the deputy governor then, acted as governor.

Most of the noise were made by political jobbers; people who are not familiar with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The House of Assembly acted in line with the constitution.

The House of Assembly acted in line with the provisions of the constitution and has so acted until the governor came back.

Of course the acting governor then was very familiar with the content of the constitution and had equally acted properly. When the governor came he transmitted the letter back and he took over his job.

What people said perhaps, erroneously about the House of Assembly I believe was borne out of ignorance; it was borne out of lack of familiarity with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It is equally borne out of their inability to abreast the situation on how government functions. Government is a product of law, and those who are operators of government conform to the law for them to validate whatever actions they take.

Having been in the House for eleven years, seven of which you served as Speaker, can you say you are fulfilled politically or do you still have political ambitions?

Life by nature is adventurous. I am presently making consultations on how to occupy the number one seat in Enugu State. I have not declared, per se, my interest but we are making consultations because campaign, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is banned for now. So, we are making consultations, if it pleases the party upon the consultations we have made so far to nominate me to fly the flag of PDP in Enugu State, of course I will be very happy to do that.

In fact, it is yielding dividends from the clamour and the people who are actually pressuring us to run. By the grace of God, after our consultations and when the party guideline comes out we shall determine whether or not we are going to pick the form. But we have done enough consultations to show that we may, at the end of the day run for this election.

What will be your programmes if elected governor of Enugu State?

We have our blueprint that is as a result of the consultations we have been making. First and foremost, the leadership in Enugu State has been such that every proud Enugu indigene should associate himself with. We are interested, if by the grace of God we sail through, to make sure we consolidate the effort of the laws we’ve made in the past seven years, which of course was translated into reality by Governor Sullivan Chime. People who are familiar with Enugu State know

there has been positive change from 2007 till date. And it is my wish, by the grace of God, if party finds me worthy to be nominated and then sail through during the election. We are going to consolidate on these achievements, and of course expand further frontiers of development in this regard. We are not going to regiment ourselves to what we have achieved so far.

We are going to move especially in road infrastructure and open up more places to encourage agriculture so as to provide jobs for our people.

I have the intention of boosting tourism because there are a lot of tourist potential in Enugu State. We equally hope that Enugu should be an oil-producing state; we have a lot of untapped potentials, especially oil deposit in the state. It is not just oil, there are lots of mineral deposits in the state. There is gas deposit in Ugwuoba, there is limestone deposit in Amaechi Idodo. All these have to be exploited for the benefit of the people of Enugu State.

business | MONEY LINE

44

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Banks raise N340bn capital in eight months, says FBN Capital

FUNDING More banks are expected to raise additional funds in the second half of 2014 and 2015.

banks’ capital bases for regulatory (compliance) reasons.

US Dollar funding requirements by customers in many cases led the banks to tap the capital markets, according to the report.

FBN Capital predicted that more banks are likely to raise capital in 2015 as a result of Central Bank of Nigeria’s new capital requirement rules, which are likely to come into effect in the next six to nine months.

The equity researchers said in the report: “We do not expect the regulatory environment through 2015 – in terms of new pronouncements out of the central bank - to be anywhere

Ayodele Aminu

A

bout N340 bilion ($2.1 billion) was raised by Nigerian banks between January and August this year, akin to the total amount raised in 2013, a new banking sector report has stated.

According to the Banks Sector Report for September 2014

by FBN Capital Limited, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, these capitalraising exercises were however not carried out solely to boost

as burdensome as the last two years. Notwithstanding, we acknowledge that new capital requirement rules (already announced) which are likely to come into effect over the next six to nine months will put pressure on banks to raise additional capital, including tier 1.”

It noted that following Diamond’s recently completed rights issue, Access is likely to be first out of the blocks in 2015 to come out with its own.

“We believe both Access and Diamond’s return on average equity could return to the upper-teens to 20’s within two years as the capital is deployed.

As such, their current P/B mul-

FG clears air on auto policy execution

T

here is no intention to reverse the implementation process of certain aspects of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan, the Federal Government has said.

The National Automotive Council said in a statement by its Director-General, Aminu Jalal, an engineer, that government had not reneged on its promise to shift the implementation process of certain aspects of the NAIDP till January 2015 as alleged in the press, noting that the application of the levy exemption was only being misinterpreted.

The DG said: “Government had already shifted the implementation of the full tariff on new vehicles from January 10, 2014 to 1st July, 2014 to enable importers clear vehicles they had ordered at the old duty rates.

Government only extended the concession on the importation of used vehicles only by another six months till 31st December, 2014.

“This was because up to three out of four imported cars are used and time needs to be given to the assembly plants to produce affordable vehicles to replace the imported used ones.

Unfortunately, this levy on new

cars was misinterpreted to mean that all vehicles, including new FBU imports were exempted from levies until 31st December 2014.”

He added: “This could not have been the case because existing and new entrants into the assembling process under the NAIDP had started to roll out new products at competitive rates. As a result of continuous inflow of new FBUs without restriction occasioned by this misinterpretation, assemblers began to cut down on orders for assembly kits and this has the potential to derail the policy."

Economic Indicators As at M2* CPS* INF IBR MPR 91-day NTB DPR PLR Bonny Light Ext Res**

N14,737,618.7m N16,509,472.5m 8 0.0000 12 10.899 7.96 17.01 US$109.9 US$42,604,781,796.6

Description

TTM

4.00% 23-Apr-2015 13.05% 16-Aug-2016 15.10% 27-Apr-2017 16.00% 29-Jun-2019 16.39% 27-Jan-2022 10.00% 23-Jul-2030

1.21 2.53 3.22 5.39 7.98 16.47

Tenor (Days) Call 7 30 60 90 180 365

Rate (%) 11.9167 12.3333 12.6667 12.9167 13.2167 13.5000 13.7500

NIBOR

Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 2/5/2014 1/20/2014 11/6/2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 1/20/2014 2/5/2014 Source:CBN

FGN Bonds Bid Price 90.20 99.25 104.10 109.35 114.15 76.60

Bid 12.10 12.10 12.05

FX

Bid Spot ($/N) 163.28 THE FIXINGS –NIBOR,NITTY and NIFEX of February 6,2014

Offer 163.38

NSIA, Seven Energy sign $100m investment guarantee Godson Ikoro

S

even Energy International Limited and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Nigeria’s sovereign wealth, yesterday signed an agreement for an investment of at least $100 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due in 2023.

The investment is to be issued and privately placed by Seven Energy Finance Limited, an indigenous integrated oil and gas development, production and gas distribution company with interests in Nigeria.

A statement jointly issued by the duo, in their commitment letter, said subject to certain conditions, for an investment of at least $100 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due in 2023, is to be issued and privately placed by Seven Energy Finance Limited.

Managing Director/CEO of the NSIA, Uche Orji, commented: “Through this invest-

ment, and future projects, NSIA is contributing to the transformation of the gas and power sectors. We expect that this investment will support the development of Calabar NIPP, Ibom Power, and other power stations. This is a further example of Nigeria’s successful public-private investment in infrastructure.”

Director-General of the DMO, Abraham Nwankwo, said: “We are pleased that through our innovative cooperation with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), we are able to contribute to their joint work with Seven Energy. This investment underscores the DMO’s role in the development of Nigeria’s power sector.”

Also commenting on the agreement, CEO of Seven Energy, Phillip Ihenacho, said: “This investment is a vote of confidence in Seven Energy’s vision to be aleading supplier of gas in Nigeria. I am very pleased that we have gained the support of NSIA.”

Says card-related fraud drops 98% Abdulsalam Isa Abuja

Offer Yield 13.01 13.40 13.47 13.49 13.44 13.59

Price 90.35 99.40 104.40 109.65 114.45 76.90

Tenor (Months) 1 2 3 6 9 12

Rate (%) 12.1827 12.2737 12.3744 12.8521 12.8535 13.8443

NITTY

Yield 12.86 13.33 13.35 13.42 13.38 13.53

Money Market Offer 11.85 11.85 11.80

pected in the near to medium term was that as at the start of 2013 (apart from needing to meet borrowers’ demands for loans), banks had begun to feel uncomfortable about the safety gap, which existed between their capital adequacy ratios and the required minimum ratio of 15 per cent as stipulated by the CBN for banks classified as international banks.

Payment system hurdles: CBN seeks banks' support

Treasury Bills Maturity Date 08-May-14 07-Aug-14 22-Jan-15

tiples of 0.8x (Access) and 0.4x (Diamond) are unjustified in our view.”

The report stated that it was expected that more banks would come to the market to raise additional funds in the second half of 2014 and 2015.

It further stated that the reason for this capital raising frenzy over the past 18 months and the continuation that is ex-

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday sought support from the banking sector to strengthen consumer confidence in the country's payment system.

Governor of the apex bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, stated this in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the eight annual banking and finance conference.

The confab with the theme: "Positioning Nigeria's payments systems for global competitiveness," was organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Emefiele said that while the apex bank had come a long way in repositioning the country's payment system, there was the need to ensure the security and reliability of the payment system.

He listed some of the challenges currently facing the system as weak risk management frameworks, security issues, resistance of target customers

to patronise new products and lack of unique identifier for customers across institutions.

Others are high operating costs, interconnectivity of networks, low level of card usage on point of sale and non-transparent pricing.

Represented by the CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr Sarah Alade, he said through some of the bank's initiative, there had been a drop in card-related fraud by 98 per cent.

He said: "While many of the CBN's efforts have gone into the transformation of the payment system in line with global trends, we should not lose sight of the associated risks and challenges, which I hoped would be adequately addressed at this conference.

"By this, we will be able to strengthen consumer confidence in the safety, security, and reliability of our payment systems, bearing in mind that when this trust is undermined, then public confidence in the financial services industry is eroded and the entire economy loses."

business | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS 45

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

23-Sep-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject to the FMDQ OTC PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement on www.fmdqotc.com.

