Binder1 aug 6, 2014

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Wednesday, August 6, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 169

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Nigeria’s most authoritative newspaper in politics and business

New Telegraph appoints Uba Gaya, Ajayi as Managing Editor, Editor

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ew Telegraph, Nigeria’s fastest-selling newspaper in Politics and Business, has announced the appointments of Malam Suleiman Uba Gaya and Mr. Yemi Ajayi as Managing Editor and

Editor (Daily) respectively.

Uba Gaya resigned from Leadership newspaper to join New Telegraph while Ajayi was Deputy Editor, Daily of THISDAY Uba Gaya, a native of Kano State, was born 45

years ago and is the VicePresident (North) of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

He held many editorial and management positions. including Editor of the flagship (daily) Lead-

ership newspaper, and resigned on his own volition after successfully serving the newspaper as Director, Special Projects.

He then joined Tricom Media, an Abuja-based CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Uba Gaya

Ajayi

APC threatens to form parallel government if... lOyinlola defects, says PDP has no plan for South-West lPDP: Ex-gov’s crossover won’t stop our victory l5,000 soldiers for Osun gov poll Adeolu Adeyemo, Onyekachi Eze and Mojeed Alabi

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he All Progressive Alliance (APC) yesterday warned against rigging of the presidential election in 2015, otherwise, it will form a parallel government.

Its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at a rally in Osogbo to round off the campaign for the re-election of the party’s candidate in Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said the party would not take it lightly if President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government steal people’s mandate in the presidential election as they did in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and his predecessor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola (right on top of the bus), during a mega rally by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osogbo...yesterday.

2015: Imoke, Akpabio, Dickson, Uduaghan back Jonathan

lAnenih, Gombe gov to ensure president’s emergence as PDP candidate Clement James Calabar

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our Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors from the South-South-- Em-

manuel Uduaghan (Delta), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River)-- yesterday drummed up support for the re-

election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Notwithstanding the fact that the president has been hedging in taking a stand on whether

or not he will seek reelection next year, the governors at a meeting of the zonal delegates’ meeting of the party in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, told the

PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, the emergence of Jonathan as the party’s candidate in the forthcoming presidential election was CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Al-Makura’s impeachment bid fails as panel clears governor }3

Chibok girls: Jonathan okays negotiations with Boko Haram }3 Lagos

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New Telegraph appoints Uba Gaya, Ajayi as Managing Editor, Editor CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Limited Liability Company working in the print, electronic and online media as Executive Director/ Managing Editor.

Uba Gaya is an experienced Editor of many years standing. His first appointment as Editor was in 1999 when he became the founding editor of Concern, a Kano-based subscription-only magazine, which he helped nurture to fruition.

Other senior positions he held included Executive Director, Century Research and Communications Ltd, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Skylimit Media and Communications Limited.

In 2007, he was appointed Special Adviser (Special Duties) to the Governor of Kano State (2007 - 2011). In 1990, he authored ‘Not Fit To Live’, an award-winning novel published in Nigeria.

Two years later, he authored ‘The Trail of Blood’, published in England, and has since been mentoring many young compatriots to excel in the art of writing.

Uba Gaya is a member

of many professional bodies - including the NGE, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), the Institute of Mass Communication and Information Management, among others.

He is also the immediate past Chairman of Kano State Badminton Association.

Hailing Uba Gaya’s appointment, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of New Telegraph, Gabriel Akinadewo, posited that the new Managing Editor is “a thoroughbred professional who is going to help take the fast-growing newspaper to higher realms, especially in the critical areas of contents and marketing.”

He is married with children.

Ajayi, who brings on board a 23-year experience in journalism that

spans the whole gamut of the profession, from production, news writing, analysis to newsroom management, started his career in 1991 as a sub editor with The Guardian. He left The Guardian in 1994 to join The Punch as a senior sub editor.

In his 13-year career in The Punch, Ajayi held many positions, including Head of the Sub Desk, Deputy News Editor, Night Editor and News Editor.

In recognition of his industry and hard work, he won The Punch’s BEST SUB-EDITOR OF THE YEAR Award in 1997.

On leaving The Punch in 2007, he joined Nigerian Tribune , during which he was the Head, News and Features at the Lagos Bureau of the newspaper and Acting Group Political Editor, a position he held until 2008 when he joined The Nation as Assistant

Editor.

In 2009, he resigned from The Nation to take up a political appointment as a Media Assistant to former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Ajayi returned to journalism in 2011 after the truncation of Oyinlola’s tenure following the Court of Appeal 2010 judgement that invalidated his election in 2007 with his appointment as an Assistant Editor with Sunday Sun. Barely three months in Sunday Sun, he was employed by ThisDay, the Sunday Newspaper, as Deputy Editor, a position in which he doubled as the Head of the Politics Desk of the newspaper.

A year later in 2012, he was appointed Deputy Editor of the flagship title of the newspaper, THISDAY. He left the post in 2014 to join New Telegraph as Edi-

tor of the daily version of the newspaper.

Ajayi, 51, holds Masters in Communication Studies from the Lagos State University where he graduated in 2008. He had earlier obtained Higher National Diploma (Mass Communication), from the Ogun State Polytechnic, now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta in 1990. He also holds Certificate in Newspaper Management from the International Institute for Journalism (IIJ), Berlin, Germany (2005), Certificate in Basic Economics and Financial Appreciation, from Lagos Business School, Lagos (2004), Certificate in Desktop Publishing (1997) and Certificate in Newspaper/ Magazine Production and Sub-editing, from Times Journalism Institute, Lagos (1996).

He is married with children.

28o C 21oC Thunder Storms

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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 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

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST ABUJA

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

L-R: National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu; Governors Liyel Imoke (Cross River); Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) at the South-South PDP stakeholders’ meeting in Calabar...yesterday.

Oyinlola defects, says PDP has no plan for South-West CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Ekiti State governorship election.

As part of preparations for the conduct of a hitchfree election, the military has deployed about 5,000 officers and soldiers in the state to complement the efforts of the State Security Services (SSS) and the police.

At the rally, Aregbesola’s predecessor and former PDP National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola declared for APC, saying his former party has no plan for the South-West.

However, the state chapter of the PDP, in a reaction to Oyinlola’s defection, described it as a political suicide while the national

chapter of the party called the APC’s mega rally “a colossal failure.”

Odigie-Oyegun, while addressing a mammoth crowd at the APC rally, said: “We will not recognise a fraudulent government from any quarters and if anybody dares to steal people’s mandate in February 2015, we will proceed to set up people’s government that will be people-oriented.

“The battle line has already been drawn. The APC will no longer accept any stolen mandate. We shall not recognise any government that emerges through rigging in February 2015.

“The APC will set up a

new government, which will be a peoples’ government if the PDP rigs the 2015 presidential election.

We are prepared to monitor the election and if it is eventually rigged, a new government will emerge in this country.”

He also warned the PDP against rigging the governorship election in the state, saying if it does it will regret the action.

Odigie-Oyegun, while presenting the APC flag to Oyinlola, described him as a straight forward politician whose political influence would help the APC victory in the Saturday election.

In his speech, one of the APC leaders, Senator Bola

Tinubu, described Jonathan as a political mediocrity who does not understand governance.

He referred to him as a puppet who is always being tossed around and further condemned him for his recent statement that he deployed security in Osun State to guard against the recurrence of killing of youth corps members as it happened during the 2007 general election.

He also criticised Jonathan for the woes of the country, saying “Jonathan was not prepared for the office he found himself. He is a confused person and that is why the government must change come next CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

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

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Al-Makura’s impeachment bid fails as panel clears gov

lLawmakers submit protest letter to committee Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

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he bid by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to oust the Governor, Alhaji Umaru Al-Makura, collapsed yesterday as the seven-man investigative panel set up by the state Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Dikko, to probe allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the governor, gave him a

clean bill.

The panel, after concluding its sitting, said in Lafia that it did not find the governor guilty of any of the 16-count charges preferred against him by the Assembly, dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Chairman of the panel, Yusuf Shehu Usman, said having taken evidence from the lawmakers, the committee did not find any proof of all the 16-count al-

legations levelled against the governor.

The panel had on Monday taken evidence from the governor who denied all the allegations and it adjourned abruptly to enable the lawmakers appeared yesterday before it to prove their accusations against Al-Makura.

However, the lawmakers, who had earlier vowed not to honour the panel’s invitation, made a U-turn yesterday and appeared

before it.

The lawmakers had last week criticised the constitution of the panel and directed Justice Dikko to disband and reconstitute it.

But yesterday, the lawmakers sent a legal team, led by Ocha Ulegede, to represent it before the panel. Other members of the team were John Mathew, P. A. Daffi, Steven Idikwu, Ache Obande and Abraham Aruta.

L-R: United States Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker; Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu and President, African Development Bank, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, during the reception hosted by Heirs Holdings at the US-Africa Business Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC...on Monday.

In their submission, the legal team told the panel that their proceedings were illegal as they were violating the constitution.

Ulegede, who submitted a protest letter from the legislators to the panel, said the composition of the panel was faulty as some members belonged to a political party in violation of Section 188of the 1999 Constitution which states that committee members must not belong to any party.

He said two members of the panel were PDP members and another member, Rev. Joel is a member of the Christian Pilgrims’ Welfare Board.

Irrespective of the lawmakers’ protest, the panel went ahead and cleared AlMakura.

Usman, who read out the committee’s decision, said: “Having considered and dismissed the misconduct and breach of the 1999 Constitution, levelled against the governor by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly and having found no merit in each allegation, the panel finally dismissed the allegations.’’

Usman also said the panel had taken notice of the appearance in protest by the counsel to the As-

sembly on grounds that the panel is illegal.

According to him, though the panel is not a court of law, it will submit its report to the Speaker of the Assembly as it had carried out its duties in compliance with section 188 (8) of the 1999 Constitution.

Earlier, counsel to the governor, Chief Udechukwu Nnoruka Udechukwu, had urged the panel to dismiss all the allegations contained in the notice of impeachment against Al-Makura because the House failed to prove its accusations.

Chief Udechukwu who quoted section 188 (8) and citing Supreme court judgment prayed the panel to dismiss all the 16 allegations for failure of the state House of Assembly to prove their allegations.

Ulegede later told reporters after walking out on the committee that they would not partake in the process that is illegal and unconstitutional.

“We are not ready to be a party to the breach of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which they (House) swore to uphold. The power given to the chief judge of Nasarawa State is not absolute; they are subject to certain conditions,” he added.

PDP: Ex-gov’s crossover won’t stop our victory Dangote, Blackstone to invest $5bn in power, pipeline projects CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

year.”

While welcoming Oyinlola into the APC fold, Tinubu said he had through his decision left darkness for light.

Oyinlola, in his speech, said the PDP had no plan for the South-West and voters should reject its candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, whom he described as self-centred and greedy.

He referred to virtually all top PDP chieftains in the state as people with criminal records.

He said: “When Omisore was arrested for the alleged killing of Chief Bola Ige, he was together with the current Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, the Chairman of the PDP in the state, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa.

“The current National Secretary of the PDP, Professor Wale Oladipo and Kunle Alao who is seeking to run for a senatorial seat now under the banner of the PDP was also with Omisore at the Agodi Prison in Ibadan. Now tell me are they not all prisoners?

The one person who is not a prisoner among them is the running mate of Omisore, Adejare Bello who was the former speaker of the state

and the reason is that he was of the APP. “I am not saying I know those who killed Bola Ige but why the coincidence?

And does it mean that you must go to prison for alleged murder case before you are offered political position in their party? We cannot tolerate that again and we will not. They have failed and can never smell power in Osun.”

He blamed the leadership of the PDP and Jonathan for his defection to the APC, saying he experienced cheating and humiliation from them.

“I could remember in June 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan invited me to Abuja and told me he wanted to run for presidency in 2011. I simply told him that the magic wand was Obasanjo and that after baba (Obasanjo), he should leave everything to God. He did as advised and the man delivered as always. But unfortunately today, a whole Chief Obasanjo has been rendered irrelevant simply for saying the truth,” he added.

Oyinlola however admonished the electorate to vote for APC in the forthcoming election.

On his part, Aregbesola

charged the people to be vigilant to prevent PDP from rigging the election.

He thanked the people for their cooperation and promised not to let them down if re-elected on Saturday.

Reacting to Oyinlola’s defection, Olaoluwa described the former governor’s action as political suicide.

Olaoluwa in a statement in Osogbo said the defection was inglorious, adding: “As a political party, the PDP in Osun has shock absorbers to contain such eventuality”.

Also, the Omisore Campaign Organisation criticised Oyinlola for leaving the party that made him.

In a statement by the organisation’s Director of Media and Strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, it called Oyinlola as “a confirmed serial betrayer, a politician who had lost whatever little following he had due to his inconsistency, his political summersaults and unreliability in political alliances.”

It added that Oyinlola’s exit will not stop the expected victory of PDP on Saturday.

The national secretariat of the PDP also flayed the

APC’s mega rally, which it labelled a “colossal failure; a jamboree of rented crowd”.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the rally was “full of hollow and meaningless speeches, symptomatic of a sinking party, desperate for survival.”

“Nigerians are aware that at the rally was a crowd mobilised from other states to join APC officials who were forced to relocate to Osun to create an impression of massive support for the party and its candidate.

“However, we invite the APC to note that it is only the people of Osun and not their hired crowd and horde of entertainers that will vote on Saturday,” the PDP stated.

However, in a bid to ensure a successful election on Saturday, it was gathered yesterday that the military would deploy about 5,000 officers and soldiers in the state.

A source told New Telegraph in Osogbo that those deployed had started arriving in batches and all the troops would be on the ground by tomorrow.

D

angote Industries and Blackstone yesterday announced a commitment to jointly invest up to $5 billion over the next five years in energy infrastructure projects across Sub-Saharan Africa with particular emphasis on power, transmission and pipeline projects.

A statement by the two companies said the investment was being facilitated by Black Rhino, a portfolio company of Blackstone Energy Partners and affiliated funds managed by Blackstone and Dangote Industries.

While Dangote Industries is the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest in Africa, Blackstone Energy Partners is Blackstone’s energy-focused private equity business, with a successful record built on Blackstone’s industry expertise and partnerships with exceptional management teams based in

the United States.

Blackstone has invested approximately $7 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry.

Dangote Industries’ commitment to investments in Nigeria and in Africa has played a significant role in Africa’s recent economic success.

Led by its founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the conglomerate spans manufacturing, logistics, commodities trading and real estate in 14 African countries.

The two internationally-acclaimed companies have agreed to jointly incorporate, own and operate a management company that will be responsible for the development and management of projects identified and agreed upon, across the sub-Saharan African region.

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Chibok girls: Jonathan okays negotiations with Boko Haram Wale Elegbede

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has authorised negotiations with Boko Haram to ensure the release of over 2000 schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok, Borno State in April.

The president, in an exclusive interview with Washington Post, published on Monday, said the Federal Government resorted to the use of third parties to negotiate with Boko Haram for the release of the abductees to reduce the risk of their being killed.

The option of negotiations, he added, was resorted to because military action could prove too deadly in freeing the schoolgirls.

He also said the intervention by the United States to rescue the Chibok girls had yielded no fruit.

“They (US) have been with us for over a month, and we have not been able to get the girls out. So you really see that the help has not yet resulted (in) something positive. I wouldn’t say they have helped or they have not helped. Basically they are there to help with intelligence gathering and so on,” he said.

Jonathan, who was in Washington for an African leaders’ summit with President Barack Obama of the United States, also responded to criticisms that the reaction of his administration to the abduction of the schoolgirls was sluggish, saying a swift

military response could have resulted in the death of the children.

He said: “We have not been able to get an answer.

How do we get these girls out? If it is to risk a few dead bodies, it is easier.

You can blast the place and carry the corpses. But is that what we have to do?

So it is delicate, and that’s why we are proceeding with caution.

“We have set up a committee — what I call a dialogue committee — for the challenge we have in the North, even before the kidnapping of the Chibok girls. We have a team. And we encourage people to assist them. We do negotiate. Quite a number of people have come with different information. We

encourage them. But none of them have yielded any results.”

Jonathan said he was optimistic that the government will recover the girls safely, adding: “Definitely, we will because, luckily for us, we have not had the case of killing.”

He said he is encouraged, in part, because Boko Haram has not released any videos of girls being killed.

“These are criminals.

If they kill them, they will just show you how they have killed the girls. They will show you how they are slaughtering them. We have various films and videos that they release where they slaughter people.

Even among themselves, when they send us a video

of someone who betrays them, they will slaughter them like rams.”

“If they kill these girls, they will show videos to the world to bring condemnation and make the world believe the Nigerian government isn’t doing enough. That’s why they will have slaughtered those girls. But so far, we have not had any video clip showing that those girls are being killed,” he stated.

Nigerian and US advisers to Jonathan immediately clarified his remarks after the interview, stating the Federal Government was not directly negotiating with Boko Haram but instead using intermediaries.

“The president is not negotiating with Boko Haram. He is, however, encouraging dialogue between the sect and the government,” said Lanny Davis, a former Clinton White House adviser who

has been advising the Jonathan administration on international media strategy related to the crisis.

Davis added that Nigeria was appreciative of the help offered by numerous countries, including the US in tackling terrorism in the country.

A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the US was providing a broad range of assistance to the Nigerian government to help find the girls.

“The United States continues to support Nigerian efforts to bring about the safe recovery of the abductees and to advise the government of Nigeria on its response. We are advising on issues of survivor support, humanitarian assistance, criminal investigations, intelligence and strategic communications.

All the while, we recognise that this is a Nigerian-led effort,” NSC spokesman, Ned Price, said.

Anenih, Gombe gov to ensure president’s emergence as PDP candidate CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva; and Secretary to the Ekiti State Governor, Alhaji Ganiyu Owolabi, during the inauguration of new Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) in Ado-Ekiti...yesterday.

World Bank pledges $200m to contain Ebola in West Africa Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

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he World Bank has pledged $200 million in emergency funds to contain the spread of the Ebola virus, which has claimed 887 lives in some African countries.

The global bank in a statement yesterday listed Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone as the affected countries to be assisted with the fund to contain the spread of Ebola infections and help their communities cope with the economic impact of the crisis, and improve public health systems throughout West Africa.

World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a medical doctor experienced in treatment of infectious diseases, said the new financing commitment was in response to a call from the three African countries hardest-hit by Ebola and the

World Health Organisation (WHO) for immediate assistance to contain the outbreak.

Kim, whose announcement came on the first day of the US-Africa Summit in Washington D.C, said the new financial pledge would pay for urgently needed medical supplies, salaries for medical staff, and other vital materials to stabilise the health system, while also helping communities cope with financial hardship caused by the epidemic.

He explained that the World Bank Group would also step up social safety net assistance for affected communities and families and help to build up public health systems in West Africa to strengthen the region’s disease control capacity more generally.

Kim added that he would brief the bank’s board as soon as possible on the latest state of the epidemic and seek its ap-

proval for the emergency package.

“I am very worried that many more lives are at risk unless we can stop this Ebola epidemic in its tracks. I have been monitoring its deadly impact around the clock and am deeply saddened at how it has ravaged health workers, families and communities, disrupted normal life, and has led to a breakdown of already weak health systems in the three countries.

“The international community needs to act fast to contain and stop this Ebola outbreak. I believe this new World Bank emergency funding will provide critically needed support for the response to stop the further transmission of Ebola within Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, which would prevent new infections in neighbouring at-risk countries,” he added.

The new Bank Group package will also help to

build up the region’s disease surveillance and laboratory networks to guard against future epidemic outbreaks.

Cross-border commerce has slowed considerably with land crossings closed to neighbouring countries and more recently cancellation of flights. Ghana has closed its airspace to flights from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and there have been noticeably fewer international flights to these countries, leading to lower revenues and financial inflows, and many projects involving expatriate workers or business travelers have been scaled down.

The World Bank’s Vice-President for Africa, Makhtar Diop, said the bank’s latest emergency response would also include social safety net measures to help families and communities trying to cope with financial loss as a result of the outbreak.

non-negotiable.

The governors, led

by Imoke, promised to work hard to deliver their states to the party under the leadership of the president.

Imoke, who spoke for his colleagues, expressed the willingness of the people of the zone to make PDP the dominant party in the South-South.

He however, pleaded with other geopolitical zones to give the president another chance in view of what he termed “the uncommon transformation of our president who has done so much since he came into power.”

“Our chairman, we thank you for beginning your tour of the geo-political zone in the SouthSouth. We can assure you that all the states in the zone belong to PDP. But we also want to appeal to you that the president should be allowed to go for a second term,” Imoke added.

The South-South governors also got the support of Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih and Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, in making Jonathan’s yet-to-be-declared second term bid a reality.

The duo promised to ensure the emergence

of Jonathan as the PDP presidential candidate during the party’s primaries.

Also, Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who is the leader of the party in Rivers State, which is being ruled by the All Progressives Congress (APC), assured the PDP National Working Committee that the party will take over the state from the APC next year “because all those who matter in PDP in Rivers State are still in PDP.” According to him, the state Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, who defected from the PDP to the APC, cannot stop PDP’s victory in the 2015 general election.

“If any election is conducted today in Rivers State, PDP will win to show that only one person went the other way,” he added.

In his remarks, Mu’azu said he was in the zone to “thank you on behalf of the president for what you have done for him so far and to thank you in advance for what you will continue to do.”

He warned rumour mongers to steer clear of the presidency, noting that some people have taken to rumour mongering to create confusion in the state.

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Adamawa: APC accuses Ag. governor of looting treasury Johnchuks Onuanyim ABUJA

he National Vice ChairTProgressives man, North-east of All Congress,

L-R: Deputy General Manager, TECNO Nigeria, Mr. Chidi Okonkwo; Head, Public Relations, Transsion Group, Mr. Boukali Mounir; Head, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Efosa Idehen and Managing Director, Jumia, Mr. Jonathan Doerr, during the media launch of TECNO Phantom Z in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

FG probes Amnesty International's report Emmanuel Onani

T

he Federal Government (FG) has announced that a Joint Investigative Panel has been constituted to probe allegations of extra-judicial killings and human rights abuses, levelled against the Nigerian Army by Amnesty International (AI).

Also, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday, said it was setting up a team to probe the allegation.

The disclosure was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Maj.Gen.Chris Olukolade.

The statement, which was posted on the official website of the DHQ, noted that the Nigerian military, takes the issue of human rights seriously, and would, therefore, not condone any act that is at variance with this tradition.

The statement reads in part: "The Nigerian military takes the issue of Human Rights seriously and will never condone any proven case of abuse by its personnel. Military authorities are deeply concerned about the set

l Warns against politicising security of video footage being circulated and which unfortunately has also become reference data for Amnesty International in its report.

"Much as the scenes depicted in these videos are alien to our operations and doctrines, it has to be investigated to ensure that such practices have not crept, surreptitiously into the system. The Defence Headquarters considers these allegations too grievous to be associated with Nigerian troops, considering the doctrinal and operational contents of the training imparted to personnel on a continuous basis; emphasizing the importance of respect for Human Rights and dignity of human person as well as observance of humanitarian laws.

"Notwithstanding the cases of impersonations that have pervaded the counter terrorism operations in Nigeria and many other related issues which cast doubts on the claims made in the video, the military authorities view those grave allegations very seriously, more so as it

borders on the integrity of the ongoing counterterrorism operation, which must be sustained in the interest of our national survival.

"Consequently, the Defence Headquarters in addition to the already existing Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has constituted a team of senior officers and legal cum forensic experts to study the video footage and the resultant allegations of infractions in order to ascertain the veracity of the claims with a view to identifying those behind such acts. This will further determine and stimulate necessary legal action against any personnel or anyone found culpable in accordance with the provisions of the law.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had quoted Amnesty International as alleging that it (AI) had "gruesome footage" of some soldiers, "slitting the throats of detainees".

The report further quoted AI's Secretary General, Salil Shetty of claiming that the purported gruesome acts,

said to have been sourced from Borno State, "includes horrific images of detainees having their throats slit one by one and dumped in mass graves".

Alleged perpetrators of the heinous act, Shetty was further quoted, "appear to be members of the Nigerian military and the "Civilian Joint Task Force" (CJTF), statesponsored militias.

"The ghastly images are backed up by the numerous testimonies we have gathered which suggest that extrajudicial executions are, in fact, regularly carried out by the Nigerian military and CJTF", the report further quoted AI. But, reacting to the weighty allegations yesterday, Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri, assured that the Federal Government, will do everything to ensure that whoever was found guilty of the reported acts, was dealt with according to the law.

Also yesterday, government warned politicians against using the military to settle political difference.

Engr. Babachir David Lawal, has accused the Acting Governor of Adamawa State, Alhaji Umaru Fintiri of looting the state treasury.

The APC National Vice Chairman made the accusation in statement he issued yesterday.

According to him, the Acting governor is looting the state treasury in disguise by embarking on purchase and distribution of Toyota Prado SUVs to 21 Local Government Council Chairmen.

The government is also accused of "dashing" N5, 000,000 each as upfront maintenance cost to the Council Chairmen.

He said: "if the defecting chairmen are entitled to these scandalous gifts, we cannot begin to imag-

Govs squandering state funds on Osun election, PDP alleges Wale Elegbede ith days to the govW ernorship election in Osun State, the Lagos

State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday alleged that Governor Babatunde Fashola and other All Progressives Congress (APC) governors are squandering state funds for the election, stating that they have been sponsoring the movement of persons to Osun to cast votes for Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

In a statement signed yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taofik Gani, the party said Fashola has particularly been supporting the campaigns of Aregbesola, using Lagos State resources like cash, buses, personnel and others.

While describing the pronouncement by the APC leadership that it's chieftains should relocate

Johnchuks Onuanyim

T

he last opinion poll carried out by NOIPoll in the month of July has shown that Nigerians have rated President Goodluck Jonathan high in job performance.

According to the survey, the governance poll results have revealed that 62 per cent of adult Nigerians surveyed approve of the job performance of the President over the past month signifying a

5-points increase from June 2014.

The statement from NOIPoll states, "This rating represents the highest rating in the monthly governance poll since January 2014.

"The increase in the President’s rating is as a result of the moderate approval across all geo-political zones and more especially the high approval rating in the South-East and South-South zones.

"More findings reveal that the President had an

average ranking in his performance on Economy, Education, Health, Agriculture & Food Security, Transportation and Foreign Policy & Diplomacy while he was ranked very poorly in his performance on Job Creation, Power and Security.

Additionally, results discloses that slightly more than half (51%) of adult Nigerians surveyed reported that power supply in their area “remains bad”, “it’s very bad or “has gone worse” while

33% stated that “it has improved very much” and “it has improved a little” within the last one month. Furthermore, 16 per cent were of the opinion that “there’s no difference at all”.

According to the organizers, respondents to the poll were asked three specific questions.

The first sought to evaluate the opinion of Nigerians on the performance of President Goodluck Jonathan over the past one month.

to Osun as a belated decoy to cover up the exposed plan of the party to storm Osun with fake voters, it also alleged that the APC is planning to woo voters in Osun with N10, 000 each.

“Their movement of persons are in two categories; the first set are contracted to go and merely vote; the second are the boys of the "TEAM LAGOS" contracted to cause mayhem during voting in the areas identified as weak APC area. The TEAM LAGOS is a group of dreaded persons who are sympathetic to Tinubu, Fashola and indeed APC. “Governor Fashola has directed that all the 57 Council Chairmen should mobilise in all the 376 Wards. He particularly gave additional monies to council areas of Alimisho, Oshodi-Isolo, Ikorodu, Kosofe and Ojo for adequate mobilisation.”

FG approves new rate for e-passport Johnchuks Onuanyim, ABUJA

Poll shows Nigerians rate Jonathan high on performance W ABUJA

ine what has so far been shared out to the members of the House of Assembly and the PDP national and state officials; the initiators, sponsors and executors of the illegal impeachment in the first place."

Lawal asked the acting governor who, he said had claimed that Nyako administration left the state N12.8b in debt, "where did this whooping sum come from? More debt? Or was the debt claim simply a bare faced lie to set the stage for this kind of looting? I suspect the later."

He also observed that if the recent Boko Haram attacks on Zah and Garkida towns in the state had taken place in similar towns in Borno State, the Governor there would have rushed relief materials to the affected communities, visited and promised the rebuilding of burnt houses, churches, mosques and schools.

ith the launching of the 64 page e-passport booklet by President Goodluck Jonathan last week, the Federal Government has approved new rate for issuance of e-passports.

According to a statement from the Nigeria Immigration Service’s spokesperson, Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, Chukwuemeka Obua, the new rates is as follows: sixty-four page epassport will cost N20, 000.

Other rates are people below 18 years will pay N8, 750; 18 years to 60 years

will pay N15, 000; 60 years and above will pay N8, 750 for their e-passports.

Also, for change of data/loss of e-passport, N20, 000; change of name as a result of marriage, divorce and deceased spouse, N8, 750; and processing fee for change of data on request N30,000.

Obua, also in his release stated: "The e-passport reform encompasses the 64-page e-passport for frequent travellers, variation in fees charged to accommodate different age brackets and marital status of the travelling public and overall enhanced security features."

6

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

TAC sends 34 Nigerian artisans to Namibia

Philip Nyam ABUJA

of TechThashenicalDepartment Aid Corps (TAC) sent 34 artisans

L-R: Ondo State Governor/guest speaker, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; Chairman, Yoruba Tennis Club, Mr. Babaseyi Joseph and Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Olu Akinkugbe, at the business lecture and luncheon of the Yoruba Tennis Club in Lagos …yesterday.

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

15

The number of goals scored by Germany from open play at Brazil 2014 World Cup. Source: Fifa.com

$103bn

The amount required to finance water, sanitation and wastewater treatment in developing countries annually through 2015.

Source: Unesco.org

283,560

The total area (in sq. km) of Ecuador.

Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

2015: US to support Nigeria with N8.4bn

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he U.S. Government yesterday said it would provide $51 million (about N8.4 billion) to support credible elections in Nigeria in 2015 and other electoral process in the country in the next five years.

This, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, was contained in a “Fact Sheet” issued by the White House in Washington DC, which highlighted U.S support for democratic institutions, good governance and human rights in Af-

rica.

The publication was released just as the US-Africa Leaders Summit being attended by 50 leaders from the continent, including President Goodluck Jonathan, began in Washington DC. The publication stated that the U.S. was working with other donors to support Nigeria’s electoral management bodies and strengthen the ability of the country’s civil society to promote electoral reforms.

According to it, part of

the funds will be used to expand voter education and monitor electoral processes in the run-up to the 2015 elections.

The U.S government also announced that it had launched “Making All Voices Count”, a programme aimed at supporting innovation and research that would empower citizens in some countries to engage with government.

“The project is being executed in partnership with other governments and private foundations.

“The partnership with the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Omidyar Network, and the Open Society Foundations, is providing 55 million dollars globally in support and in capacity building from 2013 through 2017,” it stated.

It said that the first round of grants on the programme, totalling 2.5 million dollars had been announced and would benefit African countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Liberia and Ghana.

Fayemi inaugurates chairmen for new councils, others Adesina Wahab ADO-EKITI

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kiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday inaugurated caretaker chairmen for the 19 newly-created as well as 16 old local governments in the state.

Speaking on the occasion which held at the Government House, Fayemi charged the new council bosses to deliver diligent and honourable service to the people.

The governor said they were carefully chosen not only on account of their competence but also their closeness to the grassroots whose yearnings they must meet.

Fayemi, who reminded the new council leaders that they would be held accountable by God and the people, urged them to ensure equity and justice in managing the interests of all stakeholders as they "build consensus in the participatory governance" of their respective councils.

"I have no doubt that going by the pedigree of the leaders being sworn in today; there will be

accelerated progress in meeting the needs of our people at the grassroots.

These are leaders carefully chosen not only on account of their competence but also their closeness to the grassroots.

“I therefore charge you all to live up to expectations of our people in serving them with all diligence and honour. Above all, remember that all power belongs to God and to Him shall we all ultimately give account", he said.

While speaking on the creation of the LCDAs, the governor stated that it became expedient for his administration to take necessary legal steps towards meeting the "long and persistent clamour of our people for the creation of new local governments".

Fayemi added that concerted efforts were put in place and executed by well-meaning Ekiti personalities who carried along all stakeholders in the affected council areas before the communities finally agreed on the outcomes that gave birth to the council development areas.

He said the LCDAs

chairmen would be playing a pioneering role in the establishment of structures and processes as well as programmes and policies that would drive the dividends of good governance closer to the grassroots.

Speaking on behalf of the new council bosses, the caretaker chairperson of Ado West LCDA, Mrs. Omotunde Fajuyi, pledged unflinching loyalty to the people whom they were appointed to serve, saying that the Fayemi-led administration had shown example of good governance which needed to be carried to the grassroots.

Fajuyi also promised that the new council bosses would not let down the Fayemi-led administration but would justify the confidence reposed in them.

The council chairmen are Hon. Tope Olanipekun( Ado), Mrs Omotunde Fajuyi (Ado West LCDA), Hon. Sunday Ibitoye (Ado North LCDA), Mr Raheem Balogun (Ado Central LCDA), Mr Richard Apolola (Ekiti South West), Mr Ayodeji Olaniyi (Igbara Odo/Ogotun LCDA), Hon. Tope Alonge (Oye), Hon.

Olumide Adeyanju (Ifeloju LCDA), Hon. Adeyeye Bolaji (Ifesowapo LCDA), Mr Dipo Ogunleye (Efon), Hon. Tope Ogunleye (Ilejemeje), Mr Aribasoye Adeoye (Ajoni LCDA), Hon. Akinwale Alebiosu (Ero LCDA), Hon. Sina Ogunleye (Ifedara LCDA) and Kareem Agunbiade (Ekiti West).

Others are Ayodeji Ajayi (Ise/Orun), Hon Febisola Adewale (Emure), Olunide Fadipe (Isokan LCDA), Hon. Ojo Atibioke (Irewolede LCDA), Mrs Remi Balogun (Irede LCDA), Chief Dayo Ajayi (Ijero), Azeez Awolokun (Irepodun/ Ifelodun), Hon. Gbenga Omole (Ikere West LCDA), Hon. Femi Ayodele (Ikere), Rotimi Afolabi (Ido/Osi), Bayo Akrerele (Araromi LCDA), Damilare Ajayi (Gbonyin), Sunkanmi Onipede (Moba), Hon. Rotimi Ajidara (Ekiti East), Fadumiye Ayodele (Ayedire), Lateef Akanle (Ekiti South East LCDA), Olatiboye Titus (Okemesi/ Ido Ile LCDA), Joshua Ayorinde (Eka Meta LCDA), Razak Aladetuyi (Ikole) and Kayode Ogunsakin (Ikole West).

ranging from fashion designers, auto repairers, cosmetologists, agriculturists to nutritionists to Namibia for volunteer service.

Director General of TAC, Dr. Pius Osunyikanmi who conducted the departure of the volunteers said the integrity of the corps has been restored as more countries now approach Nigeria for volunteers for different vocational trainings.

He said the artisans are with the ‘midas touch’ as quite a number of them have master’s

degrees, first degrees while others have other professional qualifications.

"As a matter of fact, you have among them a fellow of the Chartered institute of Accountancy.

These set of professionals after acquiring these degrees and having a wealth of experience in their various fields, went back to also learn certain specific skills such as tailoring, cosmetology, bee husbandry etc.", he explained.

He explained that Nigeria restored its integrity in this vital area of its foreign policy as some years back "we could not meet up with the required 1,500 volunteers to fill our quota”

Edo Assembly crisis: Ugolor raises the alarm over threat to life Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

he executive Director, Tvironment Africa Network for Enand Economic Justice, (ANEEJ), Rev David Ugolor, yesterday raised the alarm over alleged threat to his life by unknown persons.

Ugolor in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin Edo state capital stated that the threat on him might not be unconnected with his recent statements on the crisis rocking the state House of Assembly.

He said: “Few weeks ago, Some prominent civil society leaders in Edo State and I took the initiative to intervene in the almost two-months

old Edo State House of Assembly crisis which has almost grounded the state’s economy. Our effort led to a meeting of the two groups at a venue which was made available by the Edo State Police Commissioner”.

“After exhaustive deliberations, discussions and pleas from us, both parties were unable to resolve their differences which we consider a missed opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. The following week, after this meeting there was serious tension and chaos at the State House of Assembly as both feuding groups started making claims to the leadership of the House,” Ugola explained.

Adamawa acting gov inaugurates probe panel to probe Nyako Ibrahim Abdul YOLA

he Adamawa State ActTAhmadu ing Governor, Rt. Hon. Umaru Fintiri yesterday inaugurated a judicial panel of inquiry that will take comprehensive assessment on governance from June 2007 to June 2014 with the chairman of the panel, Justice Bobboi Umar stressing that they will not be intimidated by any group or individual.

Speaking shortly after their inauguration, Umar vowed that they will not compromise their integrity in the course of the assignment. ‘’We will not compromise our integrity in the course of the assignment’’, he declared.

Justice Umar, a former Acting Chief Judge in the State, further said: "We will do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour. We will not also tolerate interference from anybody”, he noted, assur-

ing to work in principle of fair hearing, as he called for support from both the government and the people of the state.

“We will do it because we can do it,’’ the panel chairman declared.

Inaugurating the panel, Fintiri charged the panel members not to approach their assignment with suspicion and antagonism but rather be open-minded and work to achieve what is best for the state. “I urge you all to make a more united, stronger, indivisible and prosperous Adamawa your preoccupation and reference point for the duration of this assignment. The task before you is onerous, but it must be done and it rests on you,’’ he urged.

He read the terms of references of the investigative panel on governance as follows to investigate financial accruals to the State from June 2007 to June 2014.

7 Osun 2014 Conduct LG election by October, No cause for alarm, says Aregbesola Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Falana tells Fashola Wale Elegbede

ctivist lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, yesterday called on the Lagos State government to conduct local government election in October, saying the proposal to amend the law to effect changes in the tenure of local governments should only apply under a fresh mandate.

Speaking yesterday in Lagos during a roundtable meeting organised by Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC) and its allies on the ‘way forward to save our democracy,’ Falana said the de-

A

cision not to conduct the election may be due to fear on the part of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the residents are angry with the party.

He said: “By law, local government election in Lagos is due in October.

There is an attempt to amend the law, but that should not affect the election, because you cannot have an amendment that will take a retrospective effect.

“We would write to the electoral body on when they would have the election. It’s a three-year term, but what they are planning at the

Government House, Ikeja, is to amend the law and allow those who are there now to spend seven years after they may have changed it to a four-year term.

“Those who have contested under the three-year term cannot be part of the amended law, unless you have a fresh mandate. But the issue there is that they are afraid to conduct election, because the people are angry," Falana pointed out.

“We must work to get decent people into local governments, because if that is done, it would be difficult to steal money as the people would be actively involved.

G

overnorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the August 9 election in OSun State, Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday said he has no course to entertain any fear in the coming election.

Aregbesola, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Adekunle Victor Amos, in an interview with newsmen in Osogbo, said his achievements in the last three and a half years have said a lot about him in governance.

He continued: “APC is the only party that has the capacity and strength to reposition the state for economic growth; and I am

sure, the people of the state will vote for me on Saturday.”

“This administration has impacted positively and significantly on the lives of its citizenry, especially in the area of security, infrastructure and education, among others.

“No government in the history of the state has succeeded in placing the state on the world map through international engagements as recorded by this administration.”

On the deployment of security officers for the election, the Special Adviser said the security personnel would exhibit high sense of

professionalism.

He, however, disclosed that the government recently commissioned emergency centre to ensure prompt response to any emergency, disaster, robbery and other related incident during the exercise.

“The centre had been equipped with modern facilities and with experienced security personnel to man it while the centre was first of its kind in Nigeria.

“I hereby urge members of the public to familiarise themselves with the code of the centre, which is 080067866786 by giving necessary information all the times.”

Strike: Suswam’s meeting with workers stops Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

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he meeting between striking civil servants in Benue State and Governor Gabriel Suswam, yesterday ended in a deadlock as the striking workers vowed to continue with the strike to put an end to what they described as excessive deductions from their salaries.

The meeting was attended by both the national and state leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) last week mobilised their members to proceed on an indefinite strike if the government would not reverse the deductions from the workers’ June salaries, among other demands.

Several meetings by the two unions with the government to resolve the impasse hit the rocks, as the workers unanimously agreed not to shift grounds until government reverses its decision.

New Telegraph gathered that in yesterday’s

meeting, which lasted for over seven hours, the two sides again failed to reach a truce as the union members, almost staged a walk out on the governor over his decision not to consider their demands.

Sources within the government confided in New Telegraph that Governor Suswam has reaffirmed his determination not to go back on his earlier resolve of reducing the workforce by 40 per cent to enable him address the challenge of payment of salaries.

FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ZARIA P. M. B. 1041, ZARIA, KADUANA.

INVITATION TO TENDER FOR REHABILITATION/RENOVATION OF SOME CLASSROOMS. The Federal College of Education, Zaria desires to undertake a Tender exercise for the rehabilitation/renovation of some classrooms.

Consequently, the College wishes to invite reputable contractors to submit technical and financial bids for the above mentioned project TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL BID REQUIREMENTS To be considered, potential Companies are required to submit all the under listed verifiable documents: 1. Evidence of Company registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and evidence of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in case of joint ventures to include names of Directors and Shareholders.

2. Tax Clearance Certificate for the last three years (2011-2013).

3. Current Company’s Audited Account for the last three years (2011-2013) duly stamped by registered Auditor.

4. Annual Turn-Over of the Company.

5. Evidence of Financial Capability and Banking support (Bank reference from a reputable Bank).

6. Verifiable evidence of similar jobs successfully executed or being executed within the last five (5) years, indicating type, cost, location and evidence of award and completion.

7. List of names of key personnel to be involved in the project stating their qualification, year of cognate experience and professional registration where applicable (Enclose photocopy of (Credentials).

8. Evidence of compliance with Pension Reform Act, 2004 by inclusion of clearance Certificate from National Pension Commission (PENCOM).

9. List of plants and equipment to be used for the project stating owned, leased or hired (where applicable).

10. Evidence of compliance with Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Amendment Act by inclusion of compliance Certificate from ITF. 11. Copy of VAT registration and evidence of past VAT remittances for completed projects.

12. Bank Statement for the past 12 months.

13. Company’s registered Address, functional contact Address, GSM phone number and e-mail address.

14. Reference letter from three previous clients of similar projects satisfactorily completed.

15. Sworn Affidavit satisfying that: a. The Documents submitted for Technical Bid must not only be genuine but correct. b. The Directors of the company seeking for Technical and financial bid had never been a trouble maker or convicted by any court of law. c. The company shall not be bankrupt. d. None of the Officials of FCE, Zaria is a former or present director of the company.

16. Original copies of the documents would be requested to be made available for sighting whenever required.

OBTAINING TENDER DOCUMENTS upon payment of prescribed non-refundable tender fee for each of the project to the Bursary Department of the College and quote the reference number of the project on the receipt.

SUBMISSION OF TENDER DOCUMENTS The Financial and Technical documents arranged in the order listed above are to be submitted neatly bound and sealed in an envelope with the outer envelope marked “pre-qualification and Tender documents for Rehabilitation/Renovation of some Classrooms and deposited in the Tender box in the office of the Registrar, Federal College of Education, Zaria to reach him not later than 17th September, 2014 at 12:00pm.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION A) Failure to comply with the above requirements will automatically result in disqualification.

B) The College reserves the right to verify the authenticity of any claim made on the Pre-qualification and Tender documents submitted by companies.

C) The College reserves the right to reject any pre-qualification and Tender document and is neither committed nor obliged to give reason for the rejection of any of the company responding to this invitation.

OPENING OF TENDER DOCUMENTS Contractors or their representatives are hereby invited to the public opening of Technical and Financial bids documents scheduled to hold on 17th September, 2014 at 12:30pm in the College Conference Room.

PLEASE NOTE: The execution of these projects will depend on the release of fund by the appropriate funding organs. F.C.E Zaria will NOT be liable if there is any delay and/or failure in the release of funds for the projects.

(Signed) DANLAMI SAIDU Head Procurement Unit

L-R: Executive Director, Regulatory and Stakeholders’ Affairs, Mr. Abimbola Odubiyi; Executive Director, Commercial Services, Mr. Ernest Mupwaya; Executive Director, Technical Services, Mr. Joe Chiyassa; Chief Financial Officer, AEDC, Mr. Andrew Atterbury and Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. David Shikfu Parradang, during the NIS management team’s visit to the Electricity Distribution Company in Abuja... recently

Politicians litter ground with fetish objects Adeolu Adeyemo

OSOGBO

D

esperate to win and occupy the seat of power, politicians in the state have littered the four corners of Osogbo, the state capital, with fetish objects.

New Telegraph investigation revealed that those commissioned to be placing these objects in strategic and conspicuous places had been settled with substan-

tial amount of money.

Sources also said that the trusted and commissioned party supporters must wear white apparel before the objects could be so placed after being accompanied with series of incantations from those who prepared them.

One of those carrying the fetish objects, was however, caught by residents of Omo-West area of Osogbo, at about 5.00am while re-

turning from a vigil.

One of the residents, who identified himself as Omololu Adebayo, told our reporter that the person caught in the act was beaten by the people until he begged them, telling them that the object was not meant to harm residents of the area, but to appease the gods and deities for the emergence of a gubernatorial candidate that would be beneficial to the state.

Ataoja charges women to warn husbands against violence

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s the electorate and politicians get ready the Ataoja Of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olayiwola, yesterday appealed to women in the state to prevail on their husbands to shun any act that could put them into danger before, during and after the election.

The monarch spoke through the Iyalode of Osogbo, Chief Alake Kolade, at the launch of Women’s Governance Accountabil-

ity Platform and interface with Political Parties and Women for Peaceful Election in Osun State held at Leisure Spring Hotel, Osogbo.

The traditional ruler, who argued that women have great influence on their husbands in deeds and thought, advised them to warn their husbands against electoral malpractices, so as not to bite their fingers at the end of the

exercise.

The royal father further charged them to warn their children against ballot snatching and other electoral irregularities that they may want to engage in during the election.

He said these acts could truncate the electoral process. The monarch sounded it louder: “We should warn our children against it to avoid sorrow in our families.”

LP pledges to govern with the fear of God

L

abour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Osun State, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, yesterday promised to serve the people of the state with all his strength if considered the next governor.

Akinbade, who made the assurance in a release made available to newsmen in Osogbo, by his Media Aide, Mr.

Kayode Oladeji, added that he would govern with the fear of God. “Through some of my party's programmes that would be anchored on local content policy, the state economy would also be regenerated.

“It is saddening that statutory jobs of civil servants at state and local govern-

ment levels are currently firmed out to consultants at cut throat prices.

“These, among other obnoxious policies, are not in the best interest of the state and its people.

“The policies are put in place to enrich some dubious politicians that are only interested in feeding fat on the people," he said.

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NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Nigeria considers US experimental Ebola drug

Insurgency: Akinjide tasks Nigerians on unity

...Lagos begs doctors to call-off strike Appolonia Adeyemi and Muritala Ayinla

he growing apprehension over the outbreak of Ebola Virus Diseases (EVD) yesterday escalated in Lagos following the announcement that a female doctor, who attended to the late Liberian-American victim, Patrick Sawyer, had been infected with the deadly virus.