Bonds

Price

FGN Bonds Issuer

Rating/Agency

NA

NA

Description 9.25 28-SEP-2014 4.00 23-APR-2015 13.05 16-AUG-2016 15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 16.39 27-JAN-2022 14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.00 23-JUL-2030 12.1493 18-JUL-2034

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

28-Sep-07 23-Apr-10 16-Aug-13 27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14

9.25 4.00 13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493

100.00 535.00 545.27 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 331.35 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 105.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,691.19

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,733.07

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

NA

***LCRM

Description

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

28-Sep-14 23-Apr-15 16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34

0.01 0.58 1.90 2.59 2.84 2.94 3.68 4.76 5.08 7.35 9.47 14.18 14.66 15.16 15.83 19.82

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

10.67 10.80 11.70 11.67 11.71 11.71 11.73 11.73 11.84 12.26 12.35 12.55 12.55 12.55 12.37 12.36

0.11 10.52 11.62 11.61 11.65 11.65 11.63 11.65 11.75 12.21 12.30 12.51 12.50 12.49 12.32 12.32

99.97 96.26 102.20 107.45 95.57 94.25 96.95 115.20 81.88 119.55 110.15 116.01 99.58 72.82 83.65 98.40

100.12 96.41 102.35 107.60 95.72 94.40 97.25 115.50 82.18 119.85 110.45 116.31 99.88 73.12 83.95 98.70

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

0.00 0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

978.35 24.56 3.30 112.22 116.70 66.49

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.10 0.67 1.28 2.21 2.57 2.78

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

11.67 13.47 13.51 13.73 12.71 12.71

98.81 91.65 104.61 100.99 99.23 96.68

15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19 02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

0.06 0.94 0.54 1.06 1.07 2.57 1.62 3.27 2.24 4.03 2.44 2.44 2.82 2.89 5.16 3.05 3.57 6.18 6.27 3.75 3.78

3.29 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00 4.78 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.74 1.00 1.00 1.94 1.44 1.95

13.96 15.41 14.01 15.51 14.54 17.30 12.50 13.51 13.53 12.74 12.72 16.50 12.71 12.71 12.87 14.46 12.73 13.15 14.12 13.17 13.68

99.95 97.52 99.41 98.96 101.50 85.31 102.14 101.20 100.95 103.87 103.87 95.36 104.07 106.70 105.98 100.71 105.50 101.40 103.53 103.88 103.83

1,301.62

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,286.08

Sub-National Bonds A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto A-/Agusto A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto A-/GCR

NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA

15-Oct-09 31-Aug-10 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 30-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14

14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00

6.00 8.50 6.08 6.27 7.37 57.00 29.92 25.00 37.25 9.00 14.96 11.13 27.00 17.28 80.00 27.51 11.40 87.00 5.00 4.78 4.79

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Corporate Bonds

483.24 485.99

A+/Agusto; AA/GCR

LAFARGE WAPCO

11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014

Aa/Agusto

GTB µ NGC

17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014

Nil

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

Bbb-/Agusto A-/Agusto

*UPDC

BB+/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

*FLOURMILLS

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto

NAHCO

BBB-/GCR BBB+/DataPro†; BB+/GCR A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR A/Agusto; A/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR BBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR BBB/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

FSDH

A/GCR

13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

*C & I LEASING *DANA#

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

*TOWER#

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

UBA

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

*LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

*DANA NAHCO

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

07-Oct-11

11.50

11.80

07-Oct-14

0.04

1.00

11.67

99.97

18-Dec-09

13.50

13.17

18-Dec-14

0.24

5.21

15.87

99.33

01-Apr-10

17.00

2.00

31-Dec-14

0.27

8.71

19.38

99.20

17-Aug-10

10.00

3.61

17-Aug-15

0.66

4.88

15.71

96.89

09-Dec-10

12.00

13.62

09-Dec-15

0.73

1.00

11.87

100.69

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.60

06-Jan-16

0.81

2.63

13.54

101.02

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

2.02

1.00

12.75

100.43

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

2.09

1.34

13.08

102.04

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

3.02

1.00

12.72

100.69

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.73

30-Nov-17

1.83

1.88

13.52

108.43

09-Apr-11

16.00

7.20

09-Apr-18

1.79

3.48

15.09

101.59

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.90

09-Sep-18

2.21

5.20

16.93

101.94

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.80

09-Sep-18

2.21

5.06

16.79

101.68

22-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

22-Sep-18

4.00

1.35

13.09

102.77

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.70

18-Oct-18

2.07

2.29

14.03

103.28

17-Feb-12

17.00

0.41

17-Feb-19

2.40

6.11

17.83

98.68

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

3.27

2.16

13.88

105.37

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

6.14

2.76

14.90

101.32

11-Feb-18

3.39

1.00

12.72

93.21

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

141.62

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

143.38

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

IFC

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

Issuer

12.00 11.18 Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value ($mm)

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

4.83

4.69

110.36

111.18

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.03

3.83

103.81

104.51

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

5.15

5.03

108.60

109.43

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,613.80

Corporate Eurobonds B/Fitch; B-/S&P

AFREN PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

6.94

6.94

105.75

105.75

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

4.29

4.29

105.04

105.04

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

6.57

6.57

101.72

101.72

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

8.56

8.03

94.83

96.43

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

5.92

5.60

100.28

101.45

B/Fitch

AFREN PLC II

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

8.69

8.69

105.75

105.75

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

6.03

6.03

100.85

100.85

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

8.84

8.60

99.63

100.55

B-/Fitch; B/S&P

FIRST BANK PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.43

7.43

103.01

103.01

B-/Fitch; B/S&P

AFREN PLC III

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

7.70

7.70

94.77

94.77

B-/Fitch; B/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC II

9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021

24-Jun-14

9.25

400.00

24-Jun-21

8.61

8.47

103.63

104.38

8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021

23-Jul-14

8.00

450.00

23-Jul-21

7.51

7.51

101.63

101.63

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

8.38

8.16

101.00

102.11

B-/Fitch; B/S&P

FIRST BANK LTD

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,760.00 4,837.99

**Treasury Bills DTM 9 16 23 30 37 44 51 58 65

FIXINGS Maturity 2-Oct-14 9-Oct-14 16-Oct-14 23-Oct-14 30-Oct-14 6-Nov-14 13-Nov-14 20-Nov-14 27-Nov-14

Bid Discount (%) 10.65 10.15 10.60 10.35 10.40 10.40 10.45 10.30 10.65

Offer Discount (%) 10.40 9.90 10.35 10.10 10.15 10.15 10.20 10.05 10.40

Bid Yield (%) 10.68 10.20 10.67 10.44 10.51 10.53 10.60 10.47 10.86

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 10.8000 12.4072 13.2603 13.9813

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

10.50

Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

O/N

10.75

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M 6M

163.80 163.96 164.22 164.66 166.00 167.13 170.82

163.90 164.21 164.53 165.42 167.07 168.72 174.20

Tenor Call 1M 3M

REPO

Rate (%) 10.58 12.14 12.95

NA

0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

***LCRM

09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

112.22 116.70 66.49

09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

2.21 2.57 2.78

2.00 1.00 1.00

15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19 02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

0.06 0.94 0.54 1.06 1.07 2.57 1.62 3.27 2.24 4.03 2.44 2.44 2.82 2.89 5.16 3.05 3.57 6.18 6.27 3.75 3.78

3.29 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00 4.78 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.74 1.00 1.00 1.94 1.44 1.95

13.73 12.71 12.71

100.99 99.23 96.68

1,301.62

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,286.08

Sub-National Bonds A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto A-/Agusto A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto A-/GCR

NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA

14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

46 business | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

CAPITAL BOOST

Access Bank prepares for Right Issue Stories by Chris Ugwu

T

he Quotations Committee of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Council has granted fiTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION nal approval to Access Bank Corporate Bonds Plc to be placed on technical A+/Agusto; AA/GCR LAFARGE WAPCO suspension.

Aa/Agusto GTB “This is further µ to the anNGC Nil nouncement on 15 September Bbb-/Agusto *UPDC A-/Agusto 2014 where the share price of *FLOURMILLS BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMS the bank was placed on techA+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO nical suspension pursuant to A-/Agusto FSDH anticipatory approval.

A/GCR UBA “This is coming on the heels BBB-/GCR *C & I LEASING BB+/GCR Rights ofBBB+/DataPro†; the proposed *DANA# Issue # BB-/GCRby the *TOWER of A-/DataPro†; N68 billion Nigerian # AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR lender.

The approval*TOWER follows the A/Agusto; A/GCR UBA application made by the bank to Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *LA CASERA the Nigerian Stock Exchange,’’ BBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMS# the NSE said.

BBB/GCR *DANA A+/Agusto; A-/GCR to the NAHCO According Exchange, TOTAL Bank OUTSTANDING VALUE Access will hold an ExTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

15-Oct-09 31-Aug-10 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 30-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14

14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00

6.00 8.50 6.08 6.27 7.37 57.00 29.92 25.00 37.25 9.00 14.96 11.13 27.00 17.28 80.00 27.51 11.40 87.00 5.00 4.78 4.79

traordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Monday, October 13, 2014 to seek its shareholders’ authorisation for the board of directors to raise additional equity capital in the sum of up to N68 billion by way of a Rights Issue.

The Quotations Commit11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 tee is13.50 responsible for granting GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 quotations the Exchange in 17.00 NGC on 31-DEC-2014 respect all companies/issu10.00of UPDC 17-AUG-2015 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 ers of12.00 securities, determining, 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 prescribing and/or enforcing 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 all listing requirements and 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 determining whether the Ex13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 change delist, suspend 18.00should C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 or withdraw quotations from MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 any quoted securities.

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 The Committee further pro14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018 vides15.75 market expertise and LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 advice to the National Council MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 regarding of The Exchange 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 international trends, issuers, investors and other market

Supranational Bond

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

IFC

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE he United for Africa TOTAL MARKETBank CAPITALISATION

T

(UBA) Plc yesterday said it hadRating/Agency entered into a partnerIssuer ship with the African Trade FGN Eurobonds Insurance Agency (ATI) to ease the flow of credit to cliBB-/Fitch; B+/S&P ents engaging in regional and BB-/Fitch; FGN international trade.

BB-/S&P This came hours after the BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P consensus forecast amongst 24 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE coverpolled investment analysts CAPITALISATION ingTOTAL UBAMARKET advised that the lender will outperform the market.

Corporate Eurobonds According to Financial B/Fitch; B-/S&P AFREN PLC I Times, this has been the consenB+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC I sus forecast since the sentiment B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC of B/Fitch; investment analysts deterioB/S&P FIDELITY BANK PLC rated on March 04, 2013.

The preB+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC vious consensus forecast B/Fitch AFRENadvised PLC II investors to purchase equity in B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC B/S&P DIAMOND BANK PLC theB/Fitch; bank.

B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC Meanwhile, the partnership B-/Fitch; B/S&P AFREN PLC III according to a statement from B-/Fitch; B/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC II UBA, was announced in NairoB-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK LTD B-/S&P

Sanctity of Truth

2014

Technical suspension: NSE grants final consent on Access Bank shares participants and new product opportunities relating to the listings.

In a statement made available to newsmen, the Quotations Committee directed management to draft robust rules on Suspension of Securities 07-Oct-11 11.50 and that the procedure for ap18-Dec-09 13.50 plying and implementing future 01-Apr-10 17.00 technical suspensions10.00 be com17-Aug-10 09-Dec-10 12.00 municated to the market.

06-Jan-11 Consequently , the 14.00 final ap13.00 proval 29-Sep-11 notification states that 25-Oct-13 14.25 the technical suspension on 30-Sep-10 13.00 the shares of Access 18.00 Bank Plc 30-Nov-12 09-Apr-11 16.00 will now run from 15 September 2014 to 09-Sep-11 15 October 2014.18.00 Normal 09-Sep-11 16.00 transactions on the shares of 22-Sep-11 14.00 the bank will resume 15.75 on 16 Oc18-Oct-13 tober 2014.

17-Feb-12 17.00 “The01-Apr-14 Nigerian Stock Ex16.00 15.25 change14-Nov-13 is committed to promoting just and equitable principles

of trade and sound business practices in the Nigerian capital market by enforcing its listing and trading rules in accordance with global best practices and 483.24

bi Kenya, after officials of both institutions, led by Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, CEO, UBA Africa and Description George Otieno, ATI’s Chief Executive Officer signed the pact to formalise the deal.

6.75 JAN 28, 2021 Under the agreement, ATI 5.13 JUL 12,cover 2018 will provide insurance for eligible UBA Group transactions 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 with its unique range of political risk and trade credit insurance products. The risk mitigation services will provide an alternative to collateral11.50 for UBA ’s corpoFEB 01, 2016 rate clients, who7.50 may otherwise MAY 19, 2016 face financial constraints in ob7.25 JUL 25, 2017 taining credit, while also protect6.88 MAY 09, 2018 ing them against 6.00 cross-border NOV 08, 2018 trade risks and a10.25 broad range of APR 08, 2019 6.25 APR 22, 2019 investment risks.