T

This comes as the Lagos State Government announced that Nigeria is considering applying for a dose of ZMapp, the experimental Ebola drug given to two Americans, who developed EVD where they were helping out treating Ebola patients in Liberia.

San Diego-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc.’s experimental ZMapp drug, has only been tested on infected

animals before it was given to Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, American health workers who were infected with the Ebola virus before being flown to United States (U.S) where they accessed the therapy.

Commissioner of Health in Lagos State, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed these in Lagos yesterday, said that out of the 14 persons that had serious contact with the late Saw-

18%

FG lauded over technology institute Cajetan Mmuta

BENIN

T

he suspended Deputy Speaker of Edo Assembly, Mr. Festus Ebea, has praisedtheeffortbytheFederalGovernmentatestablishing the Federal Institute of BuildingConstructionTechnology, Uromi in Edo State.

Ebea said the gesture would encourage entrepreneurial potentials of Nigerian youths and make them job creators rather than job seekers in future.

He stated that the institute which will soon commence academic activities will drive thenation'stechnologicalrevolution. It will be recalled that PresidentGoodluckJonathan recently appointed a provost

to run the affairs of the new institution.

According to the Acting Speaker of the nine PDP lawmakers in the state, "Whatwe have at Uromi is going to be the first of its kind in Africa.

When youlookatthefactthat it is a novel institution, which will be impacting technical knowledge and professional skills to our youths to help revolutionalize the construction industry in the country".

He added that, "From information available, this school would train all the needed manpower for the construction sector be it housing, roads, bridges, erosion and flood control, name it, but in all we will be trainingourownmanpowerbadly needed locally."

yer, eight have developed symptoms and are currently being monitored by the authority while government has expanded the contact tracking to include secondary contacts. He described secondary contacts as those family members, friends and relations of those, who had contact with the primary contacts. The primary contacts had serious direct contact with Sawyer.

The percentage of the total population of Denmark under 15 years in 2012.

Source: Un.org

Yekeen Nurudeen

Abuja

D

espite the problem of insecurity that is challenging the unity of the country, Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, has urged Nigerians to dwell more on features of the nation that unite the nation rather than those that are capable of dividing it.

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The total area (in sq. km) of Malta.

Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

The Minister, who also encouraged Nigerians to feel free to live in any part of the country regardless of their tribes or political affiliation, urged all to unite against agents of division that are threatening to destroy the country.

She stated these in Abuja yesterday at a brief birthday get-together organised by her aides to mark her 55th birthday.

$3,267.4m

The negative difference in capital importation of Nigeria between 2008 and 2011.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

PDP youths decamp to APC in Rivers Emmanuel Masha

Port Harcourt

H

undreds of youths of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State have decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing lack of internal democracy, selfishness and in-fighting in the PDP. The youths, who were officially received into the APC by the State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya; the Youth Leader, Sogbeye Eli and other party officials at the APC secretariat in Port Harcourt, said that APC has shown that they were better organized to take over and provide change.

They alleged that the

disagreement between some leaders of the PDP and Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was over the sharing of the state’s resources, which the Governor is against.

Speaking on their behalf, Comrade Hart Lawson Atemie, said that leaders of the PDP did not encourage them to remain in the party and contributetoitsdevelopment, noting that the leaders were out there pursuing their selfish interest.

"In Rivers state, those who are in PDP and their acclaimed leaders do not give us hope and are completely selfish. The money they distributeistocontrolthesoulof helpless Rivers people born in riches but are poor”.

Terrorism: IGP visits DHQ on collaboration Emmanuel Onani

s part of measures to ensure effective synergy in the ongoing terrorism war, the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, yesterday, paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh as well as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.Gen. Kenneth Minimah.

A statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), reads in part: "During the visit, the IGP held crucial

A

discussions with the service Chiefs, promising to strengthen the age long cooperation between the military and the Police and enjoined the military authorities to continue to extend their support to the Police in providing adequate safety and security for the country.

"In their various responses, the CDS and the Army Chief congratulated the new IGP on his appointment and promised to team up with him as they redouble their efforts in all areas essential to the war against terror, including training and joint Military-Police operations.

L-R: Member, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Mr. Ali Bukar Fatoma; Director, Federal Highways, South West, Mr. Kabir Abdullahi; Chairman, SURE-P, Lt. Gen. Martins Agwai (rtd.) and Chief Engineer, RCC, Reynolds Construction (Nigeria) Limited, Mr. Nader Yusuf, during the inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan dual Carriageway…yesterday.

PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Jonathan condoles with Ikorodu people over Ayangburen' death Anule Emmanuel

resident Goodluck Jonathan has commiserated with Governor Babatunde Fashola and the people of Lagos State on the passing away of the paramount ruler of Ikorodu, Oba Salaudeen Oyefusi.

The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, extended sincere condolences to the late Ayangburen's family and his subjects, the people of

P

Ikorodu especially.

"As they mourn Oba Oyefusi, who ruled Ikorodu for 43 years, President Jonathan urges them to be comforted by his worthy legacies of grassroots development, modernisation, peace and progress" he said.

He also urged the late Oba's family, friends and subjects to give thanks to God Almighty for his long and very fulfilled live, a great part of which was devoted to wise and benevolent leadership of his people.

Striking doctors elect officials in Plateau Musa Pam

Jos

A

veteran unionist and medical consultant with the Jos University Teaching Hospital , JUTH, Dr. Pokop Wushipa Bupwatda, has emerged the Plateau State Chairman of the striking Nigeria Medical Association. NMA During the swearing in ceremony yesterday in Jos, Bupwatda particularly implored Nigerians to support the NMA, which is only striving to ensure that the

health sector is made efficient and responsive to the plight of the people.

He, however, assured Nigerians that the impasse between doctors and the government would be resolved soonbecause"weareworried overthesituationpatientsfind themselves."

According to him, with the peoples’ support, a bill will collectively be forwarded to the National Assembly; making it an offence to travel abroad for medical attention without a referral from qualified hospitals within.

Atiku eulogises late Alkali

ACF commends northern delegates on resource control

Onyekachi Eze

Ibraheem Musa

ABUJA

F

ormer Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has described the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Professor Nura Alkali, as a “scholar par excellence”.

Alkali, who was a delegate to the National Conference, died last week in Maiduguri.

Atiku in a tribute by

his media office in Abuja yesterday, said the late historian distinguished himself both as an intellectual and a patriot, who had contributed to the country’s political development.

According to Atiku, the late Alkali was always invited by successive governments to come and offer his wealth of experience in the service of the country.

Kaduna

T

he Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has commended the efforts of northern delegates to the National Conference, who stood firm in the defence of issues concerning the corporate existence of Nigeria and the place of the north in the Nigerian project.

In a statement issued after its meeting by its National Publicity Secretary,

Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, ACF charged northern delegates to continue to be firm on issues related to resources control.

According to the statement, the meeting received a brief submitted by its NEC Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Northern Delegates Forum (NDF), former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, on the performance of the northern delegates at the ongoing National Conference.”

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

ASSAULT

Wife of a former army colonel and exPDP boss in trouble for over-reacting in public Dominic Adewole ASABA

D

elta State chapter of the People Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday waged its big stick on Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali, wife of the former National Chairman of the party for slapping her state chairman, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi.

Fight broke out between Nwaoboshi and Ali last month over the seat allegedly reserved for Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s deputy, Prof.

Amos Utuama (SAN) which she sat on at the

28

PDP suspends Ali's wife for slapping Nwaoboshi  Asks Jonathan to sack her as adviser party’s stakeholders’ meeting.

Attempt by Nwaoboshi to evacuate Mrs. Ali from the seat allegedly provoked a dirty slap from her.

But arising from the Elders, Leaders and Stakeholders meeting of the party’s wing in Oshimili South Local Government Area of the State in Asaba yesterday, the elders urged the national body of the party not to only disregard Mrs. Ali’s conduct but count her action as “embarrassing.”

In a six-point statement signed by Evange-

The number of clubs from England that were represented at Brazil 2014 World Cup. Source: Goal.com

list Ebialim Maduemezia, the council party chairman, and the chairman of the local government area Elders’ Council, Ogbueshi A. Eluaka, Ali was described “the assailant” who reported the face-off “whereupon she abdicated the matter at the police in Delta State Command.”

After the elders’ recounted how she ignored the invitation of the Asagba in Council, comprising the Traditional Rulers in Delta North Senatorial District, they placed her on indefinite suspension from the

80%

The estimated percentage of used water worldwide not collected or treated.

Source: Unesco.org

party.

The suspension, which was moved by one Ngozi Okolotu was swiftly seconded by Dr. Mordi Ononye before it was unanimously upheld.

The elders were categorical that Mrs. Ali failed to behave like Chief (Mrs.) Ngozi Olejeme, the chairperson of Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), who they said “was doing the council area proud at the national level”, hence she should restrain herself to Kogi state, where she was married to several year ago.

338.1

The number of newspaper journalists per 1m inhabitants of Palau in 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

Ogoni beg to govern Rivers Temitope Ogunbanke head of 2015 governorAState, ship election in Rivers a group, Celestine

Akpobari Solidarity Movement (CASOM) has called on All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties in the state to zone their 2015 governorship ticket to Ogoni.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos, National Coordinator of CASOM, Kukana Joseph Ledum, said in line with justice, equity and fair play, Ogoni should be considered for the governorship of Rivers State in 2015.

His words: “Since Rivers State was created over 47 years ago, Ogoni had been the brain behind the economic and human resources sustaining Rivers State and Niger-Delta to an extent.

“Rivers State has three

UGHELLI

paramount ruler of TtaheIdjerhe, Ethiope in DelState has charged the

entire Urhobo nation to continue living in peace and harmony with one another for the overall development of the nation.

Addressing Chiefs, members of the Idjerhe Chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) and members of Urhobo Women Prayer Network in his palace, the monarch commended them for their effort in coming together to pray for the peace and progress of the communities.

He urged the people to speak in one voice and remain united as ever

Igbeaku Orji

UMUAHIA

I

nterim chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Abia State, Chief Donatus Nwankpa has called on the national chairman of the party, Chief Odigie Oyegun to intervene in the crisis rocking the State chapter of the party and declare the true status of the Abia State executive.

He said the call became necessary to save the party from imminent crisis and mass defection.

Nwankpa who accused the leadership of the party including former interim national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Bola Tinubu, Governor Rauf Aregbesola and General Mohammadu Buhari of fueling the crisis by supporting a faction led by Chief Ikechi Emenike said he

Igbeaku Orji, UMUAHIA

take our destiny in our hands”, he threatened.

Nwankpa, who at different times served as member of the Abia State House of Assembly, commissioner and special adviser, said the Fabian Okonkwo-led faction of the party did not emerge through a proper congress and therefore was not acceptable to all.

The Interim chairman warned that unless the Abia and Ebonyi states executive committees were ratified “we take it that the South East does not have a place in APC.” According to him, the national congress supervisory committee canceled the State congress, which he said made the interim executive the

authentic and recognized body to lead the APC in the State.

“If the State executive was rightly elected, then there should have been a proper process of handover. Ranti Akerele abused all the guidelines of the election. Therefore no group should parade as the state executive of the party in the state”, he said.

On the allegation that his group did not pick form to contest for the congress, Nwankpa said Akerele, the leader of the congress committee, and Osun state commissioner for Information abused the entire process “because he came to Abia to act a script written for him.”

before so Urhobos can remain in their pride of place with their continued prayers. He expressed satisfaction to the group’s activity.

He said: “As Christians, if you asked anything from God, he will actually grant your request because God will approve of your request and I pray that there will be a total peace and freedom across the Urhobo Nation.

Earlier, leader of the delegation, Rev. Ogagaoghene Emakpor said they were invited to pray for the Urhobos so that they could occupy their pride of place in the scheme of things in terms of political matters in the State.

Onuoha: I'm not playing prison politics

Abia APC crisis: Nwankpa appeals to national chairman for intervention A could not hand over to the factional executive because they were not properly constituted.

He explained in Umuahia yesterday that they had to allow the national chairman to settle down before calling his attention to the festering crisis in the State executive because of the high regard they had for him.

“Our greatest problem in Abia APC is that we are losing our patience with the national leadership of APC and the delay is causing us loss of membership.

“We have decided to call on the new national chairman, Oyegun to make a pronouncement on Abia. Anything short of that will make us

senatorial zones; the other two have been producing the governorship of Rivers State, while the South-East zone, where the Ogoni remains the majority have never tasted the seat of power. So in line with justice, equity and fair play, we are demanding that comes 2015, Ogoni should be considered for the governorship slot of Rivers.

“We felt just like the Governor of Akwa-Ibom, Godswill Akpabio, has done by zoning the governorship of the State to Eket Senatorial district, that has never produced governor in Akwa-Ibom State; Rivers State should follow suit. We are calling on the leaders of APC, PDP and other political parties in Rivers State to zone the governorship slot to the Ogoni people.

And with that, we feel that there would be justice, equity and fair play in the state.”

Delta monarch tasks Urhobos on unity Gabriel Choba

L-R: Head, Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Chris Isokpunmu; Marketing Services Director, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Iquo Ukoh and President, Pediatrics Association of Nigeria, Prof. Adebisi Olowu, during a breastfeeding Seminar in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

9

senatorial aspirant for Abia North senatorial zone and chief executive officer of Bourdex Group, Chief David Ogba Onuoha, has donated mattresses worth millions of naira to inmates of the Umuahia prisons, saying the gesture should not be associated with his political ambition.

He warned that people should not associate what he has done for the prison inmates with politics so that those who have political plans would not start trying to overdo each other because he has done it, “But if they must donate to the less privileged in the State they must do it from their hearts and not to curry cheap political favour”, he stated.

While presenting the 200 mattresses, Onuoha

said he was performing his civic duties as a responsible citizen of the State to compliment the efforts of both the State and federal governments in alleviating the sufferings of the masses.

He explained that prison is not a place for punishment but a place for correction and reformation, adding that both the state government under the leadership of Governor Theodore Orji and the federal government of President Goodluck Jonathan have done a lot for the less privileged people in the country.

According to him, the prison inmates should be reformed to serve the society when they finish their term. He maintained that when they are reformed they will be of good service to the people of the state and the country.

10

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www.newtelegraphonline.com/metro

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES EDITOR

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014

abiodun. bello@newtelegraphonline.com; otuntise@yahoo.co.uk

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Gunmen kill eight, injure others in Port Harcourt VIOLENCE Eight people have been shot dead in renewed outbreak of violence in Rivers State Emmanuel Masha PORT HARCOURT

G

unmen suspected to be members of a cult group have shot dead eight persons and injured two others at old Port Harcourt area, popularly called Town.

The incident took place at a bar on Aggrey Road, in the Port Harcourt metropolis on Monday night.

A source said that one of the injured persons died while he was being rushed to the hospital, while the remaining two were taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.

But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has blamed the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for the return of violence in the state, alleging that the government had ordered the release of some suspects.

Witnesses said that the gunmen, numbering four, invaded the relaxation spot and opened fire at their targets, killing four persons on the spot, while the remaining were shot at another spot on Aggrey Road.

Amaechi

They added that the gunmen came in an unmarked car, stormed the place about 10pm and opened fire on a set of people sitting outside the relaxation centre, killing one the spot and injuring three others.

The incident occurred less than eight hours after a cleric was reportedly killed during a clash between the people of Deeyor and Deken communities in Gokana Local Government Area of the state.

Though, the identity of the gunmen or the cult group that carried out the attack could not be ascertained, two cult groups, the Icelanders and the Greenlanders, have been on each other’s neck over which group controls the Town axis of Port Harcourt and its environs.

The Assistant Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mrs Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the report, said the police were investigating the incident.

The PDP said that the recent invasion of Obagi, Ede Obite, Egi town, Obieze, Obimiri and Akabuka all in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area which had claimed over 15 lives was provoking a nagging fear among the populace.

The state PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah, said in a statement that “the renewed clashes, kidnappings and indiscriminate killings in parts of Ogoni including Baen, Kpean, Wiiyaakara, Kaani, Kpaa and Okwali etc which have also claimed unspecified number of causalities are all due to irresponsible and uncaring political leadership of the state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.”

He urged youths to shun all acts capable of disrupting the peace and development in the state.

Cholera claims three in Plateau Musa Pam JOS

holera outbreak has claimed the lives of at CLocal least three persons in Gumbur Ward, Wase Government Area of Plateau State.

Also, 34 others affected by cholera had been treated.

The Chairman of Wase Local Government Area, Mr Zakari Abdul, told NT Metro yesterday that the disease broke out on Sunday morning.

According to him, the diarrhoea and vomiting of the 34 affected persons have been brought under control by medical personnel in the council.

He said: “We are not happy with the development, because we lost precious lives which could have added a lot of changes to our developmental stride as a council.”

Abdul said that he had reported the matter to the state Ministry of Health for assistance, considering the number of affected persons.

He said: “We do not want a situation where the epidemic will be out of control and ravage our people. We dispatched our medical team with drugs that same Sunday to control the situation.”

The chairman called on the people of the affected area and others to be hygienic in order to prevent the spread on the disease.

He added: “People should ensure that they properly wash their hands before eating food, wash vegetables and fruits very well before eating as well as have good and clean toilets.”

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Fom Dakwak, also confirmed the incident.

Dakwak said the state government had dispatched a team of medical experts from the Ministry of Health with drugs and other facilities to the affected area.

Seven held for robbery, LagosHoms not threat to Omole residents, says commissioner abduction in Delta

Muritala Ayinla

L

agos State Government yesterday accused the residents of Omole Phase II in IkosiIsheri Local Council Development Area of flouting their building approved plans.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde, who said this, added that the government had discovered about 20 structures which contravened the approved plans.

Ayinde also defended government’s decision to site its public housing initiative, Lagos Home Ownership Scheme (LagosHoms) within the estate, saying the project was meant to address housing deficit in the state.

Reacting to the protest staged by the Omole Residents Association, who bemoaned government’s decision to build the housing scheme in their estate, the commissioner said the government had done nothing wrong by constructing the blocks of flats on the abandoned parcel of land within the estate to address

housing challenges.

He said: “Government has operated within the provisions of Physical Planning, Urban Development, Urban Regeneration and Building Control Law 2010 which allows for the governor to give assent to Special Building Projects.

“We must appreciate that Lagos is constrained of land, having 3,577 square kilometres of land, constituting 0.4 per cent of the total land area of Nigeria, and yet having a population of above 22 million. This population cannot be accommodated in low density development - it is not sustainable.”

Ayinde appealed to the residents to be tolerant, adding that the occupants of the LagosHoms scheme would not constitute security threat to the property and lives of the existing residents of the estate.

“On the issue of security threat in the area, the housing scheme is just about 24 flats which will only accommodate about 24 families.

“To say that there will be security threat is to say that

Dominic Adewole ASABA

olice in Delta State have arrested four perPbers, sons described as notorious armed robwho have terrorised parts of the state

Ayinde flanked by the Information and Strategy Commissioner, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba (right) and the Special Adviser to the governor on Housing, Hon. Jimoh Ajao, at the briefing.

we are bringing 24 families of miscreants which is not possible for the kind of houses we are building in that place.

“If we must address the problem of housing deficit in Lagos, it has to be on the existing land, we can’t build on Third Mainland Bridge,” Ayinde added.

Reacting to the allegation of impunity on the part of the government, the commissioner said that contrary to the

claims by the residents that government was erecting highrise buildings in the estate, the LagosHoms buildings could not be classified as high-rise.

He said: “There is what we called high-rise and medium-rise buildings. It is medium-rise if it has between six and 10 floors. If they described LagosHoms buildings as high-rise, what will they call NITEL House or UBA House in Marina?”

for many years.

The suspects, led by one Charles Maduabuchi, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Celetina Kalu, said had terrorised Mile 5 and Ugbolu localities for years.

Kalu added that Maduabuchi had been on police wanted list.

The PPRO said yesterday that the suspects had confessed to the crime and had named some of other members of the gang who were still at large.

She listed those on wanted list to include one Ekene Amieke, whose involvement in past robbery operations within Anwai/Mile ‘5’/Ugbolu and environs, had caused many innocent citizens their lives According to her, the suspects will soon appear in court.

She also said that a team of Special AntiKidnapping Squad, while on surveillance patrol in a bush around Maryam Babangida Road, Asaba, arrested one Sylvester Akere (30), Henry Ifeanyi (28) and Gift Nnwfejakwu (28).

During interrogation, the suspects confessed their membership of burglary and house-breaking syndicate terrorising DLA/ Maryam Babangida Road and Summit areas of Asaba.

METRO

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Kidnapping: Anambra demolishes church, GO’s house, others Tony Okafor AWKA

G

overnor Willie Obiano of Anambra State yesterday ordered the demolition of a church and three other buildings belonging to kidnappers.

The governor also revoked the certificates of occupancy of the four buildings.

The four buildings were all located in Awkuzu in Oyi Local Government Area.

The church and one of the buildings were located at Umuobi, Awkuzu while the remaining ones were located at Dusogu and Ifite villages in Awkuzu.

Two of the buildings allegedly belonged to the General Overseer of Unchangeable God Ministries, Awkuzu, Ifeanyi Nwaezeagu.

This was as the police paraded 15 suspected kidnappers and armed robbers, including the general overseer at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) headquarters, Awkuzu.

The suspects were said to have in their possession dangerous weapons which included one rocket launcher, one rocket, 50 AK 47 magazines and 300 rounds of 7.62 mm life ammunition.

Officer in charge of SARS, James Nwafor, and Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Olafimihan Adeoye, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Chukwuemeka, and the Special As-

Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State

sistant to the governor on Security, Chikodili Anara, led the team to the demolition sites.

Addressing journalists during the parade, Chukwuemeka said 10 of the suspects were kidnappers while five were armed robbers and car-snatching thieves, using fake number plates.

He commended Nwafor and his men for their due diligence.

Anara said the robbers and kidnappers were hi-tech criminals.

‘Ladipo market’s poor sanitary condition, a nightmare’ Camillus Nnaji he Managing Director Tagement of the Lagos Waste ManAuthority (LAW-

MA), Mr Ola Orasanya, has described waste management and disposal at Ladipo Automobile Market, Mushin, Lagos, as a nightmare.

Oresanya, who spoke to NT Metro yesterday, blamed the traders’ insensitivity to the environment and incessant leadership tussle in the market for the poor waste disposal system and very dirty sanitary condition of the market.

He said: “Ladipo Auto Market is a problem in sanitation. It is one market that has witnessed closure several times arising from poor sanitation and refuse disposal system. I think the problem is with the traders. There are many leaders there. In terms of managing their waste, we don’t know who to approach.

“LAWMA would not sweep the market for them.

What we do is to position waste bins at different locations in the market and remove them on a daily basis.”

Oresanya said that over 100 tonnes of wastes were removed from Ladipo mar-

ket daily, while poor disposal was as a result of traders not pushing their wastes to the bins but littering the market with refuse.

He said: “LAWMA removes over 100 tonnes of refuse from the market daily, the three giant bins we placed at different positions in the market weigh 34 tonnes each, put together, we have almost 100 tonnes removed daily.”

On the belief by the market leadership that LAWMA is paid to remove waste, Oresanya said what Ladipo paid on waste dis-

Oresanya

posal was a far cry from what Lagos State Government paid to subsidise the removal of waste from the market.

“The way wastes are dropped with impunity is a reflection of how organised they are in the market. I want to challenge the traders in the market to make a comparison between their sanitation and that of any other market in Lagos. When the place is locked, they will label it a politically-motivated action,” he added.

11

Ebonyi considers six months’ maternity leave Charles Onyekwere ABAKALIKI

State Government said it Etionbonyi would monitor the implementaand success of the six months’

maternity leave recently introduced by the Lagos State Government with a view of implementing same in the state if it was not abused by the nursing mothers.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mr Hycient Oteh, said this at a press conference to mark the launch of the 2014 World Breastfeeding Week organised in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Oteh said that the introduction of the programme was encouraging, adding that his fear was that the programme might be abused.

He said: “The introduction of six months’ maternity leave is an encouraging development but we need to monitor it so that it won’t get to be abused by nursing mothers.

“If six months is given, it is expect-

ed that the period is used for what it is meant for. It is a good development that the state would consider in due course.”

The permanent secretary also noted that the Ministry of Health would sensitise other ministries and agencies to put up a bay where nursing mothers could go and breastfeed their babies while in office.

According to him, such initiative will help the nursing mothers not to break the chain of exclusive breastfeeding for six months.

He said: “We in the Ministry of Health would have to kick start it. Most young women after the three months’ maternity leave start work and while in the office, most often, it is not convenient to sit in the office and breastfeed.

So, by creating such a place, the atmosphere would be conducive for them to breastfeed their babies.”

Oteh warned nursing mothers not to put extracted breast milk in feeding bottles, adding that there were associated dangers in giving babies extracted milk in feeding bottles.

Hit-and-run driver kills soldier Chinedu Ekeja was knocked down and killed Aingsoldier by a fast moving vehicle while dashacross the Ikorodu Road at Fadeyi

bus stop, Lagos.

The soldier, whose identities could not be ascertained, was rushed to the Military Hospital in Yaba but gave up the ghost a few hours later.

The incident, according to witnesses, occurred about 11pm on Sunday but the man died about 3am on Monday.

There was a confusion following the death of a soldier who was reportedly heat by an unidentified vehicle at Fadeyi bus stop in Yaba, Lagos.

A vendor said she the soldier was trying to cross the road without using the pedestrian bridge when he was hit by a vehicle.

The impact, according to her, threw the soldier from the service lane to the BRT lane.

The vendor said many of those around could not tell exactly how it

happened as they heard the screeching of tyres and a bang.

She said: “After that we saw the soldier lying in the pool of his blood. Some soldiers came about an hour later to evacuate him.”

Another witness, Onyebuchi Asogwa, said that he was coming from the military hospital from where he had gone to see a patient when he saw a crowd gathered at the foot of the pedestrian bridge at Fadeyi bus stop.

Upon inquiry, he discovered that a soldier was lying there, almost dead.

He said: “I called my friend whom I had gone to see in the hospital to inform him of what I saw so that he can inform the soldiers to take immediate action to save his life.

“No vehicle was stopping and everybody was afraid to touch the soldier because no one knows when the soldiers will come.”

When our correspondent visited the military hospital on Monday, it was discovered that the soldier had died.

Wealth creation policy behind my success, says Mimiko Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo Gof overnor State has said that implementation policies facilitating wealth creation

was the driving force behind the success of his administration.

The governor said this on yesterday while delivering a lecture at the Yoruba Tennis Club’s Business Luncheon where he delivered a paper on: “Progressivism as an Ideological Instrument for Social Integration -The Ondo State Example.”

The luncheon was held at the Greetings Hall of the Yoruba Tennis club Yaba, Lagos.

At the lecture, Mimiko posited that the terms “state” or “nation” and “government” were among the most significant products of centuries of political evolution in human societies.

“Today, it is taken for granted that the state and the government in power should protect the citizens and provide that type of good governance that will promote happiness, enhance the ma-

terial conditions of the people, and provide the enabling conditions for individual ambitions and enterprises to mature and flourish,” he said.

The governor said as demonstrated by his administration, “government should seek to ensure the widest spread of material well-being by engaging in policies that facilitate wealth creation by manufacturers, factories, smallscale businesses, and other entrepreneurs, and yet supportive of the causes of the common man so as to minimise, or at least ameliorate, sharp economic and social cleavages in society”.

Because of unequal access to the opportunities and privileges arising from nobility of births, preferment, and special privileges, Mimiko said it was the business of any responsible government to seek to narrow the class differentiations that “tend to exist among the people as a result of the undemocratic access to the good things of life”.

12 NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Shettima’s political adviser defects to PDP Ahmed Miringa

MAIDUGURI

P

olitical Adviser to Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who is also a former Secretary of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Alhaji Yusuf Adamu, has dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the People Democratic Party (PDP).

Adamu, an influential political figure in Borno, was also a Caretaker Chairman, Biu Local Government during the tenure of former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, before he was appointed a political adviser by Governor Shettima in 2011.

His defection is coming at a time when another respected women leader of the APC, Nana Amina, a senior special assistant, who is the junior sister to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai, also defected to the PDP. Speaking on why he dumped the APC, Adamu told journalists that he was leaving his former party following what he described as “lack of vision and failure of the present administration to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people that gave him their mandate.”

He said as the political adviser to the governor, he felt uncomfortable with the political happenings that characterised the APC government, alleging

that the administration is operating a government based on affinities of families, friends and associates, which according to him, compelled him and his supporters to opt out of the party.

Yusuf while announcing his decision, which he said took effect since July 31, howeverexpressed optimism that the opposition PDP is the only party that will take Borno people to the promised land.

“I called you to intimate you of my resolve to opt out of the APC and my resignation as Political Adviser to Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State.

“You all know the active role we played to see that we collectively take Borno to its desired status/development, but all our efforts and advice to Shettima ended up hitting the rock. Security challenges have ravaged almost all parts of the state, people, particularly those at the grassroots, are no more sleeping with their two eyes closed, they no longer go to their farms due to the fear of Boko Haram and the attendant poverty among the youth and women is very worrisome.

“No water, no electricity, no food to eat, no basic social amenities and above all, people’s right to freedom has been denied by the government and many more issues that compelled me to disassociate myself and my supporters from this failed government,” Adamu said.

Opposition doubts Delta local government elections Dominic Adewole

ASABA

he All Progressives ConTraised gress (APC) yesterday doubt about the forthcoming local government council election in Delta State.

The party said it was doubtful if the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) would deliver on a free, fair and credible election.

The commission has slated the election for October 25, in all the local government areas of the state.

The opposition party alleged that members of the electoral commission were, before their inauguration, card-carrying members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While the party vowed to resist “any puerile statement” from the commission if it failed to deliver on credible election, it urged the body not to allow government functionaries hijack the responsibility of monitoring the election.

Publicity Secretary of the party, Isaac Adaka Adakpo, in a statement made available to New Telegraph in Asaba yesterday, noted that the commission must shun partisanship.

“There should be no dirty tricks, unholy alliance or conspiracy with the government as if the commission is set up to ensure rolling victories for the ruling party. Ruling parties can lose elections, and PDP will lose to APC on October 24, 2014, because the people have decided to retrieve their common patrimony from the conquistadores.

“The election must not be slow or late. The election must be specifically free and fair, not in general terms. We know that DSIEC members are card-carrying PDP appointees, but the best interest of democracy must prevail.

“Similarly we do not accept that ‘top government functionaries’ will vote and monitor elections in their council areas. All top, medium and low government functionaries, and whatever, have one function that day, to vote only, Adakpo said.

Police grill Ebonyi lawmaker, others over assassination threat THREAT Okorie maybe a lawmaker, but he needs good lawyers to convince police about attempt to break the law Charles Onyekwere

ABAKALIKI

A

member of the National Assembly representing Ohaozara, Ivo and Onicha federal constituency in Ebonyi State, Hon. Linus Abba Okorie. Two others, Mr. Mark Onu, ex-coordinator of Okposs Development Centre and Jerry Ude-Aja were also interrogated. was yesterday quizzed at the Force Headquarters of

the Police in Abuja.

They were quizzed over their alleged complicity in the threat to assassinate an Abuja-based industrialist, Dr. Eze Anoke.

The three had allegedly threatened to assassinate Anoke if he dared declare his intention to contest election into the Ohaozara, Ivo and Onicha federal constituency seat against the incumbent Okorie.

While Okorie was invited by the police in Abuja, Onu and Ude-Aja were arrested at Okposi.

New Telegraph learnt that confessional statements made by the accused persons led to the arrest of another suspect called ‘Togo.’ They have all been released on bail, while the police have commenced investigation into the case.

In a 10-paragraph petition written by one Chinedu Okoli and addressed to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja, reads in part; “That about 8.00am on Sunday, June 15, 2014, Anoke was awakened by a telephone call via GSM numbers 09095383977, 08168406282. The caller introduced himself as Barrister Lucky, from Okposi; our client’s home town.

The said petition which was received by the police on June 19, 2014 also indicated that; “The caller went further without giving our client any opportunity to exchange pleasantries with him, warning our client to desist from his proposed ambition to contest for the seat of the Federal

House of Representatives in the forthcoming 2015 general elections.”

The petition continued; ‘In his words’, the caller said: “I have read all the nonsense you posted on your campaign website, if you are strong enough to compete with my ‘Oga’, come down to the village and let me show you what I can do, as long as my Oga, Hon. Linus Okorie, is still interested in that seat.

“I will die supporting him. I will do anything possible for him to win. I warn you not to dare say that you want to contest with our overlord, Hon. Linus Okorie. And I hope you know what we Black Axe confraternity are capable of doing in Okposi and you are also aware of the terror attacks we have launched in Okposi in the last seven months.”

L-R: Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Jimoh Ajao; Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde and his Information and Strategy counterpart, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, during a press briefing on the allegation of illegality and impunity against the government by residents of Omole Phase 11 Housing Estate, in Lagos…yesterday

Group backs Jonathan for 2015 More calls for Elechi’s Cajetan Mmuta

BENIN

T

he Jonathan Shall Lead Again-Movement, (JOSLA-M), a pro- President Goodluck Jonathan campaign organisation, yesterday declared its resolve to ensure that the president’s re-election next year is a reality.

Members of the group stated this yesterday in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

The position followed misconceptions by the public that the leadership of the body has been rocked with crisis.

The National Coordinator, Anthony Eromosele, in a statement made available to newsmen, called on Nigerians to come together towards the realisation of the re-election project of President Jonathan, so that he can continue with

his transformation agenda.

He urged the people to shun ethnic and religious politics, which he said are the stock in trade of members of those opposed to the president’s re-election bid.

According to the group; “We are making this clarion call to every Nigerian, irrespective of ethnic and religious status to join in the Jonathan Shall Lead Again Movement (JOSLA-M) for President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid project.”

Eromosele said the body was committed towards giving recognition to all its affiliate bodies nationwide, but cautioned that such recognition must have the blessing and permission of the national coordinator, who is vested with the responsibility and authority to direct the affairs of the body.

impeachment

Charles Onyekwere

ABAKALIKI

bonyi State chapter of ECongress the All Progressives (APC) yesterday

called for the impeachment of Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Martin Elechi, over alleged incompetence, gross misconduct, reckless borrowing, loss of focus and abysmal performance.

Briefing journalists in Abakaliki on the prolonged crisis rocking the House of Assembly and Governor Elechi’s performance, Secretary to the party, Bernard Ebele, said the most eligible person to be impeached is Governor Elechi.

According to him; “Members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly should stop victimising one another, they should come

together to enact laws that would move Ebonyi State forward. The most eligible person to be impeached is the Governor of Ebonyi State.

“The axe of impeachment should descend on Elechi for incompetence, gross misconduct, reckless borrowing, loss of focus and abysmal performance.”

Ebele said the governor has imposed the four vices of starvation, taxation, deprivation and victimisation on the people of Ebonyi, adding that for seven years, the governor has not completed nor commissioned any project.

“Ochudo city is yet to be completed. International market is yet to be completed, likewise the Oferekpe water scheme Ebele stressed.”

Osun election contenders: How they stand / PAGE 15 | ‘Nigeria does not need more states’ / PAGE 41

POLITICS

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/politics

ayodele Ojo

Deputy Editor, politics

ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

ayodeleojo@yahoo.com

Confab: How the battle was fought, won and lost

p-14

WEDNESday, August 6, 2014

Kano is witnessing a new form of menace in under aged female suicide bombers.

What’s your view on this?

As you rightly said, we’ve had some few cases of attacks and all of them recently have been done by young ladies.

It’s very sad. But the fact remains that as long as we are into these issues of insurgencies and other criminal activities, we’ll continue to see all sorts of styles and surprises because before now it was very difficult to believe that a Nigerian can go and kill himself especially now that we are seeing women doing it.

It’s another dimension that I think the security agencies have to be wiser to. Most have more experience in handling these cases, it is not only Kano.

In Katsina another young lady was arrested, but as usual I’m appealing to Nigerians to continue to support the security agencies and even the president because this is an area that he truly needs support and it should be for him to manage the ship so that we can go to 2015 show. That is why he will by the grace of God stop and we can get better leadership that is strong enough to withstand any insurgencies and criminal activities.

It is sad that we have to go through these and I think these are things that will have been handled better over the years. The unfortunate thing is that the graph is rising and I think that is not good for any leadership. Every time elders face certain challenges but the expectations is for leaders, especially under this critical situation, to stop it and I think that is what Nigerians are saying, who can stop what is happening in this country. This madness of people dying on daily basis, every day you open your television or papers, its even now becoming the norm if you don’t see the number of people killed or stolen, you begin to wonder what was wrong.

So I believe that all hands most be on deck because the consequences of all these, plus the inadequacies of leadership is what we are seeing on the ground. Nigerians now are more divided than ever on religious, regional or ethnic grounds, All these divides are now being amplified by what is happening today, what is happening today is not good for this country it’s not good for our neighbors, it’s not even good for the international community.

What Nigerians are asking is who can stop what is happening today. That is I think the work of the Commander-inChief who should come forward and do his job; stop what is happening, the killings, the stealing, the destructions of properties of individuals and public infrastructure being destroyed on daily basis. The front line now is moving and it’s very dangerous for all of us, and that is why we keep on saying it and I hope the people would listen to us.

The president should keep surrounding himself with good quality of people, not hoax people who are there to represent themselves and take whatever garbage that is left for them and their family, people are concerned, all leaders are concerned, everybody now is afraid. It doesn’t matter the religion, it doesn’t matter the tribe, it doesn’t

Kwankwaso: Nobody can run a country with luck The Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was recently hosted to a media parley by journalists in that state where he opened up on various issues of national importance including the Boko Haram scourge, looting of the nation’s treasury and his views of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government, MUHAMMAD KABIR was there and brings excerpts

Kwankwaso

matter where you are, people are afraid including Mr. President himself.

Mr. President cannot go to Chibok, you know our leader, General T. Y Danjuma made a very expensive joke, everybody was laughing and I’m sure they were laughing at the Commanderin-Chief. That Commander-in-Chief should lead them to Sambisa Forest or Sambisa, everybody was laughing because they know he cannot lead anybody to Sambisa. I’m sure T. Y Danjuma must be very angry on the situation because I’m sure he started remembering himself 40-50 years ago when he was strong enough to go to any corner of this country and even outside Nigeria.

Now we have a situation in our domain and it’s very disheartening and I hope they will change tactics that they will listen to those they call their friends and even their opponents because, that is the best way to govern.

Recently, we watched an event where they were collecting billions for the victims. Well it’s good to get every naira or dollar for the victims, but what we are saying here is we want more sustainable ways of handling North East and other parts of this country.

It should be sustainable, it should be reliable, it should come from a reliable source that is why we are saying there must be a marshal plan that can support that particular area because we believe every government, every leader has challenges, our challenge now is big and huge.

Late President Yar’Adua faced a similar challenge and everybody knew what he did to ensure that challenge was sorted out and I think to a very large extent he succeeded. Now this issue of begging people to give money especially with our situation now I don’t think that will help in the long run, what is needed is for government

to tackle it and for government to accept the reality that there is correlation between illiteracy, poverty, unemployment on one hand, and of course violence and insurgency.

That is what they don’t want to accept, that is the reality anywhere, everybody knows it, everybody told them, but unfortunately they don’t want to accept it, for reasons best known to them. I personally believe that unless the issue of North East is tackled, I’m not from North East, but unless you do something about the area, we will continue unfortunately and regrettably to have some crises, we have reservoir of people who can be recruited any time, we have people whose value is so low but they will be happy and willing to die any day, any time.

So we keep on praying and working heard to ensure that there is peace in the North East, Central, North West and of course in the South because even in the South you have insecurity there. There is a lot of insecurity, how they are managing it not coming out like our own I don’t know. Maybe because they have radio, television and newspapers they control what is going out, either wise the people who are there who are telling us the level of insecurity in the South generally is not something that anybody and friends of Nigeria will want to hear.

So I think that is where the issue of change comes, I believe that the APC at the end of the day will ensure peace, because without peace there is no development, without peace you cannot go to school like we are seeing in the North East and I hope God willing this madness will stop as soon as possible.

How do you react to the attempted assassination attacks on Buhari and Dahiru Bauchi?

First of all let me use this opportunity once again to commiserate with General Muhammadu Buhari and of course Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, their families, their followers, friends and their relations and indeed everybody that’s close to them, while commiserating with them, I think I should also congratulate Nigeria in the sense that God willing their lives were saved. I’m congratulating them because only God knows what would had happened in this country if any one of them or two of them lost their lives on that day in the Kaduna.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

14 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

NATIONAL CONFERENCE After four months of holding talks on the political, economic and social challenges confronting Nigeria, delegates to the National Conference 2014 are about to reconvene for the final plenary session where they would ratify the final draft report of the centennial parley. In this report, ONWUKA NZESHI re-examines the initial projections of the conference, the battles fought and the eventual outcomes.

One country, many nations On March 17, 2014, about five hundred Nigerians were inaugurated as delegates to the National Conference.

The delegates were selected from a population of about 170 million people.

They came from diverse backgrounds but were saddled with the common responsibility of reinventing their country. Most were nominated by the Federal Government, others by their states of origin and yet others came as representatives of the six geo-political zones.

The roll call included politicians, academia, organised labour, civil society organisations, veterans of the military and other security services, women groups as well as youth organisations.

It was indeed an assemblage of who is who in Nigeria.

Since 1914, when the British Consul, Lord Frederick Lugard amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria to form one country , there has never been a gathering as large as this one sitting under one roof to discuss their common fate. Over the last one hundred years, these various groups have co- existed and interacted among themselves at different fora but none of these previous gatherings had the trappings, colours and flavours of the present conference. Owing to this heterogeneous composition, every group came to the conference with an agenda or some form of shopping list containing what each wanted to get from the conference.

North versus South It was basically a struggle between the old regional blocks. First, there emerged the North and the South each with its own vision and position on the conference. There were also the sub-regional groupings of North West, North East, North Central, South West, South East and South South whose delegates articulated certain specific positions relevant to their zones.

It was discovered that while the South came to the conference with high hopes and great enthusiasm to promote some radical restructuring of Nigeria, the North came to the same conference rather reluctantly and with a plot to frustrate whatever changes the former was going to initiate.

In most of the discussions at plenary and at the committee stage, southern delegates were the ones who made a strong case for the restructuring of Nigeria into a six zonal structure, devolution of powers from the centre to the federating units and the adoption of fiscal federalism as a cardinal economic

Confab: How the battle was fought, won and lost

Kutigi

development principle in the country.

These advocates of change argued that the present political structure was unitary, over centralized, unwieldy and gave too much powers and responsibilities to the Federal Government which, according to them, was a misnomer in a federal system.

On the other hand, northern delegates were always the ones who resisted these proposed changes. They equally presented a counter argument that the current structure was good enough because, according to them, any attempt to restructure the polity to reduce the grip of the federal might on the component units could be an invitation to anarchy and disintegration.

Middle Course The trend of the arguments readily exposed the realities of a liberalist South angling for a change of the current system and a conservative North determined to maintain the status quo at all costs. However, it is instructive to understand that beyond this broad division, there were people on either side who expressed dissenting voices to the agenda of their supposed regional bloc.

The minorities of the North who feel marginalised in that regional bloc had sympathy for the agenda of the South as it relates to political restructuring because of its potentials to bring about the creation of new states, new federal constituencies and an entirely new order where they would no longer be under the domination of the majority groups in the North.

These minorities were however unable to openly support the proposed restructuring because of fears of a backlash if the plot failed. They also feared that aligning totally with the southern delegates and their radical ideas could mean that less revenue would come to their region if fiscal federalism with its

Akinyemi

The minorities of the North who feel marginalised in that regional bloc had sympathy for the agenda of the South as it relates to political restructuring accompanying ingredients of derivation and resource control was allowed to take root.

Though, the South West and South East were in the same boat with their compatriots from the South -South on the demands for fiscal federalism and political restructuring, the apprehension over the likely consequences of total resource control at a time when the bulk of the oil resources were located in the South -South did not encourage wholesale endorsement of resource control as espoused by several delegates from the Niger Delta.

Which Status Quo? One interesting feature of the debate was the constant tussle by both the North and the South for Nigeria to maintain or return to their preferred status quos. The South spoke with nostalgia the way the country was governed in the first few years of independence and argued that it was time for regionalism and fiscal federalism which was the order of the day before the 1966 military intervention and the advent of Unitarism. Most southern delegates were of the opinion that the future of the country lay in its restructuring and the enactment of a new constitution where

issues such as the creation and management of local governments would be left to the federating units. They wanted the six geo- political zones to be the federating units to supplant the present 36 state structure.

Similarly, the southern delegates pushed strongly that federal control over mineral resource and the police should be devolved to the component units to allow the Federal Government concentrate on key issues such as defence, currency and foreign relations.

According to them, the Federal Government had moved from having 4 5 items on the Exclusive Legislative List in the 1963 Constitution to 68 items on the same list in the 1999 Constitution, a situation that made it difficult for it to handle these responsibilities effectively.

As for the northern delegates, the structure, system and status quo they want maintained is the 1999 Constitution. At every opportunity, they kicked against the restructuring of Nigeria, the introduction of a new constitution and the enthronement of fiscal federalism. Although some admitted that there was need for some devolution of powers, they were very quick to recapitulate on this because, according to them, Nigeria still needed a strong centre.

Underneath all these arguments was the long drawn battle by the two blocs over the control of oil mineral resources, the main stay of the economy.

This also explains why at some point, it became a direct confrontation between the delegates of the far North and their counterparts from the oil producing states of the South.

Northern Agenda The agenda of the North to resist the wind of “change� blowing from the South was aptly captured in a publicaCONTINUED ON PAGE 42

POLITICS 15

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Osun election contenders: How they stand Few days to the conduct of the governorship election in Osun State, ADEOLU ADEYEMO assesses the chances of the three prominent political parties in the contest on local government basis

I

n less than three days, the political atmosphere of Osun State will be super charged as voters go to the poll to make their choice on who governs the state for the next four years. Over the last few weeks, the candidates of the various political parties have been going round the state, trying to convince the electorate to cast their votes in their parties’ favour. The contenders have been a race against time of wooing and hood winking the electorates into voting for them.

Although there are many contenders, but three are leading candidates and perhaps the most popular ones.

That Rauf Aregbesola is the incumbent governor does not automatically amount to the fact that it is going to be an easy ride for him in the race. Undoubtedly, Aregbesola, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, is in the quest for a second term. And from all indications, the fallout of the recent Ekiti State governorship poll is a signal to the fact that there is no sacredness in the title of incumbency. Sophistication in governance as demonstrated by Fayemi was not enough to return him to Ekiti Government House.

It was true roads were constructed but the state which could boast of the highest number of professors in Nigeria made it known to all that the educated man became angry all because he was hungry.

Aregbesola no doubt belongs to the Tinubu dynasty, loaded with the philosophies of the so-called progressives. But his albatross perhaps might be Tinubu himself whom a lot of people now see as interfering too much in the governance of the APC controlled states. Another albatross of Aregbesola could be his school merger policy which led to the crisis in the state where things fell apart.

Besides, Governor Aregbesola would be commended for some infrastructural developments, introduction of free meals in schools, introduction of unified uniforms , introduction of Opon Imo, an educational tablet, for students to facilitate computerized teaching and learning among others.

As far as Iyiola Omisore candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is concerned, his stint at the Senate coupled with the fact that he had once been the state’s deputy governor are enough to make him triumph. However, the label on him which has remained a stigma was his perceived involvement in the death of Chief Bola Ige. Although the court had since set him free, tongues never stopped wagging concerning his role in the death of Esa Oke born statesman, and former Attorney-General of the Federation. Likely to influence the number of votes he would get from the Ijeshas who still label him a suspect in Ige’s death and this is a strong factor as we approach August 9.

Omisore’s connection, closeness and intimacy with the present police affairs minister who is also from Osun state is also a factor. People see the duo as archetypes of political violence in the PDP. And besides, it is believed that as a PhD holder and with his experience in the world of business and industry, he would use this to turn around the state in terms of bringing about a vibrant economy, if he gets to be governor.

Aregbosola

Fatai Akinbade, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) has always been in the corridors of power. In fact, he was the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) under the PDP government of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and administratively, he knows his onions. From all indications, he has a large political structure as that of Aregbesola and Omisore.

Besides, LP is not as popular in Nigeria as the APC and the PDP. As at now, the only state under LP control is Ondo State and this matters politically.

In Osun state, party membership soars in both the APC and the PDP more than the LP. It is a bitter truth that the LP seems strange to the Osun electorate as it is seen as a party of decampees and a dumping ground for disgruntled politicians from the PDP and APC. All said and done, Akinbade remains a very seasoned technocrat of repute, but his party is still far behind PDP and APC in terms of popularity.

However while enumerating the personality strengths of these candidates; there is the need to extend such to the local governments in the state with a view to assessing their chances critically.

Osogbo local government Being the state capital, the concentration of developmental projects seems visible. One cannot deny the fact that since it remains the seat of governance, giving it a facelift really matters. Even at that, civil servants who do not concur to the policies of Aregbesola majorly reside here and they may not give their votes to the APC. The PDP has made sure that the people in this local government are compensated with Federal parastatals in Osogbo.

However, the political weight of the likes of Alhaji Fatai Diekola and Senator Bayo Salami of the APC and that of Senator Olu Alabi and Tajudeen Oladipo of the PDP in the local government could be difficult to determine as politicians from these two political camps are on ground and popular.

Olorunda Local Government The parties seem to be on a balanced footing here as the APC and PDP have gained grounds here in the last few months. This is because the present deputy governor and the PDP state chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa both come from this local government. This means as the deputy governor is mobilizing, so also will the PDP state chairman be doing likewise. From what happened

Omisore

recently however, the decampment of the deputy governor’s brother to the PDP was seen as a blow to APC, and may just tilt the balance.

Ifelodun LGA The fact that the Akinrun of Ikirun is a personal friend of the governor is a plus for the APC here. Also, the present Attorney General comes from the area, which is an added advantage to the ruling party.

This is not to say the PDP is in the cold here. The party’s state publicity secretary, Prince Bola Ajao and Hon. Dosu Oladipo, a strong chieftain of the party are working round the clock to ensure PDP gets some votes here.

Ifedayo LGA Popular PDP stalwarts in the state like Chief Yemi Farounbi and Chief Olufemi Omotara are from here and are very powerful mobilizers. The APC have their strength in the traditional ruler of the area, Oba Bolarin who is the chairman of the state’s Culture and Tourism Board. He is a close associate of Governor Aregbesola. Also, the Director General of Aregbesola’s campaign committee for his re-election into office, Professor Sola Adeyeye also hails from the town and has a good political structure in the place.

Ila LGA Due to the fact that the former acting national chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, hails from this local government, it will not be an understatement to say that APC wields very big influence here. The former Osun state governor is a formidable political force to be reckoned with in Ila Orangun and he is said to have a big crowd of followership and their loyalty to him lies unshaken. However, Hon Ismaila Kolawole, a former House of Representative member and

In Osun state, party membership soars in both the APC and the PDP more than the LP. It is a bitter truth that the LP seems strange to the Osun electorate

a strong grass root politician from the PDP could match Akande strength for strength in the local government as he is known to be a strong political motivator in the place.

Boluwaduro LGA One cannot deny the fact that APC has the upper hand here considering the fact that Hon Sunday Akere – the state commissioner for information and strategy in from here. The APC’s state secretary is also from this LGA. This is an advantage to the APC indeed. Also, Reverend Bunmi Jenyo, the state PDP vice-chairman and the party’s senatorial leader for the Osun Central where the local government falls into will do everything politically possible to battle them to a standstill.

Boripe LGA Due to the undisputable influence and popularity of the former internal Affairs Minister, Chief Sunday Afolabi, this area has been long dominated by the PDP. In fact, it is a PDP local government as most of the electorate give their complete loyalty to late Chief Afolabi, even in death. Though, we cannot rule out the fact that APC also has a moblizer in person of present Chief of Staff to the governor, the fact is that his political structure when juxtaposed with that of Chief Afolabi can never match that of the latter.

Odo Otin Two personalities are very influential in this local government and these are the former governor of the state- Chief Oyinlola and former national deputy chairman of the PDP, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun. PDP stood a good chance of clinching the LG wholesale, but that chance has been truncated with the move of Oyinlola out of the PDP. Now the LG can go either way, as the votes are likely to be split by the chieftains for their individual parties, and anyone of them that gets the highest votes here would emerge by a slim margin. It is also a test of the electoral value of Prince Oyinlola, who has been been having a running battle with the PDP, before he eventually pulled out with his supporters.

Irepodun Both the APC and the PDP have their political strength here. Both have equal political strength that will be difficult CONTINUED ON PAGE 43

16 POLITICS CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

It is very sad that they had to go through this trauma at their age and level in the society. But this is Nigeria for you and this is the situation we all find ourselves. Everybody is having his own share of trauma, his own share of attack. Dahiru Bauchi I think is a bit older than my father, my father has to go through this also in a Mosque in Kwankwaso, and they went and spread bullets on a small mosque in the night and he was lucky that they had to push him into a particular corner and so many people heaped themselves on him and they received all the bullets. Three people died 13 were wounded on top of him, so you can see now that it cut across strata. It cuts across the different segments of society; the Emir of Kano was attacked right on the streets of Kano, so also other people, civil servants, politicians, police and journalists, everybody and that is not good for any country.

On this particular case in Kaduna we keep on thanking Almighty God that they escaped by the whiskers and we are lucky. I believe nobody can run any country with luck; you can win election by luck if you have good luck, but you cannot run any serious government by luck, because it has its limitations. You cannot be lucky all the time, and I think that is what everybody should know. And one disturbing issue is that when the issue happened there are many people who are pointing fingers, that is a lesson also especially for the leaders.

Leaders should create an environment of love so that even if something bad happens some where nobody will point in their directions.

We have seen many commentators trying to exonerate so many people, but that is not the issue, those who are saying it where saying it on papers, may be they are on social media, may be they are on television, but you see, under those circumstances it’s not even those who even have money to buy paper that will take laws into their hands.

The unfortunate thing is that people who have no capacity to buy paper or even read it if they have are the people who take decisions, and that is the sort of decision that cannot help anybody, that is why I hope everybody is listening, they should reduce their advisers, any good one should advise them to reduce the level of dislike of leaders and their followers. And that is I think very important, that may probably help in ensuring that even if bad things happen God forbid, nobody will point fingers at the places that are not supposed to be pointed.

It’s not only that leaders are being accused of doing something bad, but leaders can also be accused of not stopping something bad. I think they should know that, the resources of this country both human and material are so enormous to the extent that we shouldn’t find ourselves in these avoidable messes. We continue to pray for the country and work for it to come together. All these divides should be deemphasized; we have seen in the past when Muslim/Muslim ticket was sold to this country, everybody was happy at that time.

But those of us here in Kano didn’t vote for only that ticket because they were Muslim/Muslim but because we believed in democracy.

Our son who was also our leader then, Alhaji Bashir Uthman Tofa was a candidate I come from the same ward with him, the same pooling booth, but unfortunately or fortunately at that time we came out and voted for Abiola, he won in our booth, he won in our ward he won in our local government. He won in Kano, so we had no problems with ethnicity at that time. Abiola won

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Inadequacy of leadership, root of terrorism, says Kwankwaso here and he won with a huge margin, the unbelievable margin under normal circumstances, we had no sentiments that this man comes from our state.

My house and Bashir Tofa’s house is a throwing distance from each other, yet we voted for Abiola.

Look at the case of Obasanjo, we were supporters of Obasanjo in 1999, our son here Rimi was contesting, we didn’t support him, I didn’t support him and our votes then was the biggest in terms of number just like we have now in APC, I have the largest contingent to any convention and we went to Jos and voted for Obasanjo, a Christian from the South and he won the primary and we came here and voted for him again, the same thing in 2003, our son here contested yet we supported Obasanjo in 2003. Everybody knows my history, we lost election here and can be correct to say that sticking to the Obasanjo ticket went a long way in making us lose.

Not everybody was happy, all my commissioners, the elders, everybody said ‘leave that ticket we’ll vote for you’. I said look this is politics, it has nothing to do with your village, your local government, your state, your region or even religion. We stood by Obasanjo and we promised ourselves here as leaders of the party that we were ready to sink, and we did. We lost the election and we have no regrets whatsoever, and that is how party politics should be played. Unlike a situation where at this level national government is reduced to provincial government and this is the biggest undoing.

So many people are not happy, people are angry including leaders who should now be working towards success. We should be comfortable either in the opposition or in the party that is governing the country. At least certain people at certain levels should be happy enough for the system, many people who are in the system now are very angry with the system. We are not talking of those who are outside there, and I believe that is not healthy for any democracy.

was coming to Kano and coincidently it was to come on first of August but some people blocked it. That was after getting all the papers, after even selling all the tickets. There are people now who are holding tickets and they said they should not come to Kano, so how do you bring investors, what have we done, what happened that Emirate a good airline was blocked.

Tell me how I can bring any investors. I personally worked for the coming of Emirate in Dubai, I saw almost everybody including the then Minister of Aviation. The last time I talk to her, I said Minister when are you going to have that approval to have these airlines coming to Kano. Her answer was that it depends on the outcome of meetings then. But now we have Osita and from the little I know about him I think he’s a good man, He’s somebody who cannot reduce the Federal Government to his village. He’s not somebody who at the federal level will say I want this part of the country; I don’t want this and that.

They’ve destroyed the essence of political party and democracy. In genuine democracy you don’t have fights between people of different religions, you don’t have fights between South and North because they are all there on the table, and under normal circumstances an Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Itshekiri or Urhobo man and a Christian in my party is my number one brother, not my blood relative who is in the other party. Now the whole thing has been change and I think that is what is making the whole polity sick.

Nyako has been impeached and is gone. Almakura in Nassarawa is being threatened with the same thing, how is the APC taking

What confidence building machineries are in place to bring in investors in the face of insurgencies and infrastructural development in Kano?

I think what Kano or any other state can do in that area is very much limited. We have people who should protect our interests and they are the only people in that area who can protect our interest, but they are working against our interest. If you are talking of investment we have so many airlines that are interested in coming to Kano, but some people are busy in Abuja blocking them, to the extent that many of them have now surrendered except those like Emirates. Everybody was happy Emirate

Every day you open your television or papers, its even now becoming the norm if you don’t see the number of people killed or stolen, you begin to wonder what was wrong

Kwankwaso

it?

Well, I don’t think anybody is happy, whether in APC or any other party, especially those who are conversant with democracy. Democracy is about winning elections and while you win elections somebody must have lost. Even if it is a two party system, ideally

POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

governments across the world especially where you have mature democracies, they support opposition in their own way. In this country we have a Commander-in-Chief who is very powerful in terms of dealing with opponents. He is ruthless, he does not wait for anybody to advise him and that is what we have seen in Ekiti State.

That is what we call armed robbery in its own version. Armed people taking votes for a particular party and that doesn’t help the security agents themselves, because if it is Army its Nigerian Army, and if it is police they are Nigerian Police, they are not Villa Police or any political party’s Police.

And when they start that the implication is that the whole military, the whole police would be politicized. The Nigerian Army doesn’t come from a particular village, they all Nigerians, these military and police are not all Muslims or all Christians, they should be isolated from politics, they should not be used to intimidate, to take votes to ensure victory by force for anybody.

And that is what we have seen as far as we are concerned in APC. And as if that was not enough they went to Adamawa using the same security agencies, using every opportunity they have, that was supposed to be used to protect the welfare of the people, both those in government and those in opposition, unfortunately for Nigeria, they used them against the oppositions. And they literally took Adamawa by force; we are all in our eighth year for those who are doing second term. In the next few months there will be primaries, in February there will be elections. If somebody will be on the seat for eight years and in the eighth year you have no patient to leave that man, you want to remove him.

In the case of Adamawa, the number of local governments is over 20, you took the position of governor whom was elected by millions o f

17

‘Boko Haram; There’re ready and willing recruits’ people and gave it to one person who comes from one local government.

They used the weaknesses of the constitution, they cajoled the young men in the State House of Assembly, they ensured that they induced them and at the end they told them ‘look why are you leaving this elderly man, why can’t you take it yourselves, we will support you and give all the powers of the Commander-in-Chief. They went there and used the security that should have protected the good people of Adamawa state, which would make them live in peace and progress; they used the same power to remove Baba Mai Mangoro.

Not only that, I’m aware that what they want is to mess up all what he did for this country, bring in all sorts of allegations, take all those that they want to take and of course disgrace him. I’m happy that they couldn’t get him; I don’t know where he is, but at least one would have been a nuisance to them keeping him in prison. My opinion on this is that the Villa is the headquarters of corruption today, headquarter of bad politics. Now I’m not here to defend any governor because I’m governor of Kano I can’t defend anybody, I can’t say somebody is right or wrong, certainly you should put them on a balance, everybody knows where the balance will tilt, cases of direct stealing in dollars, cases of direct stealing of crude oil.

Look at what happened when our Emir Sanusi said that 50 Billion Dollars was missing. Instead of investigating, it was him who was investigated and they wanted to send him to jail.

Now he is the Emir of Kano I don’t know whether they are still contemplating it, so all these issues and things that give concern to us and all those who are serious minded people.

And look at the case of Nassarawa.

But I think the people of Nassarwa, especially the young men, are doing the right thing, they are chasing the state assembly members. I learnt they sat in Karu, I think they should chase them away from Karu to the Villa where they belong and they should stay there.

That is where they belong, they are not protecting anybody’s interest in Nassarawa, what they want to do is still use the weakness of the constitution, although I’m sure even the constitution didn’t envisage 20 people to get together and remove somebody who was elected by millions of people.

I don’t think that is the meaning of 1999 constitution and what it wants, but they are taking that conniving with enemies to remove APC governors from their seats. And we had wanted to go to Nassarawa, you know the governor of Nassarawa is a complete gentleman. In this game your gentleman cannot be a good governor.

We wanted to go there, we mobilized people and organized ourselves to fight the injustice but he said no don’t come.

He even begged us, we said okay we are not bringing the foot soldiers but we are coming ourselves he said we shouldn’t. I don’t know the meaning of that, you see in this game if you are dealing with mad people don’t become a gentleman, you have to go out there and handle them as they are, this madness in Nassarawa I’m happy the young ones are taking the matter into their hands. I believe that is what it should be, what they are doing is healthy, but for me somebody who is living in a glass houses, me with small window of glass, if you start throwing stones I will be very happy.

We have reservoir of people who can be recruited any time, we have people whose value is so low but they will be happy and willing to die any day, any time Are you not afraid that the impeaching train may also come to Kano?

Well I will tell you they have been trying. You know they came here and arrested all the principal officers and other members of the State Assembly, not because they stole anything but because they didn’t want us to go and pass budget. And EFCC came in the dead of night; they started collecting them like criminals and put them in buses to Abuja. We had to follow them, there was no answer, nothing at the end of the day, we don’t know what happened, they gave us their bail, and we are still in court with them.

I have never seen this kind of government where authorities will come to a state to collect elected legislators in the night, you took them to EFCC, locked them there and we had the same case recently after we joined APC. I think they came with one hoax. You know Kano is a great state, people coming to settle here without any problems. We want people to come here, but many of them are turning to become enemies. And Kano is so attractive, if you are from Kebbi why don’t you go there and start talking about Kebbi, but they are creating all sorts of problems, they taught we were sleeping, they even started celebrating that they have gotten Kano, that APC has governor and they have legislative thinking that because they got the principal officers and gave them money everybody will follow.

But by the time I told them go and declare, instead of 31 we got 34, three stayed, another followed, so they have been trying. But we are politicians here, we have been in the game, I have been here, I have been there, I have been all over and I have some doses now, one press, if I use it, and I think all politicians should have the same, I think that is what Buhari said, ‘we are the biggest beneficiaries of this system and we are the ones destroying it’.

If you ask me who is happy I should be one of them, my people should be happy, we performed, we have reasons to be happy. Unfortunately we are not happy now; politics should not be seen as enmity which should be used to destroy this or that.

The very forces they are using, they used in Ekiti, they used in Adamawa and I’m sure they want to use them in Osun, these are forces they should use in the North Eastern states. On Ekiti Election Day the whole state was overtaken by security armed to teeth. I don’t think Ekiti is as big as Sambisa, they should go and dominate there. Why are they taking over states, and what they don’t know is that by taking seats by force from other states does not give them automatic success in 2015.

In 2011 I had no councilor. I had no local government chairman, no commissioner nothing, even our friends who were supposed to helped us in

Abuja didn’t believe in us, but we won the election.

Now I was Minister of Defense in this Country I know the credibility of the Nigerian Military I know how powerful they were, I know how much they were respected in this Country and internationally, but what is happening now with the President putting Nigeria Army Uniform in Abuja this not the time, the Commander-in-Chief knows where he should be with the Uniform, aim happy Rocahs is doing some advertisement too because I wanted to tell INEC that they should do something about the President one as if next tomorrow will be the general elections campaign openly things that they have not done but they in the D3 they put them we don’t know where they are. Some people even wanted to do one million matches I wanted to do ten million in Kano and in Abuja, take over the places and everywhere.

In this game now we are not after who becomes what, we have all the materials in APC and as for me if you give me the opportunity, look at this Chibok girls issue, three weeks they didn’t believe, they were saying where are the names, where are the lists. Not until the ‘bring back our girls’ started.

That is why I like this country, look at Obi-Ezekwesili, the former minister as if she is doing nothing, so dedicated. This is somebody who is from the World Bank, now she has devoted her time, she is not from this part of the country, but she felt she must dedicate her time, and that is what we are seeing in developed countries.

Fight injustice, help people, free them if you have an opportunity to do that, these protesters, we have seen the humiliation they face, they sent some crooks to go and sack them. I went to Abuja the other time I saw some advertisement everywhere when she was saying bring back our girls, some people are saying vote for us, we want to maintain how we are and what we are doing.

So what needs to be done?

It’s not the matter of what you are going to do or not do, by merely seeing the right man there everybody will queue up. What did I say I’m going to do when I was campaigning? I don’t have to tell them, they know me. Look at achaba (commercial motorbikes) there were about two million, where are they today in Kano, look at beggars, where are they. Everybody has gone back to the drawing board. So what we need is strong leadership that will stop all the nonsense, and that is what we are telling him; get away from the point of negotiating, look at what happened in Cameroun within days.

Two of your colleagues Godswill Akpabio and Babangida Aliyu said insurgency will end by December. Do you support this assertion?

That is a very serious declaration that should have come from the Commander-in-Chief not a governor, and we have to see things practically on ground if they are serious. Now they are looking for one billion dollars, what do they know, governor of this governor of that, it should come from serious places. As a governor you don’t have police,, you don’t have military, you don’t have anything. The Chief of Defense Staff should have been the one to say that, may be somebody sent them there.

More stories on Pages 40-43

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ARTS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014

LITERATURE

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TONY OKUYEME

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Footprints of a Statesman: Inspiring vista for political families Title: Footprints of a Statesman: The Life and Times of Chief Daniel Okumagba Author: Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba Publisher: Creektown Books, Ikeja, Lagos Number of pages: 128.

Year of publication: 2014 Reviewer: Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

L

eadership in Nigeria needs largeminded statesmen whose scope of thinking is as large as the nation.

This needful nationalistic prism shaped the life and times of Chief Daniel Okumagba, the remarkable Mathematics teacher-turned-politician who contested for the governorship of the then Bendel State in the Second Republic. It is very rare seeing books written by sons on their fathers in the general scheme of Nigerian life. This makes Footprints of a Statesman: The Life and Times of Chief Daniel Okumagba a trailblazer in the realm of “a son’s appreciation of his father, and the lessons therefrom.”

In documenting his father’s life for posterity it is noteworthy that Bernard Okumagba dedicates the book “to the many people across the world who believe in truth, justice, fairness, mutual respect and inter-ethnic harmony, which were values my father stood for in his journey through life.”

It is a well-documented oddity of history that very many famous fathers almost always ended up siring very infamous, if not disreputable, children. As the scion of Chief Okumagba, the author Bernard breaks the mold by being a stellar graduate of Accountancy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; a Chartered Accountant; a banker of immense influence; Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning, and later Commissioner for Finance. He is currently Chairman of Regents Consults Limited and Noly Insurance Brokers Limited; a Director of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc., and holds the traditional chieftaincy title of Eruvwu R’Ovie of Agbarha Kingdom, Warri, Delta State.

The father-son bond is at the very core of the rekindling of family values in the body politic. Nigerians are used to instances where prominent politicians cannot in truth vouch for their roots. It takes a properly rooted son to trace his ancestry through his celebrated paterfamilias, to wit Chief Daniel Okumagba, who was born on January 1, 1922 as the 12th child of Chief Okumagba Eboh, a paramount chief (born in 1853 and died in 1963) of Okere-Urhobo in Warri of present-day Delta State. According to

Bernard Okumagba in Footprints of a Statesman, “So spread out in ages were the children of my grandfather, that his first grandchild and my cousin, the late Mr Forcados Wilkie, was older than my father, who was born when his father, my grandfather, was already in his 60s.”

Grandfather Okumagba Eboh was one of the early converts to Christianity when the Catholic Church made an inroad into the coastal communities of the Niger Delta as exemplified by Warri. The very influential grandfather embraced the faith, getting his children, including Daniel, baptized as Christians into the Catholic fraternity whilst sending them to the Roman Catholic Mission (RCM) School in Warri. This way, the young Daniel obtained his Teacher’s Certificate from the prestigious St. Thomas College, Ibusa. Even though he passed his matriculation examinations he had to start his teaching career in primary schools in Adagbrassa and Warri from 1947 before transferring to the secondary school at the inception, in 1949, of Urhobo College Effurum.

Leadership was thrust on the young teacher quite early in life as in 1950 he became the Secretary to the Kindred Families of Olodi, Oki and Ighogbadu of Okere-Urhobo, taking over from the

veteran Pa Gbamijolo Eburu, who was until then the Acting Secretary. In the tradition of the celebrated African leaders of the anti-colonial movement who started out in life as teachers such as Nnamdi Azikiwe and Kwame Nkrumah, the zestful young Daniel carved his early niche as a teacher and added the dimension of serving as a games-master. He was an astute teacher of Mathematics as attested to by one of his students of the Class of 1954, David Okpako, who retired as a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Ibadan. Professor Okpako wrote in the Urhobo Historical Society’s waado.org thus: “Okumagba was a great teacher of Arithmetic. His specialty in my memory was relative motion represented by those ‘Lacombe’ problems where train A and train B of different lengths are travelling on adjacent tracks at different speeds, either in the same or in opposite directions.”

Okumagba’s foray into politics was kindled by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, popularly called Zik of Africa, an inspiring speaker who “commanded values that connected with my father – he was selfless, visionary and determined.” There is on Page 76 of this book a 1960 Campaign Poster of the pictures of Chief Daniel Okumagba and the National Leader of the NCNC, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, bearing the legend

“Vote For NCNC And Midwest” at the top and “Azikiwe 1960 Okumagba” at the bottom. Of course Okumagba went on to defeat the incumbent Chief Reece Edukugho of the Action Group for the Warri East Constituency seat in the Western Region House of Assembly on the ticket of the NCNC. He was a member of the Western Region House of Assembly up till 1963 when the Midwest Region was created.

Chief Okumagba stayed out of political limelight in the years of military rule but stood up to be counted when the ban on political activities was lifted on September 28, 1978. He became a founding member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) as “he saw it as the most national of all the 52 political associations that came up in the wake of the resumption of party politics.”

After the election of Alhaji Shehu Shagari as Nigerian President in 1979, he appointed Chief Okumagba as Chairman of the Board of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited. Chief Okumagba had all along been campaigning for the diversification of the oil mono-economy of Nigeria through industrialization, as he was reported by the Nigerian Observer of May 26, 1979 as saying while campaigning for Governor: “The economy of Nigeria is in danger and may collapse unless steps are taken to diversify the economy through rapid industrialisation.” Okumagba’s zeal to re-enact the feat of steel serving as the basis of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and America had to contend with the Western powers being reluctant to assist with the technology to set up the plant, in which case Nigeria had to depend on the old USSR until the military takeover of December 31, 1983 all but killed off the dream.

Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba has in Footprints of a Statesman: The Life and Times of Daniel Okumagba blazed a trail of political example in Nigeria. In the son’s appreciation of the father there is a huge vista for other political families to explore in Nigeria’s march to true nationhood. There is the need to hold the fathers to account, and Chief Daniel Okumagba trumps because his opinions on all issues, no matter how controversial, are never hidden. For instance, he dismisses the Land Use Decree thusly: “I have never considered the Land Use Decree a wise legislation. For one thing, it is not practicable.”

This is a book to treasure indeed. Unlike many books published in Nigeria, it is well-indexed. The 16 pages of epochal photos put history before our very eyes.

The print quality is so eye-friendly that one cannot but read on and on until the very end. Footprints of a Statesman by Bernard Okumagba deserves a place in the shelf of the library of every Nigerian home and institution.

OUR VISION To build a newspaper organisation anchored on the sanctity of truth.

OUR MISSION To publish a newspaper of superior value, upholding the fundamental ethics of journalism: balanced reporting, fairness, accuracy and objectivity.

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EDITORIAL

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

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Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth – Buddha

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014

Another Central Bank funding for SMEs

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the 36 state governors for a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Fund. State governments would be able to access up to N2 billion each for on-lending to eligible beneficiaries through participating financial institutions in their states and 60 percent would be given to women.

However, the point must be made that, considering the level of poverty and unemployment in the country, coupled with the massive population in the country, the fund might not be adequate. Secondly, the needs of each state must be properly accessed before disbursement.

This is not the first time the CBN will set aside funds for SMEs development, but the momentum fizzled out thereafter. Apart from sustaining the present effort, the CBN and the state governments should publicize the initiative and how funds can be accessed, in the different indigenous languages. Conditions for accessing the funds should be made less cumbersome and all forms of bureaucratic bottlenecks must be removed while the funds must get to those who really need them, without middlemen. All forms of leakages that could enhance misappropriation must be effectively blocked and workable strategies for repayment must be fashioned out, because repayment enables other people to access the funds. The financial base of the fund

should be widened.

SMEs are confronted with a myriad of problems, namely lack of capital, inadequate management arising from lack of capital to even fund training and acquisition of skills, restricted access to institutionalized credit and management skills. There are managerial deficiencies in marketing, accounts and finance, human resources as well as production. There is no gainsaying that good management strategy will have a positive impact on the modus operandi of SME’s in Nigeria. We concede that there are serious inherent problems with Nigerian SME’s especially in terms of ownership, management, record-keeping, structure and even cultural constraints. But, to perpetually bemoan these short-comings is tantamount to a deliberate stunting of the development of the national economy.

SMEs can succeed with adequate finance for the sector and understanding between fund managers and operators of the SMEs. Similarly, research institutes like the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) and Projects Development Institute (PRODA), must be adequately funded.

Furthermore, the state of socioeconomic infrastructure is grossly inadequate, hence government should provide and sustain infrastructures which are capable of fostering and strengthening the various activities of SMEs in grants and subventions with attractive projects. A study done by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that 97 percent of all businesses in

Nigeria employs less than 100 workers apiece. It then means that 97 percent of all businesses in Nigeria are, to use the umbrella term, “small businesses”.

The SME sector provides, on average, 50 percent of Nigeria’s employment, and 50 percent of its industrial output.

Which government can afford to ignore such a high contributor to its economy?

The proportion of Nigerian SMEs and their impact on the economy is pretty much similar to those in other countries of the world, especially in the advanced economies. There are approximately 23 million small businesses in the US. These altogether employ more than 50 per cent of the private sector workforce and generate more than half of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). In the European Union, SMEs are seen as largely essential for European employment. Each year, one million new SMEs start up in the European Union. SMEs account for 99.8 per cent of all companies and 65 per cent of business turnover in the European Union.

As a matter of urgency, government should prioritize the SME sector giving it devoted practical and visible attention with a view to making it virile, vibrant, focused and productive. The era of lip service attention to the sector should be over by now.

There can’t sustainable employment generation without a vibrant SME subsector, and so government should do all within its power to reverse the situation. If there is adequate financial support, more unemployed

Nigerians will certainly engage in small-scale enterprises than look for unavailable white collar jobs. Government must, thus, seek and canvass ways of establishing more Small-scale enterprises since they ensure community stability and do less harm to the physical environment than large enterprises. Small-scale enterprises also promote agro-industries, improve rural welfare and generally reduce unemployment and poverty in the country.

In addition, it must be noted that Nigerians are probably one of the most entrepreneurial people on earth.

But this is not enough. In order to positively encourage the spirit of enterprise among our young people, universities and other institutions of higher learning must be encouraged to become more commercially focused and more entrepreneurial.

They should be encouraged to develop more ties with local businesses and hold more business related activities on campus.

Students should be encouraged to take business study modules as part of their main courses. This will help develop the interest in business and provide the basic understanding of what to expect when going into business. The knowledge gained will help provide students with a ready option when they graduate, rather than wasting their time looking for the jobs that are not available. This will ultimately help to reduce the pool of unemployed young people in the country.

GABRIEL AKINADEWO Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU Deputy Managing Director/DEIC YEMI AJAYI Editor, Daily LAURENCE ANI Editor, Saturday EMEKA MADUNAGU Editor, Sunday EMEKA OBASI Deputy Editor, Daily LEO CENDROWICZ Bureau Chief, Brussels MARSHALL COMINS Bureau Chief, Washington DC SAM AMSTERDAM Editorial Coordinator, Europe EMMAN SHEHU (PhD) Chairman, Editorial Board GEOFFREY EKENNA News Editor TAIWO AHMED Advert Manager UCHEY OKEZIE Ag. Sales/Marketing Manager TIMOTHY AKINLEYE Head, Graphics ROBINSON EZEH Head, Admin.

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Sanctity of Truth

OPINIONPolitics of impeachment Prince M. Arayuwa Wilkie

A

n impeachment is a documented evidence containing allegations of misconduct against a public office holder. These allegations may be financial fraud, dereliction of duty, political party differences, deliberate act aimed at circumventing the constitution, anti-party activities and other miscellaneous impeachable offences. I have only expanded this definition in order to confor m with the impeachment mannerism of the Nigerian political elite.

Alhaji Balarabe Musa, a trained accountant and a radical Marxist Scholar was the duly elected civilian governor of the old Kaduna State during the Second Republic (1979 -1983). He contested and won the gubernatorial contest under the platform of the Peoples’ Redemption Party (PRP). Unfortunately for him, the State House of Assembly was dominated by members of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), which was also the ruling party at the national level. As a result of the inability of the governor to play ‘ball’ with members of the legislative house and coupled with some irreconcilable differences amongst them, Balarabe Musa was impeached after a few months in office.

In the democratic dispensation of the third and fourth Republics May 29, 1999 - May 29, 2007, which has extended to the fifth and sixth Republics of Yar’ Adua and Jonathan respectively (May 29, 2007 - May 6, 2010 till date), I will only endeavour to x-ray the various impeachments and reasons for the actions of the political class on the basis of random sampling.

The first casualty of impeachment within the said period was Ayo Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti State, who recently won a come-back election as governor of the Land of Honour, having defeated the incumbent gover nor, Dr. Kayode

Fayemi in the June 21 Ekiti governorship election In his first tenure as governor, he was impeached over alleged corrupt practices and hightension power-play between himself and his PDP godfathers. However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which charged him to court recently suspended the charges after the just-concluded gubernatorial election in the state, which he won convincingly.

Lagos State has also had its share of impeachment. Madam Kofoworola Akerele-Bucknor, Deputy Governor to Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, APC National Leader was recklessly impeached by the House of Assembly over her alleged insubordination to her boss, the governor.

In Delta State, about two Speakers have been impeached as a result of clashes with the PDP leadership in the state. Not too long ago, Rt. Hon. Victor Onyekachi Ochei was compelled to resign his Speakership or face impeachment, consequent upon his very pronounced governorship ambition, which does not tally with the guidelines of his political party, the PDP. Murtala Nyako, the governor of Adamawa State was as recently as July 15 this year impeached by his State House of Assembly. His Deputy, however, resigned before the impeachment axed fell.

Some of the allegations against Nyako were financial fraud, inability to pay workers’ salaries, nonpayment of the agreed allowances of members of the House of Assembly, diversion of several millions of naira and the reckless squandering of N4.8 billion and N7.1 billion in 2012 and 2013 respectively. His decampment from the PDP to the APC was also an underlying major factor for his impeachment. Murtala Nyako equally wrote an inciting letter to the Northern Governors in which he accused the President of waging a war of genocide against the people of the North East-

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

ern part of Nigeria.

In Nasarawa State, Governor Umaru Al Makura has also been served with an impeachment notice while a seven-man committee already constituted by the State’s Chief Judge will handle the charges leveled against him by members of the House of Assembly. The embattled governor is certainly of the view that he would be vindicated after all and promised to appear before the panel to clear himself of any wrong doing. The same House of Assembly has made a u-turn on the composition of members.

The Assembly Members have directed the State Chief Judge to reconstitute the panel because of their opinion that some of them are APC members.

Al– Makura is also one of the governors who had crossed the carpet from the PDP to APC. The imperatives of the politics of impeachment in Nigeria should not be seen from the face value of the allegations alone. There are other hidden and salient issues at stake. Most of the removals that have taken place and the allegations for such actions are essentially not tenable. Finances of the state of which the governors are custodians constitute the main reason for impeachment. Where a thieving governor appears unwilling to share part of the loot with members of the House of Assembly, the punishment is always impeachment.

They interpret this to mean that the governor is just being greedy, if not not why not spread the honey pie? The same goes for the Speakers, whose impeachments must be seen from the perspective of the “Long throat” concept of the corruption of the Nigerian Political office holders. The state treasuries constitute the immediate priority and focus of the governors, speakers, commissioners and the entire political class. Finally, their theft of public funds knows no bounds and limitations.

• Prince Wilkie (pmikky1950@yahoo.com), 08023097251

Godswill Akpabio and the obverse side of success (1) Okon Okorie

I

t is a common part of the world’s popular wisdom that everything has its obverse side. Nothing makes the truism in that wisdom clearer than the anecdote known as the “Sword of Damocles.” Damocles was a friend of King Dionysius 11, a 4th Century BC King of Syracuse. Damocles envied the king and claimed he was truly blessed to be a man of such great power, influence and authority. So, the king proposed to trade places with Damocles.

Damocles was overjoyed. He sat down in the king’s throne with great fanfare and aplomb. But he noticed that hanging over his head as he sat on the throne was a giant sword tied to the ceiling with just a single horsehair. If something were to cause the sword to drop, he would be a dead man. Damocles begged his friend, the king, to let him depart because he no longer envied the king’s fame and influence.

This anecdote was popularized by the great Roman orator, Cicero, and passed into European cultural mainstream by his reference to it in his

For the first time in the history of the state, a civilian governor appointed his secretary to the state government, his commissioner for finance and his personal doctor from outside his tribe (not to mention outside his senatorial district) book “Tusculanae Disputationes.”

Its compelling morale is that those in power should be prepared for the obverse side of power. This obverse side includes unmerited criticisms, prejudices, insults, lies, envy, etc.

If Governor Godswill Akpabio has never heard of the Sword of Damocles, he has not missed anything. He has experienced it with increasing in-

tensity in a state, which lives out, in compelling fashion, its unenviable tag as an “atomistic society perpetually at war with itself.” Akwa Ibom had always been a frighteningly and absurdly divided society. It warehouses ethnic groups like the Ibibios, Annangs, Orons, Ekids, Ibenos, Andoni, Itu Mbonusos etc. Its diversity has unfortunately been a curse over the years – instead of a blessing.

Akpabio came with a missionary zeal (you can even say, a messianic complex) to change the narrative. He came declaring that if someone points the torch of love, everyone would follow. He believed that he could pick up the fragmented tribal threads of Akwa Ibom State and build a quilt of cohesiveness, unity and brotherhood.

Seven years after he is wiser… you can take a cow to the river, but you cannot force it to drink.

His faith in unity and brotherhood led to a lot of firsts. For the first time in the history of the state, a civilian governor appointed his secretary to the state government, his commissioner for finance and his personal doctor from outside his tribe (not to mention outside his senatorial district). For the first time a governor’s entire press team (at the inception of his government in 2007 till August,

2008) did not have any single person from his Annang ethnic group. For the first time other ethnic groups dominated the ranks of aides of a governor by over 80 per cent. For the first time a governor located over 80 per cent of his huge projects outside his Senatorial District. Akpabio did all these to prove that men and women should be judged by the contents of their character and not by their nativity.

But all his efforts have turned out like the story of the pedestrian killed at the Zebra Crossing. The epitaph for the pedestrian was, “Here lies Mr Pedestrian/ He was right as he walked along/But he is as dead as if he were wrong.” Akpabio was right in trying to point the state to a moral direction where the songs of the old national anthem would hold sway – “though tribes and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand.” But he has been criticized, lampooned, lied about, hunted and hounded in the press by a few but highly vocal and relentless ethnic chauvinists and their attack dogs - as if he were wrong. To these dyed-in-the-woods tribal jingoists, Akpabio can do nothing right.

• Mr Okon Okorie is on the staff of the Institute of Leadership and Public Communication, Uyo.

CAMPUS

UNIJOS GETS NUC’S APPROVAL TO MOUNT NEW COURSES }p-28

EDUCATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014

ANXIETY

Following the palpable fears over the safety of the corps members deploy to the northern part of the country, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) last week announced the redeployment of the corps members from seven northern states

21

AT LAST, UNILAG SET TO REINSTATE }p-27 STUDENTS' UNION NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/education

KAYODE OLANREWAJU, EDITOR, EDUCATION

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

Saving corps members

Kayode Olanrewaju

W

ith rising wave of insecurity and killing of corps members few years ago, especially in some states in the northern part of the country, the continued existence of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme is being questioned.

The trio of Ibukun Oluwatosin Akinjogbin, Leke Akande and Tola Odusote, corps members participating in the compulsory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on December 29, 2009, in Jos, capital of Plateau State, were killed by rioters over the conduct of Local Government Councils election in the state.

While the dust raised by the killings was yet to settle, in 2011, Boko Haram, the Islamic sect, which has been terrorising the country in the past few years and killing innocent citizens, unleashed attacks on corps members in Bauchi and Niger States, leaving scores of them dead.

Following the killings, many parents and other stakeholders are wondering why the scheme should continue to exist.

No doubt, the insurgence in the northern part of the country has continued to take its toll on the education development of the area.

Towards ensuring the safety of the corps members, the National Youth Service Corps, last week, announced the redeployment of corps members from seven northern states.

Most parents and guardians from the southern part of the country are no longer willing that their children and wards should be deployed to the states described as the hot bed of the Boko Haram insurgents, since the government could no longer ensure the safety of the corps members.

Since the insurgence, there has been mounting anxiety as scores have continued to shun posting to the north, apparently for the fear of being slaughtered by the insurgents.

Today, many undergraduates and prospective corps

Cross section of Corps members on parade

members have different view about the scheme, established in 1973, by the regime of General Yakubu Gowon, to foster unity among Nigerians, after the Civil War. Face with this fear, Yinka Bamidele, a graduate of Microbiology from Bowen University, Osun State, recounted how she had to redeploy from the north to Lagos State for her compulsory one year NYSC scheme.

Bamidele is not only in this plight, as many would-be corps members and their parents have continued to reject their posting to the north.

The corps members in the affected seven states, according to the Directorate of Public Relations in NYSC, are part of the 2014 Batch ‘B’ Orientation Course, which was flagged off yesterday.

The Director of NYSC Public Relations Unit, Mrs. Bose Aderibigbe, listed the affected states to include Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano and Yobe states.

Though citing logistics reasons, NYSC said the orientation would be in two streams, with the first stream billed for August 5, while the second Stream is between September 1 and 22 at various orientation camps across the country.

According to the directive, corps members in the states listed above will participate in Stream Two exercise.

Under the redeployment, which is scheduled for Sep-

tember 1 to 22, those posted to Adamawa State will have their orientation programme in Niger State; Bauchi in Plateau State; Borno State are to undertake their orientation in Nasarawa State; Gombe in Benue; while Jigawa State corps members will proceed to Kaduna for the orientation programme and corps member posted to Yobe State are expected to resume at the Federal Capital Territory Orientation Camp.

Further investigations by New Telegraph revealed that after the mandatory orientation programme in the corps members respective states of posting, any corps member who wants redeployment to other states will be allowed to redeploy.

Mrs. Aderibigbe said: “After the mandatory orientation programme for the corps members in their various states where they are redeployed for the programme, we shall not force anybody to be posted back to the state but shall consider their wishes. Let me restate here very clearly that

Seeking redeployment was my only option, other options were life threatening and the North is not safe

NYSC will not force anybody to serve in any of these seven states if they do not wish to go there. That is the position of the National Youths Service Corps towards ensuring the security of lives and properties of our young men and women, and towards protecting the national unity and integrity.”

Buttressing the NYSC position, Bamidele, who narrated how the fear of Boko Haram made her to seek redeployment to Lagos from the north, said: “Most corps members will rather not serve at all, than go to the north for the compulsory one year service.”

According to her, “seeking redeployment was my only option, other options were life threatening and the North is not safe.”

Parents, who have continued to express disenchantment over their children’s posting to the north, because of the high level of insecurity in that part of the country, there had been heightened calls for the scrapping of the 41-year-old programme.

But, the NYSC decision did not go down well with some stakeholders, who expressed dismay, regretted that Kano State, which had been known for peace and tranquility, could be subjected to what they called affect stupidity.

Some stakeholders have expressed worries that the NYSC action will further the education sector of the affected states.

Olawumi, NYSC DG

To the stakeholders, how the affected states would be able to cope with the problem of shortage of teachers in their schools, which depend largely on the corps members for teaching in the schools, is no longer a matter of conjecture.

They said: “The states are going to suffer, especially their education system as the schools which depend on NYSC for teachers will be confronted with the challenge of dearth of teachers. Their children and schools will suffer greatly, but that is the price they are going to pay.”

Some parents from the south have described the NYSC action as a welcome development, saying it is improper to send their children to where they will be killed, especially as the election year has approached.”

But, some of the corps memCO NTINUED O N PAGE 29

22 EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Uduaghan praises private varsities for quality delivery Dominic Adewole ASABA

State Governor, Dr. EmDthatelta manuel Uduaghan has said private universities are

L-R: Messrs. Manfred Woehe; Joe Makoju; UNILAG VC, Prof. Rahamon Bello; Former UNILAG VC, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe; Wolfgang Pfeiffer; Dr. Segun Ajayi; Dean, Faculty of Sciences, Prof. Omotayo Fakinlede; Moses Ogunsola and Prof. Frank Okafor at the HIVOTEC Nigeria Board of Trustees meeting held in Lagos.

NGO to boost girl-child education in Plateau Musa Pam JOS

I

n effort to empower and boost girl-child education in Plateau State, a NonGovernmental Organisation, Girl Child Education and Development Centre, has pledged to offer scholarships to children whom could not afford to pay their school fees.

The Coordinator of the Centre, Salome Nyinmwa Rotkang disclosed this in a chat with the New Telegraph in Jos, the state capital, at a workshop organised by the organisation to create more awareness about girlchild education in the state.

According to her, there are

so many female children in the society who could not go to school because of lack of funds, and based on this the NGO is organising the workshop in collaboration with other organisations towards providing scholarship to those children that could not afford to pay their school fees.

Meanwhile, she said apart from the scholarship scheme, the NGO had initiated several other skills acquisition programmes which empower and equip female and male children in the state to become what they want to become in life.

"Girl-Child Education and Development Centre is an

initiative geared towards the socio- economic empowerment of the less-privileged in the society, especially young girls across the country to assist them acquire education and vocational skills."

Representative of the Life Aid International Initiative, Mrs. Vivien Waziri Kwande, a guest speaker at the workshop, said educating a girl-child means educating the entire society.

She, however, called on spirited individuals, corporate organisations and government at all levels to initiate programmes that will help and support the education of girlchild in the country.

playing vital roles in providing quality learning for the young ones.

According to him, private universities have, in no small measure, provided succour for Nigerian youths who would have travelled out of the country for further studies due inadequate admission space in government-owned universities in the country.

Besides, the governor said the challenges the institutions face in ensuring academic excellence and in installing good character in the students are enormous.

Uduaghan, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Entertainment, Hon. Berkley Asiafa during the public presentation of Novena Vista, a quarterly magazine of Novena University, Ogume, Delta State, which took place at the Amai Campus of the university, commended the management of the institution for publishing the informative and educative magazine.

He, however, noted that “the magazine is of high quality,” which would go a long way to boost and enrich the quality education of the private university.

The Chairman of Council and Pro-Chancellor of the university, Dr. Chuks Ochonogor expressed optimism that the magazine "will showcase the academic prowess and most im-

Olushola Ricketts

T

he introduction of an indigenous e-learning programme by the authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) will apparently increase the chances of candidates seeking admission into universities, the New Telegraph has learnt.

The institution’s Director of the Centre for Distance Learning, Professor Olabode Asubiojo disclosed this during a ceremony organised by the centre at the Oriental Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, to flag-off of the programme.

He noted that the Federal Government had selected six universities in the country to champion online distance learning programme in order to meet the education needs of about 1.5 million young Nigerians who seek admission into universities yearly.

Asubiojo, who hinted that out of the six universities, Obafemi Awolowo University was selected and was able to secure the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to begin the programme.

The e-learning programme, he stressed is designed to address the problems of lack of adequate funds, space and infrastructure on campuses, saying that with about 128 universities (public and private) currently in the country, the fate of qualified admission seekers into the universities due to lack of admission space is still nothing to write home about.

"This is what we are trying to address and the programme is not for younger ones alone, but also for the working class, who could also apply for the programme without resigning their jobs," the Director said.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor,

L-R: Prof. Omole; Mr.Rowland Kolawole; Mrs.Shade Omoniyi; Bunmi Akinyemiju and Prof. Asubioju

OAU unveils e-learning, raises candidates’ hope Prof. Bamitale Omole, recalled that the nation’s higher education was currently facing a critical challenge of meeting new education demands of the 21st Century.

“Of about two million applicants seeking admission yearly into universities, only about 20 per cent are able to secure admission due to the constraints of infrastructure, time and location,” he said, adding that through the distant learning programme, the

students would learn from the same lecturers who teach the regular students on campus as they deliver lectures and course materials online or pre-recorded.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, the programme will be delivered while ensuring parity of curriculum contents and academic standards both on the campus and off-campus.