21,partner2019 Commenting 8.75 onMay the 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 ship, Uzoka said: “UBA is keen 6.63 DEC 09, 2020 to boost inter and intra-African 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 trade because of its capacity to 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021

Oando reports 103% profit growth 11.80

07-Oct-14

0.04

13.17

18-Dec-14

0.24

250.00

14-Aug-21

8.38

O

ando Plc, 31-Dec-14 one of the leading 2.00 0.27 oil and gas0.66 pro3.61indigenous 17-Aug-15 13.62ducer listed 09-Dec-15 0.73 on both the Ni0.60 Stock Exchange 06-Jan-16 geria (NSE)0.81 and 15.00 29-Sep-16 2.02 Johannesburg Stock Exchange 5.53 25-Oct-16 2.09 (JSE), has recorded a 103 per 20.00 30-Sep-17 3.02 cent pre-tax profit 0.73 growth in 30-Nov-17 1.83for 7.20 half-year 09-Apr-18 the ended, 2014. 1.79 2.90 09-Sep-18 The company in a filing 2.21 with 0.80 09-Sep-18 2.21 the Exchange posted a profit 35.00 22-Sep-18 4.00 before tax of18-Oct-18 N12.532 billion 2.70 2.07 during the review period 0.41 17-Feb-19 2.40 as against N6.155 billion, indicat4.50 01-Apr-19 3.27 2.05 a growth14-Nov-20 6.14 ing of 103 per cent.

141.62 Net earnings grew by 110 per 143.38 cent from N8.980 billion, during the first half of 2014 as against N4.271 billion11-Feb-18 in 2013, while3.39 rev11-Feb-13 10.20 12.00 enue dropped to N194.55 billion 12.00 accelerate development and in- compared with N280.32 billion.

11.18 tegration across the continent.

The company is also payOver the years, weCoupon have(%)sup-Outstanding ing aValue dividend of N1 per share Issue Date Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) ($mm) ported our customers to grow based on a 2013 dividend of 30 their business network across kobo and 2014 proposed interim Africa 07-Oct-11 and internationally in dividend of 70 kobo.

6.75 500.00 28-Jan-21 4.83 pursuit of a more prosperous Commenting on the results, 5.13 500.00 12-Jul-18 4.03 Africa 12-Jul-13 . UBA’s partnership Oando Group Chief Execuwith ATI will ease the flow of tive, Wale Tinubu, said: “The 12-Jul-13 6.38 500.00 12-Jul-23 5.15 credit to our customers and impressive results indicate the help them expand their busi- 1,500.00 company is beginning to reap 1,613.80 nesses across the continent” the rewards of its landmark He noted that intra-Africa $1.5 billion acquisition of Conotrade was estimated to be one coPhillips entire Nigerian busi01-Feb-11 11.50 450.00 01-Feb-16 6.94 of the 19-May-11 lowest globally at just ness, which has transformed its 7.50 500.00 19-May-16 4.29 10 per cent of total trades on status into Nigeria’s largest in25-Jul-12 7.25 350.00 25-Jul-17 6.57 the continent, adding 6.88 that this digenous oil 02-May-18 and gas producer.

09-May-13 300.00 8.56 “With the acquisition now was quite low when compared 08-Nov-13 6.00 400.00 08-Nov-18 5.92 with Intra-trade among the EU- complete and08-Apr-19 immediately8.69 cash 08-Apr-12 10.25 300.00 500.00 22-Apr-19 27 at 7022-Apr-14 per cent, 52 per6.25 cent for generative, the company’s6.03up21-May-14 200.00 21-May-19 Oando8.84 Asian countries, 50 per8.75 cent for stream subsidiary En07-Aug-13 8.25 300.00 07-Aug-20 7.43hyNorth American countries and ergy Resources has a total 09-Dec-13 6.63 360.00 09-Dec-20 7.70 26 per cent for South American drocarbon production capacity 24-Jun-14 9.25 400.00 24-Jun-21 8.61 countries,” he said. of approximately 45,000 boe/d, 23-Jul-14 8.00 450.00 23-Jul-21 7.51

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

14-Aug-14

ensuring that the standards set out are effective to maintain a fair and orderly market while protecting investors,” the statement noted.

485.99

UBA partners ATI to boost regional, int’l trade AAA/S&P

13.96 99.95 15.41 97.52 14.01 99.41 15.51 98.96 14.54 101.50 Wednesday, September 24, 17.30 85.31 12.50 102.14 13.51 101.20 13.53 100.95 12.74 103.87 12.72 103.87 16.50 95.36 12.71 104.07 12.71 106.70 12.87 105.98 14.46 100.71 12.73 105.50 13.15 101.40 14.12 103.53 13.17 103.88 13.68 103.83

8.75

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

1.00

11.67

99.97

5.21

15.87

99.33

8.16

101.00

102.11

2P8.71 Reserves of 230.6MMboe and 19.38 99.20 2C4.88 Resources15.71 of 547MMboe, 96.89 and 1.00 11.87revenue 100.69 expects annual of over 2.63million, and 13.54 annual 101.02 $600 free cash 1.00 flows of $150 12.75 million,” 100.43 he said.

1.34 13.08 102.04 Tinubu noted that the com1.00 12.72 100.69 pany’s strategic on the 1.88 13.52 refocus 108.43 3.48 15.09 upstream 101.59forehigher margin 5.20immense 16.93 101.94 sees value add for its 5.06 16.79 101.68 stakeholders in the near term.

1.35 13.09 102.77 “We have14.03 succeeded in re2.29 103.28 positioning ourselves98.68 within 6.11 17.83 the sector, and future 2.16 13.88through 105.37 2.76 14.90 101.32 acquisitions and innovative efficacy we will seek to up our market share in sub-Sahara’s upstream sector within the next five years to 100,000 boe/d 1.00 12.72 93.21 in net production," he said.

Tinubu explained that Oando has also made significant progress in extracting value Offer Yield (%) Bid Price Offer Price from its legacy assets.

Prices & Yields he said OML Specifically, 125 production increased by 4.69 110.36 111.18 17 per cent to 651,000 bbls, 3.83 OML 103.81 104.51 rose while 56 production by5.03 30 per cent to 171,000bbls 108.60 109.43 compared with last year, significantly impacting revenue and profit streams.

He said the company’s midstream business Oando 6.94 105.75 105.75 Gas and Power was currently 4.29 105.04 105.04 undergoing an extension of 6.57 101.72 101.72 its8.03natural 94.83 gas distribution 96.43 network by 8km from Ijora to 5.60 100.28 101.45 the business105.75 district 8.69Marina105.75 in6.03 Lagos state, 100.85positioning 100.85 the 8.60 100.55 the company to99.63 benefit from 7.43 103.01 growing demand for 103.01 gas and 7.70 94.77 94.77 power infrastructure in the 8.47 103.63 104.38 country .

7.51 101.63 101.63

4,760.00 4,837.99

23-Sep-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject to the **Treasury FIXINGS Money Market Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) FMDQ OTCBills PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement on www.fmdqotc.com.

DTM Maturity Bid Discount (%) 9 2-Oct-14 10.65 16 9-Oct-14 10.15 FGN Bonds23 16-Oct-14 10.60 30 23-Oct-14 10.35 37 30-Oct-14 10.40 Issuer Description Rating/Agency 44 6-Nov-14 10.40 51 13-Nov-14 10.45 9.25 28-SEP-2014 58 20-Nov-14 10.30 4.00 23-APR-2015 65 27-Nov-14 10.65 13.05 16-AUG-2016 72 4-Dec-14 10.10 79 11-Dec-14 10.60 15.10 27-APR-2017 93 25-Dec-14 10.25 9.85 27-JUL-2017 100 1-Jan-15 10.80 9.35 31-AUG-2017 107 8-Jan-15 10.45 10.70 30-MAY-2018 114 15-Jan-15 10.80 16.00 29-JUN-2019 NA NA 121 22-Jan-15 10.20 7.00 23-OCT-2019 128 29-Jan-15 10.80 16.39 27-JAN-2022 135 5-Feb-15 10.40 14.20 14-MAR-2024 142 12-Feb-15 10.80 149 19-Feb-15 10.40 15.00 28-NOV-2028 163 5-Mar-15 10.50 12.49 22-MAY-2029 198 9-Apr-15 10.20 8.50 20-NOV-2029 212 23-Apr-15 10.25 10.00 23-JUL-2030 226 7-May-15 10.10 12.1493 18-JUL-2034 317 6-Aug-15 10.20 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 3-Sep-15 345 10.15 *from the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the duration

Offer Discount (%) 10.40 9.90 10.35 10.10 10.15 Issue Date 10.15 10.20 28-Sep-07 10.05 23-Apr-10 10.40 16-Aug-13 9.85 10.35 27-Apr-12 10.00 27-Jul-07 10.55 31-Aug-07 10.20 30-May-08 10.55 29-Jun-12 9.95 23-Oct-09 10.55 27-Jan-12 10.15 14-Mar-14 10.55 10.15 28-Nov-08 10.25 22-May-09 9.95 20-Nov-09 10.00 23-Jul-10 9.85 18-Jul-14 9.95 9.90

Bid Yield (%) 10.68 10.20 10.67 10.44 10.51 Coupon (%) 10.53 10.60 9.25 10.47 4.00 10.86 13.05 10.31 10.85 15.10 10.52 9.85 11.13 9.35 10.78 10.70 11.18 16.00 10.56 7.00 11.23 16.39 10.82 14.20 11.27 10.86 15.00 11.02 12.49 10.80 8.50 10.90 10.00 10.77 12.1493 11.19 11.23

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION #

Issuer

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

Modified Duration Buckets

NA

***LCRM <3

3<5 >5 CAPITALISATION Market

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET

Description

Issue Date

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 Market Total Outstanding 17.25Porfolio FMB II 03-APR-2017 Value(Bn) Volume(Bn) 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 1,043.80 998.07 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

1,122.00 859.83 3,025.63

Tenor O/N 1M Outstanding Value 3M 6M (N'bn)

Rate (%) 10.8000 12.4072 13.2603 Maturity Date 13.9813

100.00 28-Sep-14 535.00 23-Apr-15 NITTY 545.27 16-Aug-16 Tenor Rate (%) 452.80 27-Apr-17 1M 10.5965 20.00 27-Jul-17 2M 10.5986 100.00 31-Aug-17 3M 10.6018 300.00 30-May-18 6M 10.9101 351.30 29-Jun-19 9M 10.9757 233.90 23-Oct-19 12M 11.2513 600.00 27-Jan-22 331.35 14-Mar-24 75.00 28-Nov-28 NIFEX 150.00 22-May-29 Current Price ($/N) 200.00 20-Nov-29 BID($/N) 591.57 163.7200 23-Jul-30 OFFER ($/N) 163.8200 105.00 18-Jul-34

4,691.19

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

10.50

O/N

10.75

REPO

TTM (Yrs) Tenor Call 0.01 1M 0.58 3M 1.90 6M

Bid Yield (%) Rate (%) 10.58 10.67 12.14 10.80 12.95 11.70 13.63

Tenor Spot 7D Offer 14D Yield 1M (%) 2M 0.11 3M 10.52 6M 11.62 1Y

2.59 11.67 11.61 2.84 11.71 11.65 2.94 11.71 11.65 :Benchmarks 3.68 11.73 11.63 * :Amortising Bond 4.76 11.73 11.65 µ :Convertible Bond 5.08 11.84 11.75 AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 7.35 12.26 12.21 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 9.47 Mortgage Bank 12.35 12.30 FMBN: Federal of Nigeria IFC: International 14.18 Finance Corporation 12.55 12.51 LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables 14.66 12.55 Management 12.50 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 15.16 12.55 12.49 O/N: Overnight 15.83 12.37 12.32 UPDC: UAC Property Development Company 19.82 12.36 12.32 NOTE:

WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company

Bid ($/N) 163.80 163.96 164.22 Bid Price 164.66 166.00 99.97 167.13 96.26 170.82 102.20 178.24

Offer ($/N)

Price 163.90 164.21

164.53 Offer Price 165.42 167.07 100.12 168.72 96.41 174.20 102.35 186.17

107.45 107.60 95.57 95.72 94.25 94.40 NA :Not Applicable 96.95 97.25 # :Floating Rate Bond 115.20 115.50 ***: Deferred coupon bonds 81.88 82.18 119.55expired 119.85 †: Bond rating 110.15 110.45 116.01 116.31 99.58 99.88 NGC: Nigeria-German Company 72.82 73.12 UBA: United Bank for Africa 83.65 83.95 98.40 98.70

4,733.07

Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

Rating/Agency

NIBOR

Bonds

951.30 922.92 2,872.29

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 Weighting by 03-Apr-12 Outstanding Vol 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 34.75 06-Jul-12 33.12

32.13 100.00

0.00 0.00

0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 34.50 0.00/16.50 37.08

978.35 24.56 3.30 Bucket Weighting 112.22 116.70 0.35 66.49 0.33

28.42 100.00

1,286.08 1.00

Weighting

by Mkt 17.25 Value

1,301.62 0.32

Maturity Date

31-Oct-14 24-May-15

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 15.79 06-Jul-17 33.35

0.10 0.67 Implied1.28 Yield 2.21 2.57 11.69 2.78 12.11

50.85 100.00

12.37 12.17

% Exposure_ 03-Apr-17 Mod_Duration

# Risk Premium (%)

1.00 2.63

Implied 2.27 Portfolio Price

2.00 1.00 118.9732 1.00 134.6478 103.5504 119.2090

Valuation Yield (%) 11.67 13.47 13.51 INDEX 13.73 12.71 1,130.00 12.71 1,140.15

Indicative Price 98.81 91.65

YTD Return 104.61 (%)

1,208.00 1,132.36

100.99 99.23 13.0003 96.68 14.0146 20.7999 13.2358

13.96 15.41 14.01 15.51 14.54 17.30 12.50 13.51 13.53 12.74

99.95 97.52 99.41 98.96 101.50 85.31 102.14 101.20 100.95 103.87

Sub-National Bonds A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto A-/Agusto A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR

NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER

14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018

15-Oct-09 31-Aug-10 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 30-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11

14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00

6.00 8.50 6.08 6.27 7.37 57.00 29.92 25.00 37.25 9.00

15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18

0.06 0.94 0.54 1.06 1.07 2.57 1.62 3.27 2.24 4.03

3.29 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79 1.80 1.00

NEWS 47

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Investors drag CBN to court over seizure of N22b Tunde Oyesina Abuja

13,741 investors AGasbout in Nospecto Oil and Ltd yesterday asked

the Supreme Court to affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which ordered the release of their investment worth N22bn seized from the firm by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

However, 14 of the investors, on behalf of others, asked the apex court to dismiss the appeal filed against the Court of Appeal judgment by Nospecto Oil and Gas Ltd. The investors, who are joined as respondents along with the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission, in their respondents’ brief, urged the Supreme Court to among others affirm the illegality of Nospecto’s business.

The 14 respondents are Matiluko Olorunnimbe, Badejo Rowland, Mrs. Victoria George, Ishaytayo Akanni, George Ushie, John Igho, Joshua Kanwai, Wada Fwa, Alhaji Abubakar Buba, Yakubu Lawal, Col. Gil Sese, Hajiya Bilikisu Rawayau, Olorunfemi Biodun and Adedeji Lawrence.

In May 2007, the CBN halted the business of Nospecto, which allegedly seduced investors with the promise of huge returns, on the grounds that it was carrying out an illegal business.

The CBN had frozen the company’s accounts and asked SEC to take custody of the money totalling N22,445,571,446.84.

Both CBN and SEC which are also respondents in the appeal before the Supreme Court, had not filed their brief.

Dimgba Igwe: Police have scanty information, says CP clueless

The puzzle surrounding this death may not be unravelled soon as police offer nothing Juliana Francis

T

he Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, yesterday revealed that there was little or no information available to catch the hit-and-run driver who killed the

Vice Chairman of The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr. Dimgba Igwe.

Igwe was killed two weeks ago by a hit-andrun driver, while jogging around his Okota home in Lagos.

Fielding questions from journalists on how far the police have gone in fishing out the killer of the late Igwe, Aderanti said that although there was scanty of information in the ongoing investigation, he would want members of the public to assist the police by volunteering any information to catch the driver.

This was even as he said that he hoped the driver that killed the journalist would have sleepless nights over his deed and come forward to the police to confess his crime.

He also advocated for the installing of Close Circuit Cameras (CCTV) in homes and streets, which he argued would help a great deal in solving crime in a metropolitan city like Lagos.

His words: “We enjoin members of the public to assist us with information. We want to know the colour and type of

car that hit and killed Dimgba Igwe. Information is very scanty. We need CCTV in our environs. Private individuals should begin to imbibe the culture of installing CCTV in their homes.

“With CCTV, this crime would have been solved long ago. In Lagos Island, a hit-and-run driver, reported himself to us. He said he was so disturbed that he couldn’t sleep. This is what we want from the driver who killed Igwe.

He should report himself or he would not be able to sleep,” Aderanti said.

Senate passes Corporate Manslaughter Bill Chukwu David Abuja

Senate yesterday conTandhesidered clause by clause passed the corporate

manslaughter bill. The bill is an effort to make corporate bodies and agencies liable for their acts of negligence, dereliction of duty or gross incompetence which results in a person's death, The bill was passed following consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, which was mandated to carry out the last tinkering on the document before the final approval by the Chamber.

The bill, which was sponsored by Late Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido, who until his death in June 2013, represented Delta Central in the National Assembly, prescribes a jail term of not less than

three years or maximum of seven years with an option of fine of not less than one hundred thousand naira and not more than one million naira.

It also provides that an organization guilty of corporate manslaughter is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than one million, with no maximum limit, so as to allow courts the privilege of imposing fines on corporations based on the gravity of the offence while putting their economic and social profile into consideration.

The corporate manslaughter bill further provides that all related offences under the Act may be prosecuted at the instance of the Attorney General of the federation, the Police Force and any private legal practitioner; with the court of jurisdiction being State High Court or Federal High Court of Justice.

Unreported rape cases rise to 81.9 % Muda Oyeniran study published Ationrecent by the Global Health Achas shown that less than one in five (18.1%) of 10000 respondents who have been raped in Nigeria report the offence to the police.

The major reason for this, according to the study is the stigmatization of the victims, resulting in rejection by families and communities and with police sometimes unwilling to make official reports.

“Due to this stigma, women and adolescents may be unwilling or unable to obtain a medical examination to substanti-

ate their report of rape”, the study said It said that the high rates of rape and low reporting underscored the need for specific actions to address sexual violence and to stem the tide on potential risks of HIV transmission It also identified shortcomings in the provision of Nigerian anti-rape law saying it made rape prevention challenging “First, according to the law, rape can only be committed by a man to a woman, and it involves only penal and vaginal sex. The law does not acknowledge male rape victims nor does it recognize anal sex as part of rape”.

Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih (left), with Jigawa Governor, Sule Lamido, when Anenih led other members of the BoT of the party on tour of Dutse …yesterday

2015: Tambuwal, IGP in crucial meeting Philip Nyam Abuja

S

peaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, yesterday held a closed door meeting with the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba at the National Assembly over the forthcoming 2015 general elections.

Responding to questions from the media after the meeting, the IGP

said the meeting was part of the police’s efforts in consulting with stakeholders on the best way to achieve free and fair elections come 2015.

He said the Nigeria Police was committed to ensuring hitch-free general elections in 2015.

The police boss expressed the readiness of the Nigeria Police to address challenges that might impinge on the successful conduct of the elections saying ``If you have challenges,

you come for solutions to those challenges.

Abba noted that the police have a significant role to play in the conduct of elections and the Nigeria police under his watch would do everything possible to deliver a hitch free poll.

He said: “Of course, you know too well that we have the elections ahead of us. And we should make sure that we are not only properly equipped but that we even have enough per-

sonnel to perform those responsibilities” According to the IGP, “And so appropriation is done here and that’s why I am here’’.

New Telegragh gathered that the meeting was to brainstorm on how to ensure proper funding and motivation for men and officers of the police, so as to discourage them from being involved in aiding and abetting electoral crimes for pecuniary reasons.

Benue endorses Mark for fifth term in Senate Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

overnor of Benue State, Gyesterday Dr. Gabriel Suswam, announced

that the Benue South Senatorial District seat currently occupied by the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark would not be vacant in 2015.

The governor, who spoke at the public pre-

sentation of a book: Suswam, Politics and Governance in Benue State", said Mark had done so well in the last twelve years that he deserved another term at the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Suswam urged other political aspirants from the district not to waste their time contesting for the seat in the next parliamentary elections.

Addressing a crowd-

ed audience in Senate, majority of whom were Benue indigenes at a book presentation in Abuja ,Suswam maintained that Mark's seat at the Senate was not contestable. According to the governor, the Senate President has performed creditably and it is only logical that we give him the needed support and encouragement to continue the good works in the upper legis-

lative Chamber.

"We in Benue State have endorsed the candidature of Mark to return to the Senate. The position of Senator Mark is not contestable. We want him back and there is no question or argument about it. Mark remains our choice. There is no vacancy. Our decision to return him to the Senate in 2015 is irrevocable," Suswam said.

48 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

‘South-West have no choice than to support Jonathan’ CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 5

Decree 2 and Decree 4 of 1984. He was a dictator of the highest order and I know the opinion of Papa Awolowo about him before he died. Why did Awolowo embrace Babangida who succeeded Buhari?

Babangida in the estimation of many people is far better than Buhari.

But he (Buhari) has many followers in the North?

That is in the North and there are reasons for that. Of course, you know this is a multi-ethnic society. Ethnic and religious sentiments are still very high in many parts of the country. He is seen as a champion and you cannot be a national leader if you are a champion of any particular religion, sect or ethnic group. So, I cannot see Buhari being a national leader of Nigeria that would be acceptable to everybody. He doesn’t have the tendency. In fact, as a matter of fact, Buhari was not even ready in the last election to campaign in other areas; he wanted to concentrate only in the North.

But some of your friends in APC are working on the permutation that if Buhari delivers the North-West and they deliver SouthWest, PDP might lose the election.

They cannot deliver South-West; they have failed.

You mean APC leaders?

They would not be able to deliver South-West...

But people like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is more grounded in South-West to deliver for the party?

Tinubu is not grounded in SouthWest. We will come back and review by the grace of God after February 14, 2015

Segun Oni did very well as a PDP governor and this is a man that did not take a single kobo of the state’s money. In fact, he left the office of governor in penury

Adeyeye

whether these people are more grounded in the South-West or not. Let us wait and see what will happen in Oyo, Ogun and even in Lagos State. The problem that we had in Osun State was that we didn’t put our house in order and I hope that we would be able to put our house in order in Oyo and Ogun states because if we put our house in order in Oyo and Ogun, it is a sure banker.

So you believe Jonathan will be able to win South-West in 2015?

Of course, already Ondo and Ekiti are in the kitty for PDP. In those two states, we have nothing less than 90 per cent.