Omole, who stressed that each student is expected to acquire a custom-

Uduaghan

portantly, consolidate the mission of the university, which is to be a dynamic institution that will promote academic discipline and resourcefulness in the production of globally competitive graduates."

According to him, it has always been the desire of the owners of the university to make Novena University an optimal institution for students' career development.

While reiterating that since learning goes beyond classroom activities, the students are encouraged, motivated and free to think, design, research, execute and present issues as reasonably as possible, while also performing excellently in classroom activities.

"I will always support an approach that will make every member of the university community responsible for his or her actions provided such actions serve the collective interest of the community," Ochonogor added.

ised tablet, added that lecture materials come in the form of PowerPoint slides, which instructors deplore to teach the classes.

He explained: "Lectures are captured on video and accompanied by hand-outs in PDF format, and other additional instructional materials and references as the instructor deems necessary. A digital library is available on the portal for students and lecturers to research. This model makes it unnecessary to maintain warehouses of voluminous course materials as the materials will be included in the Tablet given to each student at the beginning of their programme.

“This also means that students need not wait for course materials to be delivered to them after payment for such is made. Their course materials are handed to them in the Tablets.”

The Vice-Chancellor stressed that e-learning was a major answer to university education in the country since the students could be in the confines of their homes, offices and cars, and learn at the same time.

"If all the resources of the Federal Government is devoted to education there would still be complaints by the people,” he noted, saying there would be no discrimination since all the courses are moderated by the NUC, while the cost is affordable.

The programme, the university said would begin with the Bachelor Degree programmes in Accounting, Nursing, Education and Economics, as well as Executive Masters programmes in Public Health, Information Technology, Environmental Control and Management, while others courses were expected to be added subsequently.

EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Provost vows to reposition college

Kayode Olanrewaju

N

o fewer than 11,791 graduating students of the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Lagos, will today receive their scrolls for First Degrees and Diplomas at the 19th graduation ceremony of the institution.

The graduation ceremony, which had since been flaggedoff on August 1, with a Jumat Service and a Church service on Sunday, August 3, held the university Coconut Breaking Festival on Monday August 4, as well as a Command performance by the Department of Theatre Arts and Music which also held the same day.

As part of activities lined up for the convocation ceremony and 30th anniversary of the university, the convocation lecture, entitled: “The Future of Traditional/Contemporary Universities and the Emerging Universities of the Future; The Implications for the Nigerian University System (NUS)”, delivered by Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, former UNILAG Vice-Chancellor took place yesterday.

The lecture, which took place at the new auditorium of the university, also featured a book launch – “Foreign Policy and National Security – by Prof.

Olanrewaju Falola.

Tomorrow, August 7 will be the commissioning of the School of Transport building complex and inspection of some on-going projects at the Ojo main campus of the university by the Visitor to the university and Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola. This will be followed by the award of higher degrees, at the university New Auditorium.

According to the Vice-Chancellor one of the core mandates of the university is to produce all round students who are worthy in both learning and character.

Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa, who restated this while announcing the various activities lined up to commemorate

23

Sola Adeyemo IBADAN

he new substantive Provost Triculture, of Oyo State College of AgIgboora (OYSCAI),

Obafunwa (right), Deputy VC, Prof. Bakre and University Burser, Dr. Oduwole at the briefing

LASU poised to deliver quality tuition  Varsity graduates 11,791 students

the 19th convocation and 30th anniversary of the university, said his administration despite all odds would not deviate from that mandate.

Addressing journalists in his office, the Vice-Chancellor said the event which would have been held in February in line with the tradition of the institution had to be delayed due to the disruption of the university activities as a result of the workers and students’ strikes.

Obafunwa, who insisted that the university would not award honorary degrees this year in line with the state governor’s directive to avoid, joining the bandwagon for honorary degree award, said everything is being done by the Council to forestall further disruption to the university activities, especially the convocation by any of the unions.

Mojeed Alabi

F

O

or sustaining high quality education standard and doing a great job towards the production great leaders of tomorrow, a parent has commended the management and staff of Delta Steel Company (DSC) Model School.

The encomium was showered on them

by Prince F. S. Idim, Chairman of the 2014 graduation and valedictory ceremony of the school, which took place at the school compound.

In his remarks, he said: "I have been looking for an opportunity like this to express my appreciation as a parent to the teachers and management of the school for maintaining high education standard despite the operational difficulties currently confronting the school."

He appealed to the teachers to continue to exhibit their professional competence by moulding the character of the children, who he described as representatives of God on earth.

Idim, while congratulating the graduating pupils, urged them to sustain the tempo of the quality education offered by the school.

He advocated the introduction of vocational training for pupils to identify their talents, especially those who are not good academically to pursue a career in the vocational education.

project to move the university forward.

While stressing that the university no longer delay the students' certificates, Obafunwa said students’ results are now ready 24 hours after the examinations.

His words: "All concern graduates who have met the necessary requirements for the collection of their certificates, are hereby advised to proceed to their respective faculties, schools and colleges for the collection of their certificates.

Many of the certificates have been duly signed and ready for collection. But such graduates are expected to complete their bio-data and clearance forms, which many are yet to do, thereby delaying their certificates. The problem is that many of these graduates have refused to complete these forms."

Etisalat, LEARN partner to counsel pupils

DSC model school lauded over standard

Gabriel Choba, UGHELLI

While giving the breakdown of the graduating students, the Vice-Chancellor, however noted that 3,472 would today received their scrolls for full-time programme; 5,685 external system programme and 12 Diplomas, while no fewer than 2,622 students will graduate with higher degrees tomorrow.

He said graduates, especially external system graduates, who are yet to collect their certificates should visit their respective departments, schools and faculties, adding that some of the certificates had already been signed and are awaiting students’ collection.

The Vice-Chancellor, who said the management, is up and doing to change the face of the university in the areas of academic and infrastructural development, however solicited the concerted efforts of stakeholders in the university

Prof. Jacob Adewale, has pledged his administration’s commitment to reposition the institution as a leading college of agriculture, not only in the state, but also in the country.

He made the pledge during a reception organised in his honour and other newly appointed principal officers of the college last week at the Igboora main campus of the college as part of activities marking his assumption of office.

Adewale, who insisted that the college be repositioned as a leading college of agriculture, not only in the country, said it would be uplifted to a world- class college in teaching training and learning, as well as in research and extension services.

Barely two weeks ago, the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi announced the appointment of Professor Adewale as the new Provost of the college, alongside Mr. Sunday Fehintola, Mr. Olusegun Olaewe and Dr. Pius Olatunji Olaojo, who were named as Registrar, Bursar and the College Librarian respectively.

Adewale, the former Acting Provost of the college, described his appointment and that of others by the governor as a welcome development and a call to service, saying: "I commend the pioneer principal officers of the college and the immediate past management for the good foundations laid for the overall development of the college in all facets of its operations.

"I promise to join hands with other management staff in consolidating on the efforts of previous administrations at moving the college to greater heights," he said.

ne of Nigeria’s leading telecommunications company, Etisalat and the Lagos Empowerment and Resource Network (LEARN), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) instituted by the wife of Lagos State governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, are partnering on students counseling.

The partnership is part of activities marking the 11th edition of Etisalat's Career Counselling programme, in which a session was held with secondary school pupils in Lagos.

The counselling programme, which took place at Festac Town, was according to the company, a demonstration of its commitment to youth development through education.

The Director of Etisalat's Leadership and Organisational Development Unit in Nigeria, Rabi Isma, said the initiative is a demonstration of the company’s commitment to the development of Nigerian society, adding that it enables Etisalat staff to live up to one of the company’s core values of empowering the people.

She said: "We are aware that our success is a product of the society in which we live and do business. That is why we are committed to contributing to development at all levels of society by engaging

Mrs. Fashola

the minds of the young ones in a fun, energetic and motivating environment.

Young people make up a huge proportion of our population. At the Career Counselling programme, our staff volunteer time and deploy their skills to provide career counselling and mentorship to secondary school students.”

Isma, who pointed out that future leaders need mentorship to make the right career choices that will aid their quest for self-actualisation, however stressed: “It is our belief that as the leaders of tomorrow, these young individuals require proper guidance within and beyond the walls of schools in order to ensure that they make informed choices that will

birth a fulfilling career.

She added: "Furthermore, our aim is to motivate their confidence and selfesteem while opening up their minds to the limitless opportunities available to them, in order to aid the achievement of their aspirations, goals and dreams.”

The list of participating schools in this year’s edition of the career counselling session include Amuwo Odofin Secondary School; Amuwo Odofin Community Secondary School; Festac Junior College; Festac Senior College; Festac Girls’ Junior Secondary School; Festac Girls’ Senior Secondary School; Festac Junior Grammar School; and Festac Senior Grammar School.

The Senior Project Officer, Lagos Empowerment and Resource Network, Mrs. Tonne Saheed thanked Etisalat for its contribution to education development of the youth, adding that the initiative was timely and a progressive investment in education.

According to her, the knowledge acquired by the students during these sessions will go a long way to impact positively on them in making career choice.

She said: “Selecting the path to a future career can be daunting and intricate.

As such, the Nigerian students need to be educated and counselled on how to make positive career choice for their future."

24 EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Yahaya: Why ASUP suspended strike, Mustapha Yahaya is the Chairman of Kaduna Polytechnic chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), and member of the union’s negotiation committee that met with Federal Government. In this interview with IBRAHEEM MUSA, he speaks about why the union suspended the 10-month indefinite nationwide strike, disparity between polytechnic graduates and their university counterparts, polytechnic education, among other germane issues.

It is curious that ASUP called off its 10-month strike shortly after Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau was named the new Education Minister, whereas ASUP rebuffed earlier appeals by the then Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike. Could you explain the union’s action?

Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) decided to suspend the strike because of Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau’s maturity in handling the matter and understanding towards the union’s agitation.

There was really nothing serious from the then Supervising Minister that would have necessitated ASUP to re-evaluate its stand about the strike. The minister was not forth coming in his action to end the lingering strike. Severally, about two to three times, we were invited along with him by the Senate Committee on Education; he refused to show up at the meetings. Indeed, this portrayed the kind of politicians we have at the corridors of powers. Shekarau’s concern for the system was the major reason of why ASUP had to change gear and suspended the strike after 10 months. We had been on strike since the 4th of October 2013, and we only suspended on July 15, 2014.

Of course, it has been rough and tough before we arrived at this point, but we believe that if some Midas touch is brought into the old system, there could be a change of entire affairs of polytechnic sector. The government had already set up the NEEDS Assessment Committee for Polytechnics. The committee went round the polytechnics and came out with a report. Our National President was a member of that committee. Besides, the then Supervising Minister raised a committee to look into the issue of HND/Degree dichotomy. The committee had since completed its assignment.

I was privileged to serve on that committee as a representative of the union. After all, the deliberations we came out with, we think will be acceptable to Nigerians and it will be one of the greatest strides ever to be taken by the government and which will impact positively on polytechnic education. The Supervising Minister had since not received the report, because he wanted to make it a media event in order to boost his profile. So, he never found a convenient time to accept the report.

Now, ASUP decided to give the new Minister (Shekarau) a chance because he appeared

more determined to take the bull by the horns. ASUP has not been too rigid like some people in certain quarters believe. When the leadership of the union met the Senate President about two weeks ago, he commended the union for its struggle to revamp the system.

As union leaders, we were not doing this to fill the pockets of members of academic staff in the polytechnic system. The issue of salaries was just one out of our 13 demands.

So, what in concrete terms did new Minister promised ASUP that necessitated the suspension of the strike?

Well, he identified with ASUP that truly we have a case, and he is ready to push the case before Mr. President, while he will ensure that we get what is due to us. To underscore his seriousness, within 24 hours after he was sworn in as Minister, we were the first union that he met with, after his meeting with officials of the ministry. He gave us his words and promises, before he went to the media to show that he has sympathy for our case. In fact, because he was once in the system as a lecturer, he knows where the shoe pinches. Of course, he is not a professor who is coming from the university to lord it over everybody, whether it is the polytechnic or university.

We believe that he can really turn things around positively.

Also, we have to bear in mind that there had been several appeals; students have been at home, there is insurgency in the country and we feel that it was time to really do some re-thinking and re-strategise.

Hence, we took this awesome step by suspending the strike.

Are you saying ASUP suspended the strike based on the perception that Shekarau can do something?

No. That is not what I am saying. He promised that he was going to do something. That kind of promise never came from the Supervising Minister. Instead, he was just issuing threats to stop the lecturers’ salaries. Another threat from him was to review the agreement that was signed with the Federal Government and in 2010 on the implementation of CONTISS 15 in the polytechnic sector. The Supervising Minister came out to say that it was an illegal, claiming it was from the Salaries and Wages Commission. This was not acceptable to us. While we were trying to move forward, the Su-

So, even if you look at the way in which the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) form is designed, it is antipolytechnics

Comrade Yahaya

pervising Minister was taking us several steps backward. It is not as if we merely looked into the face of the new Minister only to suspend the strike. He made promises to resolve the crisis and we could see that from his approach. His media interview showed that he has full grasp of the contending issues at hand, and perhaps he would be the Messiah that the polytechnic sector has desired in a very long time. So, we decided to give him that chance and that is why we gave a grace period of three months. He has also promised that he will do everything within his powers so that we don’t go back to the trenches.

What are the ASUP’s grievances?

Top on ASUP agenda for the strike is the HND/Degree dichotomy, the issue of adequate funding the polytechnic system, which necessitated the setting up of the NEEDS Assessment Committee by the Federal Government. ASUP is also seeking as enabling Commission for the polytechnics, while the Polytechnic Act should be amended.

For a very long time, there were no Governing Councils for the polytechnics, but it is the strike that necessitated the setting up of the councils and the NEEDS Assessment for polytechnics.

The union is also demanding migration from CONTISS 15, which was approved by the government. There is the issue of retirement age for academic staff, which is not being observed by state polytechnics. In addition, there is the appointment of unqualified Rectors for state polytechnics. In all, ASUP has 13 demands and only one had to do with lecturers’ salaries, which is part of the 2009 agreement. The government approved the salary migration since 2010, but it has only been implemented for Senior lectur-

...Within 24 hours after he was sworn in as Minister, we were the first union that he met with, after his meeting with officials of the ministry

ers and above, while others are left out in its implementation.

The university strike was about the issue of Earned Allowances, but that of ASUP is a salary that was earned by us and not allowances. While the same government was able to release N40 billion to ASUU, our total claim for the salary arrears was N20.4 billion. So, if ASUP were to be selfish, the union wouldn’t have suspended the strike without getting the money. We did this because we felt that we have made certain strides. Nigerians have never known much about the polytechnic education until this strike. The issue of HND/Degree dichotomy had never received this kind of attention, but for the strike.

In 2005, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration removed the dichotomy in the public service when it directed that HND holders could rise to Grade Level 17 in the civil service. Why is the issue coming up again?

Well, some so-called technocrats and people who do not wish the Nigerian society any good frustrated the policy. Polytechnic education is the bedrock of development technologically. It is unfortunate that the President could make a pronouncement, only for some people to frustrate it. During the meeting on CONTISS 15, there were so many distortions, but we stood our ground and made our case clear. It is all about improving the system and allowing it to grow. When polytechnics were set up during the colonial era, the mandate was to train middle cadre manpower by awarding the Ordinary National Diplomas (OND) but the situation has now changed.

Like a Hausa proverb, which says “when the beating of the drum changes, the dance steps must also change,” but with the coming of Kaduna Polytechnic and the award of Higher National Diplomas, the situation ought to have changed. What we are experiencing is policy somersault. The system has grown beyond mere production of middle class manpower, and yet nobody went back to effect changes in the policy. This is the basis for the current impasse on dichotomy.

There is this argument about entry qualification into polytechnics, which is lower than that of the universities. Don’t you think

this a draw back and one of the reasons for the disparity?

I want to disagree with you on this issue of entry qualification for polytechnics. It is not lower than that of the universities. We write the same examinations through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The issue of entry qualification had been rectified since 2007. It is presently five credits including English and Mathematics for both polytechnics and universities. Many of the universities still have what they call ‘bridging courses or preliminary schools,’ but polytechnics do not have that. We have out grown that. The issue of cutoff marks is part of the strategies that are being employed by those that do not mean well for polytechnic system. A typical Nigerian’s thinking is the university. So, even if you look at the way in which the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) form is designed, it is anti-polytechnics. If the government disregards parity, you will find out that the brilliant students will be willing to come into the polytechnics. The first choice of secondary school leavers is the university. For this reason, most of them that will score very high marks in UTME had already chosen university as their first choice. So, the average ones are those that chose polytechnic. There was a time that the cut-off point was 180 marks for both polytechnics and universities. Why did they change it? It is because of the dichotomy. I am a product of the university; I work in the polytechnic and I know what the polytechnic can do.

For instance, let’s look at Mathematics Department, we have pointed out with records that Mathematics that is being offered by HND students is richer than that of their counterparts in the universities.

Of course, Chemistry Department is another department we reviewed the curriculum.

To get a B. Sc in the Chemistry, a student needs a total of 120 credit units, from 100 Level to graduation. And if that student is coming into department with Direct Entry, may be he did Diploma somewhere, from 200 Level he needs a total of 90 credit units. But, in the polytechnic on the other hand, for a student to graduate from ND 1 to HND 2, he needs a total of 217 credit units. Even, if such student is coming directly into ND 2, he is expected to have 147 credit units before graduation.

So, where is the argument that university education is superior to that of polytechnic?

What we are even saying is that lets allow each system to grow.

And let the society that is the end user determines which is better.

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25

‘Babcock varsity forbids Strike is anathema in medical meat for students' profession, says Ex-UNILORIN VC Christian Appolos

Christian Appolos

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gainst the background of the on-going industrial action embarked upon by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), a renowned medical expert and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Emeritus Prof.

Adeoye Adeniyi, has said that strike action is an anathema in the medical profession.

Condemning the lingering strike, Adeniyi noted that the price of embarking on strike by medical doctors is always high, as such unhealthy action results to loss of lives, tragedies and suffering of patients.

He said: “In my opinion and in line with the tenet of our profession, strike is anathema.

We can engage in all kinds of things; we could disagree but

I believe strongly that doctors should not go on strike.

“Fundamentally, I think doctors should not go on strike, but the situation in the country is such that there is a failure of communication among the doctors and the other health givers in the country. It is also unfortunate that doctors have to resort to strike to make their points heard and to give them what they regard as their rights.

“There has to be a meeting of minds between the health givers and the government. I believe that the root causes of the discontent have to be properly evaluated, assessed and considered and they should arrive at situation where strikes are no longer called by doctors.”

Speaking further, the former Vice-Chancellor noted that the government should fulfill its

pledges and promises to the doctors, in order to eliminate reasons or needs for strikes, stressing that there is the urgent need for the restructuring of the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services in the country.

Adeniyi, who expressed strongly belief that primary and secondary healthcare services in particular should be properly looked into, added that “tertiary health institutions should be looked after to enable them to play their roles appropriately.”

He pointed out that at present some of the tertiary health institutions in the country are functioning as primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare centres at the same time, noting that such unstructured pattern has gone a long way to create crisis in the nation’s health sector.

management of Babcock Tsityhe University, a private univerowned by the Seventh Day

Adventist Church and located at Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State the first private university in Nigeria has reiterated its decision to stop the serving of meat to students during meals.

According to the Vice-President of the university, Prof. Iheanyichukwu Okoro, this decision is in line with the doctrine and tenet of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which forbid the consumption of certain meat.

“Meat diet exposes people to cancer and other diseases and above all, shortens life,” the don said.

Science faculty wins VC’s cup or a fourth record time and second with one gold and two FFaculty third consecutive time, the silver medals. of Science, Adekunle Faculty of Social and ManAjasin University, AkungbaAkoko (AAUA) has won the university’s seventh annual InterFaculty competition, tagged: ‘Vice-Chancellor’s Cup’ soccer competition.

Faculty of Science defeated Faculty of Social & Management Sciences 2-0 on penalty shootout after the regulation time ended in a draw.

Faculty of Education won the third-placing, by beating the Faculty of Arts 1-0.

Meanwhile, Faculty of Arts topped the medals table in open races of the competition, having won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals, while the Faculty of Science was placed

Members of the governing council of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun in a group photograph with Governor of Ogun State,Senator Ibikunle Amosun

ADB’s N52m enriches FCE, Akoka's scholarship programme Mojeed Alabi

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s part of efforts to encourage students to opt for colleges of education as higher institutions of learning as against the current rush for university education, the African Development Bank (ADB), has so far awarded over N52,100,000 in scholarship to qualifying students of the Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical, Akoka, Yaba, lagos.

ADB, the continental financial institution established to promote economic growth in Africa, through the scholarship scheme was said to have rewarded students across the departments with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of between 3.5 and 4 points.

The scholarship scheme, according to the institution, was instituted in 2010/2011 academic session to enhance the quality of tuition in the college and boost the students’ education.

According to the Provost, Dr. Sijibomi Olusanya, under the scheme in which no fewer than 521 students had benefited so far, each beneficiary received

N100,000 per session.

Olusanya, who stated this during the 2013/2014 matriculation ceremony of the college, enjoined the 900 fresh students to shun activities and all forms of vices that could truncate their education.

The provost, who advised the new students to pursue excellence by making use of the learning tools available on campus, including the wellequipped electronic-library, VSAT facilities, journals and the updated workshops, for their academic works, warned them against violating the college laws, as punishment awaits anyone found wanting.

The Registrar, Mr. Henry Otoighile, also advised the parents not to abdicate the care of the students to the school, saying there was need for them to ensure proper monitoring by reporting to the college authority whenever they notice anything negative about their children.

Otoighile stated: “We must understand that the session is already far spent due to the strike that kept us away for many months, so you should all know that the college has no

single moment to waste. It will, therefore, be in your interest to take your studies very seriously right from the moment you commence your lectures because catching up later may not be an easy task.”

Meanwhile, the students admitted into the college’s five schools - School of Business Education, Technical Education, Science Education, Vocational Education, School of Education, and the Postgraduate Diploma Programme in Education - pledged to abide by the school’s rules and regulations.

According to 16-year-old Elizabeth Oluwafemi, who has been admitted to study Integrated Science/Biology Education, said at the time she was graduating from the Lagos State Model College, Igbokuta, she had hoped to study Microbiology at the University of Ibadan but that she was disqualified because she was said to be under age.

She said she is also satisfied with her new course of study and that she would aspire to be the best in her class and subsequently pursue her degree with the aim of becoming a university lecturer.

He added: “The Seventh Day Adventist Church, owner of the university is not only concerned with the spiritual well-being of the students, but also their physical well-being and this without doubt has been shown in all scientific literature that vegetarian diet is superior to any meat diet. I can tell you that with the vegetarian diet the students are taking, they look healthier than when they are at home eating all sorts of meat.”

Okoro explained that members of the church are allowed to eat only ‘clean meat’’ in accordance with Biblical injunction.

“They are not allowed to eat pork, dog and camel, among other meats because they are unclean meat,” he said.

agement Sciences won one gold and two bronze medals to place third in the competition, in which the Faculty Law came fourth with one gold medal, and Faculty of Education won only one silver medal to place fifth.

The trophy was presented by the Vice-Chancellor to the Faculty of Science, while other gift items were presented to the faculty as well as Faculties of Social and Management Sciences and Education, for winning the open races.

The presentation ceremony took place at the 1,000-capacity Sports Pavilion of the university, which attracted principal officers of the university.

TASUED alumnus receives NYSC award n alumnus of the Tai SolarA(TASUED), in University of Education Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State, Miss Akinsanya Mariam Damilola, and a Batch ‘A’ 2013 corps member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has won the NYSC honorary award.

She won the award through the compulsory learning of vocational studies introduced by the pioneer education university in the country, as a prerequisite for students’ graduation.

A statement by the university’s Information Unit said Akinsanya, who served in Jigawa State won the award in recognition of her training of the inmates of Dutse prison in vocational skills acquisition.

She was said to have trained the inmates the art of making bar soap, liquid soap, pomade and candle, as her Community Development Project.

The award certificate reads: “The award was bestowed on Akinsanya as a result of her outstanding performance and in recognition of her exemplary performance, dedication to duty and sense of patriotism during the service year in Jigawa State.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Oluyemisi Obilade lauded the exemplary performance of Akinsanya for showcasing the entrepreneurial skills acquired at the university as a student, while urging other students to emulate her sterling qualities.

CEPEP admits fresh students

he Vice-Chancellor of Tai Tcation Solarin University of Edu(TASUED), Prof. Oluy-

emisi Obilade has described the opportunity offered the matriculating students of the university’s Centre for PartTime & External Programme (CEPEP), as a great privilege and a chance to actualise their dreams.

She said this at the matriculation ceremony for the 2013/2014 academic session for fresh students into the programme, adding that matriculation is an occasion to formally induct fresh students into the university system and the

beginning of scholarly advancement.

The Vice-Chancellor noted: “Matriculation is one of the stages in attainment of academic pursuit, and it is therefore my strong belief that the ethics of the teaching profession would be imbibe in you. TASUED has gone a long way in producing professional in the field of teaching and education.”

While insisting that the university has zero tolerance to indiscipline, she admonished the students to adhere to the rules and regulations of the institution, by shunning gangsterism, cultism.

26 EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Parents laud school over free education Kola Johnson

maxim: “All works and Tboyhe no play, makes Jack a dull ,” came to the fore last week

Alonge (1st left) with the graduating pupils

Proprietor hails school’s growth despite challenges Shadrack Yusuf

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wners of Barachel Group of Schools, Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, are happy that the schools are towering despite the various challenges confronting the development of private schools in the country.

Its founder and proprietor, Pastor Segun Alonge commended the management, members of staff, parents and pupils, as well as other stakeholders in the school for the laudable academic achievements recorded so far by the school.

Alonge, who disclosed this during the graduation ceremony for pupils in the Junior Senior School (JSS 3) at the Iju/Ishaga campus of the school, said since 2006, when Mojeed Alabi

P

arents of graduating pupils of Camp David Schools, Ogba, Lagos, have showered encomium on the management of the 23-year-old primary and secondary schools for the quality of education offered by the school and for impacting relevant knowledge in their wards.

Some of the parents, who spoke with New Telegraph, pointed out that the knowledge bequeathed to their children has given them the confidence to stand tall among their peers, while stressing that their children’s academic achievement and moral upbringing have attracted more kids to the school.

In her remarks, Mrs. Damiete Ighero, who has three children in the school, explained that in the last four years that she enrolled her children in the school, she had never regretted her decision or had any cause to consider taking the children to another school.

She said: “The foundation offered a child is like that of a building, as long as it is solid, whatever structure built on it will stand. Indeed, that is why I feel strongly that the management of Camp David Schools deserves our commendation. Without charging exorbitant school

the schools was ranked among the 31 best schools in Lagos State, it has never looked back in sustaining the tempo of its quality teaching and learning.

While commending the parents and staff for a job well done, the proprietor hinted that the schools was not insulated from the financial crisis and other societal problems facing private education development in the country.

Alonge, who gave all adoration to God Almighty for the project, said God had been faithful to the school and as a result, it has continued to grow from strength to strength.

He, however, highlighted the various improvements witnessed by the school in the areas of ICT and sciences, even as he noted that the driving

force behind his administration is hard work anchored on the mission of the school.

He advised the pupils to be more committed to their education, saying they should realise that the end justifies the means.

He stated: “I want to urge the graduating pupils to strive for the best always, in line with the motto of the school; “Be determined to be at the top, never beneath.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Goddy Nwaeze, while congratulating the pupils and their parents, admonished them to be hard working, diligent and obedient, even as he explained that these virtues could only be instilled by the parents and the school.

when the management of Hope kindergarten Nursery School, Ebute-Metta, Lagos set aside a day to celebrate the graduation and prize-giving day of the school.

It was a day set aside to bid the graduating pupils farewell, after successful completion of their primary school education.

The activities, which attracted the pupils and their parents, were marked amid fanfare, dancing and singing with a lot to eat and drink.

The parents, who could not hide their excitement over the care and quality education offered their children and wards, praised the Proprietress of the school, Reverend Edith Iloh for a job well done.

They said: “Why are we parents so happy and excited?

The reason, of course, is not far-fetched. We are elated at the encouraging progress of our children and wards in the school, where everything is free - tuition, uniform and free daily meal, with no levy of any kind imposed on the children.”

In her speech, the Proprietress described kindergarten education as the most significant of all levels of education system in the country, saying that the human mind is most impressionable at the kindergarten stage.

“Whatever a child becomes in life depends to a large extent on the foundation of the training he or she received at the early stage of life,” Mrs Iloh said, stressing that the establishment of Hope Kindergarten Nursery School, an all-free education institution, located

in Bornu Way, Ebute-Metta, Lagos, is part of the social responsibility intervention of the Soul Winning Chapel of which she is the Mother-inIsrael.

According to her, part of the aims is to alleviate the plight of children in the neighbourhood, the community and the underprivileged.

Mrs. Iloh added: “Here at Hope Kindergarten Nursery School, everything is free including tuition. We provide free quality meal to the pupils, free uniforms and free medical care.”

She described the quality of teaching in the school as excellent, saying this is evidence in the performance and high rating of pupils of the school by management of schools they attend after their kindergarten education, in view of their excellent performance.

Reverend Iloh enjoined interested parents to take advantage of the enabling incentive of the total free education offered by the school, to enroll their children and wards in the school now that the registration of pupils is still in progress.

Her words: “At Hope Kindergarten Nursery School we do not discriminate. Admission is open to all and sundry, irrespective of social status, sex and religion. I want to add also that none of the parents of pupils in the school are members of the church.

A good number of the pupils are Muslims.”

However, the Vice-Chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, Mrs. Omolola Essien, lauded the Proprietress of the school for the humanitarian initiative, which she noted informed the establishment of the all-free school.

Parents commend Camp David's standard

The graduating pupils dancing with families and friends

fees like its contemporaries, our children are doing wonderfully well and we are very happy to partner with the school to move it forward.”

Similarly, Mrs. Blessing Ajaero, whose two children are in the school, urged the parents to support the school towards achieving more successes, even as she

explained that as a school that is located in the heart of Lagos and charging affordable fees, such as Camp David Schools are doing, deserve the support of everyone.

She advised the management to build on the existing structures and make the school the toast of lovers of quality education beyond the neighbourhood.

At the event, which featured series of activities including dancing, choreography, mimicking, drama presentation and cultural display, the graduating pupils expressed gratitude to the management and staff for the quality of education they received.

However, the pupils expressed

optimism that they will secure admission into higher institutions of learning of their choice in the next academic session.

Established by Late David Bodunrin to offer quality education under proper management, is said to have since been handed over to Unique Eagles Educational Consults Limited with a 20-year management agreement.

According to the Education Director, Mr. Daniel Da-Silva, since the firm took over the management of the school the story has been that of success.

He commended the pupils, staff, and parents for what he described as their unalloyed loyalty and support, insisting that the sky is the limit for the school.

He said: “To my very esteemed and supporting parents, I charge you all to continue to support your children and give the best you can towards their education because it remains the best legacy anyone can bequeath to his or her child no matter how costly. So far, I am proud of our ex-pupils who are doing excellently well in various higher institutions both home and abroad, and I hope the pupils we are sending forth today will also make us proud.”

EDUCATION 27

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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

UNIJOS establishes research unit

Mojeed Alabi

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fter several years of the suspension of students' union activities at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the management has spoken of its ready to lift the suspension order, as a constitution drafting committee for the union has been inaugurated.

While inaugurating the 43-man committee at Senate Chamber, Akoka main campus of the 52-year-old institution, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rahman Bello, said the management’s decision was one of the outcomes of a recent nationwide university assessment tour embarked by sponsored members of staff of the university, who he noted visited many ivory towers and appraised their modes of operation including the conduct of their students and other unions.

The committee, which comprised about seven members of staff of the university, has Professor S. O. Akinboye, from Political Science Department as Chairman and Mr. Afolabi Yusuff of the Students’ Affairs Division as Secretary.

The 36-student members, going by their terms of reference are to choose the ViceChairman of the committee.

According to Vice-Chancellor, the committee's task is not only to draft the constitution for the union, but to also provide a framework for full blown students ’ union activities on the campus.

He said: “Today marks a turning point in the life of students’ unionism in the University of Lagos. Before today, the management had taken tours of similar institutions around the country with the hope of

Buhari Bello UNIJOS

owards enhancement of Timproved cutting-edge research and knowledge, the

Cross section of strudent members of the committee

At last, UNILAG set to reinstate students' union gaining understanding of how students organise themselves to contribute to the smooth running of academic activities of the universities visited.

"Management had studied the recommendations of the reports of the study tours and shared the ideas with various students’ leaders all across the university to promote understanding of the concept and appraisal of the students’ union activities that is suitable for us as the university of first choice.

And the feedback from the joint appraisal we have had with the stakeholders including the students has been very encourag-

ing. It is this that has encouraged the inauguration of this committee."

Meanwhile, the authorities have also allayed the fears of students concerning the staff members of the committee, saying they are mainly to advise and guide the students towards achieving their desired model of operation.

The Vice-Chancellor added: "I recommend that you look through the reports of the various study-tours to have a better and broad view of what is obtainable elsewhere. And to ensure that the constitution is the students’ constitution,

we recommend that the ViceChairman of the committee be elected by the students’ representatives within the committee. This is to ensure that the students are given adequate representation."

The event attracted principal officers of the university including the Deputy ViceChancellor (Academic and Research), Prof. Babjide Alo; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Professor Duro Oni; The Registrar, Dr. Taiwo Ipaye, as well as the Dean, Students’ Affairs Division, Prof. Kayode Amund, who coordinated the inauguration.

Varsity holds career exhibition to empower graduates Hammed Muritala UNILORIN

T

he maiden edition of the Career Fair Exhibition organised by the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, has equipped the institution’s fresh graduates ahead of the challenges of the labour market.

The university described the exercise as one of the effective ways of successfully navigating what it termed the sharkinvested waters of life.

The theme of the exhibition, which was organised by the Counseling and Career Services Centre (CCSC) of the Ivory Tower, was: “The Relevant

Na'Alla, VC

Graduates in the 21st Century.”

It provided an avenue for the graduating students not only to display their skills and exhibit what they have for the labour market; it also provided them the opportunity to meet job providers and organisations for possible recruitment drive.

Series of papers were presented by scholars and experts to guide the students’ steps for job recruitment.

Speaking at the event, the Coordinator of the centre, Mrs. Olabisi Adedigba, said the objective of the fair, among others, was to bring together the students, various organisations and employers together to meet the yearnings of the university towards producing well-rounded graduates as well as create opportunities for them in the job market.

Adedigba explained that collaboration with the organisations had become necessary since they were in the best position to lead the students’ right, adding that they would be able to point out what the market required and what the students were expected to bring to the labour world to attract potential employers.

She explained: “As graduating students of this great Institution going into the world of work, it is important to in-

timate them with the information they need to be relevant graduates in the market. This fair will give them a unique insight into that which they need, to be relevant in the market especially in the 21st century."

Meanwhile, in his paper entitled: “Habits of Highly Effective Job Seekers in a Down Market,” an Associate Professor of Health and Counselling Psychology at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Dr. Yomi Akindele-Oscar, advised the students about the appropriate precautions and habits expected of them as job seekers.

He cautioned that the careerlife journey of an applicant is filled with challenges, adding that only graduates who are adaptive to change can survive and win the race of employment.

He, however, pointed out that for a person to be an effective job seeker, he must be optimistic, confident, visionary, creative and prayerful, as well as a change catalyst, a team player and must possess the ability to mentor others.

In her paper: “Vital Strategies to Maximise Your Career Success,” Dr. Mary Ogechi Esere, of the Department of Counselling Education, Uni-

University of Jos (UNIJOS) has established a Research and Development (R&D) Unit for the enrichment of its programmes.

The Director of the unit, Professor Pam She, said the office is inevitable and indispensable for the sustainability of the gains of the institution.

He said that the basic functions of the centre include the promotion and management of research in the university According to him, the centre is also expected to organise seminars, workshops and course of instruction that will strengthen scientific inventions, as well as advancement, social development and human security in its ramifications.

Pam disclosed that the office was instituted to serve as a platform on which the university would keep in pace with evolving global trends which will remain relevant to the nation, saying the present office had operated for more than two and half decades as the Centre for Development Studies.

“It was a multi-disciplinary centre with its academic staff charged with the conduct, monitoring and disseminating findings of multi-disciplinary research on development issues as well as administered the fund from the university’s Senate Research Grant Commission“.

According to him, the centre was restructured in 2006, while members of academic staff were redeployed to the department and faculties of their respective disciplines before it was renamed.

However, he said the Carnegie Programme in the policy and statute by council is under the office of the Director, who is being assisted by a Sub-Director in the pre-award and post-award offices which is headed by an Assistant Director“ The pre-award office, he added is responsible for maintaining data and information on grant or contract opportunities.

versity of Ilorin, stressed that self-discovery was the key to a successful career.

She explained that it was important for an individual, to identify himself or herself, before identifying the kind of career he or she could do successfully either under stress or pressure, and still enjoy doing it.

While identifying the importance of team spirit in any one chosen a career, she said: "No matter how hard you work or how many brilliant ideas you may have, if you cannot connect with the people who work around you, your professional life will suffer."

She, therefore, advised against pessimism, poor selfconfidence and low self-esteem as these would only sap their energy and that of others.

To Dr. Muritala Awodun, Dean, School of Business and Governance, Kwara State University, the exercise was geared towards building the individual and a great nation, while developing everyone to become elements of change.

However, in his presentation: “Building an Enduring Entrepreneurship Drive before and after Graduation," he reaffirmed that in the journey of career life or nation building, there are instances of failure. Mafuyai, VC

28

EDUCATION | CAMPUS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

KWASU trains 19 communities on borehole repairs

UNIJOS gets NUC’s approval to mount new courses Buhari Bello UNIJOS

he National Universities Tproved Commission (NUC) has apthe establishment of

Olohungbebe (standing) addressing the participants during the training

Hammed Muritala UNILORIN

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s part of its commitment to making life better for rural dwellers, especially in the university’s host communities, the management of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, has trained representatives of 19 communities in Moro, Asa and Ilorin South Local Government Areas of the state on handpump borehole maintenance and repairs.

The training, which held at the university campus, was organised under the auspices of the university’s Centre for Community Development.

Apart from the training on how to use tools for borehole maintenance and repairs, the trainees also had hands-on experience as they all participated in the repairs of a faulty borehole in Asomu, Moro Local Government Area, on the second day of the training.

In his opening remarks, the Acting Director of the Centre, Mr. Lawal Olohungbebe, said the initiative was aimed at empowering the rural communities on how to maintain and repair their boreholes independently.

Lawal said if the communities have people with the requisite knowledge and skills in borehole maintenance and repairs, they would not have to wait for the government or the university before carrying out such repairs in their facilities whenever the need arises.

According to him, due to lack of the requisite skills and training, some faulty boreholes which ordinarily would have required small amount of money to fix had been abandoned in some of the communities.

He recalled that the Centre had facilitated the donation of 16 hand-pump boreholes across the 19 communities, whose representatives were

among participants at the two-day training programme, which is primarily designed to address the problems.

The acting Director said apart from helping the communities through the initiative, the training was also targeted at empowering the participants to be self-reliant, even as he advised the participants to form themselves into a cooperative society as a way of attracting financial support from government.

Lawal, therefore, said that a good number of the benefiting communities had been contributing money to maintain their boreholes, adding that they could also

draw funds from savings in the cooperative society to procure needed tools for such maintenance.

Also speaking, Mr. Oni Joseph, the trainer stated that with the training, cases of abandoned boreholes as a result of minor faults would be reduced drastically in rural communities in the state.

Shortly after the training programme, some of the participants who spoke with journalists expressed their gratitude to the management of KWASU, adding that they would use the knowledge and skills acquired at the training for the benefit of their respective communities.

10 addition full-time academic programmes for the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Jos, Plateau State.

With the approval by NUC, the agency supervising university education in the country, the programme will take off from the 2014/2015 academic session.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hayward Babale Mafuyai disclosed this during a media briefing organised by the university management on the heels of the recent Resource Verification exercise conducted on the institution by the Commission.

Addressing journalists, he listed some of the newly approved courses to include Civil Engineering, Electrical/ Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering and Criminology, Music, Physical and Health Education, Integrated Sciences, Veterinary Sciences and Agricultural Science.

The Vice-Chancellor said plans had been concluded by the university to ensure that the programmes take off on good footing within the shortest time possible, even as he pointed out that the university would soon become a reference point among its contemporaries in the country and even in Africa and the world in general.

Mafuyai, who recall that the university had already secured NUC’s approval for the establishment of some other programmes including Early Childhood Education, Library

Okojie, NUC scribe

and Information Science in the Faculty of Education, as well as Archaeology, fine Art and Applied Art in the Faculty of Arts.

The Vice-Chancellor urged key stakeholders in the university project, and especially the institution’s catchment states to build a robust partnership with the university in its quest for qualitative university education.

“We implore them to invest in the development of permanent structures that will house new faculty and provision of faculty that will ensure their sustenance in order to safeguard the future of the next generation,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor, therefore, expressed gratitude to the National Universities Commission for the approval of the courses and the confidence reposed in the university to deliver quality education.

According to him, the university has a progressive outlook that will serve as a springboard for achieving greater successes in future.

UI: Etisalat’s soccer talent lifts varsity, students Hammed Hamzat UI

T

he curtains have been lowered on the football competition organised by Etisalat Nigeria, one of Nigeria's leading communication companies, for the University of Ibadan (UI) as part of its corporate social responsibilities to showcase the students’ football skills.

The soccer challenge, which featured four teams, drew participants from both male and female hostels.

Meanwhile, the Blue team from Nnamdi Azikwe Hall defeated White team from the same hall by one goal to nil to enter the final stage of the competition, while Black team from Mellanby hall thrashed the Green team from Independence Hall by two goals to nothing.

For the third place, the battle was between the Green team and White team, which match ended in a goalless draw.

The match was decided by a penalty shoot-out, in which the White team at the end beat the Green team to clinch the third position.

However, the Blue team emerged the winner of the competition after beating Black team by a lone goal in the final match, to clinch the trophy.

The first, second and third position teams in the competition were presented by Etisalat with medals, T-shirts, mobile

phones and trophies, while the forth team got T-shirts, among other items as consolation prizes.

The Sports Secretary of the university's Students’ Union, Akindele Opeyemi, who coordinated the competition, lauded the sponsor for organising a befitting competition which

Participating team members with their trophies

he said had brought out the students’ talents and skills in football competition among the students.

He urged other corporate organisations to extend such gesture to the university as part of their contributions to enhance the growth of the institution.

CAMPUS | EDUCATION 29

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

UNILORIN pioneer medical graduates hold reunion Odeyemi Afis UNILORIN

I

t was a re-union for the pioneer graduates of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ilorin, UNILORIN, Kwara State, as they returned to the university last week, not only to relive the old memories, but to also initiate the process of supporting the ivory tower.

The graduating Class of 1978-1984, in a special ceremony held on the campus featured the university’s pioneer Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Prof. Oladipupo Olujimi Akinkugbe and the first indigenous Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Emeritus Prof. Adeoye Adeniyi, who addressed various issues as related to the medical profession and practice in the country.

In his paper entitled: “Still too many Loose Ends to tie,” Akinkugbe lauded the Vice-Chancellor and his team for sustaining its enviable quality, adding that the university has brought more glory to the nation.

He said: “I continue to be very proud of your heritage and pray that you will all continue to fulfill our nation’s expectation of playing a major role in creating and sustaining best international practices in the three vital areas of teaching, research and service.”

He described the 1978-1984 set of the College of Health Sciences as outstanding ambassadors of the university’s medical school, now drawing expertise from different continents of the world. He advised the former students

to make their alma mater as good as what is accessible in other parts of the world.

In the second paper delivered by Adeniyi, he recalled the history and challenges encountered in the establishment and implementation of the Community Based Expertise and Services (COBES) programme of the medical school.

“But seeing you here today, through the grace of God, we have not failed. I salute you, I thank you, and I am very proud of you,” he stressed.

The Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Prof. Omotoso, extolled the virtues of Prof Akinkugbe, whom he said was his teacher and has contributed immensely to the field of education and Medicine nationally and internationally.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Sciences), Prof. Yisa Fakunle described Prof. Akinkugbe as a “Distinguished Father of Medicine.”

Responding, the Captain of the 1978-1984 Class, Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, a Consultant of Nephrologists and Clinical Director, described the former teachers as “pillars that made us into what we are today.”

To then excitement of the gathering, Bamgboye announced the donation of a set of medical equipment to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.

Two years after: UI campus journalists await Akpabio's pledge Abraham Oladipupo UI

years after he promTtowo ised to donate N1 million the University of Ibadan

(UI) Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ), the union said Akwa Ibom State Governor, Prince Godswill Akpabio has not redeemed his pledge to the students.

The former President of the union, Mr. Abraham Sesan Oladipupo, who lamented the unfulfilled promise, recalled that Governor Akpabio two years through his former Aide on Media, Mr. Jackson Udom announced a donation of N1 million to assist the union in its programmes.

“It is important to state that Governor Godswill Akpabio was selected by a panel as the best Governor in the politics category of the award of the union’s prestigious Famous Five Awards that yea,” he said, adding that the award was not conferred on him with any expectation just as the four other awardees, because he really merited the award.

He added: “Two, it should also be noted that two years after the event held in 2012, the promise is yet to be fulfilled. The fact that the Governor is a man of his words may, however, mislead many to believe that the money has been paid or collected, when actually it has not.”

Abraham said it became necessary to place on record that the promise has not been fulfilled and that the union, which is not funded by any group, remains committed to its core values.

He pointed out: “The Governor was bestowed with the award by the UCJ, at the Famous Five Awards, which took place at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ibadan in 2012. The Governor was represented by his Media Aid, Mr. Jackson Udom and other officers from the AkwaIbom Liaison Office in Lagos.

“Mr. Jackson in his acceptance speech on behalf of the Governor, informed the audience that the Governor instructed him to make a donation of N1million to support the union.”

Dr. Alabi (with face cap) addressing school pupils

Oranmiyan leader institutes holiday coaching for pupils Shadrack Yusuff

T

he Chairman of Oranmiyan Foundation, Republic of Ireland chapter, Dr. Oluwole Alabi, has explained the reasons behind his decision to organise tutorial classes for pupils of secondary schools in Osun State, saying returning to the environment that groomed him deserves his support.

Alabi, an Obstetric Gynaecology expert, and a native of Ilobu in Osun State, however added that the giant strides currently being recorded in the state’s education sector by the present administration, which requires the support of all stakeholders, propelled him to institute the holiday coaching to assist the pupils development.

The summer class, which was launched last year through the Itesiwaju Movement, another group founded by Alabi to drive the socio-economic and

education of the people, will commence the second edition of the programme next Monday, August 11.

Alabi, who recently visited some schools in the Osogbo/ Olorunda/Irepodun/Orolu Federal Constituency of the state as part of the campaign, he termed: “Safe their Future Campaign,” said that encouraging pupils to face their studies was a major way of building a sound future for the society and the country by extension.

According to the Education Programme Director of the foundation, Mr. Sulaiman Dare Alabi, the extension of the summer class, which is christened Itesiwaju Summer School (ISS) to more communities in Irepodun and Orolu Local Government Areas, was to ensure that more students benefit from the initiative.

The Director, who noted that the initiative is not only aimed at keeping the pupils busy dur-

ing the long break, but also to also engage teachers profitably, pointed out that the foundation had set aside several thousand of naira for the programme.

He noted: “As a teacher, we know how we struggle to bring back the minds of our pupils back to the classrooms after long vacations such this, but most pupils who participated in the last edition had less difficulty coping in classes when the schools resumed last session.

“Besides, the teachers, who took part in the exercise commended the initiative because apart from the stipends they earned, they were also engaged meaningfully which in another way of keeping their brain afresh. Its advantages are multifarious and I feel the pupils are appreciating it because more than a thousand of them took part last year and are already set to be part of this year’s edition.”

NYSC’s move to safe corps members CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 1

bers hinted that if not the incessant bombing and attacks on innocent population in the state, they would have loved to stay in the state for their youth service.

To a Professor and educationist, Abdullahi Danwawu, the fear in the corps members, and indeed that of the government is genuine, but certainly not as they are going about it.

He said there is hardly anywhere in the country today, where we could talk about absolute safety and that people can walk freely and be safe.

In his belief, the corps members should have been allowed to undertake their service since they are going to live with the people and nobody will target them alone.

The don also argued that since the NYSC orientation camp is about 100 kilometers from Kano metropolis, it would be difficult for anyone

or group of insurgents to attack them.

Dr. Sani Badamasi, who noted that the fears of the corps members were real, however wondered that the situation in Kano is rather being exaggerated.

Despite the security challenges in the state and other part of the north, people are still going about their normal daily activities without any problem.

Though, the state Commissioner for Higher Education, Dr. Tajudeen Gambo could not be reached to comment on the situation, and he did not picked calls put across to his phone, however, a Director in the ministry, who preferred not be mentioned, noted that the government have put every measure in place to ensure the safety of not only the corps members, but also anyone coming to do business in Kano.

He said: “I quite agree with the Federal Government and the NYSC over the decision since the life of every Nigerian does not warrant to be wasted on the streets as it is happening today.”

But, to him, the objectives of the NYSC of integrating national unity, love and understanding must not be allow to collapse on the basis of the activities of some disgruntled elements who vow to dismembered the nation through their myopic tendencies.

For instance, Tayo Olubanjo, a graduate of Ekiti State University is already seeking his relocation from Kano, while James Badamos, a graduate of Biology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has already sought a redeployment to other state in the south away from Kano because of the incessant bombing and killings.

30

EDUCATION

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Confab: Mimiko donates allowance to students’

A

dekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Femi Mimiko, who has returned to the office after four months as one of the Ondo State delegates to the National Conference, at Abuja, has donated his allowance to a scholarship scheme instituted by the institution for indigent students.

Mimiko disclosed this during a reception organised in his honour by members of the university community, to welcome him back to the university.

The Vice-Chancellor, who was received by members of the university community at a colourful ceremony, which began from the university main gate, inspected a guard of honour mounted by the university’s Nigerian Army Cadet Corps and the Man O’ War, before he was ushered into the Council Chamber, venue of the reception, by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and other principal officers of the university, as well as students.

While welcoming Mimiko back to the university, his Deputy, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi, who held the forte for four months, congratulated the Vice-Chancellor on behalf of the entire university community on his successful participation in the confab and his safe return home.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor described Mimiko as a highly resourceful academic leader and an astute administrator “that is full of innovative ideas.”

Ajayi, however, noted that Mimiko had not only done the university proud at the confab, but also represented the state well and served the country diligently and patriotically.

He expressed optimism that the recommendations of the conference and outcomes when adopted would go a long way to reshape the country for the better.

Ajayi thanked the Vice-Chancellor for the confidence reposed in him to hold the fort, saying: “Let me particularly thank the Vice-Chancellor for not leaving me alone in the saddle as he was always providing the needed guidance for me whenever I requested for such.”

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor expressed gratitude to the members of staff and students for their demonstration of love and acceptance of the ViceChancellor by turning out in large number to welcome him back to campus.

Ajayi lauded the Visitor to the university and Governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, for the robust support the university has continued to enjoy since the inception of his ad-

ministration.

Some members of the university community, who spoke at the event, hailed the robust and meaningful contributions of the Vice-Chancellor at the confab, noting that his initiative to institutionalised the structures of the university through policies and regulation has kept the university running smoothly throughout the last four months.

While responding, Mimiko, who was delighted at the reception, thanked the Deputy ViceChancellor for holding the fort for him and praised other principal officers, members of staff and students for their support.

The Vice-Chancellor highlighted some of the core recommendations of the confab, saying the university would create a platform on which salient decisions and discussions of the national conference would be discussed and appraised for the development of the university and country.

As part of his demonstration and avowed belief that education should be for all, irrespective students’ background, Mimiko announced to the excitement of the gathering the donation of part of his allowance from the conference to the university’s scholarship scheme for indigent students.

L-R: Executive Secretary, LASTVEB, Mr. Olawumi Gasper; Chairman, Lagos State House Committee on Education, Hon. Alawiye-King and former LASU VC, Prof. Abisogun Leigh at the Second Lagos State Enterprise Day at NECA House, Alausa

School owners tasked on adequate security

T

he Chairman of Divine Star Academy, a private school at Meiran in Agbado-Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, has expressed worry over the increasing security threats to educational institutions in the country.

The Chairman, Mr. Fawoye Ayodele, who spoke at the end of session/graduation ceremony of the school, counseled school owners, including government and proprietors of private nursery, primary and secondary schools, to enunciate an enduring policy towards providing adequate security measures for their schools.

According to him, cases of kidnapping of innocent children, especially for moneymaking rituals, Boko Haram insurgency and armed robbery

attacks have become serious threats to institutions of learning and the society.

While bemoaning the alarming rate of insecurity in schools, he regretted that the situation is such that school children and their parents have become traumatised and confused about their safety.

Fawoye, who advised school proprietors to put in place adequate security frameworks such as hiring of trained security personnel, and installation of modern security infrastructure, such as Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in and around the school environment, said this had become imperative to enhance a secured learning and teaching environment.

He commended members of the Board of Trustees of the school, even as the Chairman

assured them and parents that the school would leverage on its unique reputation of “producing quality pupils in a conducive learning and teaching environment, with well-trained and motivated teachers and high moral standards.”

Fawoye, however, added that the school’s management would, in the next academic session, unveil a new uniform for the pupils that would distinguish the school from its contemporaries in the state.

The Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Juliet Iyen praised the pupils for their exemplary good conduct throughout their education in the school, adding that the school has laid an enduring legacy for the future of the pupils, especially in the areas of academic excellence and moral upbringing.

EDUPEACE

with Mahfouz A. Adedimeji (08066372516, sms only)

Nonsense teachers, hatred preachers

I

n his “The Canterbury Tales”, published at the end of the 14th Century, Geoffrey Chaucher, wrote something that has become axiomatic. According to the author, “… if gold rust, what then will iron do?/ For if a priest be foul in whom we trust/ No wonder that a common man should rust….”

For this purpose, that many things are wrong in Nigeria is traceable to the betrayal of trust by two critical moulders of the society, the preachers and the teachers. Incidentally, preachers teach and teachers preach.

In other words, a good preacher is only a teacher that guides people to the path of knowledge and enlightenment. A good teacher, on the other hand, also preaches good as it is part of his duty to ensure that students learn and imbibe the right values.

That teaching is preaching is evident in the famous letter of Abraham Lincoln to his son’s teacher, which begins thus: “He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish Politician, there is a dedicated leader…

Teach him for every enemy there is a friend. Steer him away from envy, if you can, teach him the secret of quiet laughter.”

Perhaps there are as many teachers in Nigeria as there are preachers. For all their trouble, the society is in a bad state as values are disappearing fast.

The newspapers regale us every day with the atrocities committed against female pupils by teachers that should be moulding them.

Products of schools were good when many teachers were role models. Nowadays, the few good ones that would impact positively on the pupils/ students are drowned in the sea of the bad eggs who teach nonsense.

Everyone agrees that without good teachers, a nation is doomed. However, in Nigeria, we have unwittingly made the school system the only place fit for those without other options.

They spew ignorance and vomit nonsense on the starry-eyed pupils. Failure rate automatically increases in geometric proportions. Without getting the school system right with the right teachers, we shall be on the wrong lane for long.

The same way some pupils see teachers as demigods, adults also view preachers as gods.

Some preachers are so powerful that they make their followers do the most unreasonable. The case of Rev. Jim Jones of Jonestown, Guyana, is classical. Here was a preacher who inspired his followers to drink lemonade laced with potent poison. Some 910 followers died with him, en masse. He was discovered later to have staked $15 million dollars in various bank accounts across the world.

What Jim Jones did with lemonade and cyanide is what many Nigerian preachers do with their poisonous tongues.

In other words, a good preacher is only a teacher that guides people to the path of knowledge and enlightenment Day after day, they spew hatred out of the pulpits and their followers lap it all up like mangy dogs. The effect is the nauseating stench of hatred and bigotry that fills the air.

For instance, many Nigerians who are supposedly religious do not see anything wrong in human blood being spilled because of the overdose of hatred they had received from hatred preachers. As long as those being killed are not of their tribe or religion, they may as well be good for earthly hell-fire. For people in this category, the carnage is some parts of the country should continue after all, it is “they” that are dying and suffering, not “us”.

We repose a lot of trust in the teachers and preachers. Let them teach sense and preach social justice. The nation is like a rusting iron because those that should be gold like teachers and preachers, have themselves rusted out. Rather than cherish honour, they cherish ill-gotten wealth. They frolic with evilminded politicians and provide them with the needed “spiritual” cover.

What is the outcome? It is the proverbial fowl that perches on a line; neither the line nor the fowl is at peace. The land we used to know as flowing in milk and honey is now a river of blood.

Like Ebola, the cure seems to elude us as each day brings new afflictions and anxieties.

What can we do? Prof. Adebayo Lawal in his new collection of poems, Music of the Muezzin, which I had the fortune of reviewing recently, gives us an answer. In a poem, “Smiles of sorrow”, he upbraids those who “…sow seedlings of spite/ and pray passionately for peace” while charging us to still smile to retain our sanity: “So, compatriots As we plant babies in ridges And sow siblings in heaps We must smile in our sorrow At the feigning faces of those wearing Wearing golden garments of guilt.” l Dr Adedimeji is a Senior Lecturer and Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, UNILORIN.

FEEDBACK Re: Suicide is not an option Good evening, Sir. I just read your piece, “Suicide is not an option”. Your presentation is apt. Success has been narrowed down to fame, power, wealth and physical attributes. I couldn’t agree with you more: TRUE SUCCESS IS PEACE OF MIND. The piece has touched my life and encouraged me and many out there to keep keeping on. My prayer is that God will grant everyone who comes across this piece understanding.

God bless you. Eno, Calabar

BUSINESS Wednesday, AUGUST 6, 2014

What's news Investors lose N127b in July Investors in the Nigerian capital market lost about N127 billion last month (July), as market speculators dominated the local burse.

}p-32

GTB, Zenith best banks, says Nairobibased fund manager Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc are two of the best-run banks in Africa and the duo are better than some financial institutions in developed countries, Chief Investment Officer, Alquity Investment Management, David Mcilroy, has said.

}p-32

NEXIM Bank MD gets tenure renewal There are indications that the Presidency may have approved tenure renewal for the Managing Director of Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Roberts Orya.

Orya, an investment banker and former MD of the defunct Lobi Bank, was appointed MD/CEO of NEXIM Bank in 2009 and was billed to serve out his five-year tenure last month.

}p-33

Banks may miss yearend profit forecasts –Analysts Given the financials so far released by banks, there are indications that most of the lenders may not meet their 2014 year-end targets.

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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) SIAKA MOMOH, Asst. Editor (Industry/Agric) Godson ikoro , Asst. Editor (Money Market) JONAH IBOMA, ICT Editor DAYO ADEYEMI, Property Editor ADEOLA YUSUF, Energy Editor

NON-REMITTANCE 15 agencies queried for non-compliance

Simeon Ogoegbulem Abuja

T

he Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), are among the 15 government agencies that have been queried by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) for non-compliance with the fiscal responsibility Act of 2007, New Telegraph has learnt.

These agencies were queried for various infractions ranging from non-remittance of revenue to the consolidated account to lack of audited financial statement of account.

A top official of the commission said that the command is determined to ensure that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) comply strictly with the relevant sections of the FRA 2007.

The source stated that most of the agencies are yet to come to terms with the reality of the existence of the Act. Specifically, he said that most of the agencies still have the notion that it is still business as usual in terms of handling of finances they generate, as many still sit on such funds.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy (CME) and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi

HIGH MORTALITY Nigerian airlines have high mortality rate Wole Shadare

N

ewly appointed Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, should halt the under-development of the aviation industry and mortality of domestic operators, experts have said.

President, AeroConsult, Ade Obadofin; President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Captain Dele Ore, and former Commandant, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), made these calls

31 NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/business

‘We’ll create affordable, quality homes for Nigerians’ }p-34

ayodele aminu, Deputy Editor, business

ayodele.aminu@newtelegraphonline.com ayodeleaminu@yahoo.com

Fiscal Commission queries BPE, NASENI others

For violating financial Act Okonjo-Iweala, had earlier this year, accused revenue generating ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government of not fully remitting to government coffers all monies generated by them.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala lamented that most revenue-generating agencies were shortchanging the government by hoarding

large chunk of revenue generated.

The act of hoarding revenue without remitting to government coffers by generating agencies, the CME said, contributes in no small way to the difficulty encountered in the budget implementation.

The FRC is one of the parastatals recommended by the

Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of federal parastatals, commissions and agencies, headed by the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye, for scrapping along with 219 of 541 government agencies.

A government White Paper on the committee’s report accepted the recommendation CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

L-R: Regional Sales Manager West, PZ Cussons Limited, Mr Oni Bashiru; Dr. Sekinat Adebukola; Marketing Manager, PZ Cussons Limited, Mr Charles Nnochiri and Brand Manager, Hot Robb PZ Cussons Limited, Mr Aro Olalekan, during the Hot Robb activation in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Experts to Chidoka: Halt aviation woes List conditions for sector’s devt in a chat with New Telegraph in Lagos, on the state of the industry.

Nigerian airlines have a history of dying within five years of starting operations, which have continued unabated.

Obadofin also advised Chidoka to consider the review of all the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) conditions and policies on aircraft operations into the country, which he said “have continued to sink our own carriers and have not provided the needed room for

development and consolidation.”

Presently, foreign airlines dominate flight operations in Nigeria and many industry observers share the view that many BASA agreements are skewed against the interest of Nigeria for the blossoming of foreign airlines, many of which have multi designation to two or more airports in the country.

The expert said that without urgent review of BASA, air transportation in Nigeria would die as foreign airlines

would finally take over any international travel emanating from the country. He cited the example of India, which has lost all its domestic airlines as it opened its doors for foreign airlines, especially Middle East airlines.

It would be recalled that many airlines have passed through this stage and eventually disappeared. Some of them are Okada, Triax, Oriental, Sosoliso, Nigeria Airways, ADC, Afrijet and Bellview. Others are Capital, Harco, Harka, CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

WOLE SHADARE, Aviation Editor DELE ALAO, Brands/Marketing Editor CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor Abdulwahab Isa, Finance Editor Chuks Onuanyin, Energy Nnamdi Amadi, Reporter JOHNSON ADEBAYO, Asst. Production Editor

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE June 2014................................8.2% May 2014....................................8% April 2014.................................7.9%

LENDING RATE

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parellel As at Aug 01)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N168.50 InterBank Rate . . . . . . . . . 10.50% Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N290 Prime Lending Rate. . . . . 16.93% Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N228 Maximum Lending Rate..25.83% • Foreign Reserves – $38.942bn as at 24/07/2014

EXCHANGE RATE

(Official As at Aug 01)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N156.73 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N263.12 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N209.70 Source: CBN

32 business | NEWS PLUNGE Stock market nose-dives as market speculators Chris Ugwu

I

nvestors in the Nigerian capital market lost about N127 billion last month (July), as market speculators dominated the local burse.

The market capitalisation dropped by 0.91 per cent to close at N13.900 trillion at the close of trading on July 31, from N14.027 trillion opening of trading on July 1, 2014.

The NSE All Shares Index equally declined 0.91 per cent at the end of the month from 42,482.48 points it opened during the beginning of trading on July 1, to close at 42,097.46 points.

The index measures the performance of the stock market and also reflects how prices of stocks have moved, which in turn determines how much investor made as gains or losses.

Some operators in the local bourse have linked the speculative trading that has lingered in the Nigerian capital market to the dominance of foreign investors.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Lambeth Trust & Investment Company Limited, Mr David Imafidon Adonnri, had recently said: “Foreign institutional investors

Investors lose N127b in July seeking speculative opportunities now dominate our equities market. Although, when compared with domestic fixed income market, average yield on equities is very low. However, it surpasses what is obtainable in several advanced markets. The relatively stable exchange rate environment is an additional attraction for foreign portfolio investment in Nigeria’s financial assets."

Other than a few domestic investors, several retails investors who are yet to recover from the crash of equities have continued to shun the market.

Several market operators and institutional investors who participated actively have also suffered deadly damages to their balance sheets due to the near crash of the equities market.

On why local investors have continued to shun the stock market, Adonri explained: “Domestic investors who were frightened by past events in the equities market now seek safety by migrating their financial assets to fixed income securities.

He noted that, domestic investment in the equities market; especially the primary market could be remarkably improved if addressed from perspective of the macro economy through policies that will force down inflation and interest rates to single digit. “This will enable

Halt aviation woes C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

Al Barka, Spaceworld, Dasab, Chrome, Flash, Slok, EAS and many charter operators.

Speaking in the same vein, Group Captain Ojikutu (rtd) lamented the problem of manpower in the sector.

He noted that the problem of inadequate manpower is so critical that it is predicted that if there is no urgent programme to train Nigerians in the technical areas of the industry in the next five years, expatriates would become the only personnel in the engineering and flight operations of every airline in the country.

“We are almost in a crisis situation. Training will remain a challenge until we build the organisations that will do it. How many people can you train in Zaria? And how many people can you train in the school in Ilorin. The school in Ilorin is struggling already. Where else can you take them to in Nigeria?

The Nigeria Air Force used to train people and put them out, but they are now struggling.”

Captain Ore also noted that

there was the need for the Federal Government to look into the high cost of aviation fuel and ensure its affordability to avoid much struggling on the part of the operators.

The skyrocketing price of aviation fuel (otherwise known as Jet A1) has been identified as the major challenge confronting the operations of domestic airlines in the Nigerian aviation industry.

In a bid to change the situation, operators in the industry have continuously called on the Federal Government to intervene in the issue, but so far, government is yet to make a categorical statement on the matter.

Investigation shows that currently, a litre of the commodity is sold at $1.30, which is huge for a country that produces crude oil.

For a 60 minutes flight (Lagos to Abuja for instance), a typical Boeing 737-300 burns 2,250kg of aviation fuel.

Apart from the high price of aviation fuel, airlines in the sector also pay various charges ranging from five percent ticket sales charge, navigation charges, and passenger service charge among others.

Fiscal Commission queries BPE, others C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

that the powers and duties of the FRC be transferred to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission,(RMAFC) and the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

However, the recommendation had received widespread condemnation by different stakeholders, with many insisting that the move to scrap the agency negates efforts at entrenching national and international standards in public finance management practices in the country.

yields on equities to become competitive against debt securities”, he added.

The Managing Director Crane Securities Mr. Mike Eze, had also said that the present state of the market showed:“Foreigners are not exiting per say, rather what is happening is that they are taking away the profits, which they have made both in the eq-

uities market as well as in the bonds market.

He said that it is noticeable this time around because they have devised a systematic approach to their attitude towards it.

“They now do short-term profit taking instead of what obtains in the past whereby they leave their funds in the system for a longer period of

time because of probably the fact that the longer the more money, but now that the market has crashed, if they stay long, they may end up loosing their money,” he said.

Eze noted that the issue of foreigners coming into the market and exiting at will, has always been a big issue since the Nigerian capital market crash of 2008.

L-R: Principal, Olomu Community Junior Secondary School, Ajah,Mr Hafeez Andoyi; Chief Operating Officer, Weco Systems International Limited, Mr Nnamdi Onyebuchi; Pupil of Olomu Community Junior Secondary School, Mr Awojirin Gbenro; Chief Executive Officer, WSIL, Mr Obinna Ekwonwa; Pupil of Lagos State Junior Model College, Badore, Miss Mosunmola Agiri and Principal, LSJMC, Mr Fatai Lawal, during the donation of computer system to the schools in remembrance of the founding C.E.O of Weco Systems, the late Uchena Obidike, in Lagos.

GTB, Zenith best banks, says Nairobi-based fund manager TRANSFORMATION Nigeria’s banking sector is one of the best topperforming in Africa Sunday Ojeme

G

uaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc are two of the best-run banks in Africa and the duo are better than some financial institutions in developed countries, Chief Investment Officer, Alquity Investment Management, David Mcilroy, has said.

In his report on possible investment targets in Africa, Mcilroy said that Nigeria’s banking sector was one of the top-performing in Africa.

The expert took advantage of what he called the "big sustainable story," with over 32 per cent of his holdings coming from Nigeria.

His Alquity Africa fund, which employs strict environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in the investment process, returned over 16 per cent in the year to June, and has been relatively steady over the past few months.

Although he advised against his view being used as a parameter for choice if investment, the report said: “Investing most heavily in Nigeria, Mcilroy favoured the banking sector.”

He noted: "The banks in Africa are infinitely better run than some of the banks run here in

the developed world."

Mcilroy looks for lenders that are conservatively run like Guaranty Trust Bank or Zenith Bank, which has high asset quality and post sustainable returns of 25-30 per cent.

He said: "Historically it has also been a very good way of playing the growth in the African consumer. I have been doing emerging markets for 20 years.

When GDP per capita reaches a certain level, the demand for banking services increases exponentially.

"When I go home to Glasgow, all the bank branches have been turned into pubs or restaurants because you don't need a branch network anymore, people want to do things on a mobile phone and Africans were doing it first in many cases.”

Alquity, Africa's largest holding, is in Nairobi-listed Dangote Cement, which takes advantage of the infrastructure deficit on the continent and is expected to build the second largest cement business in the world.

"The market is growing consistently at double digit rates" Mcilroy explained, adding that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins are above 60 per cent and he is confident of its growth potential.

"For a retail investor, it is not our position to give advice, but if you are taking a high tenyear view and buy something like that (Dangote Cement) and tuck it away, look at it once a year. I think in ten years’ time

you won’t be sorry.

"Urbanisation and industrialisation will take place, it is taking place elsewhere in the world and Africans are no different, they have just been held back for various reasons, some of their own making but some not of their own making. With 21st century technology, they are playing catch up and they are playing catch up in a big way and for us that is the big excitement.”

Mcilroy also hinted on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Kingsley Moghalu’s address to a packed audience at the London School of Economics two weeks ago where he spoke glowingly about Nigeria’s economic transformation.

The report quoted Moghalu as saying: "We have clearly seen in the last several years that Africa has emerged in the world's consciousness. It is no longer musicians singing for the kids with flies on their bellies and on their mouth, it is real business men looking for deals to make and making profit.

"You find a lot of multinational and global investment funds looking at Africa as the 'last frontier' for wealth creation. When the normal theatre of capitalist operation goes down, even in those parts of the world, capitalism would normally sniff its nose at, if there is money to be made, they will create a new narrative to justify going there and making money.”

33

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Roberts Orya, NEXIM Bank MD gets tenure renewal B

New capital: BDC's await CBN’s verdict

Nnamdi Amadi Abuja

Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

T

here are indications that the Presidency may have approved tenure renewal for the Managing Director of Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Roberts Orya.

Orya, an investment banker and former MD of the defunct Lobi Bank, was appointed

MD/CEO of NEXIM Bank in 2009 and was billed to serve out his five-year tenure last month.

Dependable source who confirmed Orya’s tenure extension by another five years said that the approval was communicated to him last week.

It was learnt that President Goodluck Jonthan came under intense pressure from other interested candidates eye-

ing the plum job who equally tapped into their contacts with formidable link to the Presidency to sway President Goodluck Jonathan’s endorsement.

However, it was learnt that Orya’s chance was boosted by modest record achievements the bank recorded under his watch.

Both the Senate President, David Mark and Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswan, the

source told our correspondent, rallied round Orya and impressed it on President Goodluck Jonathan to allow him to consolidate on the modest achievements recorded by the bank under him.

NEXIM bank spokesman, Chinedu Moghalu, was not available when New Telegraph visited the bank and efforts to reach him on phone were futile.

L-R: Managing Director, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited, Mr. Ben Langat; Chief Executive Officer, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), Mr. Dimitris Lois; President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, at CCHBC’S Award Presentation to Dangote Sugar Refineries in Athens, Greece…recently

NEPC, UK unite for export product standardisation Amadi Nnamdi

N

igerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the United Kingdom have agreed to collaborate to build capacity for acceptable standards of Nigerian exports to the UK. The collaboration is aimed at reducing to the barest minimum the rejection of some Nigerian products in United Kingdom.

Executive Director/CEO of NEPC, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, disclosed this recently in Abuja while receiving the British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Mr David Heath, in his office.

He said that the collaborative effort would help in promoting and increasing the volume of trade between both countries.

Awolowo noted that for Nigerian goods to compete in the international market, issues of packing and packaging, labelling, among other quality requirements of the importing countries must be met by exporters.

For Nigerian businessmen in the UK and other stakeholders who desire to invest in the Nigerian non-oil export sec-

tor, he said that there is the need for them to come under a veritable platform like the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) as a readily acceptable medium for engagement and support.

To this end, Awolowo disclosed that the Council was working on signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NBCC to help interface between Nigerians in the Diaspora and the Council, with a view to mapping out areas of collaboration for trade and investments.

Responding, Mr Leader of the delegation from the UK Trade and Investment office, Heath, observed that there was the need to build on existing close cultural and historical ties between both countries by improving engagements on trade and investments.

Heath noted that there were many areas that could be explored to increase the volume of trade between both countries adding that “where there are barriers to trade, both countries would partner to address them.”

He disclosed that opportunity exists for big retailers in the

UK such as TESCO and Marks & Spencer to explore the Nigerian market, and also accommodate and further expose Made-in-Nigeria products.

The envoy identified areas of interest to include establishing more partnerships at business levels, bringing in technology, and value-addition and addressing barriers

to achieving standards.

Heath disclosed that UK was ready to partner the Council in providing capacity and training for exporters particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), stressing that more emphasis should be placed on providing adequate storage capacity for perishable goods in Nigeria to avoid wastage.

ureau de change (BDC) operators in Abuja are anxiously awaiting the next move by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the new minimum capital requirements for operators.

The apex bank had last month increased the minimum capital of BDC operators to $35 million, a move the operators kicked against.

However, the apex bank stuck to its gun as it refused to shift ground on the new capital requirements.

At the last count, over 4,250 BDC operators were said to have failed to meet the new capital requirement, an indication that they may have to close shops.

But when New Telegraph visited the Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers area of Zone 4 Abuja, where most of the BDC operators are located, business was going on as usual.

Most of the operators who claimed to be mere agents of licensed BDC operators were seen either buying or selling foreign currencies to clients.

An operator, Mallam Musa Ubale, said that they were fully aware of the end of the deadline given to the operators to recapitalise, but insisted that they do not entertain any fear in their line of business as they are mere agents to licensed operators.

“Yes we know that the deadline has expired, but most of us you see here are only agents.

Personally, I do no not own any bureau de change. I work as an agent so the deadline is not my headache,” Ubale stated.

He further said that they are only waiting for new policy pronouncements from the apex bank for them to know their next line of action.

Most of them who spoke to New Telegraph brushed aside suggestions that they may be taken out of business, insisting that they render a crucial service in the economy.

Abuja Disco assures on transparent billing system xecutive Director, Commercial Services of Abuja ElecEtricity Distribution Company

(AEDC), Mr Ernest Mupwaya, has reassured consumers within its area of operation of transparent and fair billing system.

The Federal Government, last week, handed over power metering facilities to AEDC in a brief ceremony in Abuja.

Mupwaya, who spoke shortly after receiving the facilities from Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, noted that the new facilities would go a long way in improving the transparent metering capabilities of the company.

He noted that the handover of the meters provided his company with the facilities to effectively monitor access to energy flow statistics from the generating companies.

According to him, the new facilities was very significant in improving the services that the company would render to its customers through better planning as well as equitable allocation of energy to its own clients.

He stated that the analysis and identification of portions of the network that were contributing to high losses would be enhanced, thereby resulting in efficient and effective loss

reduction interventions necessary for stabilising electricity tariffs in the long run.

Mupwaya further reassured stakeholders in the power sector of AEDC’s commitment to engendering a transparent electricity payment system to enhance consumer confidence in the power reform programme.

While commending government for its transparency and sincerity of purpose in driving the Power Sector Reform and Transformation Programme, he lauded the Market Operator for fulfilling its pledge of handing over the meter grids to the market participants.

34

FCT | BUSINESS WATCH

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

‘We’ll create affordable, quality homes for Nigerians' The Federal Government, last week, flagged off its mortgages for 10,000 affordable homes scheme. This is being driven by Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRF). The agency’s CEO, Sonnie Ayere, had a chat with select journalists on the occasion and Abdulwahab Isa was there. Excerpts What are we taking home from this groundbreaking ceremony?

The idea is to create homes that are affordable, which will, at the same time, equip Nigerians with a ladder that could allow them grow or move from one bedroom to three bed flat. We have started with what is known as studio flat, we call them self-contained, with this, a young man or woman can buy a self-contained flat. So, for us, our idea is that if you are able to provide long-term money for young man especially of 20-year financing and the house price is reasonable and affordable like N2.5million, N5million, N6 million etc. Even if you think of a two or three bedroom flat, a husband and wife can jointly raise fund from their earnings and buy a home which is much more affordable. That is actually what we target to achieve, and to make sure that Nigerians begin to create wealth for themselves. Owning a house is one of the biggest ways of creating wealth, and also creating jobs.

Are there penalties for pre-paying your mortgage?

There is no problem with that. It, however, depends on the bank. Some banks would charge while others would not, but if you look at it from logical point of view, when a bank gives a loan, what does it expects?

Interest, of course. So when you come up and tell the banks that you are paying off the loan, what do you stop the bank from earning? It is simply profit. So, logically speaking, the bank will say ‘ok, for stopping me from earning my projected profit, I am going to charge you.’

I am trying to make it clear on why it is charged, but the amount being charged could vary from one bank to the other and some may not even charge. So when people are negotiating their mortgage contract these are the sorts of information they should be asking. You see, one of the things we haven’t added into this mortgage programme but which needs to be included is mortgage counselling - in other words, teaching people what they should ask for under mortgaging.

Some stakeholders complained that the 20 per cent equity down payment is rather high, why won’t you reduce it?

If you look at most defaults, when people don’t pay their mortgages, the higher the percentage of people that default and the less money you put in the property, the higher the probability that if things go wrong you walk away. So what we are saying is that we actually want some people that can stay in the business. Government is also helping. From your pension you can take some funds and use it to deposit your house that is part of the new pension guidelines.

Also, there is this mortgage guarantee scheme which will enable people contribute 10 per cent. An independent party can also guarantee that 10 per cent for you, that is another way. So, basically, there are three ways through which we can help you achieve that 20 per cent.

What type of standard quality do we expect from these houses?

One of the things we are going to be undertaking in the new housing regime is enthroning a self-regulatory body that can begin to certify that homes are mortgageable. The idea is that we want to have houses that can stand the test of time. So if we are going to borrow money to buy a house, we will make sure that the houses will be ones that can stand the test of time, so certification of homes is also an important part of the program.

When will these 10,000 houses be ready for mortgaging?

You know we should look at one very important

thing before that 10,000 come. The idea is that we want to have something that is on sustainable bases. If you look at the deficit houses (17 million houses) that we are talking about, the bulk of those houses are affordable homes between two to eight million naira.

So the beauty of this thing today is the joint venture between the Ministry of Finance, Land and Housing.

One ministry is providing finance while the other is providing land. If you put them together, what you will get is simply houses. So we are finding a way of consistently building these houses and then you have long-term finance for the program; you will find out that low-income earners will start owning houses.

So that is what we set out to do. The idea is that the first 10,000 houses will just be a sample of what would follow.

Is 10,000 houses realistic to the Nigeria population?

No, we are only commencing with 10,000 units. You know that with a population of 170 million, it cannot be possible for 10,000 to be realised. Remember we are talking about alternatives where developers will move away from providing five houses or 10 houses within three months. We are heading where people can build 30,000 houses in three months. But those people cannot achieve the number of houses required if they do not have off take. It is the off take that we are creating, so once the off take is there, investors who have the wherewithal can now come in so that we can have up to 40 or 50 thousand houses.

This is the only way we can make an impact on the 17 million houses deficit.

Even if we do one million houses a year, it will take up to 17 years, and this excludes the 700 units that we have to do every year. This is why I say that it is not about the 10,000 houses, but about the commencement. The idea is that as we create the market, there will be more rooms for investment; more growth and it will have a catalytic effect. The most important thing is that the houses have to be affordable and the repayment has to be affordable as well, that is what we are trying to achieve.

What time frame are you looking at for the beginning of these first 10,000 units?

It depends on the demand. Our expectation is that there would be high demand, because that will encourage high productivity, hence this is the only way we can stop house bubble price occurring because when you have too many people demanding houses and there are no such number of houses on ground, what happens? Five people, for example, would be bidding for one house and pushing the price upward.

So it is important that as we are creating demand, we also look at the supply side.

What are the quality control mechanisms being put in place?

The other thing we are putting in place is the makeup houses from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. We are collaborating with the Ministry of Finance so that when the time comes, the develop-

If we are going to borrow money to buy a house, we will make sure that the houses will be ones that can stand the test of time

ers will be certified to make sure that they meet the standard. It will also be financed on the refinancing basis.

In other

words, if you are building five floors, you first build one floor with your own money, then we refinance. If you do not build it according to specification, we pull out. So this is a way of checks and balances.

What advisory role is government expected to play in the whole of this?

What we are doing is to make sure that it is publicprivate partnership. What I mean is that government can provide the enabling environment, but it is actually going to be more of a private sector driven that support private mortgage bank. So if you have a private company that supports private mortgage bank and the developers are all saying if I have Mortgage bank who are willing to buy mortgages, they are willing to build houses. The extension now is becoming much longer than what one administration can do.

Another thing is that we need to ask ourselves this question: Is property ownership a good thing to everybody? What is the probability that government will come and say hi guys what you are doing is bad?

What we are doing here is to create an avenue where home ownership could be much affordable. You know the reason why the past effort did not achieve much?

It is because of the past-subsidised houses. Today the interest may be so high but the Governor of Central Bank has promised that he will reduce the interest rate over five years, and this could reduce the cost of mortgages. So, as far as we are doing something that is sustainable, our view is that any government can support it, and as I said earlier, this is a public-private initiative, but it is been driven by the private sector.

BUSINESS | MONEY 35

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Banks may miss year-end profit forecasts –Analysts

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

Godson Ikoro

G

iven the financials so far released by banks, there are indications that most of the lenders may not meet their 2014 year-end targets.

Shrinking balance sheets in the first half of the year raises questions as to their ability to grow profit at the rate forecast, as income streams accruing from loan books are slower than the lender envisaged.

Analyst’s perspective Analysts contacted by the New Telegraph, predicted that most Nigerian banks would not meet their 2014 Yearend targeted profit. So far, apart from Zenith Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, and Sterling Bank Plc, which posted positive growth on their profit before tax, (PBT), majority of the lenders that have so far released their results, recorded dips in their bottom line (see table below).

According to Cordros Capital Limited, “the shrinkage of UBA’s balance sheet in the first half of the year, for instance, raises questions as to the lender’s ability to grow earnings at the rate of 14.50 per cent year on year forecast, especially as income streams from loan books are accruing at a pace slower than what was expected, given about 40 per cent loan book expansion in 2013.”

Cordros Capital argued that although discussions with the management in the second half of 2013 highlighted the fact that some loans issued had moratoriums, this in itself clouds the outlook for earnings for the second half of the year and implies the increased possibility of lower than expected financial year 2014 profit after tax. The growing operation expenses, which grew by 11.70 per cent year on year, weighed on the profit before tax (PBT), which fell by 13 per cent year on year to N28.89 billion just as the profit after tax declined by 19.5 per cent year on year to N22.86billion.

Consequently, Cordros cut off its financial 2014 profit after tax forecast from N53.36billion to N50.40billion.

Constraints For other banks, the less than stellar performance of the half year report published so far, has been attributed to regulatory headwinds, poor budget

Sterling Bank MD, Yemi Adeola

Zenith Bank MD, Peter Amangbo

NO

BANK

2014 (PBT)

2013 (PBT)

% DROP

1

UBA

N2.8 BN

N33.248BN

13%

2

FIRST BANK HOLDING

N48.25BN

N54.81BN

12%

3

DIAMOND

N16.07BN

N17.56BN

8.4%

4

ECOBANK

N32.67BN

N35.37BN

7.63%

5

SKYEBANK

N7.26BN

N10.54BN

31%

6

FIDELITY BANK

N9.43BN

N11.19BN

15.7%

implementation, reduced bank charges, withdrawal of public sector funds, disenchantment of marketing staff, non-performance off-shore branches, insecurity in the Northern States and general lull in business.

Specifically, the regulatory-induced costs imposed by the apex bank and regulators of countries where Nigerian banks have offshore branches squeezed profits, according to this newspaper’s findings.

Explaining the reason for Fidelity Bank’s dismal performance in the second quarter, its Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, said: “The business environment experienced increased volatility in response to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s tightened monetary policy stance and revised bankers’ tariff in April 2013. The monetary tightening by the monetary policy committee negatively impacted earnings on liquid assets, which were utilised to fund the increase in reserve requirements.”

Besides, he said the revised bankers’ tariff increased interest expense on savings deposits and reduced transactional banking fee income. This, in addition to the increase in the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) industry resolution levy from 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent also impacted profitability, he said.

Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director Skye Bank Plc, whose institution’s pre-tax profit dropped 31 per cent to N7.26 billion against N10.54 billion in the same period of last year, corroborated the Fidelity Bank’s boss comments.

At Skye Bank’s pre-annual general

briefing, Oguntayo said the 0. 5 per cent sinking fund being contributed to the AMCON affected operating expenses of the bank.

Similarly, the subsidiaries of FBN Holdings Ltd in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) significantly cut the monetary policy rate, thus reducing the respective interest in their quest to dedollarise their economy.

First Bank said: “The most far reaching change to our regulatory universe occurred in the UK, when effective from April 2013, the Financial Service Authority (FSA) created three regulatory bodies.

“On the whole, UK regulatory environment was challenging one. Regulations designed in the aftermath of 2012, London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) continued to impose compliance costs on our operations," the bank said in a report.

To buttress the negative impact of offshore branches, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Keystone Bank Limited, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, also said that

Lenders claim these factors (regulatory headwinds, poor budget implementation, reduced bank charges, withdrawal of public sector funds and non-performance off-shore branches) have inhibited their performance

his institution is divesting from its subsidiaries in Uganda, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The divestment, he explained, is because of non-performing loans and the regulations of the respective monetary authorities, which contributed to a less stellar performance of Keystone Bank’s subsidiaries. The same goes for other offshore players, who have been posting losses.

Analysts also attributed the low performance of lenders to non-release of the federal budget and the non-payment of local contractors. This unwittingly affected business as those who borrowed money from banks to finance capital-intensive projects, defaulted in servicing their loans.

According to a staff of FCMB, who prefers anonymity, the rate of loan defaults among companies as well as individuals in the banks, are assuming alarming proportions. He corroborated that if the rate continues; many banks may not make the anticipated profit.

He said that the resort to value chain management also has its challenges, as not many blue chips are there to boost banks’ earnings.

The commission on turnover, which has been phased to terminate in 2016 and the current N2 per mille that is charged, leaves the banks with less income.

New Telegraph investigations also discovered that the disenchantment of marketing staff of banks always loaded with impossible targets, is affecting banks. The marketing staff, aware that the banks usually sack whenever they fail to meet their targets, have made dereliction of duties their hallmark as they are seriously working on plan B, or shopping for alternative employment opportunities rather than being sacked on account of not meeting the impossible targets.

Besides, the level of insurgency in the northern part of the country is another factor why banks are not going to meet their targeted profits this year. Lenders that are strong in agric financing normally get a big chunk of their profit from the north. But with insurgency, the entire region will contribute less than the estimated figures as many banks are closing their branches in affected areas.

The general lull in the business environment will also contribute to low performance at the end of the year.

36

BUSINESS | THE INVESTOR

Chris Ugwu

M

arket makers in every economy where shares and securities are traded usually have their place of functioning at helping to stabilise the equities market and guide against fluctuation of prices, which may be to the detriment of investors.

The dwindling fortunes and the continuous volatility being witnessed in prices of shares occasioned by the global financial meltdown and crisis of confidence following lax corporate governance were considered detrimental to investors’ interest and have created massive negative publicity for the market.

These were some of the major reasons that prompted the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to help in deepening the equities market by inaugurating the market makers two years ago.

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

NSE: Despite progress, liquidity challenges persist

Functions of market maker A market maker is a dealing firm who maintains firm bid and offer prices in a given security by standing ready to buy or sell that security.

All over the world, market makers play a very important role in both the equity and bond markets. They stabilise the market by standing ready to intervene at moments of scarcity or excess supply of securities. It is naïve, unrealistic and detrimental to investors to operate an automated stock market without the active participation of market makers.

Regulators’ efforts The NSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had in 2009 during the administration of the former DG of NSE, Professor Ndi-Okereke Onyuike, released common criteria for licensing of market makers in Nigeria.

The criteria, ostensibly a response to the global financial meltdown, were formulated to be a part of a composite strategy to relief investors and prevent a total meltdown of the stock market.

Okereke-Onyiuke stated that all companies desirous of becoming market makers must demonstrate to the Exchange that they are proficient in capital market activities and must provide evidence of a liquidity provider such as a bank, adding that without the provision of a liquidity provider, such companies would not be licensed as market makers.

Though about six companies were registered as market makers, but nothing feasible was done until the exit of the DG. The NSE under the leadership Mr. Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the Exchange, inaugurated 10 market makers.

Onyema, who regarded the development as another milestone in the history of the Nigerian capital market, said the 10 stock broking firms were selected from a list of 20 that had applied last year.

In preparation to the commencement of the programme, 10 market makers were appointed on April 4, 2012. The market makers are Stanbic IBTC; Renaissance Capital; Future View Securities; Vetiva Capital; ESS/ DunnLoren Merrifield; WSTC; Capital Bancorp; FBN Securities; Greenwich Securities and CSL Stockbrokers.

Onyema said, “This is a great milestone and a major step in the direction of turning the market round to bring liquidity and depth back into the market. We will continue to move forward on this.

“The companies selected went through a very rigorous process and met the minimum net capital requirement of N570million; we also examined their compliance history and looked into their operational capabilities including their technology and pro-

Ms Aruma Oteh

cesses.”

Market makers’ influence However, contrary to expectations, the initiative according to some market operators has not yielded desirable impact as it has only contributed marginal 2.79 per cent to the overall activities in the equities market.

Consequently, the Exchange has continued to dwindle in fortune. At the close of trading last Friday, the NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation had dropped to 41,934.40 basis points and N13.847 trillion respectively.

Onyema recently, at the second quarter of Capital Market Committee meeting held in Lagos, made clarification on the impact of market making.

He said that currently the participation rate was 2.79 per cent.

“We have done some work as to the impact of market making, prior to market making and post-market making. The preliminary results show that while market makers have not been able to improve the quality of the market in terms of shrinking the spread, they certainly have improved the volume by 50 basis points.

“I actually take exception when people say market making has not started, it has started and maybe they are not meeting the expectations of those people and we would like to know what those expectations are.

If you are expecting participation rate to be 10 per cent, 5 per cent, there are certain things that need to be done across the market place including addressing fees across the board, not just on NSE, addressing the tick size so if it is a N1000 share price and you are moving in one kobo, the market maker is not going to want to show visibility because you are going to step over with-

Onyema

out taking significant risk. There are a lot of market structure issues that need to be addressed,” he said.

Operators’ perception Though the initiative has lifted the stock market significantly, operators believed the performance would have been better but for some challenges, which include lack of funds on the part of some market makers to move the market as expected and investors’ apathy on the equities.

The Chief Executive Officer of Lambeth Trust & Investment Company, Mr. David Adonri, said the exercise has been successful. He added that as a result of market making, volatility of the equities market has reduced, stressing that it has contributed in bridging the supply gap in the retail bonds market.

He noted that for the programme to take firm root in the capital market, it must have capacity to meet shortfall in supply and satisfy demand in situations of extreme volatility.

However, the recent downturn movement of stocks, which have been sustained for three weeks, raises concern on the impact the market makers on the local burse.

Sir Sunny Nwosu, President Inde-

Many stocks in the market have very good net asset value, but their current price on the floor of the Exchange is selling far below their net value

pendent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said the impact of market making has not been felt in the equity market, otherwise the bear run that had characterised the trading activities recently, would have been averted.

Nwosu noted that there was still lot of gap in the equities market that investors are yet to take advantage of, adding that many stocks in the market have very good net asset value, but that their current price on the floor of the Exchange is selling far below their net value.

Speaking in the same vein, Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria also agreed that there is little or no impact on the market since the appointment of market makers.

“Market makers have not impacted positively in the activities of trading in the local bourse; we all can see the rate at which activities are dwindling in the stock market. One should have expected that the good financials released by Fort Oil and Zenith Bank will ginger market activities but the shares of these companies are still trading low,” he said.

Conclusion There are still lots of gap in the equities market that investors are yet to take advantage of. Many stocks in the market have very good net asset value, but their current price on the floor of the Exchange is selling far below their net value.

Inclusion of the market makers on the activities of Exchange are expected to be able to provide liquidity, it is however, advisable that the regulators encourage them to go into every other stocks to enable operators see more activities coming up in the market.

BUSINESS | BRANDS & MARKETING 37

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

P&G plans to shed $8bn worth of brands STRATEGY P&G marketing communications businesses in Nigeria set for a review Dele Alao

with Agency report

B

arring any last minute change, global consumer giant company, Procter & Gamble (P& G) has said that it plans to cut more than half of its brands globally worth more than $8 billion in sales annually as it restructures to focus on its top 70 to 80 brands.

• To review Nigerian accounts Chief Executive Officer of the company, A.G Lafley, finally took the biggest step of his second tenure in reshaping the company for the future.

This, sources said, implies that the company will be divesting, discontinuing or merging about 100 of its existing brands over the next year or two. While they account for over $8 billion in sales annually, these sleepy brands have seen sales declining by three per cent and profits declining by 16 per cent on average, Lafley, told investors, and have margins less than half the company average.

Meanwhile, P&G Nigeria, a multi-million naira marketing

communications business is set for a review, New Telegraph has learnt.

The review, it was further learnt, will cover Public Relations, Advertising and other allied services.