Even in Osun, we are still going to win when it comes to presidential election and in Oyo and Ogun, by the grace of

God, we are likely going to take over the government of those two states and hopefully Lagos. We are going to concentrate and make sure that we have a good candidate in Lagos and unite all the warring factions behind that candidate.

So, South-West is not a sure banker for the APC. If their calculation is that they will win massively in South-West and massively in North-West, they have miscalculated and they are going to fail woefully. It is not going to work like that because in South-West at the end of the day, President Jonathan will have more votes than any other candidate. When the people of South-West are going to cast their votes, what would come to their mind would be; who am I voting for?

What does he represent? How will he take care of the interest of the people of the South-West? Nobody can better protect our interest than President Jonathan.

What about Atiku Abubakar’s chances if he emerges as APC presidential candidate?

Atiku is the same. Well, I don’t see him as an ethnic champion or religious bigot. But nevertheless Atiku lacks the charisma, passion, the fervent support

that is needed to emerge as president and I see the APC imploding even with their primaries. Let them chose their presidential candidate first and let us know the rest.

So, you mean whoever emerges in APC cannot stand Jonathan?

Whoever emerges in APC will not be able to face the PDP. The PDP structure is all over the country and at the end of the day when people are casting their votes, what would be in the mind of those who are enlightened, is to say which one will best serve our interest; Jonathan there or any of these people. And I want to tell you that Jonathan is best to serve the interest of our people than any other people parading themselves as best candidate for this country.

If APC finds itself in the presidency, what happens?

It is not going to happen.

If it happens, what would be the future of Nigeria?

It is not going to because if it happen, the future of Nigeria is going to be bleak with APC in power because these people don’t mean well for the country; they like personal power, personal aggrandisement. The thing going for the PDP is that so far, most of the people in the PDP are liberal-minded; they believe in the policy of live and let live. That is the policy of PDP and most of these people are found in the PDP. But in the case of APC, many of their leaders, either in South-West or even in the North believe in personal power, personal aggrandisement, building personal empires, financially and politically.

Voters’ apathy: Long road to popular participation CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

out of the process.”

Represented by INEC national commissioner in charge of publicity, Dr. Chris Iyimoga, Jega added that the electoral process is still being hampered by corruption, vote buying, snatching of electoral materials, intimidation and threat, among others.

He said what all these meant is that the current strategies for meeting the challenges have not been successful. He therefore stressed the need “to identify and close the gaps in our overall voter education programme and develop one that is not reactive but pro-active in its approach, responsive in its deployment and effective and sustainable.”

While some analysts have reasoned that the shortfall in the number of voters in the recent elections, particularly the Anambra governorship poll was due to poor logistics and the mix up in the voters’ register, some observers however CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 7

tration, all supported the motion, calling on the President to declare total war on Boko Haram.

Also, to back up their support, the senators expeditiously considered the request of President Jonathan for the approval of $1 billion external borrowing to tackle the security challenges in the country. They committed the proposal to the Senate Committees on Finance, Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative action. The committees were mandated to report back to the Chamber this week.

In the recent past, this would not have been possible. The opposition members and all those who have one grouse or another against President Jonathan would have kicked against

blame it on loss of interest in the system.

To the latter group, if the mix up in the voters’ register and poor logistics was responsible for the poor turnout in the Anambra election, that of Ekiti and Osun should have been different, as INEC was able to resolve the issues experienced in Anambra before the recent polls.

Those who share this view opined that whatever gains achieved in the 2011 polls are fast eroding due to disconnect between the people and the government.

“Nigeria is not running the way it should despite its huge potential. We have operated a country by politicians.

People feel that it doesn’t matter anymore to come out to vote. Right now, what most people are saying is: let them do what they like. That is the position of the average Nigerian and this is not good for the system,” an analyst said.

The General Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu, who

shared the view, however told New Telegraph that apathy among voters should be blamed on “INEC’s manipulation of the electoral process.”

His words: “The poor turnout of voters in the governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states shows that Nigerians don’t trust our electoral process. People still believe that elections are not free, fair and credible; they still believe that results are written. You will see massive turnout of voters the time our votes start counting.”

Ezugwu warned that the trend is likely to continue in the 2015 elections, as INEC has demonstrated that it cannot guarantee a level playing field with its recent creation of additional polling units. “Jega is not sincere with the electoral process and he has shown us early signals. He is no longer the activist that he used to be, so he must resign because Nigerians have lost confidence in him,” he said.

National Coordinator of Rights

Boko Haram, Ebola unite Senate the proposal.

Ebola unites senators Similarly, at the next plenary session, the Senate in a resolution that attracted zero opposition, also commended Jonathan for the impressive leadership he provided and prompt response in tackling the spread of Ebola virus in Nigeria. In the same vein, the senators also urged the Federal Government to immortalise the heroes and heroines, especially Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh who lost their lives to the outbreak of the EVD. Just as David Mark cautioned the lawmakers to desist from playing politics with critical issues of national interest, it seems that Boko Haram and Ebola

have turned out to be agents of harmony in the Nigerian Senate. While not undermining the importance of opposition in checkmating the system and compelling good governance on the ruling party, it must be done in public interest and not for myopic partisan concerns.

It is expected that the senators would sustain the current harmony and rise above the machinations of tribe, politics and religion in their legislative duties to Nigerians. If they place the future of the country above these parochial and divisive interests in whatever they do, one day, a new Nigeria will evolve, where all these considerations would not be the mediating factors in pushing the nation’s corporate existence to Eldorado.

Monitoring Group (RMG) and Country Director, Centre on Convention for Democratic Integrity (CCDI), Olufemi Aduwo, who also spoke on the issue decried what he described as the declining voting populace.

“The major problem INEC is facing today is voters’ apathy because we are seeing a decline in voting populace. Look at Osun, for instance, 1.4 million people registered; 900,000 persons collected voters’ cards and look at the number that eventual voted during the election. The figure is pathetic in a state of over three million people. So, the political parties and INEC need to do more in the area of voters’ education,” he told New Telegraph.

On the way forward, he suggested that the national identity card should be equally used to identify voters during elections because only few of the large populace are deciding who emerges as leaders.

Despite the criticisms, INEC says it will continue to put measures in place to strengthen the democratic process.

There is no disputing the fact that there is the need for continuous enlightenment and education if INEC’s quest to encourage popular participation in the electoral process is to be achieved.

Against this backdrop, it behoves on the various political parties to collaborate with the electoral body to correct the prevailing anomaly.

However, the responsibility of voter education should not rest with INEC alone, as political parties and other relevant stakeholders have roles to play.

While the parties should sensitise the people to exercise their civic rights, INEC on its part should be up and doing in voter enlightenment educating the people on their rights as the nation prepares for the 2015 polls to avoid wastage of investments committed to the election process.

NEWS 49

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Rumour over release of Chibok girls unfounded Emmanuel Onani he Defence HeadquarTdismissed ters (DHQ) yesterday rumours that

some of the abducted girls of the Chibok Secondary School in Borno have been released by insurgent group, Boko Haram.

The Director of Defence Information (DDI), Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said that the story was untrue.

The DDI later posted the following on the

DHQ's twitter handle: "The story circulating in respect of the release of Chibok girls is untrue.

"Buses drove into the Barracks but conveyed other individuals", Olukolade posted.

Earlier in the day, there was massive excitement among people of Borno State as news came that some of the girls captured on April 14 have been freed. However, it was later found that none of the girls had been released.

Reps approve establishment of ASC Philip Nyam ABUJA

he House of RepreTpassed sentatives yesterday through the

second reading, a bill seeking to establish the Audit Service Commission to allow for ease of administration for the organization.

This bill sponsored

by Hon. Uche Ekwunife (PDP, Anambra) also seeks to grant more powers to the office of the

Auditor-General of the Federation.

Titled: " A bill for an act to repeal the Audit Act of 1956, enact the Audit Act of 2014 in order to grant more powers to the Office of the AuditorGeneral of the Federation, establish the Audit Service Commission; and for other matters related thereto," the bill was referred to the House Committee on Public Accounts for further legislative fine-tuning.

SMEs laud Globacom’s partnership with SMEDAN

cross section of BusiAisations ness Member Organunder the aegis of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has commended Globacom for the empowerment grants being proposed for its members.

In the words of the National President, Beaded Jewelleries Designers Association, Mrs. Betty Adepoju: “Globacom has again demonstrated its resolve to assist Nigerians to break

the shackles of poverty by empowering micro, small and medium business enterprises. The grants would lead to rapid economic growth at the grassroots. It is a great privilege to be invited for this meeting”.

Also speaking, the National President, Association of Small Business Owners, Dr. Femi Egbesola, thanked Globacom for involving them in the planning stage and made a case for business friendly conditions to access the grants .

Lagos recovers N1.4bn from landlord, tenants' disputes Muritala Ayinla agos State Governor, L(SAN) Mr Babatunde Fashola yesterday said the

state government has, through its Citizens' Mediation Centre, CMC, recovered N1.4bn from January 2008 to August 2014 from cases involving landlords, tenants disputes and other related matters. The Governor said the amount was re-

covered on behalf of the citizens, who are either ignorant, poor and could not seek justice through litigation due to fear of unknown, despite the fact they had valid pecuniary claims or other enforceable legal right. Other disputes settled by the Centre, according to the governor, include: workplace, local, family, land disputes and inheritance and estate matters.

We didn’t adopt Chime, says community he people of Awgu Tpurported have denounced their adoption

of Governor Sullivan Chime for the Senate in the 2015 general election as reported by a national daily.

A statement made available to newsmen in Enugu today by the President of Ugwulesi

Autonomous Community Town Union in Awgu, Dr. Dominic Ogbu, the community said those who visited Chime were “self-appointed political jobbers representing no community from Awgu, hence they could not represent the views of their village, let alone those of Awgu people.”

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Saratu Umar (left), presenting a visionary leadership award to Niger State Governor, Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, during the first Niger State Investment Climate Summit, in Minna…on Monday

SWF: Governors’ suit against FG stalled Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

T

he suit instituted at the Supreme Court by 36 governors against the Federal Government over plans to transfer $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) was again stalled yesterday.

Though the case was filed by the 36 states governors in October 2008, however, the Federal Government approached the court pleading it to allow the parties to explore amicable resolution of the case through negotiation.

The court had at the last adjourned date fixed yesterday for hearing since all the moves by parties to settle

out of court failed.

At the resumed hearing, counsel to the plaintiffs, Yusuf Ali (SAN) and counsel to the defendant, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) told the full panel of the court that fresh papers have been exchanged.

The court, however, did not find the papers in the file before it, a situation which prompted an adjournment.

In a short ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Mahmud Mohammed held that, "having regards to the absence of vital processes before the court and in order to set the case for hearing, counsel should go to the registry of the court and put all necessary processes in place to enable the court

hear and determine the case once and for all.

"The case is hereby adjourned till January 26, 2015 for hearing."

Justice Mohammed however urged parties to settle the matter out of court.

New Telegraph recalls that the plaintiffs had in their consolidated suit, prayed the apex court for an order restraining the Federal Government from making any withdrawals howsoever from the ECA pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

They further urged the court to order that all sums standing to the credit of the ECA be paid into court or be otherwise secured as the court may deem fit pending the hear-

ing and determination of the substantive suit.

The governors maintained that unless the order of injunction was granted, the Federal Government would continue to disregard, disrespect and ignore the pending suits before the Supreme Court.

At the last adjourned date, parties told the apex court that the out-of-court settlement between the Federal Government and the 36 states of the federation has collapsed for the second time.

The Supreme Court had earlier granted a request by the parties to settle the matter out of court and to explore an amicable resolution of the disagreement.