Findings revealed that the review is in line with the company’s age-long tradition of reviewing its businesses every six month irrespective of whether the incumbent agency on any of the account is performing or not.

Sources close to the company told this newspaper that the company may, any moment from now, invite agencies.

TPT International, for instance, is one of the Public Rela-

tions agencies that had worked on the American company.

P&G’s “keepers” include iconic brands such as Tide and Pampers that have accounted for 90 per cent of company sales and 95 per cent of profits over the past three years.

Most of these brands are leaders in their industries or categories; 23 have sales of $1 billion to $10 billion a year, and most of the remainder have sales of $100 million to $500 million.

“We’re announcing an important strategic step forward in P&G’s business and brand portfolio,” Lafley said.

And while the CPG giant plans to nip and tuck, it is also planning to launch at least two new product lines and brands in lucrative categories.

Lafley told analysts that P&G is “currently entering the female adult incontinence cat-

egory,” a $7 billion product category that is seeing sustained growth with a new product line under its Always feminine care brand. It is also planning a new product for Crest that will aid consumers with sensitive teeth.

“We are setting the brand and product innovation agenda in our industry,” he said.

Beyond its major investments in feminine care, P&G also introduced a new line of wellness products under its Metamucil brand, complete with a celebrity brand ambassador: former profootballer, Michael Strahan.

The new line includes fibre bars and a probiotic supplement.

Lafley is calling the slim down as an important strategic step forward that will significantly streamline and simplify the company’s business and brand portfolio.

11 finalists emerged at MDA-8 audition a gruelling ten hours Aof fter battle at the Lagos audition Maltina Dance All (MDA),a

L-R: Head of Legal and Public Relations, Mr Andrew Enahoro; Head of Marketing, Mr Festus Tettey and Category Manager, Food Enhancement & Beverage, Mr Abiodun Ayodeji, all of Promasidor Nigeria Limited at the Onga National Campus Cooking Competition press briefing in Lagos

Microsoft deepens Nokia X value with software update C ustomers using the Nokia X range of devices are in for a more thrilling experience as technology giant, Microsoft, introduced a new Nokia X Software update.

Communications Manager, Nokia West and Central Africa, Fred Oriunuebho, said that customers could now update their Nokia X, Nokia X+ or Nokia XL devices as the new software will arrive on their device as an over-the-air (OTA) update.

“To update their Nokia X devices, users will receive a push notification which will be sent when the update is ready and waiting for download. Alternatively, users can manually check by navigating,” he said.

According to him, the new update comes with a lot of new and exciting features, which would make user experience seamless. Some new and improved features include the new App Switcher, which makes it easy for users to use different apps simultaneously. With the new update, customers will get free access to Outlook and OneNote, which come preinstalled as they update the software.

“This would give them quick

access to use and access multiple Outlook accounts, including Outlook Calendar and Contacts, instantly access their Microsoft OneNote 2010 notebooks on OneDrive with OneNote Mobile, view notebooks on OneDrive, among others,” Oriunuebho said.

In addition to the fantastic features that come with the new update, the Nokia Store comes with a search button, which makes it easier to search, find

and download games or apps on the device. The Nokia Store also integrates other third-party app stores, which means that customers can explore apps under one roof, making for a consistent experience.

Oriunuebho noted that other improvements in the Store include a new Home screen Spotlight widget for app discovery and one-click downloads for faster access to apps.

family reality show season eight which held at the National Art Theatre, Iganmu, eleven contestants were selected to proceed to the next stage after showing exceptional dance steps.

The eleven, who are known as family representatives, will still have to perform with their respective family members and if they meet the criteria and pass the medical tests, they will then be admitted into the Maltina academy alongside families from other regions. The next stage will then signal the commencement of the highly entertaining family dance show.

They are: Nwaeze Favour 20, Aina Damilola 24, Tolu Okelowo 22, Ndulue Uche 22, Eniola Awokoye 19, Nwankwo Josephine 22, Akin Afolajuwon 21, OreOluwa Oladapo 18, Samuel Owusu 18, Abunwa James 24 and Awokoya Gbenga 18.

The first day of the auditions, which was the general session, was set aside for dancers from age categories 5 - 12, 13 – 19, 20 29 and 30 and above, to compete for prizes ranging from Home Theatres, 22-inch flat screen television sets and 5.5KVA generating sets.

In the 5-12 age category; 10year old Okafor Favour emerged winner and carted home the grand-prize of a brand-new generating set while Segun Ahmed 7 and Precious Npamugo 12 emerged first and secondrunners up respectively with a home-theatre and LCD TV set as prizes. The 13-19-age category saw OreOluwa Oladapo 18, emerged overall winner while Oko Faith 16 and Awokoya Eniola 19 emerged first and secondrunners up respectively.

For the 20 - 29 age category, Ndulue Unchenna 22, came out tops while Nwaizu Emmanuel 22 and Aina Damilola 24, emerged first and second-runners up respectively. In the 30 and above age category, Maua Ulugbe, a 31 year old media practitioner emerged winner while Binta Martins 48 and Ephiphame Pascal 43, emerged first and secondrunners up respectively.

Senior Brand Manager Maltina, Wole Adedeji said: “MDA has been a very tangible platform to convey the Maltina brand message over the years.

The excitement and the happiness expressed by everybody here is a reflection of what the Maltina brand is about and is in sync with this year’s MDA theme, Rhythm of Happiness.”

Promasidor unveils 2014 Onga cooking contest romasidor has unveiled the that arrangements have been Speaking on the modality comprise an empty pouch of Pcontest, 2014 Onga Campus Cooking concluded by the manage- of the competition, Category Onga cubes, five empty wrapsetting the stage for ment to receive entries from Manager, Food Enhancement pers of Onga cube and five aspiring university students across the country to start submitting entries for the 2014 Onga National Campus Cooking Competition.

Executive Director, Commercial of the company, Mr Kachi Onubogu, said that one of the tested platforms Onga uses to engage its target audience is Onga National Campus Cooking Competition.

Represented by Head of Marketing, Mr Festus Tettey, the Executive Director said

students for this year’s edition of the competition.

“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 select 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,” he said.

and Beverage, Mr Abiodun Ayodeji, said that the competition will run between August and November, 2014.

According to him, the campus activation will hold in 14 campuses spread across different geo-political zones in the country. Activation in each of those campuses, he stated, will be in phases as interested students will submit their entries in dedicated drop boxes placed within their faculties.

He said that each entry will

Onga powder sachets. According to him, aspiring students are expected to drop their entries in the Drop Boxes that will be placed in their faculties three days before the event for collection of entries.

Adedeji that said 10 contestants will be chosen to represent the faculties on each campus through a raffle draw, adding that the best from each campus will represent each participating university at the Grand Finale in Lagos.

38 BUSINESS

IDENTIFICATION New biometric identity card for freight forwarders to be issued

by UBA

T

he National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) will this month take delivery of 1,000 biometric identity cards from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Apart from being a means of identification, the association assured its members that the biometric identity card, which is issued by United Bank for Africa (UBA) can also be used as an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card and for purposes of transactions.

Chairman of the Tin Can Island Chapter of NAGAFF, Chief Azubuike Ekweozor, gave the assurance at the inaugural stakeholders meeting of the chapter in Lagos.

He enjoined all freight forwarders, who were recently co-opted into the association for the purpose of its last elections to ensure they regularize their membership with the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).

This he explained, is to enable them take full advantage of opportunities in the freight forwarding sector.

The NAGAFF chairman said: “Freight forwarders are hereby called upon to embrace the ethics and standard of car-

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Freight forwarders to import biometric card from Dubai

•Slam members over 1% CISS payment rying out our businesses. We must show due diligence in relating with all practitioners, terminal operators, Nigeria Customs and other agencies.”

Ekweozor added that in pursuance of total compliance at the chapter, seven committees have been set up to reposition the chapter.

The committees are: Publicity Committee, Custom Agent Relation Committee, Finance Committee, Economic Intelligence Committee, Trade Facilitation and Monitoring Committee, Intelligence and Inspectorate Committee as well as Welfare Committee.

Also, the association has condemned some clearing agents over the one per cent Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS).

The Deputy National President of NAGAFF, Mr Obums Anene, said that attention of the association had been drawn to the complains by the clearing agents and their principals regarding payment of one per cent CISS. It was revealed that importers were still paying the one per cent CISS after the exit of

Destination Inspection (DI) service providers in Dec. 2013.

The statement said licensed agents were agents of importers, adding that the service charged or their professional charges should be paid by the importers and exporters.

It condemned the position of a sister customs agents association, which canvassed that the one per cent CISS should be paid as commission for facilitating collection of custom duties.

It stressed: “The issue of commission is a matter to be handled by the Council for the Regulation of Freight For-

warding in Nigeria (CRFFN) as a regulatory body.

“The council has the power to make regulations including commission to paid to the registered freight forwarders for every transaction performed port operation and customs formalities.

“As regards the arrest of container on the highways by the Enforcement Unit of Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), it is most unfortunate that importers are not compliant with import regulations.

“The regulation is mandatory that every import into Ni-

geria except pharmaceutical products and chemicals must be subjected to SONCAP regimes.”

It said that some importers were not been complying with the law because Standard Organisation of Nigeria and other agencies had been asked to operate outside the ports.

The statement said it was the duty of both licensed customs agents and freight forwarders to educate the importers on the need to abide by the regulations.

The association however, said the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) needed additional money to meet their operational costs like staff welfare, salaries and other requirements.

NIMASA introduces 24-hour satellite surveillance

he Nigerian Maritime AdTAgency ministration and Safety (NIMASA) has intro-

duced a 24-hour Satellite Surveillance Centre to consolidate water security in Nigeria.

The new 24-hour satellite surveillance equipment has the capability to detect boats, ships and objects of predefined cross-section floating on water.

The agency’s Executive Director, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development, Capt.

Ezekiel Agaba who disclosed this in Lagos said the satellite system would provide a safety net for corporate bodies and individuals, who transact businesses within the Nigerian waters, Agaba said the establishment of the satellite surveillance centre would help in curbing piracy on the territorial waters.

The executive director explained that the surveillance system had already recorded a success story as the facility was deployed to rescue a Ghanaian flagged vessel, which was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Ghana in June.

According to him, NIMASA surveillance was now threepronged with the satellite system added to the existing aerial and aquatic powers.

He stressed: “The NIMASA Satellite Surveillance Centre will make it easy to respond to any distress call on Nigerian waters and even beyond.

Agaba noted: “It includes any aircraft that ditches and remains on the surface during satellite over-flight its and the abilities are not limited to setting range rings and restricted areas when penetrated by an intruder.

“The system gives an alarm thereby alerting the operator or watch keeper.”

The executive director said the agency had embarked on the installation of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) at Takwa Bay in Lagos adding that it was fully integrated with the satellite system.

Agaba explained that the GMDSS would provide full domain awareness for Nigeria’s waterways and the facility would equipped with VHF Radio, satellite phones and the IMARSAT and other security features.

Agaba said the agency had further strengthened safety within the Nigerian seashores through a vigorous compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

NIMASA partrol and surveillance boats. INSET: Agaba

Port roads lack development, says PFSO boss

S

ecretary of the Port Facility Security Officers’ (PFSO) Forum, Mr Ignatius Uche, has lamented the absence of structural and infrastructural developments of the port roads.

He said that the capacity of the access roads to the Lagos ports had been overstretched, adding that the volume of imports and exports traffic had quadrupled since the ports were established many decades ago.

Uche noted the challenges posed by the deplorable roads, saying that both the Apapa and Tin-Can access roads had been over-stretched due to increase in the volume of imports.

Uche said that consequently, the deplorable roads had affected quick movement of cargo at the ports.

Uche declared: “Overtime the roads have been overstretched. The capacity of the roads as at the time the ports were built have been over stretched and there has

not been structural and infrastructural development of the roads.

“The volume of traffic has quadrupled so to say vis-a-vis the time the ports were created and all these goods need to be evacuated.

“There are no railways to evacuate goods from the ports and the only alternative we have is to use the trucks and of course most of the trucks too are dilapidated; by the time they breakdown, there is a problem.

“There are no palliative measures in terms of the roads and there are no developments of the roads. Again you also discover that there are no healthy trucks on our roads. Most of the trucks you see on our roads had been built since 1977.

“You see 1977 trucks on the roads in the 21st century. To what extent do we even have maintenance culture on those trucks so as to make them still healthy enough to convey mod-

ern-day containerised goods.

These problems are there.”

Uche also added that some of the challenges faced by the stakeholders were access to the terminals, which were impassable.

He said: “The roads are so deplorable. Containers upturning every now and then and see traffic gridlock; and these things affect free flow of traffic into the terminals.

Uche, however, urged the various ministries and parastatals to rise to their responsibilities.

He urged the Federal Ministry of Works to do its jobs in terms of road repairs, construction of roads and palliative measures on the roads.

Uche said: “Even when the roads are repaired and there are drainages on the roads, before you know it, they are washed off.”

He stressed the need for an effective rail system to reduce traffic congestion around the ports.

BUSINESS | MARITIME

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

39

NPA boss blames poor operations on FG’s policies INCONSISTENCY Nigerian ports recorded low import in 2013 due to FG’s bad policy Bayo Akomolafe

T

he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has blamed its poor performance in 2013 on Federal Government‘s policies.

In a recent 2013 scorecard released by the authority, its Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi, blamed government’s fiscal measures that restricted some imports into the country and other sundry factors.

In the ports’ performance report signed on his behalf by the Assistant General Manager (AGM), Public Affairs, Mallam Musa Iliya, he explained that market forces were part of that factors that impeded the activities of NPA in the year under review.

Abdullahi said: “Recent research revealed that, generally,

each port is being shaped by the market forces dictated by the commodity demand and by the particular port user.”

“The decline experienced in some products can be linked to general economic factor. In dry bulk, for instance, there is ban on the importation of cement. Also, the increase in rice tariff has reduced the importation of the commodity to the country through Nigerian ports, but through smuggling by another route.”

Abdullahi added: “The European debt crises gave birth to the decrease in Liquefied Natural Gas, many of their industries have closed down, and so the demand for our product was low. They have also discovered an alternative means of production in the Middle East.

“The petroleum product liberalisation, growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and the Transformation Agenda (of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration) resulting in increase in con-

struction works have had an unprecedented economic impact on the port industry”.

The performance report added that cargo throughput, excluding crude oil terminals of 76,886,997 million metric tons was handled at all Nigerian ports in 2013, reflecting a marginal increase of 0.042.6 per cent over the 2012 figure of 76,855,754 metric tons.

A breakdown of the figure showed that container traffic amounted to 1,010,836 Twenty Feet Equivalent units (TEUs), reflecting a growth of 15.2 per cent over the 877,737 TEUs posted in 2012.

Also, a total of 291,824 units of vehicles were handled in the period under review, showing an increase of 8.9 per cent over the 268,026 units recorded in 2012.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shipment handled in the period amounted to 19,341,663 metric tons, a drop of 12.7 per cent from the 22,146,908mt posted in 2012.

He stressed that refined petroleum shipment handled in 2013

was 19,416,043 metric tons, showing an increase of 9.5 per cent over the 17,730,727 metric tons recorded in the previous year.

Dry bulk cargo handled at the ports in the reviewed period totalled to 9,537,447 metric tons, a decline of 6.5 per cent from the 10,205,339 metric tons posted the previous year, even as general cargo handled was 11,964,978 metric tons, indicating a 5.8 per cent drop from the 12,702,826 metric tons recorded in 2012.

“In year 2013, the total of 5,185 oceans-going vessels with a total Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) of 131,674,337 gross tons called at Nigerian ports” the statement indicated.

Similarly, in the period under review, the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) recorded 34,466,291GRT, reflecting an increase of 9.4 per cent over the 31,513,987 GRT posted in 2012, even as a total of 1,498vessels were handled at same facility in 2013.

While 1,725 ocean-going vessels were handled at the Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIP) in 2013, the statement added that

the port recorded 42,758,161 GRT, which is 23.2 per cent increase over the 34,703,547 GRT of 2012.

Unlike the two Western ports, the LPC and the TCIP, which both experienced increased GRT in 2013 over the 2012 figures, their Eastern counterparts, Calabar Port Complex, Rivers Port Complex, and Onne Port Complex, suffered drops in GRT in 2013, when compared to 2012.

The Calabar Port Complex recorded 2,792,488 GRT, a decline of 2.8 per cent compared with the 2,871,622 GRT of 2012with same facility recording 197 ocean-going vessels in 2013.

Also, the Rivers Port Complex recorded 6,394,270 GRT, which is a 7.9 per cent drop when compared with the 6,929,179 GRT recorded in 2012 with 447 oceangoing vessels registered.

Also, the Onne Port Complex recorded 38,967,131GRT in 2013, reflecting a decrease of 7.4 per cent as against the 42,062,351 GRT witnessed in 2012 and 820 vessels in the period under review.

Britain to support Nigeria's war against piracy he British High CommisTPocock, sioner to Nigeria, Dr Andrew has declared in Lagos

Unclared containers at the Lagos port, Apapa

...Workers fret over dockyard sale W orkers of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) under the aegis of Senior Staff Association of Communication, Transportation and Corporation (SSACTAC) have raised the alarm over move by management of the authority to sell its dockyard to NIPCO. About a year after, the association alerted government over alleged attempts by oil giant, NIPCO Plc, to acquire the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Dockyard in Apapa, Lagos.

President of the SSACTAC Maritime, Comrade Umar Omeiza Jimoh, said in Lagos that NIPCO was trying to acquire the space in order to construct more tank farms.

He said: “The dockyard is not dead. We need the place because NPA has no training school today for pilots and inhouse mariners, those who can say they are gurus in the maritime industry today grew through in-house plant, there

is no Nigerian university where you will go and learn it. We have gone through the process, you have to learn it on the job.

“It is absolutely not correct to allow citing of tank farms in multiples of places around, it does not give us any economic benefit, rather, it provides succour for the individuals that own it.”

Umar lamented that NPA did not have an in-house training plant like the dockyard for pilots and in-house mariners today.

He said most of the professionals in the maritime industry grew through the in-house plant at the dockyard.

He disagreed with insinuations that the dockyard was moribund.

Umar called on NPA to refurbish it for the training of its workers.

He explained: “The issue in NIPCO is coming back again, they want to take our dockyard, but they cannot, it is meant for

us for implant training, even if the authority is not looking at it now, people that are coming in the future will look at it and make best use of it.

“NIPCO is asking for it for further erection of tank farms, but no sound helmsman in maritime operations will allow that to happen. We don’t have a dockyard to train and retrain staff, we don’t have where pilots can receive training and refresher courses.”

Umar alleged that the issue was re-occurring, because influential people were interested in the land.

He advised that national interest and not individual interest should be the priority and called on all government agencies, including NPA, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Shippers Council and the Nigerian Customs Service, to rise up to the occasion and oppose erection of tank farms within port areas.

that the British Government would support Nigeria in tackling illegal maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea.

He disclosed this in Lagos on board a British War Ship, HMS Iron Duke.

He said: “We are ready to support Nigeria in the fight against illegal fishing, poaching, piracy and huge revenue losses along its coast.

“The security of Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea matters profoundly to the British Government.

“We are going to be working closely with the Nigerian Navy in ensuring that challenges of insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea are checked.”

The high commissioner said that his government was com-

mitted to building capacity of the Nigerian Navy, adding that the visit of some British companies to Nigeria was to showcase technological solutions to the nation’s security challenges.

Captain of the ship, Cdr. Tom Tredray, said that the British Navy was in Nigeria to train its Nigeria counterparts.

He explained that the two-day training would enhance the Nigerian Navy’s skills in navigation, engineering, maintenance of small boats, fire fighting and information exchange.

Tredray added the two countries could jointly develop sustainable technology, training and support solutions to achieve an integrated maritime security sector for the Nigerian Navy.

He said: “Our cooperative solutions will directly deter illegal trade and criminal activities in the Gulf of Guinea.”

Shippers to govt: Revamp Ajaokuta steel Shippers’ Association LaTthehegosFederal State (SALS) has urged Government to re-

vamp the Ajaokuta and Aladja Steel industries to to reduce the steel import and to assist the automobile industries.

The shippers also urged the government to complement the efforts of all those who had sustained the transport industry when the automobile industry was in deep sleep.

The President of the association, Rev. Jonathan Nicol said that the move would give the steel industries a facelift and enable them to work at their maximum capacity.

According to him, steel is the essential raw material, which the car industries would use.

Nicol said the idea of establishing new car manufacturing

and assembly outfits was welcomed by the association.

He said: “We hope to support the Federal Government in establishing the car industries and also restore our lost glory of making Nigerians to use brand new cars.

“I believe that the government is a listening government and all the advice we have given regarding the rebuilding of the automobile industry have been taken into consideration.

“We also want to appeal to automobile industrialists to make sure that all the components they import into the country meet the standard requirements.

He said it would be ridiculous to discover that some of the CKDs did not meet up with the brand requirements.

40 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Godswill Akpabio and the obverse side of success Okon Okorie

I

t is a common part of the world’s popular wisdom that everything has its obverse side. Nothing makes the truism in that wisdom clearer than the anecdote known as the “Sword of Damocles.” Damocles was a friend of King Dionysius 11, a 4th Century BC King of Syracuse. Damocles envied the king and claimed he was truly blessed to be a man of such great power, influence and authority.

So the king proposed to trade places with Damocles.

Damocles was overjoyed. He sat down in the king’s throne with great fanfare and aplomb. But he noticed that hanging over his head as he sat on the throne was a giant sword tied to the ceiling with just a single horsehair. If something were to cause the sword to drop, he would be a dead man. Damocles begged his friend, the king, to let him depart because he no longer envied the king’s fame and influence.

This anecdote was popularized by the great Roman orator, Cicero, and passed into European cultural mainstream by his reference to it in his book “Tusculanae Disputationes.”

Its compelling morale is that those in power should be prepared for the obverse side of power. This obverse side includes unmerited criticisms, prejudices, insults, lies, envy, etc.

If Governor Godswill Akpabio has never heard of the Sword of Damocles, he has not missed anything. He has experienced it with increasing intensity in a state, which lives out, in compelling fashion, its unenviable tag as an “atomistic society perpetually at war with itself.” Akwa Ibom had always been a frighteningly and absurdly divided society. It warehouses ethnic groups like the Ibibios, Annangs, Orons, Ekids, Ibenos, Andoni, Itu Mbonusos etc. Its diversity has unfortunately been a curse over the years – instead of a blessing.

Akpabio came with a missionary zeal (you can even say, a messianic complex) to change the narrative.

He came declaring that if someone points the torch of love, everyone would follow. He believed that he could pick up the fragmented tribal threads of Akwa Ibom State and build a quilt of cohesiveness, unity and brotherhood. Seven years after he is wiser… you can take a horse to the river, but you cannot force it to drink.

His faith in unity and brotherhood led to a lot of firsts. For the first time in the history of the state, a civilian governor appointed his Secretary to the State Government, his commissioner for finance and his personal doctor from outside his tribe (not to mention outside his Senatorial District). For the first time a governor’s entire press team (at the inception of his government in 2007 till August, 2008) did not have any single person from his Annang ethnic group. For the first time other ethnic groups dominated the ranks of aides of a governor by over 80 per cent. For the first time a governor located over 80 per cent of his huge projects outside his Senatorial District. Akpabio did all these to prove that men and women should be judged by the contents of their character and not by their nativity.

But all his efforts have turned out like the story of the pedestrian killed at the Zebra Crossing. The epitaph for

Akpabio

But all his efforts have turned out like the story of the pedestrian killed at the Zebra Crossing. The epitaph for the pedestrian was, “Here lies Mr Pedestrian/He was right as he walked along/But he is as dead as if he were wrong the pedestrian was, “Here lies Mr Pedestrian/He was right as he walked along/But he is as dead as if he were wrong.” Akpabio was right in trying to point the state to a moral direction where the songs of the old national anthem would hold sway – “though tribes and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand.” But he has been criticized, lampooned, lied about, hunted and hounded in the press by a few but highly vocal and relentless ethnic chauvinists and their attack dogs - as if he were wrong. To these dyed-in-the-woods tribal jingoists,

Akpabio can do nothing right.

As the 2015 elections beckon, some of the ethnic fault lines Akpabio appeared to have sealed have been opened up by these few chauvinists.

Many of them would stop at nothing in an attempt to start ethnic warfare.

Under Governor Victor Attah, the state had just three local newspapers.

But under Governor Akpabio, it now has over 103 local newspapers (the largest number in Nigeria) involved in institutional blackmail. Yet these same newspapers claim that there is hunger in the land. If there is hunger in the land how come newspapers are springing up like mushrooms? Just a food for thought!

Several things account for the hounding of Akpabio by these chauvinists. One, Akpabio comes from a minority ethnic group - Annang. The more he succeeds in the discharge of his job, the more these pathological ethnic jingoists hate him. They share the same sentiments, which drove the Ku Klux Klan in America to kill innocent successful African Americans in the south simply out of envy. That is the ethnic sword of Damocles Akpabio has contended with ever since he came into office.

Secondly, Akpabio has become a polarizing figure: those who love him love him with all their hearts, and

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

those who hate him hate him with every fibre of their being, and without a reason. The list of projects he has done are endless; the Ibom Stadium, Specialist Hospital, Ibom Airport, Ibom Gas Plant, over 320 roads, five flyovers, Ibom E-library, over 4,500 life-impacting rural projects, free and compulsory education from primary to senior secondary school, free medical treatment for pregnant women, babies under the age of five and the aged… the list goes on. So why would anyone hate a man who has done so much? The answer is simple: because there are thieves in the society and some of them are in politics.

The opportunities provided by success are dependent on perspectives. Armed robbers do not operate in rural villages because there is no wealth there. Wealth attracts robbers, entrepreneurs, economists and others. In the same vein the success of Governor Akpabio is attracting interest in the governorship of the state from the good, the bad and the ugly. To the thieves, Akpabio is a crazy to do all that he has done, instead of sharing the money to friends and keeping some for himself.

They come up with narratives to hide their ill-intentions, “there is poverty in the land,” “Akwa Ibom is a poor society in spite of what it makes as revenue,” “Is it infrastructure we will chop?” etc. These are exercises in sophistry designed to obfuscate the facts and deny Akpabio credit for what he has done.

Thirdly, some persons are so blinded by ethnic prejudice and bias that they see themselves as soldiers of their ethnic groups engaged in a war against other ethnic groups.

Such ethnic jingoists came up with the funny theory that Akwa Ibom is a tripod made up of Ibibio, Annang and Oron, with the Ibibios as the first son, Annangs second and Oron third.

This curious assertion makes no accommodation for the Ekid, Ibeno, Andoni, Ijaw and Itu Mbonuso ethnic groups in the Akwa Ibom project. It fails to recognize that if such thinking were applied to Nigeria, then the country would be said to be a tripod made up of Hausa/Fulanis, Yorubas and Igbos. Then other ethnic groups (including those in Akwa Ibom) would be permanently excluded from the Nigerian project. As Christians, they fail to apply the golden rule, “do unto others what you will want them to do to you.”

These vocal ethnic jingoists are behind the unceasing and unsparing campaign of calumny against Akpabio. But the reverse side is that majority of Akwa Ibom people are detribalized. You have such respectable Ibibio figures as Otuekong Idongesit Nkanga, former governor of the state, Senator Anietie Okon, Sir Val Attah, former permanent secretary, and many others who believe that the path to a greater Akwa Ibom State lies in unity not divisiveness.

They believe that justice, equity and fair play are the pillars of true democracy. When Akpabio looks up and sees the ethnic sword of Damocles wielded by the ethnic chauvinists, he should look around and see that the majority of Akwa Ibom people are detribalized and are with him. Let this knowledge comfort him.

•Okorie writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

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Judith Akpomejevwe Nwachukwu left the oil industry to venture into music, and was one time vice chairman of the Performing Musician Association of Nigeria (PMAN). She was also a co-founder of Association of Female Musicians in Nigeria (AFEMN). In this interview with GABRIEL CHOBA, she spoke on some issues of national importance. Excerpts

Nigeria does not need more states –Nwachukwu

tem, so there should be an opposition party. I think the president can also be encouraged to do better by the opposition trying to point out areas that are not well done.

Do you envisage an improvement in elections conducted by INEC considering the turn out in Ekiti polls recently?

I was not physically there during the last election in Ekiti. But from what I read; relatively, there has been an improvement in INEC’s performance ratio.

I commend INEC for a job well done and I expect them to have great improvement so that we can enjoy hitch free election that would be celebrated in 2015 and beyond. So I believe INEC would do better.

What’s your view on the state of insecurity in the country?

That is the major challenge we have in this country for now. For terrorists to continue killing and bombing innocent people all over the country is heartless.

The security agents are doing what they can, with the available resources and other equipment they have at their disposal to work with. I would like to encourage the government especially now that Chibok girls are still in the hands of the sect. I am a mother and a citizen of Nigeria; it breaks every parent’s heart when these things happen all the time.

These young girls that would have been living their lives, going to school with a bright future ahead of them are being held somewhere by a terrorist group who are also Nigerians.

The government should do everything within their capability to set them free. It is taking too long and I am really getting disturbed because it is something that should give everyone sleepless night. I think one day, the activities of the Boko Haram sect will come to an end.

What solution would you proffer to stop attacks by the insurgents?

The Federal Government should step up on intelligence reports. They should give the military and other security agencies involved in the battle all the resources needed for them to succeed in the battle against the insurgents. These people seem to be much more advanced in what they are doing. These killings and bombing of Nigerians should be a serious issue that should worry the mind of any government. Innocent people going about their normal businesses are being killed on daily bases.

What is your take on the proposed creation of more states in Nigeria?

I am of the opinion that we should retain the presidential system of government while we discourage the issue of creation of more states for now. The resources coming from the federal account are even not enough for the states.

In my own opinion, I do not think we need to create more states.

We should work with what we have now and consolidate on what we are developing, and let these present states begin to affect lives positively and let the government in these states begin to have direct impact on the people.

Things are not working the way they ought to be and yet we are creating more states. I do not know what the national confab is talking about really. I think we need more of good roads, stable electricity as well as security of lives and properties. Nigerian government should concentrate on the release of the Chibok girls and not creating new states.

What is your assessment on the government of Delta state led by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan?

I want to also say that the government of Delta State led by Uduaghan has done well in terms of his three-point agenda.

The governor has done well in security

Do you have any advice to politicians as the general election and the Delta State local government chairmanship elections comes up?

My advice to the electorate is that we should vote with our conscience and never allow anyone to buy our votes.

Let’s vote the right person who has the right credentials and right mental state of mind that is able to deliver instead of selling our votes and our conscience to our politicians. I advise them to go there and add value when voted in. It is for you to make a difference in your generation, so that when you leave there, you will not be remembered for having enriched yourselves and family members, but for you to be celebrated for the lives you touched, for the transformation you brought.

Nwachukwu

of lives of properties of Deltans. People are free to move about and go about their normal business. We have really enjoyed relative peace from kidnappings, armed robbery and all the lot. I give kudos to the governor for a job well done.

How do you see the 2015 general elections considering the continuous attacks and maiming by these insurgents?

Usually, there are two sides to the coin; some people want Nigeria to break up while others don’t. It has been predicted long ago. But I am of the opinion that God in heaven will keep Nigeria together. 2015 will be feasible but the security apparatus in Nigeria should be beefed up by the Federal Government to stop these terrorists group that decided to take lives of innocent Nigerians. That is why I am in full support of the $1bn loan being sought by the Federal Government on equipping of the security in Nigeria.

The national confab also approved that state police should be adopted in Nigeria.

How do you view this arrangement?

I think the state police should be considered in Nigeria. It is good for the country as the issue of security would be beefed up and more people would be employed. I think it should be encouraged all over the country.

But some Nigerians are kicking against it, saying that leaders in authority would use state police against their political opponents.

No. That cannot happen. It should be adopted. Like I said before, there are always pros and cons to any situation. The advantages derivable from the states police arrangement are far greater than the disadvantages. We should go ahead and do it. You cannot totally rule these

out; but I think in terms of the security situation in Nigeria, every state governor, every local government area needs to beef up her security.

What is your assessment of the Goodluck Jonathan administration?

Mr. President is doing well. I want to celebrate him. More women are in his cabinet. He has empowered women. I am a woman and I want to celebrate him for the good works he is doing across the country. But I think President Jonathan should do more in terms of the security of lives and properties. We are seeing greater improvement in terms of roads, power and what have you. For me; I will rate him very high. He has done well, but he can do better.

Some say there is a gang up against him.

What is your view?

I am not a politician but as a Nigerian; I do not think there is any gang up against Mr. President. My suggestion is that there should be a serious opposition checkmating the activities of those in power. We do not have a one party sys-

We should retain the presidential system of government while we discourage the issue of creation of more states for now. The resources coming from the federal account are even not enough for the states

Do you think the government of Delta State, and the Federal Government have empowered enough women in government?

I want to celebrate Jonathan for empowering more women because we never had so many women in power like this before now. Most of the strategic ministries are headed by females. Like Oliver Twist; we want to ask for more women to be empowered as he has been doing.

As one time you were vice president of PMAN, how would you describe their activities in the music industry in recent times?

The body in recent times has been in disarray. The body has not been together.

There have been a lot of factions, claiming leadership, with different people claiming to be the authentic president of the body. It is time we come together as musicians in Nigeria to have a common front because divided we scatter.

I want to use this opportunity to talk to the elders in the entertainment and music industry to please come together to do something about PMAN. The fight is not helping anybody. It is affecting every one of us. We need to put our personal ambition aside first and talk about PMAN and think how we can use PMAN to preach peace and make a difference in Nigeria.

How did you react to the demise of music icon Mrs. Kefee Don Momoh, (Nee Obareki)?

Kefee was not just an artist; she was an ambassador of Delta State to the world. To the Urhobo Kingdom, she was very creative and a pride to us. We were very close. She grew up here in Sapele and it was sad news. It is really something that breaks my heart but we thank God. The Lord brought her to this earth and knows why He has taken her back. It is a sad loss to the world, to Delta State, to the Urhobo communities and the entertainment world. She was a creative artist that made her people proud.

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tion titled: “Key Issues before Northern Delegates to the 2014 National Conference”. The document was put together by a Think-Tank constituted by the Northern Governors Forum, Arewa Consultative Forum and the Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation to guide delegates from the region.

It began on a note of suspicion, skepticism and subtle blackmail when it claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan had a hidden agenda for convoking the conference. According to the document, the 2014 conference like the 2005 National Political Reform Conference “is intended to permit Mr. President to take certain actions and decisions which are not allowed without changing the constitution” and it therefore urged northern delegates to be vigilant.

“The National Conference is a device designed to blackmail the citizenry especially the National Assembly, into a position where they would be powerless to prevent the introduction of certain policies or changes no matter how obnoxious they may be to the majority of the population. Of course the President won’t tell anyone in advance what the hidden agenda are with respect to the conference. One is therefore left to second guess his motives and to do so by analyzing his pedigree, his speeches and actions as well as those of his supporters and advisers in the five years he has been in office. On this score, the tell tale signs of his secret ambitions are unmistakable,” the document said.

The forty six page document was released to all delegates in the midst of heated debates at the committee stage.

It was strategic. It was timely. The North had watched the debates for a number of weeks and had taken notes on what the South wanted from the conference.

It therefore attacked frontally all the agitations for change.

In the said document, the northern think-tank rejected the position of the South on fiscal federalism, revenue sharing and derivation formula. It also rejected the bid by the oil producing states to take control of their resources and argued that these oil producing states were already taking more than their fair share of the revenue accruing to the federation through various guises including the abolition of the onshore/ offshore dichotomy which favours littoral states. The North described the clamor for a hundred per cent resource control as an attempt by the South South to pull out of the federation, insisting that the mineral resources in the Niger Delta belonged to all Nigerians.

According the memorandum the North which hosts 80 per cent of the Nigerian population was the back bone and strength of the country.

“The north rejects the frequent assertions by the south on the population figures of the north and state clearly that the rate of population growth attributed to the north over the years is extremely understated.

“The demand for resource control is indeed also oblivious of other relevant facts: the Nigerian constitution gave the ownership of all mineral resources found in any part of the country to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The history of revenue sharing between the regions and the centre was 50:50, but limited to revenue derived from activities that involved human effort. All mineral resources had belonged to the centre, and this new adventure on resource control is a totally new concept, and alien to the practice in Nigeria.”

On the local government system, the document stated that the north would prefer to have a local government system that brings the people closer to the government and increases their level of

Confab: How the battle was fought, won and lost

Cross section of delegates at the National Conference

involvement in governance.

The document recommended a vertical revenue sharing formula as follows: federal government 26%, states 39%, local government 35%. It also recommended a horizontal revenue sharing formula for the states and local government areas as follows: equality 35%; population 30%; population density 2%; land mass 20%; terrain 5%; internal revenue generation effort 5%%; and social development factor 3%.”

Southern agenda Infuriated by this hard posture of the North, the people of the oil rich Niger Delta then renewed their demand for a total control of their natural resources. They rejected the 1999 Constitution and demanded the enactment of a new Constitution which, according to them, should be based on the principles of fiscal federalism as enshrined in the 1963 Republican Constitution.

The region, under the auspices of a pressure group, Niger Delta Self Determination Movement (NDSDM) warned that if its demand for a hundred per cent resource ownership was not granted, it would be left with no other option than to pursue self determination to secure its land and people.

In a fifty one page document circulated to delegates at the venue of the conference, the group expressed concern at the position of the delegates of the North on various issues regarding the structure of Nigeria, arguing that whereas Nigeria is said to be a federation, the country has been operating as a unitary state to the disadvantage of the people of the Niger Delta.

In the said document, the Niger Delta Self Determination Movement accused the General Abdulsalam Abubakar military administration of foisting on Nigeria a “northern Nigeria Inspired constitution” in 1999. The group argued that the said constitution was deliberately crafted with the intent and purpose of expropriating the mineral resources of the Niger Delta for the benefit of the North. It described the 1999 Constitution as a forgery meant to assist the North to further consolidate

the dominance it achieved through the lopsided creation of states and local government councils during the long years of military rule. “ The continuous refusal to allow the people to write their own constitution that will be fair and just to the component parts of the country in the face of the forged signature of “We the People” as appended in the so called 1999 Constitution which title is disputed as being a forgery. If indeed ‘we the people’ wrote this constitution called the 1999 constitution , it means that we gave up voluntarily our land and resources both on and off shore to a people or said government that had nothing to do with it. If this then is the case, it raises a question as to why we have been fighting for ages now right from the days of Isaac Adaka Boro and the rest for the ownership and control rights of our resources. Our lands and its abundant resources were taken away from us without our consent.

“The use of the military by the North to move from the equitable position of twelve states in 1967 - with a balance of six states each for the Northern and Southern divides, to giving the North one extra state and its associated local government councils above the South in 1976 during the General Murtala Muhammed regime and another additional state and associated local government councils in 1991 during the General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime. These manipulations for the purpose of socio- economic and political dominance particularly the sharing of oil revenue are very disturbing and unacceptable to us,” the document read.

The group also took exception to the utterances of some northern delegates in and outside the conference, stressing that the northern political elite have been trying to distort historical facts and records, a trend they described as very provocative. According to the NDSDM, the rejection of the Minority Report submitted by the Niger Delta activist and delegate at the conference, Ms Annkio Briggs was in bad faith and designed to undermine the interest of the Niger Delta people.

In specific terms, the group stated its cardinal demands as follows: “Mineral resources including oil, gas and solid mineral: A hundred per cent ownership and control rights for communities or states as the case may be, should own their resources and from the proceeds pay a percentage through the regions to the Federal Government.

“Lastly, that a completely new peoples constitution should be drafted collectively by the ethnic nationalities to replace the current northern military inspired 1999 Constitution. This is to the effect that the so called 1999 Constitution is a faulty document and a fraud with a forged signature of ‘we the people’ whereas we were not consulted during the making of that compendium of decrees now called constitution which gave out our lands and resources without our permission.”

In a veiled reference to the Northern Agenda, the Niger Delta group said the northern delegates were dubious when they claimed that the 19 states of the defunct Northern Region has been the backbone of Nigeria since colonial times. The Niger Delta group asserted that whereas the North claimed to have sustained Nigeria economically before the discovery of oil, a series of archival statistics and graphic illustrations including pie charts indicate that the North has been dependent on the South even at amalgamation in 1914.

The outcomes As at July 14 when the national conference concluded deliberations on the report of its twenty committees, many critics of the conference were of the opinion that the conference has been a waste of precious time and huge resources. The National Assembly appropriated the sum of N7 billion in the 2014 budget for the conference billed to last three months but with the extension of the exercise by one month, it is logical that the cost implications will be more than earlier anticipated.

The truth is that if there are no positive outcomes from the conference then CONTINUED ON PAGE 43

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the critics would be right but there are some indications that neither the manhours nor the financial resources expended on the conference went down the drain. A cross section of delegates who spoke to New Telegraph gave a positive retrospection on the exercise.

Comrade Festus Okoye , a constitutional lawyer and delegate representing civil society organizations said the conference did not only end well but recorded some achievements. According to Okoye, the fact that the conference in its last days witnessed a lot of tension over derivation and revenue sharing has not rubbished the achievements recorded in areas such as devolution of powers, political restructuring and electoral reforms.

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae also had a positive comment about the conference. He said that contrary to the impression being created in some quarters, the conference has achieved some good measure of success.

“We have completed our work in good shape. We did not end in confusion; we did not end in chaos, we ended up by agreeing to make one single recommendation to the president. If you look at the entire conference, people thought we were going to break up in confusion; it didn’t happen. They thought that some people would walk out; it didn’t happen. Some said we would achieve nothing; it didn’t happen. Boko Haram didn’t scatter us. We thank God. “Secondly, each state will have its own police force with which to enforce its own enactments. That is the meaning of a government- a body that can leCO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 5

to outsmart. For the APC, we have the current House Of Representative member, Hon Lasun Yusuf while the PDP has Hon. Tunde Abesin, a strong member of the Omisore campaign Group.

Orolu In this local Government, three personalities hold ground here and they are Alhaji Olarinde of LP, Mr. Kolapo Alimi- the present commissioner for Local Government Affairs (APC), and former finance commissioner and PDP stalwart, Mr. Moses Ojo. They all hail from this area and are very influential and it is certain each will tirelessly work for his party.

Ife East, South, North and Central LGAS: These are the Local Governments of the PDP aspirant, Senator Omisore and his influence cannot be compromised here. Remember he won as a detainee in Ife East senatorial district to the amazement of all. Besides, he is the son of the soil and the leader of the PDP in these local governments. The PDP’s base here is most solid out of the three major parties.

Ilesa West and East LG Since the governor hails from Ilesha, anyone trying to penetrate the area from any other party would be wasting his time. The incumbent has a very strong grip on these LGAS and therefore the APC holds sway here.

Obokun LG One needs to bear in mind that the present commissioner for lands and physical planning, Mr. Muyiwa Ige hails from here – he is the son of late Chief Bola Ige. But this does not mean he dominates the area for the APC. For instance, Hon Wale Oke of the PDP is also from this LG and he is a great mobilize for the PDP too.

Oriade Former commissioner for commerce in the state- Dr Oladehinde is an ardent

How the battle was fought, won and lost He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Those who were unable to shift their positions especially our colleagues from the North have sent a very wrong signal to the entire country gitimately make laws and enforce them by their own authority through a police force. Thirdly, in a federation, the federating units control their own local governments. Hitherto, they were the third tier controlled from Abuja, now they are the property of the federating units.

“Another important issue like the removal of the immunity clause was also resolved here. Immunity is the father of impunity. If I hold an office where I am not subject to investigation or arrest, I can go to the central bank and take all the money there without anybody doing anything about it. You can kill a man, nobody can arrest you. This conference has recommended that immunity clause should be removed. It has also decided that special courts be set up to try those who loot the treasury. A special

trial process will be set up so that such cases of corruption do not go on forever.

It will now have a maximum period of twelve months and the maximum punishment is fifty years. All these together, in my view, is to enable Nigeria to make a fresh beginning,” Falae said.

Veteran journalist and delegate of the South -South region at the conference, Chief Okon Osung was not impressed with the inability of the conference to approve the proposed increase in the derivation revenue on minerals.

He blamed it on the northern delegates whom he accused of frustrating change in the polity. Osung acknowledged that some gains were recorded but said that the treatment given to the derivation issue would leave the South- South with no other option than to continue the struggle outside the conference.

“It is said that he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Those who were unable to shift their positions especially our colleagues from the North have sent a very wrong signal to the entire country. We had thought that this matter could be resolved here but now that the conference has recommended that a technical committee should look at these issues, it means that those of us from the South South would also take this battle outside the purview of the National Conference. We are going to mobilize our people and sensitise Nigerians as to the need not for any percentage again but as to the need for us to revert to the status quo.” Osung said.

One of the most vocal critics of the conference and a former National

Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Buba Galadima has also acknowledged that the conference has been a success.

Galadima said the success stems from the fact that the conference concluded its assignment without breaking into pieces as some persons had predicted.

“It is a success for one reason – that we were able to continue to talk, from the time we started up to now. This is a big success because nobody, including myself, ever thought this conference will scale past one week. But here we are as Nigerians. We talk as if the country is going to break tomorrow and we hug each other in the morning. I said we came here for a purpose and that purpose has not been defeated because whoever that put up a proposal, we were able to counter or support. That we are still talking is very important. It is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war,” he said.

The verdict In spite of this positive outlook, it is still too early in the day to determine who has won or lost the battle. Obviously, certain propositions have failed to fly while some have found their way into the body of recommendations to be sent to the government. The conference would reconvene in a few days time to ratify its final report. Even after the report has been ratified and transmitted to President Goodluck Jonathan, the battle will not be over yet until the dreams and visions behind the report are translated into building blocks for the reconstruction of a new Nigeria.

Osun election contenders: How they stand the PDP and Omisore is highly favoured here. Chief Ogunriade and Salaam are much loved by their people as they have used their connections within the party to develop the area. They will surely determine who and where the peoples vote go.

supporter of Chief Omisore of the PDP and he has a firm grip of the area. He is a force to be reckoned with and he wields a big influence. The PDP stands a better chance here.

Atakumosa West and East LGAs Two personalities – state chairman of the APC Mr. Wole Adebiyi and state coordinator of SURE- P, Dr Bayo Faforiji will determine the fate of the two parties here. Both men are on ground for their individual parties and wield great influence and supporters. It is believed that the contest would be a tight one in the area, except any one of them unveils a joker to outsmart the opponent.

Ede South and North LGAs We have people of these areas in both the APC and the PDP. The votes of these areas will be shared as some will go for APC courtesy of the defection of Senator Isiaka Adeleke and some will go for PDP since the running mate of Omisore, Hon Adejare Bello is from there.

Iwo LGA We have a stalwart of the PDP in this LGA and he is a big fish. He is Chief Abiola Ogundokun. Definitely he will work for the PDP. However the APC too is not without anybody here. The present SSG to Aregbesola, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti is a force to be reckoned with here too. He is a grass root mobilizer and all things being equal, the APC may have upper hand here.

Olaoluwa LGA This is the local government of Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, the flag bearer of the LP and he is loved by his people. Should things work out well he may likely deliver his base and there is every tendency LP wins here.

Irewole LGA The fact that Dr. Peter Babalola, erstwhile chieftain of the PDP but now a member of the APC, and Chief Lere Oyewumi- a close associate of Omisore come from this area, it will be very difficult to say which of the two parties wins here. It is definitely a battle of the titans.

Jega

Ayedire LGA Due to its proximity to Olaoluwa, it is possible the LP wins here too. But one cannot be too sure as other parties are also gaining grounds here.

Ejigbo LGA We cannot rule out the fact that since the speaker of Osun State House of Assembly – Hon Najeem Salaam is from here, the APC likely to hold sway. The Speaker is amiable and the area has benefitted from government’s patronage since their son is the number three man in the state. Indeed, this LGA is dominated by APC courtesy Hon Salaam.

Egbedore LGA With Chief Layi Ogunriade, Hon. Bamidele Salaam of the PDP on ground, this LGA is definitely the stronghold of

Ayedaade LGA With the influence of Chief Morakinyo, the PDP may win here. The man tells his people who to vote for and he is a stakeholder in the PDP and even the appointment of Honourable Adesiyan who is from this local government as Police affairs minister has made the PDP popularity to rise here.

Isokan LGA This is one area up for grabs, as both the APC and the PDP seem to have equal strength here, and one cannot really say which party will win. It all depends on their field work and mobilizing power.

Conclusion All said and done, considering all projections and permutations the day of reckoning is August 9th when the battle of the titans will take place. Who occupies Abere Government House? Who rules the State of the Living Spring for the next four years? The campaigns go on and the campaigners roar by. The contenders are strategizing and everyone waits with bathed breath for the eventual pronunciation by the electoral umpire.

business | MONEY LINE

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FG ups crude production target to 2.52m barrels daily Madueke, gave this hint at the 38th Nigerian Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in Lagos.

Currently, Nigeria produces 2.30 million barrels per day (mbopd).

Alison-Madueke unveiled plans to recoup 215, 000 barrels daily crude production, which it hitherto lost to crude theft and deferment.

Although the Minister kept mum on the date for the commencement of the new target, New Telegraph gathered that this is likely to start from Au-

TALL ORDER Government eyes 215, 000 bpd from production monitoring, accounting Adeola Yusuf

T

he federal government yesterday officially declared supplementary oil production target of 2.515 million barrels per day.

Minister of Petroleum resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-

gust to December, 2014.

The government, she said in a speech presented to newsmen by the Chairman, SPE Nigeria Council, Mr. Bernard Oboarekpe, had already concluded plans for a pilot scheme for real time crude oil production monitoring and hydrocarbon accounting, with which the loss to deferment and theft would be recouped.

She said: "In 2013, we sustained an average crude oil and condensate production of 2.30 million barrels per day (mbopd) and gas production of 7.6 billion cubic feet per day despite crude

CBN sets N100bn capital for WDFIs, N5bn for RDFIs small-and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) or economic development, promote growth in sustainable businesses, job creation, reduce poverty and improve quality of lives.

The regulator said that the modifications was intended to accelerate the pace of development of the Nigerian economy - ensuring that the key role of some critical sectors live up to expectations.

It further explained that, the Federal Government had over the years established development finance institutions (DFIs) to provide financial interventions in the identified sectors, targeting MSMEs to complement the efforts of banks and other financial institutions (OFIs) in that regard.

According to the apex bank,

Godson Ikoro

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday stipulated a capital requirement of N100 billion for Wholesale Development Finance Institutions (WDFIs) and N5 billion for Retail DFIs. In an exposure of draft regulatory and supervisory guidelines for DFIs in Nigeria posted on its website, the apex bank said development finance institutions are specialised financial institutions established with specific mandate to develop and promote key sectors considered to be of strategic to the overall socio-economic development objectives of the country.

Going by the objectives of DFIs, they are to fund micro-,

due to limited access to longterm and low-interest funds, and other factors, the DFIs have recorded limited successes.

Consequently, the Federal Government in collaboration with development partners and international financial institutions (IFIs) decided to sponsor the establishment of a Wholesale DFI (WDFI) to bridge the gap and to increase the availability and access to finance, in particular, for MSMEs Furthermore, it said that benefits of WDFIs are documented and acknowledged in both developed and emerging markets and it was in support of this initiative that it developed the regulatory and supervisory guidelines to provide a level playing field for participants in the DFI subsector.

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

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

FX

Bid Spot ($/N) 163.28 THE FIXINGS –NIBOR,NITTY and NIFEX of February 6,2014

NITTY

Yield 12.86 13.33 13.35 13.42 13.38 13.53

Money Market Offer 11.85 11.85 11.80 Offer 163.38

sector such as cement. This ultimately reduced our average gas flare to less than 12 per cent."

The Minister said that the federal government is already looking towards energy sufficiency with relentless exploration in Chad and other inland basins.

"Despite the current security challenges in Borno state, we successfully completed 250 square kilometer Phase V 3D km2 Phase VI programme.

"In addition, we have also acquired Aeromagnetic data that covers the entire frontier basins," she said.

‘Nigeria needs partners to finance critical sectors’ Godson Ikoro

A

n investment banker and Chairman, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mr. Atedo Peterside, has stressed the need for Nigeria to find a willing partner that will help in crystallising the country’s developmental aspirations via financing and interventions in critical sectors of the economy.

Speaking at the ongoing Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, United States, Peterside said Africa consistently moved away from an era of wars, famines and violence to a country of huge economic potential and rapid growth.

According to him, with consistent improvement in political governance, a growing middle class, massive consumer market and economic growth rates averaging five per cent in the last decade, African nations provide

enormous business opportunities that can no longer be overlooked by any discerning investor.

His words, “People are coming to Africa generally to invest and to share in this last frontier where they expect rapid growth. If the British and the French were the first to come, as Africa has become more important and looks like a new favoured destination, other western powers obviously want to accelerate their entrance into the game and get to the forefront. That is why you see the Chinese have made their presence felt,” adding that the current global spotlight on the continent is well deserved.

Peterside believes that with the renewed interest in the continent, the challenge for its leaders is to create a competitive and conducive environment to attract investment to each country.

Obama to unveil $14bn US corporate investments in Africa

Treasury Bills Maturity Date 08-May-14 07-Aug-14 22-Jan-15

oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

"Average crude oil theft and deferment during the same period was 215 thousand barrels per day (kbopd). In our bid to increase transparency, we have concluded a pilot scheme for real time crude oil poduction monitoring and hydrocarborn accounting process.

"As part of our strategy to reduce gas flare, gas supply to the domestic market grew to an all-time high of 1500 million cubic feet per day, of which about 70 per cent was deployed to the power sector and the balance in support of the manufacturing

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

U

nited States’ companies pledged new investment in Africa on yesterday as part of $14 billion in construction, clean energy, banking, and information technology projects to be unveiled by US President Barack Obama at an event showcasing US economic interest in the fast-growing region.

Business leaders according to Reuters, told the US -Africa Business Forum they wanted to seize opportunities in the region, home to six of the world's 10 fastest growing economies, although some said they may have been late to the party.

"We gave it to the Europeans first and to the Chinese later but today it's wide open for us," said General Electric chief executive Jeff Immelt, who on Monday announced a $2 billion investment in infrastructure and worker skills.

The forum, part of a threeday Africa summit in Washington, will allow dozens of African heads of state to mingle with US and African executives and spotlight projects to improve infrastructure,

finance, supply chains and energy security.

Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote, announcing plans to invest $5 billion in energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa jointly with Blackstone Group funds, said nothing worked if there was no power.

The group counts cement making, flour milling and sugar refining among its activities. Dangote called for US export credit agency, the Export Import Bank, to remain open, praising its support for African companies buying US goods.

The World Bank forecasts Africa's economic growth will accelerate to more than 5 per cent in 2015 and 2016 but estimates one in three Africans, or 600 million people, need electricity.

World Bank President Jim Kim announced $5billion in financing and investment guarantees for Power Africa, a privately funded programme to install 10,000 megawatts of new generation capacity and connect 20 million new customers across Africa by 2018.

Sanctity of Truth

Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 Wednesday, August 6, 2014 Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050

Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050

business | CAPITAL MARKET 45

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at August 5, 2014 Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

CONGLOMERATES CONGLOMERATES Totals

338

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals

15,253,140

95,833,925.38

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

Symbol COSTAIN

No. of Deals 10 10

Current Price 1.18

Quantity Traded 92,455 92,455

Value Traded 109,466.90 109,466.90

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 17 17

Current Price 63.00

Quantity Traded 34,285 34,285

Value Traded 2,225,558.80 2,225,558.80

Real Estate Development Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 Real Estate Development Totals

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 30 30

Current Price 17.06

Quantity Traded 180,250 180,250

Value Traded 3,070,278.31 3,070,278.31

Symbol UPDCREIT

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 9.95

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 1,892.00 1,892.00

307,190

5,407,196.01

Quantity Traded 5,000 5,000

Value Traded 2,500.00 2,500.00

Daily Summary as ofGOODS 05/08/2014 INDUSTRIAL Printed 05/08/2014 Building15:17:50.050 Materials

Value Traded 2 of 13 2,750.00 11,321,812.84 11,032,087.90 22,356,650.74

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Published

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Building Materials Activity Summary on Board EQTY CAP PLC

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Totals

Daily Summary (Bonds)

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals

58

No Debt Trading Activity

CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol No. of Deals Current Price DUNLOP

AGRICULTURE Crop Production Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © PLC FTN COCOA PROCESSORS OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals

Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

1 1

Symbol FTNCOCOA OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 1 35 33 69

Current Price 0.50 34.44 37.00

Quantity Traded Page 5,500 329,976 307,010 642,486

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 41 41

Current Price 3.28

Quantity Traded 1,318,678 1,318,678

Value Traded 4,285,360.34 4,285,360.34

1,961,164

26,642,011.08

Quantity Traded 300 1,200 100 15,065,786 185,754 15,253,140

Value Traded 444.00 4,800.00 467.00 84,684,399.97 11,143,814.41 95,833,925.38

AGRICULTURE Totals

Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 CONGLOMERATES Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. CHELLARAMS PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Activity Summary on Board EQTY Diversified Industries Totals

110 Symbol AGLEVENT CHELLARAM SCOA Daily Summary TRANSCORP UACN

CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. Food Products Totals Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 Food Products--Diversified Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC.

0.50

No. of Deals 2 2 1 (Equities) 295 38 338

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL PLC Published by The Nigerian Stock ExchangeBANK © Banking Totals

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 Processing Systems Totals Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 ICT Totals

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 14 14

Current Price 115.00

Quantity Traded 16,459 16,459

Value Traded 1,987,424.25 1,987,424.25

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON NNFM

No. of Deals 43 120 134 36 18 9 360

Current Price 7.40 9.00 78.93 4.11 10.59 18.77

Quantity Traded 115,020 4,629,757 1,611,680 416,770 55,831 352,541 7,181,599

Value Traded 848,276.51 41,223,242.34 127,331,811.62 1,737,959.00 585,016.50 6,622,909.75 178,349,215.72

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

No. of Deals 11 51 62

Current Price 74.25 1,110.00

Quantity Traded 71,787 185,741 257,528

Value Traded 5,063,854.98 206,131,666.29 211,195,521.27

Symbol VITAFOAM

No. of Deals 21

Current Price 4.33

Quantity Traded 204,358

Value Traded 864,320.04

Symbol VONO

No. of Deals 6 27

Current Price 1.37

Quantity Traded 13,955 218,313

Value Traded 17,624.75 881,944.79

No. of Deals 52 72 124

Current Price 37.95 49.00

Quantity Traded 909,875 1,205,131 2,115,006

Value Traded 34,160,763.13 59,032,490.88 93,193,254.01

12,978,878

1,049,798,675.28

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

798 Symbol No. of Deals ACCESS 204 DIAMONDBNK 98 ETI 107 FIDELITYBK 97 GUARANTY 318 SKYEBANK 98 STERLNBANK 39 Daily UBA Summary (Equities) 217 UBN 75 UNITYBNK 12

Current Price 9.90 6.40 16.80 2.05 29.45 3.06 2.26 7.64 8.18 0.50

Quantity Traded 55,690,796 8,085,829 3,287,115 8,681,212 8,816,555 2,524,712 1,889,254 12,415,370 676,981 1,052,000

Value Traded 1 of 13 25,492,254.51 3,234,782.00 535,461,778.73 564,188,815.24

3

of

13

Value Traded 540,856,108.33 51,409,848.48 54,311,186.32 17,490,621.08 259,160,590.37 7,886,181.97 4,262,399.97 94,730,801.59 5,549,426.46 526,000.00

SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC Advertising Totals

116,847,096

1,346,794,949.52 Value Traded 50.00 3,893,474.63 2,197,111.33 1,515,715.50 500.00 54,831.00 1,000.00 1,096,800.00 678,140.68 1,291,522.40 1,339.00 90,402.17 5,900.00 15,001.50 8,131,700.44 18,973,488.65

Symbol NPFMCRFBK

No. of Deals 8

Current Price 0.96

Quantity Traded 263,256

Value Traded 252,219.20

Symbol

No. of Deals 8

Current Price

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Symbol ASOSAVINGS INFINITY

No. of Deals 1 1 2

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 78 30 538 105 2 50 99 902

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Symbol EVANSMED FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER

No. of Deals 4 14 20 7

Value Traded 1,400,637.36 4309,211,147.59 of 13

Page Quantity Traded 263,256

5 of 13 Value Traded 252,219.20

Current Price 0.50 1.60

Quantity Traded 100 500 600

Value Traded 50.00 760.00 810.00

Current Price 3.22 4.00 14.97 4.25 0.52 30.00 2.17

Quantity Traded 1,859,565 2,486,032 14,356,063 10,981,581 1,162 1,083,944 2,846,278 33,614,625

Value Traded 5,929,232.17 9,906,350.49 215,000,018.76 46,421,624.47 581.28 32,114,445.97 6,209,744.75 315,581,997.89

173,489,742

1,681,603,465.26

Quantity Traded 11,900 817,378 106,517 124,276

Value Traded 25,585.00 2,477,841.34 6,739,493.80 202,193.13

Current Price 2.15 3.03 65.01 1.65

Page

6

of

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 1,010,000 1,010,000

Value Traded 505,000.00 505,000.00

1,576,500

801,310.00

Quantity Traded 100 767,483 16,800

Value Traded 259.00 25,530,803.74 143,001.76

Page Quantity Traded 152,407

7 of 13 Value Traded 6,126,365.10

1 90 8

2.72 33.50 8.60

Symbol CAP

No. of Deals 22

Current Price 39.00

Symbol CCNN DANGCEM DNMEYER IPWA PAINTCOM PORTPAINT WAPCO

No. of Deals 156 31 4 1 2 12 137 464

Current Price 14.56 229.00 1.15 0.50 1.47 5.46 124.00

Quantity Traded 3,386,948 491,504 29,180 4,000 1,600 265,300 2,000,518 7,115,840

Value Traded 48,409,754.77 112,960,242.69 34,828.80 2,000.00 2,464.00 1,462,651.00 247,079,502.78 441,751,873.64

Symbol AUSTINLAZ CUTIX

No. of Deals 1 9 10

Current Price 2.00 1.99

Quantity Traded 100 60,000 60,100

Value Traded 209.00 115,008.80 115,217.80

Symbol AVONCROWN BETAGLAS

No. of Deals 3 2 5

Current Price 1.69 16.30

Quantity Traded 5,929 2,100 8,029

Value Traded 10,494.33 35,931.00 46,425.33

7,183,969

441,913,516.77

Symbol BOCGAS

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 5.76

Quantity Traded Page 100

Value Traded 8 of 548.00 13

Symbol ALEX ALUMACO

No. of Deals 5 1 6

Current Price 10.43 7.75

Quantity Traded Page 7,008 100 7,108

9Value Traded of 13 69,643.28 737.00 70,380.28

Symbol MULTIVERSE

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 10,500,000 10,500,000

Value Traded 5,250,000.00 5,250,000.00

10,507,208

5,320,928.28

100

548.00

Symbol JAPAULOIL

No. of Deals 100 100

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 10,543,441 10,543,441

Value Traded 5,338,329.67 5,338,329.67

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 452 452

Current Price 26.50

Quantity Traded 5,135,677 5,135,677

Value Traded 136,542,789.63 136,542,789.63

Symbol BECOPETRO

No. of Deals 1 39 51 89 31

Current Price 0.50 62.32 3.85 231.16 169.62

Quantity Traded 100 71,002 1,410,211 243,787 151,183

Value Traded 50.00 4,153,101.82 5,247,492.85 56,127,219.16 25,619,286.31

Symbol MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 3 43 257

Current Price 61.99 172.01

Quantity Traded Page 2,010 90,305 1,968,598

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 19 19

Current Price 708.75

Quantity Traded 39,031 39,031

Value Traded 27,468,343.13 27,468,343.13

17,686,747

276,396,881.62

OIL AND GAS Totals

Quantity Traded 100 4,820,196 2,104,950 3,031,431 1,000 109,662 2,000 430,000 1,259,142 1,614,403 2,678 170,285 11,800 30,003 9,176,515 22,764,165

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC.

Symbol CHAMS

ETERNA FO MOBIL

Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals

Current Price 0.50 0.82 1.04 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.55 0.54 0.80 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.89

2,792

Value Traded 2,500.00 2,500.00

Daily Summary (Equities) CONOIL

TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

No. of Deals 1 43 27 47 1 9 2 5 16 24 2 9 2 1 72 261

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals

Integrated Oil and Gas Services Daily Summary as ofPLC 05/08/2014 OANDO Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. Activity Summary on Board EQTY MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. OIL AND GAS Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC.

Symbol AFRINSURE AIICO CONTINSURE CORNERST EQUITYASUR INTENEGINS LINKASSURE MANSARD MBENEFIT NEM NIGERINS PRESTIGE REGALINS SOVRENINS WAPIC

FINANCIAL SERVICES Published byMicro-Finance The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Banks Micro-Finance Banks Totals

Quantity Traded 5,000 5,000

9

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals

Quantity Traded 1,386,507 Page 12,340,765

Daily Summary (Equities)

Current Price 0.50

NATURAL RESOURCES Totals

Current Price 1.01 25.00

Micro-Finance Banks

No. of Deals 1 1

479

Mining Services MULTIVERSE PLC Mining Services Totals

No. of Deals 33 321 1,619

NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol OMATEK

Daily Summary (Equities)

Chemicals Totals NATURAL RESOURCES Metals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. ALUMINIUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Metals Totals

Symbol WEMABANK ZENITHBANK

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Value Traded 293,810.00 293,810.00

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals Published

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © B.O.C. GASES PLC. Activity Summary on Board EQTY

10,052,461.27

Quantity Traded 561,500 561,500

Daily Summary (Equities)

Packaging/Containers AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 BETA GLASS CO PLC. Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 Packaging/Containers Totals

1,530,111 Current Price 0.53

AFRPAINTS ASHAKACEM BERGER

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC DN MEYER PLC. IPWA PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. Building Materials Totals

Value Traded 418,348.00 189,000.00 10,052,461.27

No. of Deals 6 6

Symbol No. of Deals Current Price Daily Summary (Equities)

AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. ASHAKA CEM PLC Activity Summary on Board BERGER PAINTS PLC EQTY

Quantity Traded 370,040 100,000 1,530,111

Symbol COURTVILLE

9

Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

Quantity Traded Page 128,179 121,921 2,934,873 3,184,973

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC Computers and Peripherals Totals

Current Price 200.86 26.65 186.00

Current Price 1.13 1.89

57

ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC Computer Based Systems Totals

No. of Deals 45 17 148 210

Page

No. of Deals 11 1 57

HEALTHCARE Totals

Symbol GUINNESS INTBREW NB

Daily Summary (Equities)

PublishedCONSUMER

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © GOODS Household Durables VONO PRODUCTS PLC. Household Durables Totals

Current Price 1.47 3.95 4.91 5.65 61.00

Symbol NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

828

Value Traded 10 of 13 118,389.00 15,781,880.05 107,047,419.19

Symbol AFROMEDIA

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 100 100

Value Traded 50.00 50.00

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 17 17

Current Price 1.00

Quantity Traded 517,510 517,510

Value Traded 521,323.31 521,323.31

Symbol REDSTAREX

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 4.40

Quantity Traded 38,000 38,000

Value Traded 165,125.50 165,125.50

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 25

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 4,555,721

Value Traded 2,277,860.50

Symbol

No. of Deals 25

Current Price

Quantity Traded Page 4,555,721

Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 8 8

Current Price 0.75

Quantity Traded 286,100 286,100

Value Traded 214,755.00 214,755.00

Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LEARN AFRICA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals

Symbol ACADEMY LEARNAFRCA UPL

No. of Deals 1 5 18 24

Current Price 1.71 1.61 4.48

Quantity Traded 100 16,010 214,404 230,514

Value Traded 179.00 25,155.30 944,385.76 969,720.06

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 28 28

Current Price 0.84

Quantity Traded 1,739,279 1,739,279

Value Traded 1,497,717.78 1,497,717.78

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 13 180 193

Current Price 2.21 5.25

Quantity Traded 135,116 6,916,041 7,051,157

Value Traded 299,873.20 35,534,159.83 35,834,033.03

No. of Deals 9 9

Current Price 6.20

Quantity Traded 112,632 112,632

Value Traded 700,144.80 700,144.80

Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Daily Summary of 05/08/2014 R TasBRISCOE PLC. Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050 Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC.

Activity Summary on Board EQTY SERVICES Employment Solutions Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Employment Solutions Totals

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals Daily Summary as of 05/08/2014 Transport-Related Printed 05/08/2014 15:17:50.050Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Support and Logistics Totals

Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol CAVERTON

SERVICES SERVICES Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

310

14,531,013 Page

Value Traded 11 of 13 2,277,860.50

42,180,729.98 12 of 13

EQTY Board Totals

5,788

257,005,662

3,635,951,100.93

Equity Activity Totals

5,788

257,005,662

3,635,951,100.93

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Symbol NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

No. of Deals 1 2 3

Current Price 2,008.00 19.34

Quantity Traded 13 110 123

Value Traded 26,104.00 2,110.40 28,214.40

ETF Board Totals

3

123

28,214.40

ETP Activity Totals

3

123

28,214.40

13

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Page

13

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13

46 business | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

5-Aug-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.

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)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

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

100.00 535.00 515.27 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 220.15 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 35.00

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

0.15 0.72 2.03 2.73 2.98 3.07 3.82 4.90 5.22 7.48 9.61 14.32 14.80 15.29 15.97 19.95

10.73 10.68 11.16 11.06 11.02 11.03 11.11 11.28 11.30 12.01 12.18 12.14 12.15 12.15 12.20 12.16

9.73 9.91 11.07 11.00 10.96 10.91 11.01 11.21 11.22 11.96 12.13 12.11 12.10 12.09 12.15 12.12

99.74 95.50 103.35 109.25 97.09 95.71 98.72 117.35 83.37 121.20 111.20 119.11 102.30 74.90 84.70 99.93

99.89 96.00 103.50 109.40 97.24 96.01 99.02 117.65 83.67 121.50 111.50 119.41 102.60 75.20 85.00 100.23

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,479.99

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,569.88

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

#

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 6.00 112.22 116.70 66.49

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.24 0.80 1.41 2.35 2.71 2.92

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

11.53 13.30 13.09 13.05 12.03 12.03

97.35 90.19 105.40 100.58 99.19 96.79

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

0.19 1.07 0.67 1.19 1.20 2.70 1.75 3.41 2.38 4.16 2.58 2.58 2.96 3.03 5.30 3.09 3.71 6.31 6.41 3.89 3.92

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

13.92 15.13 13.91 15.19 14.22 16.62 11.96 12.86 12.85 12.15 12.04 15.82 12.02 12.03 12.33 13.77 12.10 12.62 13.59 12.56 13.07

99.90 97.46 99.91 99.01 101.70 85.98 102.93 103.04 102.52 105.87 105.43 96.52 105.89 108.75 108.23 102.40 107.54 103.71 105.89 105.72 105.64

1,304.32

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,273.85

Sub-National Bonds A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil 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 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00 9.00 20.00 12.00 27.00 20.00 80.00 30.00 11.40 87.00 5.00 5.00 5.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Corporate Bonds

555.90 568.13

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

0.17

1.00

11.68

99.90

18-Dec-09

13.50

13.17

18-Dec-14

0.37

5.21

15.81

99.10

01-Apr-10

17.00

2.00

31-Dec-14

0.41

8.71

19.33

99.01

17-Aug-10

10.00

15.00

17-Aug-15

0.55

4.88

15.57

96.29

09-Dec-10

12.00

37.50

09-Dec-15

0.86

1.00

11.67

100.75

06-Jan-11

14.00

1.50

06-Jan-16

0.94

2.63

13.29

100.95

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

2.15

1.00

12.05

101.71

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

2.22

1.34

12.39

103.46

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

3.15

1.00

12.04

102.42

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.94

30-Nov-17

1.97

1.88

12.93

109.74

09-Apr-11

16.00

8.01

09-Apr-18

1.93

3.48

14.51

102.82

09-Sep-11

18.00

3.63

09-Sep-18

2.10

5.20

16.26

103.32

09-Sep-11

16.00

1.00

09-Sep-18

2.10

5.06

16.12

101.82

22-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

22-Sep-18

4.13

1.35

12.49

104.70

18-Oct-13

15.75

3.00

18-Oct-18

2.20

2.29

13.34

104.83

17-Feb-12

17.00

0.54

17-Feb-19

2.28

6.11

17.16

99.78

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

3.41

2.16

13.23

107.39

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

6.28

2.76

14.37

103.50

11-Feb-18

3.52

1.00

12.08

94.74

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

180.17

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

183.34

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 11.37 Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

4.93

4.77

109.96

110.92

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.11

3.91

103.65

104.40

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

5.26

5.14

107.87

108.72

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,607.36

Corporate Eurobonds B-/S&P; B/Fitch B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

AFREN PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

3.71

2.96

111.45

112.64

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

4.87

3.89

104.42

106.14

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.09

5.81

99.67

100.71

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

7.03

6.41

100.59

102.30

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

8.66

8.12

94.36

96.01

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

7.38

6.08

108.93

111.14

6.25 APR 22, 2019

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

B/S&P; B/Fitch

FIDELITY BANK PLC

B/Fitch B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

AFREN PLC

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

6.39

6.09

99.41

100.66

B/Fitch; B/S&P

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

8.77

8.52

99.92

100.86

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

DIAMOND BANK PLC FIRST BANK PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.26

6.56

103.42

105.92

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

AFREN PLC

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.00

5.10

104.41

105.89

ZENITH BANK PLC

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

3,660.00 3,767.23

**Treasury Bills DTM 9 16 23 30 37 44 51 58 65

FIXINGS Maturity 14-Aug-14 21-Aug-14 28-Aug-14 4-Sep-14 11-Sep-14 18-Sep-14 25-Sep-14 2-Oct-14 9-Oct-14

Bid Discount (%) 10.10 10.45 10.35 10.55 10.55 10.45 10.45 10.60 10.20

Offer Discount (%) 9.85 10.20 10.10 10.30 10.30 10.20 10.20 10.35 9.95

Bid Yield (%) 10.13 10.50 10.42 10.64 10.66 10.58 10.60 10.78 10.39

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 11.7500 13.0959 13.8774 14.7751

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

11.67

Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

11.96

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M 6M

160.85 161.17 161.43 162.02 163.18 164.44 168.06

160.95 161.43 161.77 162.67 164.36 166.06 171.63

O/N Tenor Call 1M 3M

REPO

Rate (%) 11.17 12.68 13.21

(%)

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

NA

***LCRM

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

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

0.00 0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

978.35 24.56 6.00 112.22 116.70 66.49

KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA

Investors gain N163 billion, indicating recovery of the market

Stories by Chris Ugwu

rading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday closed on the upward trend as the bulls TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE staged a come back to shore TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION up investors’ interest after Corporate Bonds the bears took the center A+/Agusto; LAFARGE WAPCO stage atAA/GCR the opening of transAa/Agusto last Monday.

GTB actions NGC Nil The return of bullish sentiBbb-/Agusto *UPDC ments was on the backdrop A-/Agusto *FLOURMILLS of µ

BB+/GCR

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

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

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 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00 9.00 20.00 12.00 27.00 20.00 80.00 30.00 11.40 87.00 5.00 5.00 5.00

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

0.19 1.07 0.67 1.19 1.20 2.70 1.75 3.41 2.38 4.16 2.58 2.58 2.96 3.03 5.30 3.09 3.71 6.31 6.41 3.89 3.92

11.80

07-Oct-14

13.17

18-Dec-14

2.00

P

BBB-/GCR

BBB+/DataPro†; BB+/GCR

price appreciations gained by major blue chip companies, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc. Specifically, at closed of transactions, the banking subsector of the financial sector remained the most active stock in volume terms with 116.8 million shares valued at N1.3 billion in 1,619 deals.

The shares of Access Bank 11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 2014 Plc and UBA Plc7-OCT activated the 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 subsector.

Other financial in17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014 stitution services subsector en10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 hanced by the9-DEC-2015 shares of FBNH 12.00 FLOURMILLS 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

*C & I LEASING *DANA#

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

Transnational Incorporat*TOWER AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR *TOWER ed (ETI) has made progress A/Agusto; A/GCR UBA in resolving governance probBbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *LA CASERA lems, the BB+/GCR chief executive of BBB-/DataPro†; *CHELLARAMS its alliance partner Nedbank BBB/GCR *DANA A+/Agusto; said A-/GCR yesterday Group, .

NAHCO TOTAL VALUE some "ETIOUTSTANDING went through TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION governance challenges, but in the last few months we think Supranational Bond they've made enormous progAAA/S&P IFC ress inOUTSTANDING resolving those issues," TOTAL VALUE Mike Reuters in an TOTALBrown MARKETtold CAPITALISATION interview.

South Africa's NedbankIssuer has a Rating/Agency strategic alliance with Ecobank FGNunder Eurobonds and a deal with the Togobased lender has until November BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P to decide if it will take a 20 per BB-/Fitch; FGN cent stake in the bank.

BB-/S&P The board of ETI had reBB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P moved its chief executive, ThiTOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE erry Tanoh, last March following TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION months of turmoil at one of the biggest financial institutions in Corporate Eurobonds sub-Saharan Africa.AFREN PLC I B-/S&P; B/Fitch The crisis over corporate govGTBANK PLC I B+/S&P; B+/Fitch ernance and leadership that led GTBANK PLC to Tanoh's departureACCESS was seen as B+/S&P BANK PLC aB/S&P; test case and has B/Fitch for regulators FIDELITY BANK PLC B/Fitch put a spotlight on the integrity AFREN PLC B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P institutions ZENITH BANK of financial onPLCa A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR

# #

#

B/Fitch; B/S&P

47

13.92 15.13 13.91 15.19 14.22 16.62 11.96 12.86 12.85 12.15 12.04 15.82 12.02 12.03 12.33 13.77 12.10 12.62 13.59 12.56 13.07

99.90 97.46 99.91 99.01 101.70 85.98 102.93 103.04 102.52 105.87 105.43 96.52 105.89 108.75 108.23 102.40 107.54 103.71 105.89 105.72 105.64

0.17

1.00

11.68

99.90

0.37

5.21

15.81

99.10

31-Dec-14

0.41

8.71

19.33

99.01

15.00

17-Aug-15

0.55

4.88

15.57

96.29

37.50

09-Dec-15

0.86

1.00

11.67

100.75

Bulls stage a comeback at NSE

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

NAHCO FSDH

A/GCR

97.35 90.19 105.40 100.58 99.19 96.79

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

followed with a turnover of 33.75 million units valued at N315.5 million in 902 deals.

On the whole, investors exchanged a total of 257 million shares valued at N3.6 billion in 5,788 transactions.

Further analysis showed that at the close of trading session, the NSE All-Share Index was up by 491.42 basis points or 1.16 per cent to close at 42,292.93 as against 41,802.53 recorded the 07-Oct-11 previous day, while 11.50 the market 18-Dec-09 13.50 capitalisation appreciated by 01-Apr-10 17.00 N16317-Aug-10 billion or 1.16 10.00 per cent to close09-Dec-10 at N13.965 trillion 12.00 in con-

trast to N13.802 trillion recorded a day before.

The number of gainers at the close of trading session, closed at 35 while decliners closed higher at 13.

Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc led on the gainers’ table with N33.75 to close at N708.75 per share, while 555.90 Guinness Nigeria Plc followed 568.13 with N9.56 to close at N200.86

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

expanding rapidly.

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 Ecobank had named Dep14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018 uty CEO Albert Essien as its 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 new chief executive.

It also anMPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 nounced reinstatement of 16.00 DANA IIthe 1-APR-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 finance director Laurence do Rego, which was a demand by securities regulator – the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which investigated 10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 alleged breaches of corporate governance.

Tanoh's supporters had said he was under pressure because Description of his drive to expose and correct abuses of corporate governance that pre-dated his 6.75 JANtenure, 28, 2021 which attracted powerful enemies ner12, 2018 vous of what5.13 heJUL might uncover.

Essien, who is from Ghana, 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 has been at Ecobank for more than 20 years and rose to deputy group CEO two years ago.

Ecobank is based in Togo and has a presence in 35 Afri11.50 FEB 01, 2016 can countries.

There are few 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 other pan-African and 6.00 NOV 08,banks, 2018 the continent's financial 7.25biggest JUL 25, 2017 09, 2018 institutions 6.88 areMAY based in South 10.25 APR 08, 2019 Africa.

6.25 APR 22, 2019 Under Tanoh, profits had MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

8.75 May 21, 2019

per share. Mobil Nigeria Plc gained N8.07 to close at N169.62 per share.

On the flip side, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc led on the price losers’ table, dropping by 98 kobo to close at N18.77 per share, while ETI Plc and followed with a loss of 14 kobo to close at N16.80 per share. Dangote Sugar was down by 10 kobo to close at N9.00 per share.

Custodian and Allied doubles profit, declares interim dividend

06-Jan-11

14.00

1.50

06-Jan-16

0.94

2.63

13.29

100.95

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

2.15

1.00

12.05

101.71

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

2.22

and Allied Plc, Ecobank partnership fortified governance –Nedbank Custodian one of the underwritten an African lender Ecobank continent where economies are grown 56 percent in the first firms quoted on the Nigerian A-/Agusto

11.53 13.30 13.09 13.05 12.03 12.03

business | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

T

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

1,273.85

Sub-National Bonds Wednesday, August 6, 2014 A-/GCR NIGER

UPBEAT

0.24 0.80 1.41 2.35 2.71 2.92

1,304.32

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil 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

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

3.15

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.94

30-Nov-17

1.97

09-Apr-11

16.00

8.01

09-Apr-18

1.93

18.00 and his 3.63 09-Sep-18 2.10annine09-Sep-11 months of last year, Stock Exchange (NSE), has 09-Sep-11said those 16.00 2.10 defenders results re- 1.00 nounced an09-Sep-18 unaudited profit 22-Sep-11 14.00 35.00 22-Sep-18 4.13 before tax of N2.751 billion and flected his leadership qualities.

18-Oct-13 15.75 3.00 18-Oct-18 2.20 But his tenure was also profit after tax of N2.276 billion 17-Feb-12 17.00 0.54 17-Feb-19 2.28 for the half 01-Apr-19 year period ended marked by a row over 01-Apr-14 16.00 his bo4.50 3.41 15.25 2.05 14-Nov-20 6.28 nus 14-Nov-13 and by an investigation 30 June 2014. launched last August by SEC 180.17The result represents an inafter do Rego told the regulator 183.34 crease of over 100 per cent over that Tanoh had pressured her to the N1.137 billion profit after tax misstate 2012 financial results. 12.00 recorded in11-Feb-18 the corresponding 11-Feb-13 10.20 3.52 Ecobank denied that allega- period of 2013.

12.00 tion and said do Rego had pre- 11.37Similarly, shareholders’ viously been suspended in a funds grew by 9.34 per cent to Outstanding Value billion from N19.09 bildispute over her qualifications.

N20.88 Issue Date Coupon (%) Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) The SEC in January criti- (N'bn) lion as at June 30, 2013, while tocized what it said was an ab- tal assets stood at N48.2 billion sence of clear vision6.75 and strat- 500.00 compared with N45.6 billion re07-Oct-11 28-Jan-21 4.93 egy at the bank, inadequate ported as at June 30, 2013.

12-Jul-13 5.13 12-Jul-18 transparency in recruiting and 500.00The company’s Chief4.11 Finance Officer, Mr. Ademola conflicts of interest.

12-Jul-13 6.38 500.00 12-Jul-23 5.26 It also demanded that do Ajuwon, in a statement made 1,500.00 Rego be reinstated as a whistle- available to the media, said the blower, something the bank said 1,607.36 results have been transmitted to would be against Togolese law. the Exchange.

Tanoh's position as CEO 450.00 He observed that the im01-Feb-11 11.50 01-Feb-16 3.71 was 19-May-11 undermined by7.50 a series of 500.00 proved result was achieved on 19-May-16 4.87 defections from the board at a the back of favorable underwrit08-Nov-13 6.00 400.00 08-Nov-18 6.09 bank25-Jul-12 that had attracted ing income from 7.25 little ad- 350.00 25-Jul-17the insurance 7.03 verse publicity under subsidiaries and remarkable 09-May-13 6.88 the long 300.00 02-May-18 8.66 08-Apr-12 10.25 08-Apr-19 7.38 tenure of its previous CEO, Ar- 300.00 efficiency gains group wide.

6.25 500.00According 22-Apr-19 6.39 to Wole Oshin, nold22-Apr-14 Ekpe.

103.46 a 1.34 Director 12.39 in the company , 1.00 12.04 102.42 the performance presents in 1.88 12.93 109.74 concrete terms, 3.48 14.51 the result 102.82 of 5.20 16.26 103.32cuscompany’s unwavering 5.06 16.12 101.82 tomer focus, comprehensive 1.35 12.49 104.70 systems, processes and opera2.29 13.34 104.83 tions integration; coupled 6.11 17.16 99.78with unrelenting commitment to its 2.16 13.23 107.39 2.76 14.37 of exceeding 103.50 corporate ideal customers and other stakeholders’ expectations at all times.

He said: “We will continue to ensure that 12.08 our products and 1.00 94.74 services are customer-driven; even as we strive to position our subsidiaries to become Africa’s insurers ofBid choice.”

Offer Yield (%) Price Offer Price Following the stellar perforPrices the & Yields mance, board of directors has recommended the payment 4.77 109.96 110.92 of an interim dividend of 6 kobo 103.65 ordinary 104.40 on3.91 every 50 kobo share of5.14 the company to shareholders 107.87 108.72 on record as at the close of business on 8th August, 2014.

Custodian and Allied Plc is listed in the Other Financial Services Sector of the Daily 2.96 111.45 112.64 Official List of the NSE and 3.89 104.42 106.14 holds significant interests in 5.81 99.67 100.71 insurance (Life 6.41 100.59 and Non-life), 102.30 pension administration, 8.12 94.36 96.01prop6.08 holding 108.93 111.14 erty and trusteeship 6.09 99.41 100.66 businesses.

DIAMOND BANK PLC FIRST BANK PLC

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

8.77

8.52

99.92

100.86

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.26

6.56

103.42

105.92

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

AFREN PLC

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.00

5.10

104.41

105.89

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

3,660.00 3,767.23

5-Aug-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 FIXINGS Money Market Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) the FMDQ OTC PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

**Treasury Bills

DTM Maturity Bid Discount (%) 9 14-Aug-14 10.10 16 21-Aug-14 10.45 23 28-Aug-14 10.35 FGN Bonds 30 4-Sep-14 10.55 37 11-Sep-14 10.55 Issuer Description Rating/Agency 44 18-Sep-14 10.45 51 25-Sep-14 10.45 58 2-Oct-14 10.60 9.25 28-SEP-2014 65 9-Oct-14 10.20 4.00 23-APR-2015 72 16-Oct-14 10.55 13.05 16-AUG-2016 79 23-Oct-14 10.50 15.10 27-APR-2017 86 30-Oct-14 10.40 9.85 27-JUL-2017 93 6-Nov-14 10.10 9.35 31-AUG-2017 100 13-Nov-14 10.60 107 20-Nov-14 10.10 10.70 30-MAY-2018 114 27-Nov-14 10.60 16.00 29-JUN-2019 NA NA 121 4-Dec-14 10.20 7.00 23-OCT-2019 128 11-Dec-14 10.70 16.39 27-JAN-2022 156 8-Jan-15 10.10 14.20 14-MAR-2024 170 22-Jan-15 10.10 15.00 28-NOV-2028 184 5-Feb-15 10.15 198 19-Feb-15 10.15 12.49 22-MAY-2029 212 5-Mar-15 10.15 8.50 20-NOV-2029 247 9-Apr-15 10.20 10.00 23-JUL-2030 261 23-Apr-15 10.15 12.1493 18-JUL-2034 275 7-May-15 9.90 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE *from the Amortising bonds, # the average life is calculated Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums

Offer Discount (%) 9.85 10.20 10.10 10.30 10.30 Issue 10.20Date 10.20 10.35 28-Sep-07 9.95 23-Apr-10 10.30 16-Aug-13 10.25 27-Apr-12 10.15 27-Jul-07 9.85 31-Aug-07 10.35 9.85 30-May-08 10.35 29-Jun-12 9.95 23-Oct-09 10.45 27-Jan-12 9.85 14-Mar-14 9.85 28-Nov-08 9.90 9.90 22-May-09 9.90 20-Nov-09 9.95 23-Jul-10 9.90 18-Jul-14 9.65

Bid Yield (%) 10.13 10.50 10.42 10.64 10.66 Coupon 10.58 (%) 10.60 10.78 9.25 10.39 4.00 10.77 13.05 10.74 15.10 10.66 9.85 10.37 9.35 10.92 10.41 10.70 10.96 16.00 10.56 7.00 11.12 16.39 10.56 14.20 10.60 15.00 10.70 10.74 12.49 10.79 8.50 10.96 10.00 10.94 12.1493 10.70

O/N 1M 3M Outstanding 6M

(N'bn)

Rate (%)

OBB

11.67

O/N

11.96

REPO TTM Bid Yield Tenor(Yrs) Rate (%) (%) Call 1M 0.15 3M 0.72 6M

AMCON

Modified Duration FMBN Buckets

***LCRM <3

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

3<5 >5

Market

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

11.17 12.68 10.73 13.21 10.68 14.07

Tenor Spot 7D 14D Yield Offer 1M (%) 2M 3M 9.73 6M 9.91 1Y

2.03 11.16 11.07 2.73 11.06 11.00 2.98 11.02 10.96 :Benchmarks 3.07 11.03 10.91 * :Amortising Bond 3.82 11.11 11.01 µ :Convertible 4.90Bond 11.28 11.21 AMCON: Asset of Nigeria 5.22Management Corporation 11.30 11.22 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 7.48 12.01 11.96 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 9.61 Finance Corporation 12.18 12.13 IFC: International 14.32 12.14 Management 12.11 LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables NAHCO: Nigerian 14.80 Aviation Handling 12.15 Company 12.10 O/N: Overnight 15.29 12.15 12.09 UPDC: UAC15.97 Property Development 12.20Company 12.15 WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company 19.95 12.16 12.12 NOTE:

Bid ($/N) 160.85 161.17 161.43 Bid Price 162.02 163.18 164.44 99.74 168.06 95.50 175.79

Offer ($/N)

Price 160.95 161.43 161.77

Offer 162.67Price 164.36 166.06 99.89 171.63 96.00 182.72

103.35 103.50 109.25 109.40 97.09 97.24 95.71 96.01 NA :Not Applicable # :Floating Rate Bond 98.72 99.02 ***: Deferred coupon bonds 117.35 117.65 83.37 83.67 †: Bond rating expired 121.20 121.50 111.20 111.50 119.11 119.41 NGC: Nigeria-German Company 102.30 102.60 UBA: United 74.90Bank for Africa 75.20 84.70 85.00 99.93 100.23

4,569.88

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

Agency Bonds NA

Tenor

4,479.99

**Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

Issuer

Value

Rate (%) 11.7500 13.0959 13.8774 Maturity 14.7751 Date

100.00 28-Sep-14 535.00 NITTY 23-Apr-15 515.27 16-Aug-16 Tenor Rate (%) 452.80 27-Apr-17 1M 10.3453 20.00 27-Jul-17 2M 10.5326 100.00 31-Aug-17 3M 10.5331 6M 10.6691 300.00 30-May-18 9M 10.7922 351.30 29-Jun-19 12M 10.9545 233.90 23-Oct-19 600.00 27-Jan-22 220.15 14-Mar-24 NIFEX 75.00 28-Nov-28 Current Price ($/N)22-May-29 150.00 BID($/N) 200.00 160.7500 20-Nov-29 OFFER ($/N) 160.8500 591.57 23-Jul-30 35.00 18-Jul-34

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

NIBOR

BondsTenor

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 0.00Porfolio FMB 24-MAY-2015 Market Total Outstanding Volume(Bn) 17.25 Value(Bn) FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 1,027.22 968.07 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 1,139.45 951.30

28-Dec-11

Weighting by 24-May-10 Outstanding Vol 03-Apr-12

09-Dec-11 35.45 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12 34.83

0.00

0.00/16.00 35.27 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50 39.12

978.35 24.56 6.00 112.22 116.700.35 66.490.35

0.30 1,304.32

Weighting

by Mkt 0.00 Value 17.25

745.87

811.72

29.72

25.61

2,912.53

2,731.09

100.00

100.00

Bucket Weighting

1.00

1,273.85

31-Oct-14

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

09-Dec-16 16.56 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17 35.65

0.24 0.80 1.41 2.35 11.10 2.71 2.92 11.79

47.79 100.00

% Exposure_ 24-May-15 Mod_Duration 03-Apr-17

#

Risk Premium (%)

Indicative Price

2.00 118.5045 1.00 1.00 134.1629

11.53 13.30 13.09 13.05 1,125.55 12.03 12.03 1,136.04

12.19

101.1004

1,179.42

17.9418

11.87

118.7859

1,128.34

12.8339

13.92 15.13 13.91 15.19 14.22 16.62 11.96 12.86 12.85

99.90 97.46 99.91 99.01 101.70 85.98 102.93 103.04 102.52

Implied Yield

1.00

Valuation Yield (%)

Implied 2.63 Portfolio Price 2.27

INDEX

97.35

YTD Return 90.19 (%) 105.40

100.58 12.5551 99.19 96.79 13.6040

Sub-National Bonds A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR

NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA

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

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

14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00

6.00 8.50 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00

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

0.19 1.07 0.67 1.19 1.20 2.70 1.75 3.41 2.38

3.29 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79 1.80

48 POLITICS Yemi Adeoti

‘N

othing sells faster than an idea whose time is ripe’ is a popular saying that is apt to describe the wide acceptance of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate, Otunba Iyiola Omisore by the electorate as he leads his campaign train in taking THE RESCUE MISSION to the doorsteps of the electorate right in the jungles and the metropolitan settlements across the state. It is no more news that the elitist political class as represented by the incumbent government in Osun state is completely detached from the army of poverty-stricken masses it governs as evident in the pervading insensitivity in policy formulation and execution.

As the disconnection reached its peak, the electorates become more agitated and curious to know what lies ahead of them in the next four years.

In fact, the intensity of distraught demands practical reconnection of the severed chord to a new leadership that will be ready to reorder the state’s priority to suit diverse yearnings and aspirations of communities and varying classes of the citizenry.