AP inaugurates executives in Benue Aliyu tasks accountants on Cephas Iorhemen, Makurdi

T

he Benue State chapter of the Accord Party (AP) has inaugurated an 18-man interim executive to oversee its affairs in the state pending its congress which is expected to take place soon.

Former running mate to Prof. Steve Ugba, the defeated APC governorship candidate in the 2011 general election, Alhaji Abubakar

Usman popularly known as "Young Alhaji" who formally led his supporters to join the AP in a brief ceremony held at the party's secretariat in Makurdi last week emerged the leader of the party in Benue.

Ambassador Mike Gbasha, also of the APC is the State deputy leader while Comrade Joe Waya and Comrade Tar Ukoh are members of the executive respectively.

APC blames non-conduct of LG polls on Wike Lateef Ibrahim, ABUJA he Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has blamed Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesome Wike, for the delay in conducting local government elections in the state.

The party in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by the State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, accused Wike of engineering a lingering political crisis in the state, which has made it impossible for the Governor Chibuike Amaechi -led

T

Administration to conduct council polls even though it has always been willing and eager to do so.

According to the APC's statement: “This clarification has become necessary because of the propaganda by the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the reason why Gov. Amaechi does not want to conduct local government elections is because he (Amaechi) is afraid of defeat. Nothing could be further from the truth,”.

professionalism Dan Atori, MINNA

he Governor of Niger TAliyu state, Muazu Babangida has called on profes-

sional Accountants in the country to improve the quality of its members through training and retraining in order to sanitise the profession.

Governor Aliyu made the disclosure yesterday when he received the lead-

ership of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) led by its President, Alhaji Shakirudeen Labode at government house. According to him, as a professional body, the organisation should be concerned about improving the quality of its members through training and retraining and ensure that accountants in the country adhere strictly to the rules.

PUBLIC NOTICE

BETTER LIFE FOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN FOUNDATION The general public is hereby notified that the above mentioned FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration in accordance with Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act LFN (cap 20).

Members Of The Board Of Trustees: 1. Mrs Morenike Abigail Sule 2. Engr. Ibikunle Stephen Ogunbayo 3. Prof. Adewole Akinyemi Atere 4. Mrs Toyin Violet Ogwara AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To identify and reach out to widows and their children who has been deprived due to societal values and economic circumstances.

2. To alleviate the suffering of widows and their children by empowering them towards financial independence and their general wellbeing 3. To help the widowers’ children have access to good and quality education as well as quality healthcare services 4. To organise programmes, seminars, conferences and symposia gear towards the total wellbeing of widows and their children 5. To give moral and legal supports to widows and their children where and when necessary 6. To collaborate with government and donor agencies, corporate bodies and organisation of like minds in pursuit of the above objectives.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja, PMB 198, within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: MRS. TOYIN VIOLET OGWARA

50

WORLD | NEWS

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Air strikes hit ISIS target in Syria Anyim laments low land documentation

T

he United States and its Arab allies bombed Syria for the first time yesterday, killing scores of Islamic State fighters and members of a separate al Qaedalinked group, opening a new front against militants by joining Syria’s three-year-old civil war.

In a remarkable sign of shifting Middle East alliances, the attacks encountered no objection - and even signs of tacit approval - from President Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government, which said Washington, had notified it in advance.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates participated in or supported the strikes against Islamic State targets. All are countries hostile to Assad but now fearful of the fighters that have emerged out of the antiAssad rebellion they backed. U.S. President Barack Obama said in a televised statement that the strength of the coalition, including the five Arab states, showed the United States was not alone.

“Once again, it must

be clear to anyone who would plot against America and do Americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people,” Obama said before leaving the White House for the United Nations in New York, where he planned more talks to enlarge his alliance. Warplanes and ship-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles struck “fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles”, CENTCOM said.

Uwakwe Abugu ENUGU

S

ecretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, yesterday said Nigeria’s poor showing in lands documentation has remained a sore point in her rating on matters of land governance among the comity of nations.

The SGF, who was represented yesterday at the South-East stakeholders’ Workshop on Land Reforms, said Nigeria has duly documented only three percent of the 923,768 square kilometres of its land.

Anyim, who was represented by Senator Ben Collins Ndu, said as a result

of the sad development, the country has continued to be rated poorly among the comity of nations with regard to the speed and efficiency in the processes and procedures for land governance, adding that the consequence was that the land resources in Nigeria have not been put to optimal economic advantage.

According to him, it was hoped that appropriate titling and registration of parcels shall enable holders to harness the wealth inherent in their land asset and expressed happiness that the pilot systematic land titling and registration (SLTR) projects already embarked upon by the Land Reform Committee in collaboration with Ondo and Kano State governments respectively,

were yielding results.

However, the SGF said it was commendable that international development partners like Growth and Empowerment in States (GEMS), which was funded by DfID, a United Kingdom agency, have supported the projects in these states and embarked on similar projects and a few others.

According to him; “The pilot projects have proved that land titling could be transparent and quick.

The process of recording every parcel in the presence of adjoining owners is also expected to significantly reduce litigations.

We are expecting that the first set of Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) shall soon be rolled out from the pilot projects.”

Lagos LG boss seals council chamber, ignores calls from deputy gov Wale Elegbede

T Smoke rises from Jubata al-Khashab after it was bombed by a Syrian fighter jet yesterday.

S

uleiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday in New York following his conviction on terrorism charges. A Manhattan federal jury in March found the Kuwaitiborn 48-year-old guilty of conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to provide material support for terrorists and providing such support. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan imposed the sentence a few minutes after a seem-

Bin Laden’s son-in-law jailed for life in U.S.

I

Gaza peace talks resume in late October

srael and the Palestinians agreed yesterday to resume talks late next month on cementing a Gaza ceasefire, allowing time for Palestinian factions to resolve internal differences which could threaten the Egyptianmediated negotiations.

The meetings began in Cairo around noon under the leadership of Egyptian intelligence, having been delayed for almost three hours while Palestinian factions discussed whether to withdraw in protest

ingly unrepentant Abu Ghaith delivered a statement in Arabic, quoting the Koran and declaring that he would not ask for mercy from anyone but God. “Today, at the same moment when you are shackling my hands and intend to bury me alive, you are at the same time unleashing the hands of hundreds of Muslim youths,” he said through

over Israel’s killing of two Hamas members in Hebron hours before the talks were set to begin.

Israel said the two men abducted and killed three Israeli youths in the occupied West Bank in June, touching off a chain of events that led to the JulyAugust war in Gaza. The Palestinian delegation condemned the killings but said it would not give Israel a pretext “to escape”

an interpreter. “And they will join the rally of the free man.”

In response, Kaplan noted that Abu Ghaith had expressed no remorse for his actions and cited a video in which Abu Ghaith appeared amused by al Qaeda’s attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.

commitments made in an Aug. 26 truce that called for talks within a month to agree long-term border arrangements for the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Fifty days of conflict between Hamas and Israel left devastation in some Gaza districts. More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the fighting, according to the Gaza health ministry.

he crisis rocking the Mosan-Okunola local council development area took a new twist on yesterday as the Lagos State House of Assembly summoned the chairman of the council, Hon. Abiodun Mafe. That was following allegations that he flouted the resolution of the House in the crisis that has engulfed the LCDA. According to information gathered by the House, Mafe, sealed-off the Council Legislative Chamber over a month ago and efforts made by the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oorelope Adefulire

and party elders to make him open the Chamber for business were dashed as Mafe was said to have ignored her several calls. The assembly has, however, summoned Mafe to appear before it today(Wednesday)to explain why he allegedly locked the Legislative Chamber of his council against the resolution of the House that status quo be maintained till the outcome of an investigation into the crisis by an ad-hoc committee of the House. Describing the action of Mafe as an aberration, the Speaker, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who presided over the session, urged council chair-

men and political office holders to desist from endangering the country’s democracy. “I wonder what could happen if Governor Babatunde Fashola gets up and says Ikuforiji has done something annoying and locks up this place,” he said.

Speaking at the plenary, the Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Abdulrazaq Balogun, said that Mafe had been given the opportunity of fair hearing when the ad-hoc committee met. In his explanation, Hon. Bisi Yusuf, the lawmaker representing the area at the House, confirmed the content of the letter by the councillors.

TETFund approves N135b for institutions Clement James CALABAR

C

hairman, Board of Trustees of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Dr Musa Babayo, said the board has approved the allocation of N135 billion as direct disbursements to three tiers of tertiary education in the public sector.

He spoke in Calabar during the 2014 Joint TETFund/Federal Internal Revenue Service

(FIRS) interactive forum, yesterday.

The Chairman, who was represented by Mr Oladipo Salawu of the Corporate Planning & Development Department, noted that “the amount, which was made possible by the increase in education tax collection in 2013, represented 45 per cent increment on 2013 allocation to benefiting institutions.”

He said; “In 2013, the Fund surpassed its

target of N118 billion by recording a total collection of N279 billion. This indicates an increase of N161billion over the target set for the year.”

Also speaking, Executive Secretary, Prof Suleiman Elias Bogoro, who was represented

by Ahmed Babangida of the ICT department, said the partnership between TETFund and FIRS has shot up annual allocation to benefiting institutions.

Kaduna Utd players cry out over unpaid salaries

} P 54

51

AFN urged to shun oldies, embrace youths Charles Ogundiya

T

he Athletic Federation of Nigeria has been advised to discard some of the old athletes competing for the country to give room for younger athletes to shine.

A coach in the federation who crave anonymity said there was need to allow for up-

coming talents to be exposed to competitions especially now that some of the old athletes were not performing.

“If we look at some of those athletes, they don’t have anything to offer the country again. Look at the athletes that represented Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, how many

of the older athletes won anything for the country?” he asked.

He however added that it would have been better if Nigeria went to the competition with young talents and allowed them to gain valuable experience.

“Look at somebody like Gloria Asumnu, she has not

SPORT

won anything for the country internationally, why continuing with her when there were other upcoming stars?

“Even some of the athletes that were recruited from around the world to represent Nigeria were not faring better, why keeping them when we have lots of talented youths in the country?

Did you know?

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

‘No jealousy between Messi , Neymar’ }p.53

Giwa faction vows to stop elections }p.52

SPORTS CREW ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS EMMANUEL TOBI, Assistant Editor, SPORTS iFEANYI IBEH,

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Ajibade olusesan, SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

charles ogundiya, SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

51

That Abou Diaby has had a reported 40 injuries in his eight years at Arsenal

Wednesday, september 24, 2014

Eagles: New NFF board targets Keshi’s exit

lAmodu, Oliseh, Amokachi on standby

lIk Uche, Martins, Aiyenugba may return Emmanuel Tobi

G

“The performance of athletes like Ese Brume and Divine Oduduru has shown that there are lots of talents that can improve our performance at the world stage,” the source said.

Ese Brume was one of the stars of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where she won a gold medal in long jump.

ladiators jostling to head the new Nigeria Football Federation board are not favourably disposed to retaining Stephen Keshi as coach of the Super Eagles this is authoritative.

Keshi was temporarily reengaged by the Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, to oversee Nigeria’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations double-header against

Congo and South Africa, while discussions on a permanent renewal of his contract continues with the NFF. The former Eagles captain’s situation became precarious after Nigeria suffered a 3-2 home loss to the Red Devils of Congo in Calabar and managed a goalless draw with the Bafana Bafana in South Africa to put Nigeria’s qualification for the defence of the Nations Cup title at great risk.

The results meant that the

Eagles would have to win all their remaining matches, including the two legs against Sudan next month, to raise hopes of qualifying for the 2015 fiesta in Morocco.

“Keshi has done well for the country but it’s time we looked elsewhere because of the situation we now find ourselves. Most of us were not very keen on his contract renewal because of his tactical approach, high-handedness over players’ invitation and constant media war with the NFF,” a top contender for the NFF post who pleaded anonymity informed New Tele-

graph.

“We have several options at our disposal and a lot of us feel we need an experienced foreign coach to propel the Eagles to be at par with international teams instead of celebrating mediocrity. We are not comfortable staying in one position and celebrating past glories,” he added.

Another stakeholder who is a board member, seeking reelection argued that it would be unfair to engage Keshi before the composition of the new board.

“We are waiting for the new CONTINUED ON PAGE 53

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Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Countdown to September 30 NFF Elections

Giwa faction vows to stop elections

lAs Danagogo holds peace meetings with aggrieved members Comfort Chukwu Abuja

C Danagogo

Giwa

hris Giwa-led faction has said that the September 30electionintotheexecutive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation will not hold.

A member of the FIFA-outlawed board, Sani Fema, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that there has been a court injunction to stop the exercise.

Femasaidthatalthoughthe court order came late last Friday but it was was sent to the emailof theGeneralSecretary

I’ll rebrand NFF to attract sponsors –Amaju EmmanuelTobi

O

ne of the top contenders for the Presidency of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, has pledged to rebrand the Federation to attract more sponsors for its programmes and the national teams.

Amaju while reinstating his determination to reposition the NFF, also promised to create an atmosphere of peace instead of the incessant crises the body has become noted for in recent times.

“I promise to bring my wealthy of experience and robust business network to attract the best sponsorship deals for all our programmes if elected NFF President,” he said.

“One of my main policy thrust if elected is to create

an atmosphere of stability and peace through various developmental models. Reduce to appropriate level litigations and cases in the NFF. And very importantly encourage a genuine and robust relationship between the NFF and all stake holders,” Amaju added.

Under his leadership, the Delta State Football Association currently enjoys the longest-running football sponsorship deal in Africa, spanning 14 years with Oceanic Bank, now Ecobank.

Amaju

The DFA has also trained over 500 coaches in the last 12 years at the National Institute for Sports and Sports Institute in Mosogar, while some coaches have gone overseas for training, through private sector initiative.

Under Amaju’s stewardship, the DFA also sent referees to England for training, with one referee, officiating in Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford as part of the training, which was financed by the private sector.

Delta is the first State FA to broadcast its FA Cup finals live on television. This has been on for three years.

And to Amaju’s credit, Delta is the first State or Regional FA in Africa to build a world class secretariat, called Patrick Okpomo Football House, which was through private sector initiative.

Iorfa counting on ‘vast experience’ Ifeanyi Ibeh

D

ominic Iorfa believes his vast experience in football administration gives him an edge over other presidential aspirants at the upcoming elections into the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation.

The NFF polls will take place on September 30 in Warri, Delta State and the former Nigeria international is confident he will get the nod of most of the delegates expected at the congress.

“Considering my vast experience, having played

professionally overseas, even representing the national team and managing a professional football club for almost 15 years, I believe I have the experience to move Nigerian football forward,” said the former Queens Park Rangers of England forward.

“No disrespect to the others, but I have the experience. I have been on the (NFF) board in the past and know what it takes to run football. I also have a good track record and relationship with most of the delegates, so I believe I have a good chance.

“I have great plans for

Nigerian football.

“The outgoing board has done remarkably well and has set a standard. But with the plans I have I am sure I can match and even surpass their achievements,” said Iorfa, who is however unwilling to reveal these plans, insisting all will be revealed on September 29, at the pre-election debates.

“I cannot yet reveal my plans; all will be revealed during the debates, because if I do that others might latch on and make them appear to be theirs. But all I can say is that my plans will solve all the problems in our football,” he added.

of the NFF, Musa Amadu, who did not acknowledge its receipt.

“The order was issued on Friday before the last Saturday congress in Warri; although it was sent electronically to the email address of Musa Amadu, he has said he did not receive the court order, and that was why they went ahead with the con-

gress.

“There was no one at the secretariat to receive the letter on Monday, but the lawyer has taken the letter back there this evening (Tuesday), ordering them to cancel all plans for elective congress on September 30. But if they donot receive it, then it will be pastedonthewallof thesecretariat,” Fema said

Meanwhile, the Minister of Sports,TammyDanagogo, yesterday, held a closed-doors meetingwiththeChrisGiwaled NFF. Although neither Giwa nor the minister made any comment after the long meeting, there were indications that something big may happeninNigerianfootballinthe coming days.

NFF will be financially independent – Ogunjobi AjibadeOlusesan

E

x-international, Taiwo Ogunjobi, has promised to make financial independence of the Nigeria Football Federation the focal point of his administration if elected the President of the football body.

The former board member of the federation is one of the six candidates vying for the top position in the Glass House and he told our correspondent in an interview that he was the best man to engineer a turnaround in the fortunes of Nigerian football.

He said that he would use his experience and expertise to drive sponsorship programmes that will make the football body financially buoyant and independent of government.

He said his adminis-

tration will maximise the marketing potentials of all its properties including the national teams so as to gradually remove the financial burden from government.

“We will try to take sponsorship of our football to anotherlevelwhenwegetthere.

We did that when I was the Secretary General of NFF, which was when we brought in Globacom and Adidas.

Now Adidas has said they would pull out of the deal in December.Whatwearegoing to do is to encourage them to remain with us and even get improveddealsfrominternationalorganisationslikethat.

“Wearegoingtomakeour national teams financially attractive. We can get sponsors foreachof ournationalteams so that we would be able to run our programmes even without government financial patronage,” he said.

Ogunjobi

The former chairman of chairmen however admitted that nothing works in an atmosphere of rancour, hence his decision to introduce reconciliationinitiativestounite allfootballstakeholdersinthe country.

“Over the years, we have always had crisis ahead of any NFF elections which is not good. I think we are having this problem because the stakeholders are not united.

We used to have state FA chairmen and secretaries as a united front before but that is no longer the case. We will try to bring that back and reconcileeverybody,”hesaid.

Dikko promises autonomy for NFF Charles Ogundiya

O

ne of the candidates at the upcoming Nigeria Football Federation election, Shehu Dikko, is targeting financial autonomy for the football body.

Revealing his plans for the federation, if elected, Dikko said he plans to complete the democratisation and autonomy of football structures from the national to local levels “so as to create the enabling environment for private sector participation and investment in line with international best practice.”

Dikko also said he would build on the milestones achieved by the League Management Company and guaranty sustainable growth for

Dikko

the Nigeria Professional Football League and its clubs.

“I am going to allow for professional ownership and privatisation of clubs, creation of a pyramid league and football association governance structure, among other things, so as to guarantee development at all

levels,” Dikko said.

He also said he would ensure that the integrity and credibility of the game of football was not compromised, adding that part of his strategy for achieving these targets was to champion an aggressive marketing and business programme.

This, according to Dikko, will take into account the need for the NFF to get maximum revenues from their commercial properties, exploit opportunities to substantially increase revenues from television broadcast of the federation’s various competitions, as well as set up a licensing and merchandising project for the country’s national teams.

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Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

‘No jealousy between Messi , Neymar’

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ormer Barcelona midfielder Luis Suarez Miramontes - who played for the Catalans between 1955 and 1961 - has little doubt that Lionel Messi, Neymar and exLiverpool star Luis Suarez will form a fine attacking partnership at the Camp Nou side.

The 79-year-old feels there were some problems between Messi and Neymar when the Brazilian first joined Barca last year and question marks have been raised over whether

a similar situation could arise with Suarez this term.

However, Miramontes has stressed that everything’s fine now between Messi and Neymar and he expects Suarez to fit right in, too.

“Suarez will not be having any problems with Messi and Neymar. The initial problem appeared to be between Messi and Neymar, but they have shown this season that there is no jealousy between them,” the ex-Inter

star told Radio Barcelona.

“Messi has been scoring goals and has also given Neymar plenty of assists.

“The same thing will be happening with Luis Suarez because of his style of play. Suarez will realise that he needs Messi and Neymar.”

Suarez could make his official Barcelona debut in the Liga clash with Real Madrid on October 25.

He is currently unavailable due to suspension after biting Italy’s Giorgio Messi (right) Chiellini at the World Cup. and Neymar

Allegri warns Juventus ahead of Cesena test

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uventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has stressed the importance of taking three points against promoted side Cesena on Wednesday.

Saturday’s 1-0 victory at AC Milan was Juve’s fourth straight win in all competitions and kept Allegri’s men at the top of Serie A, where they are level on nine points with Roma.

The Italian champions have not conceded a goal this season and will be firm favourites to win on Wednesday.

However, Allegri wants

no surprises.

“Cesena have shown good form so far,” Allegri said in Tuesday’s press conference. “They are an aggressive side that doesn’t give away much space.

“If I’m not mistaken, in their opening three games they have only given away nine corners. Hence, they are a side that defends well.

This is a difficult match but in order to win the league title, it’s important to win against the smaller clubs.

“These are points that if you give them away, then you have to try to re-

cover them by winning games against league rivals. We need to arrive at the big games in a strong position.”

Allegri

Esin disagrees with Keshi on Iheanacho But Esin, while expressing

Emmanuel Tobi

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ormer Nigeria midfield maestro, Etim Esin, has faulted Stephen Keshi’s position on Kelechi Iheanacho after saying the former Golden Eaglets star is not yet mature for the Super Eagles.

The 17-year-old wonderkid won many admirers during Manchester City’s pre-season tour of the USA and there have been calls for his invitation to provide the creative impulse in the Super Eagles team, but Keshi has insisted that the youngster is not ready.

Keshi said: “Iheanacho hasn’t been playing in the Premier League and it simply tells you that Manchester City want him to get more experience. He is not part of the (City) team at the moment and he has to get more experience and maybe see if he has what it takes to be there.”

disappointment at Keshi’s statement, maintained that, “Keshi played for Nigeria as a young player and the same applies to me. Henry Nwosu played for Eagles as a school boy so why is he is against youthfulness. He should tell Nigerians any creative midfielders in his current team that is better than Iheanacho.”

Meanwhile, 2013 Golden Eaglets conquering coach, Manu Garba, has declined to comment on Ihenacho’s ability to play for the Super Eagles.

Ronaldo gets new coach

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ortugal have appointed former Greece coach Fernando Santos as Paulo Bento’s successor in the national hotseat.

The 59-year-old has coached all three of Portugal’s biggest teams, Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon in a distinguished managerial career spanning four decades.

Santos has also enjoyed success in Greek football with AEK Athens, Panathinaikos and PAOK be-

Unpaidwages: Oluyole Warriors appealtoGov. Ajumobi Charles Ogundiya

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layers of Ibadan-based Nigeria Premier Basketball League outfit, Oluyole Warriors, have appealed to Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajumobi, to come to their aidbyorderingtheimmediatepayment of their backlog of salaries.

Making this request through the state’s Commissioner of Sports, Farouk Alao, the players said they are seeking the governor’s intervention over the nonpayment of their match bonuses and salaries.

Some of the players who spoke

on the condition of anonymity lamented that they were still owed twomonth salariesalongwithfive outstandingmatchbonuses,asituation the players claimed affected their performance during the Premier League playoffs in Lagos.

According to a source, the state government has released the players’ salaries and match bonuses into the coffers of the Oyo State SportsCouncil,butasatpresstime, none of the players has been paid even as they lamented that they were deceived into leaving their former clubs after being promised a better welfare package.

Eagles: New NFF board targets Keshi’s exit CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51

board because he is going to work with them anyway. The way things are, other options are being considered because of the way Keshi shuns top players as a result of personal differences. He has little or no regard for the NFF and that is bad,” the board member said.

Similarly, New Telegraph scooped that the trio of Shuaibu Amodu, Sunday Oliseh and Daniel Amokachi are on

standby for roles in the Super Eagles considering their experience and pedigree in both local and international football and any of them could be asked to act as interim coach for the Super Eagles.

Meanwhile, most stakeholders want the recall of Nigerian players such as Ikechukwu Uche, Obafemi Martins, and Dele Aiyenugba who were shut out by Keshi despite their consistent fine performance with

Greece made it through the group stages at Euro 2012 and this year’s World Cup under Santos’ tutelage, before respective eliminations at the hands of Germany and Costa Rica.

Santos was sent to the stands during the Costa Rica defeat and currently has an eight-game FIFA ban hanging over him, which could render him unable to lead Portugal from the touchline until their final Euro 2016 qualiBento fier in Serbia next year.

fore replacing Otto Rehhagel as Greece coach in July 2010.

their clubs abroad.

“It’s no secret Keshi does not like Ik Uche despite our plea and that of Nigerians.

Same goes for Dele Aiyenugba and Obafemi Martins who were dropped for some average and clubless players. We are going to open a channel of communication with these players and see how we can maximize our potential, both home and abroad,” our source added.

Capital One Cup FIXTURES Burton v Brighton 7:45pm Chelsea v Bolton 7:45pm Crystal Palace v Newcastle 7:45pm Man City v Sheff Wed 7:45 pm Tottenham v Nottm Forest 7:45 West Brom v Hull 7:45 pm

La Liga FIXTURES Almería v Atl Madrid 7pm Eibar v Villarreal 7pm Vallecano v Ath Bilbao 7pm Granada CF v Levante 9pm Málaga v Barcelona 9pm Sevilla v Real Sociedad 9pm

Serie A FIXTURES Cagliari v Torino 7:45 pm Fiorentina v Sassuolo 7:45 pm Inter Milan v Atalanta 7:45 pm Juventus v Cesena 7:45 pm Napoli v Palermo 7:45 pm Parma v Roma 7:45 pm

54

SPORT

Nigerian League Rendezvous

Sanctity of Truth

with charles Ogundiya

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

charlesog2001@yahoo.com,

08098042287

Kaduna Utd players cry out Home wins spark suspicion over unpaid salaries lWe are not the only club owing players – Lawal

fund, now that they have gone there themselves, they have confirmed the situation.“It was just unfortunate that things happened this way, but I know everything would be sorted out soon. We are not the only club owing players Kaduna United players storm govt. house, in this country, others are threaten strike over unpaid salaries there too covering up their told various stories. For he players of Kaduna problems.” now, we want our money United on Monday because we are tired of trooped to the state govtheir promises. We also ernment house to prohave families that look up test the nonpayment of to us, and we have to face their salary in the past 12 our responsibilities,” one months. of the players said. AnSome of the players other player who spoke carrying placards with with our correspondent various inscriptions said: “We have told them called on the government if nothing was done, we to come to their aid and are going back to meet the pay their backlog of salagovernor immediately we ries. One of the placards, returned from our game read: “Kaduna United against Sharks of Port is your responsibility” Harcourt on Wedneswhile another one read; day (today).”Meanwhile, “Pay us our 12 months’ the General Manager of salaries.” Speaking with Kaduna United, Garba League Rendezvous, the Lawal, has said the team players said they were was not the only club owtired of empty promises ing players in the country. and were calling on the Lawal said; “The players government to come to didn’t believe me when I their aid as they also have told them that the governfamilies that were looking ment was yet to release up to them.“We have been

T

T

he desperation of teams to alw ay s w i n a t home has been the major bane of the Nigeria Professional Football League over the years. The disturbing situation makes it easy to predict results every week.But since the emergence of the League Management Company and the introduction of television coverage across various centres, there

has been an improvement with teams picking points away from home regularly.

However, since the beginning of the second stanza, the reverse is the case as teams struggle to escape relegation while others are fighting for continental tickets. The stunning victories recorded in recent times are sparking suspicion in the league.The surprising aspect of the

Dolphins’ striker Emem Eduok (left) contesting for the ball with a Rangers’ player

Crown, El- Kanemi in war of words

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Egbune Harrison of Crown FC

NPFL WEEK 28 FIXTURES Abia Warriors vs Rangers Crown vs El-Kanemi Warriors Gombe Utd vs Nasarawa Utd Sharks vs Kaduna Utd Warri Wolves vs Dolphins Lobi Stars vs Enyimba FC Taraba vs Sunshine Stars Bayelsa Utd vs Kano Pillars Akwa Utd vs Giwa FC Heartland vs Nembe City

espite receiving a whitewash from Kaduna United on Sunday, the management of Crown FC of Ogbomosho says efforts will be intensified for the team to escape relegation at the end of the current league sea-

son.Speaking to League Rendezvous, the media officer of the club, Kunle Oyeleye, says the technical crew is working hard with the players for the maximum points against El-Kanemi Warriors on Wednesday (today).

“It is very important to forget about the 5-0 defeat in Kaduna and bounce back with a victory against El-Kanemi on Wednesday: “We are going to fight till the end and hopefully we will escape relegation at the end

Baba-Ganaru targets away points to win again

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fter winning back-to-back league titles with Kano Pillars, Nasarawa United Technical adviser, Mohammed Baba-Ganaru, is ready to win a third title in three years with Nasarawa United.

Baba-Ganaru moved from Kano Pillars to Nasarawa United at the beginning of the season and the club is currently three points behind Kano Pillars with three points.

The coach is however confident that the club can get good results in the two consecutive away matches to narrow the

gap between them and Kano Pillars. After watching his side cruise to a 2-0 win over Sharks of Port Harcourt on Sunday in their home game, Baba-Ganaru restated his earlier declaration that the team was poised to win its first Glo Premier League title. The coach disclosed that the results of the two games on the road would largely determine their title chances. He promised that they would put in their best in the two away games scheduled for Wednesday and Sunday. Baba-Ganaru said: “Picking some vital points

from the two games is crucial for our title hopes at this stage of the competition and we are determined to make something out of it. Picking one win or at worst a draw in the two matches will boost our chances.“This is not the first time I will pick my points at the crucial stage of the league. I have done it with my previous clubs and I see this team repeating the same feat in this road trip.”Nasarawa United on 44 points are three points behind leader, Kano Pillars after 27 games with 11 fixtures to the end of the season.

recent results is that some teams that won at home this week with a wide goal margin travelled for away match only to crumble. During the week 26 league matches, Crown FC of Ogbomosho defeated Nasarawa United 3-0 in Ibadan but conceded five goals in their next match against Kaduna United four days later.

Also at the weekend, bottom team, N e m b e C i t y, ab a n d o n e d t h e i r aw ay g ame a g ainst Lobi Stars after the home team was awarded a p e n a l t y t ow a rd s the end of the game.

Lobi were leading 2-1 before the match was abandoned.

I nve s t i g a t i o n by Lea gue Rende zvous shows that teams are doing all they can to win their home matches as the season gradually winds up.

There is need for the LMC to monitor m a t c h e s i nvo l v i n g some of the teams especially those fighting rele g ation and the top teams jostling for the title and continental tickets. of the season. The fans deserve more than this and we are assuring them that we are going to give it our all to escape the drop,” he said.

Meanwhile, some players from the camp of El-Kanemi Warriors said they were travelling to Ibadan to pick points against their opponents.

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone, El-Kanemi midfielder, Eugene Obi, said they were not going to Ibadan for jamboree but to pick points from the game.

“We know Crown will be difficult to play at home but we are ready for them. We want to pick some points away from home to boost our chances in the league and we are targeting this match as a possible game to get such away points,” the former Kano Pillars star said.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

55

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Nigeria’s human rights abuses repulse the West

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oko Haram’s kidnapping of 276 Chibok schoolgirls last April produced a shock wave that spread across Nigeria and around the world. But now? Five months later, the schoolgirls seem forgotten, their fate still unknown.

For their loved ones, the apparent inaction and apathy of the authorities must be heartbreaking.

Yet those hoping, pleading and praying for news would almost certainly have lowered their expectations anyway: many Nigerians feel their police have long abandoned their mission to uphold the law and protect the people. And the police failures go beyond blithe indifference, as Amnesty International revealed last week, to systematic torture.

Amnesty said in a report that torture has become such an integral part of policing in Nigeria that many stations have an informal torture officer.

It detailed the wide range of brutal methods used by the military and police including beatings, nail and teeth extractions and sexual violence.

This connects with the Chibok kidnappings because the use of torture is particularly extreme in the war against Boko Haram Islamist militants in the north-east. Amnesty says between 5,000 and 10,000 people have been arrested there since 2009, and executions in overcrowded detention facilities are common.

For many in the north, the police are just as terrifying as Boko Haram.

Indeed, in some places, police have killed more than the jihadists in their clumsy attempts to impose order. The effect has been to push many locals into supporting Boko Haram, in spite of their fanatical and backward worldview. As Boko Haram’s support grows, the police have felt the need to act ever more brutally. And so the cycle builds.

Amnesty says the report was compiled using 500 interviews during 20 separate visits to Nigeria since 2007.

“This goes far beyond the appalling torture and killing of suspected Boko Haram members,” Amnesty’s Research and Advocacy Director Netsanet Belay said. “Across the country, the scope and severity of torture inflicted on Nigeria’s women, men and children by the authorities supposed to protect them is shocking to even the most hardened human rights observer.”

The Nigeria Police Force responded by issuing a statement denying the findings and suggesting that Amnesty

World View LEO CENDROWICZ Brussels Bureau Chief, New Telegraph

Many Nigerians feel their police have long abandoned their mission to uphold the law and protect the people

Kidnapped Chibok school girls

Shekau

had invented more than 500 cases and testimony from current and former police officers. While the Nigeria Police Force pledged to investigate abuses, it rings hollow so long as they continue to refute Amnesty’s evidence of systemic torture.

It is not just Amnesty raising the alarm about the police. New Yorkbased Human Rights Watch has long warned about indiscriminate arrests, detention, torture, and extra-judicial killing by the army and police.

Nor is it just a local Nigerian mat-

ter. Human rights are taken very seriously in the West. The horrors stories coming out of Nigeria will reach the councils in Europe and America, and they will repulse officials. It will be harder for the likes of Barack Obama and David Cameron to offer unequivocal support to Abuja’s fight against Boko Haram if there is a sense that the campaign is being prosecuted with callous brutality. And it will place a cloud on other forms of cooperation, including trade and aid: will Brussels and Washington really be ready to offer preferential market access to a country whose police seem to be a law unto themselves?

The European Union already has a human rights dialogue with Nigeria as part of its broad economic and political relationship. “Much remains to be done to stop arbitrary police violence/ killings, prevent wrongful imprisonment, improve inhumane prison conditions and address the lack of protection for vulnerable groups,” a recent EU report said.

The threat from ISIS in Syria and Iraq prompted Europe and America to make it a security priority. If Nigeria feels that the West is holding back from a similarly full-throated campaign

against Boko Haram, then part of the reason is because the police and army are no innocents themselves. President Goodluck Jonathan should take the criticism seriously. He will find it harder to secure Western support as long as Nigerian security forces torture with impunity.

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HOW TO WIN TERROR WAR, BY LAWYERS –News

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