After all, a Chinese adage says, ‘Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me; It is therefore foolhardy of any politician to rely on destructive lies and blinkered propaganda to win the forthcoming election in the State.

With tranquil dignity, Otunba Iyiola Omisore discountenance his detractors, but rather, with passion, commitment and competence unfurls the details of his social contract in hamlets, villages, towns and cities, and without doubts leaving a positive impression in the minds of majority. The humble and persuasive approach to the campaign makes the message more symbolic and further reinforce the trust in him as a masterpiece of selflessness. As people easily recall his stint as the Deputy Governor in the state from 1999 to 2003, they strongly believe that with him in the saddle this time around as an executive governor, life will definitely be made meaningful and purposeful.

Eleneanor Roosevelt once said that ‘Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events while small minds discuss people’, the focus of his campaign is concentrated on issues and ideas that will better the life of the teeming masses, exercising adequate restraint by avoiding exchange of brickbats with his opponents.

The sincerity and enthusiasm with which the masses trooped out will definitely elicit curiosity in a keen observer, but findings unequivocally showed that as human nature, irrespective of socio-political inclination and stratification, detests poverty, most especially when induced and exacerbated by a minority who is ready to go to the extreme in perpetuating a cult-like hegemony. The veracious fervor with which the hulks in government predate on the resources, arouse trepidations and fears, culminating in strong resolve to subjugate their hegemony and entrust the mandate to a true leader rather than a pretender.

Not a few people posited that the incumbent’s focus for the past four years are mainly targeted towards media glitz essential for scoring cheap political points through deceit and propaganda ,but fortunately, the electorates had long ago risen above parochial sentiments, now beaming their searchlight for that individual, who is historically and emotionally attached, sharing the same value and aspirations, competent and capable to rescue, and this account for the timeliness and acceptability of the RESCUE MISSION MANDATE and its SYMBOL. In all the towns and villages visited so far, the spontaneous celebration left many bewildered, to the extent

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Osun 2014: Omisore’s eightpoint agenda to the rescue

Omisore

that towns and villages outside his immediate schedules, momentarily intercepted the campaign train to show solidarity and support, making requests and suggestions as they earnestly pray for the success of the candidate at the poll.

The Traditional leadership, in most cases waxing philosophical, demonstrated their unalloyed support as they prayed for desired change for the state.

One common feature of their words of encouragement in the face of unabated provocation and character assassination can be summarized by the words of Robert Service ‘Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out. It is the grain of sand in your shoe’. They individually enjoined him to ignore the rabblerousers and encourage himself in God and the teeming masses behind him.

The uniqueness of this MANDATE is in its comprehensiveness, a broaden purview adequate in addressing all the burning issues in the state today, ranging from education to unemployment, infrastructural development, capital flight, welfare of workers and retirees, shady debt profile which has brought the state’s economy to a comatose, and the looming heavy tax regime being proposed by the current administration. To all these and other questions, Otunba Omisore was able to proffer satisfactory answers capable of taking the state out of the doldrums.

School pupils met him in their tattered uniforms; parents were embittered by the undue stress families are subjected to as a result of government insensitivity in policy formulation.

For instance what benefit would a villager derive from school reclassification and restructuring that deprives a whole village proximity to educational facility? Or how do we rationalize the perpetual hardship implored on civil servants and pensioners that are being denied their dues in preference for over inflated infrastructural development? The linter-dependent relation-

ship and mutual trust that ought to exist between the leadership and the followership are grossly battered and eroded.

It is germane at this point to note that any government that fails to make human capital development the centre-piece of its social pact with the electorate can hardly engender mass appeal that is required in electoral triumph. Unfortunately, many apologists of progressivism are oblivious of the need to constantly gauge the mindsets of the ruled in relation to their needs, aspirations and peculiarities.

In the face of palpable failures and denigrations, according to the words of Corrie Ten Boom, Osun people have chosen ‘never to be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God’, hence the people’s confidence in the Rescue Mission agenda of Omisore and his party, the PDP, calling to remembrance the party’s feat in rescuing the state from this kind of disillusionment in 2003 and the immeasurable capability and assiduity of the candidate in actualizing a desired change in the life of the masses.

This multitude remains the driving force behind his campaign success so far, the well articulated developmental agenda is widely accepted not only for its comprehensiveness but because its core issues touch on the immediate and long-term development of both human and natural resources.

As an experienced politician and administrator, he understands that the wealth of a nation or state can only be measured by the quality of human resources it possesses; bearing in mind that human factor is indispensable in the development of other resources required for economic growth.

With more than 50 per cent of the population living on less than U.S $1 per day, this extremely high poverty rate mostly compounded by unprecedented capital flight needs to be urgently tamed. While Aregbesola and his cohorts continue to relish the dividend of self deceit, claiming that the economy of the state is only second to

Lagos State in the whole federation, the people unrepentantly cling to the Rescue Mission train to move them out of hopelessness.

Yet to recuperate from the bitter electoral experience in Ekiti, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was jolted out of his ego trip to face the reality of electoral misfortune as August 9th governorship election draws closer. A deep and sincere analysis of his almost four years in the saddle in Osun State will clearly reveal to every discerning mind that his government’s policy and focus, far from being mass- oriented as earlier painted, were inherently centered on class entrenchment and perpetuation. His major focus all along was to blackmail his predecessors in office, rubbishing their achievements and creating the impression of possessing the magic wand despite financial limitations.

In a bid to sustain the ruse and also satisfy his warlord, he dribbled himself into trouble with the masses. The exploited masses now feel abandoned and traumatized, searching for a credible alternative who will not arrogate to himself the monopoly of wisdom but accommodate the viewpoints of the electorates in a bid to engender an all round development for the state.

Realizing his folly too late, the verdict of Ekiti election has taught him how not to insult the sensibility of the masses, he started recanting on some of his verbal terrorism on the people, for instance, within the last two weeks, he met the religious organizations, labour unions and many other victims of his maladministration with regrets, promises and hasty payments of backlog of salary arrears that were hitherto held with impunity.

But unfortunately for him, this fire-fighting approach is too late and inconsequential to avert a looming misfortune awaiting him at the poll, he has taken his luck too far and if the electorates’ mood is anything to go by, it seems they have made a solid resolution to throw him out of Bola Ige House by their votes. In the book, ‘the Maxime’, the author, Francois de la Rochefaucauld stated inter alia that ‘However brilliant an action, it should not be esteemed great, unless the result of a great motive’. To the humiliated and impoverished people of the state, his actions and activities deserve no applaud since most of them are products of jaundiced vision and suspicious motives.

I will like to conclude this piece with the words of Thomas Huxley which alluded that “Patience and Tenacity of Purpose are worth more than twice their weight in cleverness,” to corroborate the observation of a foremost ruler in the State who commended Otunba Iyiola Omisore for his patience ​and tenacity of purpose in pursuing his Rescue Mission Agenda, he further noted that the Candidate’s Message is devoid of bogus promises which he pointed remains the arch-hill of the incumbent government. This valuable observation underscores the courageous display of maturity, altruism and realist’s candor for which the candidate is respected and trusted by the masses. From rural communities, towns and cities, the symbolic message is well simplified, concise and continues to elicit hope in the enthusiastic crowd who respond with catch phrases and songs as the Rescue Mission Campaign Continues.

•Adeoti writes from Osogbo

NEWS 49

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Ajimobi appoints Eniade as new Head of Service yo State Governor, icy and Strategic Studies, Oproved Abiola Ajimobi, has ap- Eniade joined the services the appointment of the Oyo State govern-

L-R: Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Olaokun Soyinka; Chairperson, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs. Remi Adebiyi and Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ogun State, Mrs. Funmi Wakama, at the 2014 press week of NAWOJ in Abeokuta...yesterday.

PHOTO: KUNLE OLAYENI

THREAT

With Ekiti out of the way, PDP is thinking of Domino effect in the South-West Adesina Wahab ADO-EKITI

M

inister of State for Works, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye, has described next Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State as a continuation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) political woe in the South-West, saying; “By 2015, APC would have lost totally its grip on SouthWest politics.”

The minister, who reiterated his belief that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will win the August 9 election, added that; “Yoruba people have had

APC'll soon be history in South-West, says Adeyeye enough of a political arrangement in which one man determines from his bedroom in Lagos, who becomes a councillor in Ise-Ekiti, my hometown.”

In a release issued in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Adeyeye said after winning the Osun State election on Saturday, the PDP would go ahead to retrieve Oyo, Ogun and Lagos States from the APC next year.

He said the noise being made by the APC over deployment of soldiers in Osun State for the election was a sign that the party had already conceded defeat, adding that; “If a party does not trust the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a

free and fair election and it does not trust all the security agencies to provide security during an election, shouldn’t such a party just go ahead and set up its own country, where it will be in charge of all the government institutions?”

The minister said the APC was only making noise on the presence of security men in the state before, during and after the election, because its intention of using armed thugs to rig the election would not be allowed.

“They invaded Ekiti with armed thugs during the June 21 election, but the thugs were rendered useless by security

agents. They have done the same in Osun and they know that with the presence of soldiers, the thugs won’t have the required freedom to operate, hence their decision to be crying foul,” Adeyeye said.

While urging Osun people to remain resolute in freeing themselves from the grip of the APC, Adeyeye said; “We in Ekiti have freed ourselves by electing Dr. Ayodele Fayose, as our governor.

“The people of Osun must also come out en masse on Saturday to put a stop to a government that thrives in demolition of properties and putting the people under the yoke of debt.”

Alara stool: Aderemi goes to Supreme Court

Akinkuotu: Ondo spends monthly allocation on salaries

Adesina Wahab

Babatope Okeowo

ADO-EKITI

A

contender to the throne of Alara of Aramoko in Ekiti West Local Government of Ekiti State, Prince Olusegun Aderemi, has described as mischievous and misleading, reports in some quarters, that his case against the enthronement of Oba Olu Adeyemi, has been dismissed.

Speaking with journalists in Aramoko-Ekiti, Aderemi said it was wrong and immoral for his opponents to claim that the case he instituted against the enthronement of Oba Adeyemi had been dismissed, saying “I see it as a form of mischief.”

According to him; “When there is a preliminary objection in a case, that has to be treated first before the substantive case is heard. It is after that that we would go into

the merit of the matter. I see it as a form of mischief. It is a way of trying to mislead the people and I see it as a way of distracting the people.”

The prince from the Arakale Ruling House, explained that the substantive suit was still in court, because what was struck out was the appeal against the ruling of the lower court on the preliminary objection he brought against the case.

“The lower court said there was this statutory N25, 000 we were supposed to have paid before instituting the case.

Based on that, the lower court gave its ruling that it cannot continue with the case. However, that was just the preliminary.

“The substantive case is still there, it has not been touched. Based on that, we took the preliminary objection to the Appeal Court, which upheld the lower court's ruling.

AKURE

O

ndo State government yesterday lamented that 80 percent of the allocation accruing to it from the federation account are used in the payment of salaries of civil servants on monthly basis.

The Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Toyin Akinkuotu, who disclosed this yesterday, said most of the employment done into the civil service in the country is attached to patronage and not because of the need for the workforce.

He said out of the N5billion that comes from the federation account every month, N4billion is used for the payment of salaries and other deductions, leaving a paltry N1billion for other developmental projects.

He, however, said government would continue to employ workers as

the private sector that is supposed to give employment to graduates being turned out by various institutions in the country, refuses to grow.

Addressing a press conference on the annual public service day celebration, Akinkuotu unfolded the plan of the government to employ teachers to fill the existing vacancies in all the secondary schools in the state.

Flanked by permanent secretaries, and top government officials, Akinkuotu said a total of 7, 847 public servants are to benefit from the promotion exercise within the year while N514.87million has been given out as vehicle loan this year.

In order to enhance welfare, Akinkuotu said the government has approved contributory pension scheme for workers in the state public service.

of Mr. Williams Adesoji Eniade, as the state’s acting Head of Service (HoS).

The appointment was contained in a statement issued in Ibadan yesterday by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo.

Eniade was, until his appointment, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youths and Sports.

Born on April 31, 1959, the acting Head of Service obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the University of Ibadan in 1981 and Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1997.

A 2012 graduate of the National Institute for Pol-

ment on February 8, 1983 as Administrative Officer II and rose through the ranks to become a permanent secretary on July 3, 2009.

The new HoS, whose appointment takes immediate effect, hails from Lagelu Local Government area of the state and is married with three children.

While congratulating him on the appointment, Governor Ajimobi charged him to discharge his duties with the desired absolute loyalty, integrity, dedication, diligence and professionalism to further promote and enhance the attainment of the goals of government at all times.

PUBLIC NOTICE

GARDEN OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP INTERNATIONAL

The general public is hereby informed that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2004.

The Original Trustees are: 1. Eyo Ekpenyong Esin 2. Obo, Mcben Jonah 3. Esin Eyo Esin.

Aims and Objectives: To preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the unsaved persons.

SIGNED: Chairman

PROSTRATE DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The general public is hereby informed that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2004.

The Original Trustees are: 1. Dr. Emmanuel Okechukwu Nna 2. Dr. Philip Okere 3. Pastor Canice Chukwudi Anyachukwu.

4. Chukwuemeka Sigismond Chima.

Aims and Objectives:

1. To provide public education and sustained awareness for prostrate cancer in Nigeria 2. To facilitate and support programmes for early detection, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, palliative and psychological cares for prostrate cancer patients.

SIGNED: Barr Chukwuemeka Sigismond Chime (Solicitor)

EZI-ENYI SOCIAL CLUB OF NIGERIA UYO - AKWA IBOM STATE

The general public is hereby informed that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2004.

The Original Trustees are: 1. Chief Chukwu Obgonnya Egu 2. Mr Emmanuel Okoro Nkama 3. Mr Wojo Ukukwu Wojo 4. Mr Donatus Okoro Agwu 5. Mr Patrick Ama Oko 6. Mr Innocent Ukpai Okorie 7. Inspector Sunday Okor 8. Mr Uche Aja Uche 9. Mr Chukwu Ogbonnya (Jr) 10. Ibeto Okoafor.

Aims and Objectives:

To promote the spirit of togetherness and understanding among members.

SIGNED: Chairman

50

WORLD | NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Winnie demands Mandela’s Qunu home

T

he ex-wife of South Africa’s first black President Nelson Mandela has demanded his village home for her children, potentially triggering the first legal dispute since his death.

Winnie Madikiela-Mandela’s lawyers said she was asserting her “customary rights” by demanding the house. Mr Mandela’s estate was provisionally valued at 46m rand ($4.3m; £2.5m) following his death in December. The thrice-married Mr Mandela divorced Mrs Madikizela-Mandela in 1996.

The couple had two daughters, Zinzi and Zenani. Mr Mandela has one surviving child, Makaziwe, from his first marriage to the late Evelyn Mase.

He was married to Graca Machel, the wife of Mozambique’s late President Samora Machel, at the time of his death. His large family which includes grandchildren and great grandchildren was hit by legal disputes over his wealth and burial site as he battled a recurring lung infection in the months leading to his death at the age of 95.

Nelson Mandela with his new wife, Graca Machel, next to his birthday cake, at a reception held at Gallagher Estate outside Johannesburg Sunday, 19 July 1998 Mr Mandela married Graca Machel on his 80th birthday in 1998.

The coffin of Nelson Mandela is carried by military honour guard His death at the age of 95 caused an outpouring of grief. In his will, the ex-presi-

dent said: “The Qunu property should be used by my family in perpetuity in order to preserve the unity of the Mandela family.”

It is only in this home that the children and grandchildren of Mrs Madikizela-Mandela can conduct their own customs and tradition.” The executor of the will, South Africa’s Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang

Moseneke, has not yet commented on the letter sent to him by Mvuzo Notsesi Incorporated, the legal firm representing Mrs MadikizelaMandela.

In the letter, seen by the BBC, the lawyers said Mrs Madikizela-Mandela obtained the house in Qunu while he was in jail for fighting white minority rule.

African leaders want U.S. trade deal renewed for 15 more years

A

frican leaders urged the United States to renew a trade benefits program giving duty-free access to billions of dollars of African exports for 15 years, saying it would help cement trade relations and boost development in the region. South African President Jacob Zuma, one of nearly 50 African leaders in Washington to attend a threeday summit, said the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) when it expires next year was one of the key issues for this week’s talks.

“Almost 95 percent of South African exports receive preferential treatment under AGOA,” Zuma said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, joining calls by the African Union for a 15-year extension.

“We strongly believe that by endorsing the extension of AGOA, the U.S. will be promoting African integration, industrialization and infrastructure development - I’m

sure the Americans would not want to lose this opportunity.”

The U.S. administration is keen to renew the program, but duration and possible reforms such as adding new duty-free products, refining eligibility criteria and tweaking regional content limits are yet to be thrashed out. South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said African nations had suggested widening the range of products covered to include more textiles and agricultural products, but he did not see the need for a major overhaul.

“Our message has been, we don’t think the African Growth and Opportunity Act is broken and therefore there is no need to fix it,” he told reporters.

AGOA, established in 2000, has already been renewed past its original 2008 expiry date and is now set to run until Sept. 30, 2015. Nearly 40 African countries are eligible to take part.

Winne Mandela and daughters

British Muslim minister quits over Gaza policy

A

British minister who was the first Muslim to sit in the cabinet resigned yesterday over the government’s “morally indefensible” policy on Gaza. The decision by Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a minister at the Foreign Office and for faith and communities, heaped fresh pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to take a tougher line against Israel over its ac-

N. Korea rejects participation in Seoul papal mass

N

orth Korea appears to have declined an invitation to send Catholic believers to a mass celebrated

by Pope Francis in Seoul later this month, a South Korean Church official said yesterday.

In a letter, the North’s Korean Catholics Association (KCA) cited Seoul’s refusal to cancel an upcoming joint military drill with US forces as the main reason for its decision.

Pope Francis is to conduct a special Korean reconciliation mass in Seoul on the last day of his August 14-18 visit to South Korea, and church officials in the South had sent several requests to Pyongyang to send a

group of Catholics to attend.

But the day of the mass coincides with the launch of the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military drill, which the North had condemned as a rehearsal for nuclear war. “Under these circumstances, coming to Seoul would be an agonising step,” the KCA letter said.

“We interpret this as meaning the North finds it difficult to accept the invitation,” said an official at the South Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The Catholic Church, like any other religion, is only allowed to operate in North Korea under extremely tight restrictions, and within the confines of the

state-controlled KCA. It has no hierarchical links with the Vatican and there are no known Catholic priests or nuns.

The KCA claims 3,000 followers in the North but outside estimates put the figure at around 800. A recent comprehensive report compiled by a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights in North Korea concluded that practicing Christianity outside the state-sanctioned church amounted to a “political crime”.

The Pope’s final mass, to be held in Seoul’s Myeongdong cathedral, will focus on a message of peace and reconciliation for the Korean peninsula.

tions in Gaza. His coalition government has faced sustained criticism in recent days, led by the main opposition Labour Party, that it has not spoken out strongly enough over a conflict that has killed 1,867 Palestinians and 67 people on the Israeli side. “Our approach in Gaza is morally indefensible, is not in Britain’s national interest and will have a long-term detrimental impact on our reputation internationally and domestically,” Warsi wrote to Cameron in her resignation letter.

She said there was “great unease” in the Foreign Office, where Philip Hammond took over as Foreign Secretary from William Hague last month, about how recent policy decisions had been made.

While Warsi’s star has dimmed in recent years, she was once a high-profile example of Cameron’s desire to diversify his Conservative party away from its traditional white, male base. Warsi’s parents were Pakistani immigrants and she trained as a lawyer before being made a member of parliament’s upper

House of Lords in 2007. She was appointed to Cameron’s cabinet when his coalition government took power in 2010 but was shuffled out of the full cabinet, the powerful inner circle of government ministers, in 2012. Warsi describes herself on her website as “best known for being the first Muslim to serve in a British cabinet and the foremost Muslim politician in the Western world”.

Labour leader Ed Miliband last week accused Cameron of “inexplicable” silence over the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, now in a threeday ceasefire. “The government needs to send a much clearer message to Israel that its actions in Gaza are unacceptable and unjustifiable,” Miliband said.

“What I want to hear from David Cameron is that he believes that Israel’s actions in Gaza are wrong and unjustified, and we haven’t heard that from him.”

Monday, Cameron said the United Nations was “right” to condemn an air strike near a school in Rafah on Sunday which killed 10 people but would not say whether he thought it was a “criminal” act.

S

Ebola: Sierra Leone athletes stay back in Glasgow

ierra Leone athletes at the just concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, have refused to return home over fears of contracting the deadly Ebola virus. Days after Sierra Leonean cyclist Moses Sesay fell ill and was isolated for four days in the UK following fears he

may have Ebola, he and his team mates have said they don’t want to return to their country because of the fear of contracting Ebola when they get back. Speaking with Times, Sesay said; “I am scared to go back because it is very difficult, people are frightened of Ebola.“We were supposed to leave just after

the competition but I don’t know.

On our passports we have three -month visas. All of us are scared of returning. If I have the opportunity I will stay here for a while because of Ebola.”Teammate Jimmy Thoronka, 20, a sprinter, said he, too, wanted to extend his visa after learning his uncle had

SPORT

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

contracted Ebola.“My visa is until September but I want to stay longer,” he said. “We are safe here and it’s dangerous there.”Unisa Deen Kargbo, chef de mission of the country’s team, said; “Many people are thinking whether or not to go home now. Everybody is worried and many of them don’t want

NEW TELEGRAPH

ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS adekunles@yahoo.com kunle.salami@newtelegraphonline.com

to go home now because of the Ebola. We have held several meetings with them, but they are still worried. This virus is spreading around our country and everyone is at risk of catching it.“Athletes have come to me and said they don’t want to return because of the Ebola situation.”

Did you know?

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

That Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri scored the first entirely left-footed hat-trick at a World Cup (1966-2014). His treble was also the 50th hat-trick in the history of the World Cup

Wednesday, AUGUST 6, 2014

Enyeama sets target for new season lSays Lille will challenge PSG, Monaco for title

Ifeanyi Ibeh

N

igeria and Lille OSC goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, has told New Telegraph that he and his team mates will do all they can to stop PSG’s dominance of the French Ligue 1, which gets underway this weekend.

PSG, with their financial might, have finished the last two Ligue 1 campaigns as champions and have set their sights on grabbing a third title in a row this season, boosting a squad already dominated by superstars especially with the arrival of David Luiz from Chelsea.

Lille, on the other hand, haven’t spent much in bringing in new players with coach Rene Girard keeping faith with the core of the squad which finished third last season behind PSG and second-placed Monaco, who have also been quite busy in the transfer market.

But Enyeama is drawing

Enyeama in action

positives from his side’s inactivity on the transfer market as they get set to commence the new season with a home game against newly promoted Metz on Saturday.

“We have been together for a long time and know what each person is capable of doing, so the understanding is already there, and that can only bring positive results,” said Enyeama.

“It is not going to be an easy season as all the teams have prepared in the best way that they can, but it is our prayer that we do well throughout the season to close the gap between us and the big two (PSG and Monaco). We want to do more by coming second.

“Who knows, maybe with God on our side, we can even finish the season as champions. But that is still a long way from now as it’s going to be a long, tough season,” added Enyeama, whose wide will, in addition to playing in the French

51

Cup and the League Cup, also take part in the UEFA Champions League.

Last season, Enyeama went 11 successive games between the months of September and December without conceding a goal, and was only minutes away from breaking the French top flight’s long-standing record of consecutive shutouts held by Gaetan Huard.

His efforts were however rewarded at the end of the season when he won the Marc Vivien Foe Award as the best African player in the French top division.

The 31-year-old also finished second behind PSG’s Salvatore Sirigu in the race for the top goalkeeper’s award.

The Nigerian number one, although delighted with these achievements, is willing to trade them for a Ligue 1 title.

“I enjoyed last season but if it means not winning any award and getting the league title, I won’t mind one bit,” added Enyeama.

52 SPORT

Nigerian League Rendezvous

Glo league table No

Team

Pl

W

D

L

SF

SA

Sanctity of Truth

with charles Ogundiya

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

charlesog2001@yahoo.com,

Pts

GD

1

Kano Pillars

20

9

7

4

30

20

34

10

2

Abia Warriors

20

10

3

7

28

20

33

8

3

Nasarawa Utd

20

9

4

7

21

17

31

4

4

Giwa FC

20

9

4

7

20

16

31

4

5

Warri Wolves

20

9

4

7

22

19

31

3

6

Akwa United

20

9

4

7

19

18

31

1

7

Dolphins

20

8

6

6

22

16

30

6

8

Sharks FC

20

8

6

6

22

18

30

4

9

Sunshine

20

7

9

4

28

25

30

3

10

Enyimba

20

8

5

7

18

13

29

5

11

Lobi Stars

20

9

1

10

23

26

28

-3

12

Taraba FC

20

9

1

10

14

19

28

-5

13

Rangers

20

20

8

3

9

26

23

27

14

Heartland

20

6

9

5

19

17

27

2

15

Bayelsa Utd

20

8

3

9

25

30

27

-5

16

El-Kanemi

20

7

5

8

23

19

26

4

17

Crown

20

7

3

10

16

24

24

-8

18

Kaduna Utd

20

6

3

11

16

24

21

-8

19

Gombe Utd

20

5

5

10

21

24

20

-3

20

Nembe City

20

3

7

10

9

34

16

-25

08098042287

Garden City hosts double header games

T

he weekly double header introduced by the League Management Company in the 2013/2014 league season returns today in Port-Harcourt.

The double header, introduced to maximise television coverage, will see Dolphins take on Heartland in the first match inside the Liberation Stadium, PortHarcourt, by 2pm while Sharks battle Bayelsa United later in the day at the same venue.

The two matches are part of the week 21 league fixtures scheduled to hold in various centres across the country today ( Wednes-

day) after the Federation Cup which necessitated the league going on a few days break.

Dolphins are on a high after their qualification for final of the Federation Cup coupled with a 1-0 victory over the defending league champion, Kano Pillars, in their last league match, and will hope to add Heartland to their list of victims.

For Sharks, it is time to resuscitate their flounder-

ing season after recording some bad results in recent time. Sharks are yet to win a match in their last four games, losing the last match 1-0 away to Akwa United, and another bad result against a struggling Bayelsa United side will put a big dent on Sharks’ ambition of getting a continental ticket at the end of the season.

In some of the other matches, Kano Pillars will hope to bounce back with

a victory against thirdplaced team, Giwa FC. Pillars lost their 10-match unbeaten run in Port-Harcourt against Dolphins and will have their hands full against Giwa. Players of Giwa have shown this season that they are not afraid of the big teams.

Gombe United will be up against Akwa United while Nembe tackle Rangers. Kaduna United are at home to Abia Warriors with Crown

t is a known fact that companies are finding it difficult to associate with clubs in the league.

Only few of the clubs have sponsors.

The question is what will a company benefit in sponsoring a league club? And what is (are) the gain(s) of the current sponsors.

At the beginning of the 2013/2014 league season, most fans applauded the financial boost by the league sponsor, Globacom. The least club got over N11million, but

I

what has been the return for Glo? Have more fans switched to the network in solidarity or more fans recharging their lines often?

Kano Pillars are sponsored by BUA, while Enyimba Aba and Shooting Stars have Dubic as shirt sponsors. Harp is written boldly on Rangers’ and Dolphins’ shirts, but according to a fan, Udemezue Ugochukwu; “does this mean fans of these clubs now prefer to drink Dubic instead of Star in the case of Enyimba and

Shooting Stars? Do fans of Rangers and Dolphins hate Dubic because it rivals Harp Larger?

“Do football fans in Lagos and Sagamu now prefer bet9ja to Nairabet, 1960bet or Naijabet ? What do fans and followers of Kwara United know about CHELFOM?” According to Ugochukwu, “are the clubs making efforts to properly educate the fans on what the sponsors are all about or is it all about pocketing the cash?” More questions begging for answers.

Musa Pam

put on the project for its speedy completion.

Recently, the commissioner of Sports in the state, Mr Larenzo Gwatau, expressed worry over the non-completion of the stadium when he visited the project site.

The commissioner said that the stadium was one of the projects so dear to the Governor, Jonah Jang’s heart. He expressed displeasure over what he described as slow pace of work on the site.

However the contrac-

What are the gains for team sponsors?

Jos Stadium to be ready soon

Kwara United forward Stanley Dimgba against Rangers

Maikaba teams up with Ogunbote

F

ormer Kano Pillars Chief Coach, Abdul Maikaba, has joined the technical crew of Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt.

Maikaba, whose coaching career started with a youth side in Kano, has also tasted glory with Kano Pillars and Enyimba FC in the domestic scene.

The soft-spoken coach who did not hide his admiration for the coaching style of the technical adviser of Sharks FC, Gbenga Ogunbote, and the quality of the team, said he was

in Port Harcourt to add value to one of the few traditional teams in the elite league.

“I must say I’m particularly pleased with the progress the technical adviser has made in the team. I almost joined him when he was with Sunshine Stars.

“I have been following the team’s progress from the first round of the league until now, I’ve seen the team, the boys are good and that is why I want to say Sharks can still reclaim the top spot before the end of the season,” he said.

League facts

l Kano Pillars have more goals for

than any of the other 19 clubs

scoring 30 goals averaging 1.5 goal(s) per match. l Enyimba have the best defence.

They have conceded 13 goals in

20 matches averaging 0.7 goal per game. l The trio of Lobi Stars, Crown FC

and Kaduna United have lost the

most away matches this season, losing 10 matches each. l Bottom placed Nembe are the

only club yet to reach double figures in the goals for in the league, scoring a meagre nine

goals, averaging 0.5 goal per game. l Nasarawa United, Lobi Stars and

FC Taraba are the team with the

most home wins this season, win ning nine matches so far at home. l Eight points remain the highest

away points garnered by any club. Abia Warriors and defending champions, Kano

Pillars, are the only teams with

Jos

T

he contracting firm handling the construction of the Jos multi-billion naira Stadium, BCC Tropical (Nig) Limited has assured the people and government of Plateau State of the completion of the project as soon as possible.

Mr Aliev Plamen, the Managing Director of the firm, told newsmen in Jos that a lot of energy and commitment had been

the highest away points. l Abia Warriors won two away matches so far this season,

making them team with the most away wins. l Kaduna United is the only team

yet to score away from home in the current season. l Three teams, Lobi Stars, Crown

FC and Kaduna United are the

only sides yet to pick an away point this season. l 317 goals have been scored by the

home side this season while the

away teams have recorded 105 goals.

Sharks FC in action

tor said that the only problem he has was lack of prompt release of funds which would enable them work at the expected speed.

The MD also pointed out that the construction and engineering works were not to be rushed but must be technically handled not to cause any problem or damage.

He said that the firm was conscious of the December deadline and would do all that is necessary to ensure it delivered as expected.

SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

53

Weightlifter goes on trial Arrested Indian officials released for sexual assault T

A

Commonwealth Games weightlifter from Papua New Guinea went on trial in the host city of Glasgow was on Monday accused of sexually assaulting another man in a supermarket toilet.

Toua Udia, 22, denies intentionally or recklessly touching the man’s testicles on July 21 in a Tesco coffee shop lavatory near the athletes’ village.

Udia’s accuser, who cannot be identified, told a Glasgow court that the weightlifter touched his testicles while he helped him strap an ice pack to his leg.

“I came out of the cubicle and saw him strapping a bandage to his left calf,” he told

the court.

“I asked him: ‘Are you okay?’. He asked me if I could help him tie the bandage.

“I took both ends of the bandage and he said: ‘Pull it tight’.

“I held it as tight as I could and he put his left hand between my legs and touched my testicle with two fingers. There was a bit of pressure. It wasn’t a

scuff and it wasn’t a total grab, but it was definitely as if someone was poking.

“I said: ‘Hey!’ to tell him to back off. He looked at me and just smiled as though it was normal, with a wee smirk, as if everything was fine.”

The man said he did not consent to the contact or wish it to happen, and that he left the toilet and alerted staff and the police.

wo Indian Commonwealth Games officials arrested in the host city Glasgow have been released and are free to go after their cases were concluded.

Rajeev Mehta, 49, Secretary-General of the Indian Olympic Association, was arrested following an incident in Glasgow city centre, but prosecutors have decided not to proceed with the case against him.

Meanwhile, wrestling referee Virender Malik, 45, was given either a fine or a warning after being detained following an unrelated alleged assault in the Scottish city, the broadcasters said.

STV quoted a spokes-

Husband, wife create badminton history

consideration of all facts and circumstances the case was dealt with by way of a direct measure and is now closed.”

It is thought the “direct measure” is a fine or a warning.

Neither the Crown Office nor Police Scotland would comment when contacted.

Mehta

Mass clean-up begins in Glasgow

D

E

ngland’s Chris and Gabby Adcock became the first husband and wife pairing to win a badminton gold medal at a Commonwealth Games after they defeated compatriots Chris Langridge and Heather Olver in the final of the mixed doubles at the Emirates Arena on Sunday.

The couple, who got married last year, did so without dropping a single game in the tournament and were comprehensive winners over their England team mates in the gold medal match cruising to a 21-9, 21-12 win.

The most points they conceded in any one game in their five matches was 17.

On Sunday, the pair had mixed fortunes with 25-year-old Chris and partner Andrew Ellis losing out to Malaysian pair Tan Wee Kiong and Goh Wei Shem in the semifinals, while Gabby and Lauren Smith secured bronze in the women’s doubles overcoming Vivian Kah Mun Hoo and Khe Wei Woon also of Malaysia.

For 23-year-old Gabby it completes the full set as she and Chris were also part of the England team that took overall silver earlier in the tournament.

person for the Crown Office state prosecution service as saying: “The procurator fiscal received a report concerning a 49-year-old man, in connection with an alleged incident in Glasgow on August 1.

“Following full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, and taking into account the available admissible evidence, Crown Counsel decided that there should be no proceedings at this time.

“The Crown reserves the right to raise proceedings in the future.”

In relation to the 45-year-old man, a Crown Office spokesman said: “After a full and careful

Canadians held a “Thank You Glasgow” banner during closing ceremony

Idowu not yet in his element

T

helasttimePhillipsIdowumadethe headlines it was for a drink-driving ban. But the man who once described himself as jumping in a sandpit for a livingwasbacktowhatheknowsbest in his first major competition since London 2012.

The only problem was that he wasn’t anywhere near his best, the Londonerfinishingfifth,adisappointing account for an athlete ranked second this year in the field.

Evenif hehadfinishedwithamedal, this would not have meant that Idowu was back ; after all he claims simply to be “winging it” on his return.

The fact is that his best attempt of 16.53metres at the Olympics was not enough for him to make it to the final, but it was better by eight centimetres thanwhatheachievedinGlasgow,one legal jump amid a myriad of fouls as South Africa’s Khotso Mokoena won gold.

This had been billed as the chance

forafirstmajormedalforIdowusince hissilveratthe2011WorldChampionships, after he had taken time out followingthemassivedisappointmentof faltering at his home Games.

Hackney born and bred, London 2012 was the biggest moment of his career, a chance to shine on his very own doorstep. His body had other ideas, and a neural problem in his hip andbackmeantthathewassomeway shortof hisbestwhenhetooktherunwayinthecapital.Hewantedtomake Hackneyproud;insteadhefeltthathe had let everyone down.

There were none of the usual antics in Glasgow in what was a chance for redemption on home soil. The hair was jet-black, the trademark headband,wristbandsandlongsocks brightwhite,althoughthefacialpiercings remain in abundance. But also missing were the jumps of 17.50metresheusedtolandsoconsistentlyand convincingly.

ozens of Commonwealth Games staff have begun the daunting task of packing up venues and removing the Games branding.

But Glasgow City Council bosses said efforts by cleaners during the eventhasmadelightworkof theclean up operation.

A council spokeswoman said: “It’s very much business as usual.

“There is no need for a major work ascleanershavebeenworkinghardeverydaytokeepthecitylookingitsbest.

“Over the next few days we will be removing bins from venue locations and treating the grass surfaces at Glasgow Green.”

Whilesomevenues-suchasHampden - will take intense efforts to return to normal, some are staying dressed up until after the Team Scotland parade.

Games bosses will keep banners up along the route of the parade, on August 15, to keep the festive spirit go-

ing until then.

The council spokeswoman added: “Thebannersontherouteof theTeam Scotland parade on Friday, August 15 are staying up to provide a colourful Host City backdrop to celebrate the success of our athletes.”

At Hampden, the detritus of the closing ceremony is being packed away - from the specially built star -shaped stage to the dozens of tents used as props.

The tented village around the SECC will also be removed.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow 2014 could not give exact timings for the clear up operation but said it would be done as quickly as possible.

She said: “Decommissioning venues and returning them in their former state begins now and Glasgow 2014 is committed to ensuring this is rigorous and efficient, so that handovers are achieved in a timely manner.”

Eight million watch Games grand finale

A

lmost eight million people tuned in to watch the grand finale of 20th Commonwealth Games.

The ceremony, which also included performances by Deacon Blue and tributes to the volunteers who kept the Glasgow games running smoothly, was shown live on BBC One and attracted a peak audience of 7.7 million.

That is down from the 9.4 million who watched the opening ceremony, which featured musical performances by Rod Stewart and Nicola Benedetti, at its peak.

Those figures are dwarfed by the huge audiences - more than 23 million - who tuned in to watch the opening and closing

ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics.

Sunday night’s ceremony at Glasgow’s Hampden Park brought the curtain down on 11 days of sporting action which saw more than 140 Commonwealth and several world records broken.

England ultimately topped the table, with Australia, Canada and host nation Scotland following on with their medal hauls.

Organisers had just 18 hours to transform the arena from the setting for the track and field events into the city’s very own “Commonwealth festival,” with two specially-designed stages inspired by the city’s Barrowland Ballroom.

54 SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Di Maria’s agent finalises PSG move A

ngel Di Maria appears to be on the verge of completing his move to Paris Saint-Germain after his agent was spotted dining with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in an attempt to tie up the protracted transfer.

Playmaker Di Maria was one of Manchester United coach, Louis van Gaal’s top transfer targets but, according to reports in Spain, the Argentine has instructed his agent Jorge Mendes to finalise the deal with PSG. The Argentina star has agreed a deal with the French capital club

Tottenham in talks with Villarreal’s Musacchio

ottenham are in talks with Villarreal Tfender over the transfer of £17million-rated deMateo Musacchio, according to Sky

sources.

The 23-year-old Argentina international centre-back, who can also fill-in at rightback, made 32 appearances in La Liga last season.

Musacchio has won two caps for Argentina, having begun his career with River Plate in Buenos Aires before moving to Spain five years ago.

New Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has already brought in Ben Davies, Michel Vorm and Eric Dier this summer, while Jan Vertonghen is being linked with a move away from White Hart Lane.

Atletico Madrid chase Kagawa

tletico Madrid are lining up a potential A move for Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa as the likelihood of being able

to lure away Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla becomes increasingly unlikely.

Cazorla was said to be a top target of manager Diego Simeone, as he looks to rebuild a squad more or less decimated by player sales so far this summer and The Mail believes that Japanese star Shinji Kagawa is an alternative for Atletico.

Kagawa is thought to be one of the players new boss Louis van Gaal is considering letting go in this transfer window and the former Borussia Dortmund man has struggled to recapture the form that led Manchester United buying the playmaker from the then Bundesliga champions.

which will earn him £130,000-aweek after tax for five seasons.

A transfer fee between the two clubs was the key sticking point with PSG’s loan bid allowing them to pay the remaining fee next season being rejected by the Champions League winners.

Instead it seems that the Ligue 1 champions have blinked first and agreed to pay Real £60m.

The Parisians have Financial Fair Play worries and their need to lighten the wage bill is the only remaining obstacle in the way of the deal.

Coates weighing up Liverpool future

iverpool defender Sebastian Coates L admits that he could be forced to leave Anfield if he does not play regularly.

Gustavo to replace Khedira at Real Madrid T

heExpressreportthatReal Madrid are moving for Wolfsburg midfielder Luiz Gustavo as they prepare to replace Sami Khedira, who lookssetforamovetothePremier League to join Arsenal or Chelsea.

Khedira’s contract expires next summer, but Real are unwilling to give him the paypacketthattheWorldCup winner is demanding.

With that being the case, the Champions League winners are likely to allow him to leave this summer in an attempt to cash in on their asset before he is able to leave for free when his contract runs out.

KhediragoesbacktotrainingatMadridonTuesdayand

it is assumed that the move willprogresswithmorespeed whenhe’sinthesameplaceas club officials.

Chelsea may be the most likelydestinationforKhedira, as Arsenal’s rigid wage structure may not allow room for theRealstar’sdemands-especially not after the signing of Alexis Sanchez.

Reportshaveemergedthat Arsenal have put a bid in for Sporting’s William Carvalho as an alternative to the German international.

MadridtargetGustavohas a £26m release clause written into his contract, which the Spanish club would likely be happy to meet if they received their targeted £25m for Khedira.

Eagles’ transfer update

Ideye gets work permit Ajose set for Leeds igerian international forward Brown

N Ideye has finally been granted a work switch eterborough United forward Nicky permit to allow him to play for West BromP Ajose is closing in on a move to wich Albion, BBC Sport has confirmed.

Championship side Leeds United.

The 25-year-old agreed a transfer from Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv in mid-July a reported £10 million, making him the Baggies’

for record signing.

However, Ideye ran into difficulties when there was a delay in the processing of his visa, leaving him unable to travel to England and meet up with his new team mates, or participate in any of West Brom’s pre-season friendly programme.

But he confirmed that he has now received notification that the work permit application was successful, and he will shortly be able to begin his English career, saying: “The British High commission called my club to inform them that I have been issued the visa.

The 22-year was absent from Monday’s pre-season photo shoot at London Road, sparking rumours that he would soon be heading out of the club.

It’s understood that Leeds have now agreed a fee with Posh for the former Manchester United man, who was expected to have undergo a medical on Tuesday afternoon.

Ajose enjoyed a successful loan spell at Swindon Town last season.

The forward, who is eligible to play for Nigeria at international level, has represented England at Under-16 and Under-17 level.

Coates has made just 12 Premier League appearances for Liverpool since arriving at the club from Nacional in 2011, with a serious knee injury forcing him to miss most of last season.

The 23-year-old Uruguay international spent the second half of the 2013-14 campaign on loan at former club Nacional and is now attempting to work his way into Brendan Rodgers’ plans, starting three of Liverpool’s four pre-season friendlies in the United States.

But with new recruit Dejan Lovren adding to the pool of central defenders that now includes Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Daniel Agger and Kolo Toure, Coates knows his time in Merseyside could be limited.

Sunderland completes Rodwell signing

S

underland have finalised the signing of midfielder Jack Rodwell after agreeing a £10m fee with Manchester City.

Rodwell joined the Premier League champions from Everton for £12m in 2012, but failed to impress during his two seasons at the Etihad Stadium.

He featured for City in the Champions League during his time in Manchester,andplayedaroleintheirruntoCapitalOneCupandPremier League glory last season.

Guardiola rejects Boateng link

ayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has rubbished speculation linking B defender Jerome Boateng with a move to

Barcelona.

Spain’s Marca radio suggested the Catalan club were closing in on the Germany defender, an alternative candidate to his compatriot Mats Hummels to reinforce the Primera Division side’s defence this season.

Speaking at a press conference in Portland, where Bayern are currently preparing for the new season, Guardiola said there is no truth whatsoever to the story, and that he has no intention of depriving himself of the former Manchester City defender.

“I don’t usually say anything about things I read in the newspaper, but I am planning 100 per cent with him here,” Guardiola said.

Liverpool ‘lead the race to sign’ Dani Alves iverpool are rumoured to be leading L the race to sign Barcelona and Brazil right back Dani Alves after his agent de-

nied he would move to Inter Milan.

Brendan Rodgers is reportedly interested in the 31-year-old as he seeks a replacement for the inconsistent Glen Johnson.

Earlier this summer, Alves was said to have agreed a big money move to either Paris Saint-Germain or Inter Milan, but neither transfer has gone through.

Now Alves’ agent Bibian Weggelaar has stated that Inter have never been in contact, apparently leaving Liverpool as the leaders in the race for his signature.

SPORT 55

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Musa in no haste to dump CSKA for EPL

Nneka prevails in battle of Ogwumike sisters Ifeanyi Ibeh

IfeanyiIbeh

H

N

neka Ogwumike, in a WNBA game played in the early hours of Monday Nigerian time, led the Los Angeles Sparks to a 70-69 win against the Connecticut Sun, the team of her younger sister, Chiney Ogwumike.

Nneka stole a pass and set up Kristi Toliver for the game-winning three-pointer with 9.6 seconds remaining on the clock to give the Sparks the win over the team from Connecticut.

Toliver’s first field goal of the game capped a comeback from six points down with 29 seconds remaining.

It also gave Nneka, who was the number one pick of the 2012 WNBA drafts, a 2-0 head-to-head record against Chiney, the number one pick of the 2014 WNBA drafts.

And the older of the siblings insists it is never easy going up against her sister.

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ighly rated Nigerian forward, Ahmed Musa, has stated that he was in no hurry to take his football career to the English Premier League, insisting that he is quite happy at Russian Premier League champions, CSKA Moscow.

Although the 21-year-old Musa, who became the first Nigerian player to score twice in a single game at the FIFA World Cup when he grabbed a brace for the Super Eagles in their 3-2 loss to Argentina, wishes to someday ply his trade in the English top flight, he disclosed that when that day eventually does arrive it would not be in the colours of just any English club, but one of the league’s top sides.

“The Premier League is a top league and I also wish to play there

NFF Election: Adamu solicits fair process

A Drogba

Mikel not ready yet –Mourinho Emmanuel Tobi

S

uper Eagles midfielder, Obi Mikel, is not yet fully fit for the rigour of Raheem Sterling the English Premier Good to be back.. As opening game jus around corLeague says Chelner!! @sterling31 sea manager, Jose Paul George Mourinho after watchThanks everybody for the love and support.. I’ll be ok ing the the 26-year-old and be back better than ever!!! Love y’all!! in Sunday’s pre-sea @Paul_George24 son friendly against Victor Oladipo Werder Bremen.

Man just landed in Orlando and heard what happen to Chelsea lost 3-0 to my big bro @Paul_George24 you will come back even the German side and stronger fam praying for you bro. @VicOladipo Mourinho says Mikel who just returned from Giannis Antetokounmpo Am praying for you @Paul_George24 #BeStrongAnd- an extended break due to his participation Courageous at the 2014 World Cup @G_ante34 David Alaba Just finished Training in Portland, we get 8 pm over here! 9 hours different! Hope You guys in Europe having a good night! @David_Alaba Ramires Back to work!! De volta ao trabalho! Come on Blues! @Rami7oficial Lewis Hamilton It’s been a fantastic season so far. So many ups and downs! @LewisHamilton Joyce Ekworomadu Sooo my bday boat party bash was a BLAST!! Grateful for all the wonderful friends and family that @missjoyce22 Chiney Ogwumike I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to playing against @Nnemkadi30... & I’ll never forget the game. Lol. But so proud of her. #LuckyLilSis @Chiney321

some day, but I am not in a hurry to do that, as I am very happy at my club CSKA Moscow,” Musa was quoted to have said in an interview with football portal, Kicksocca.com.

He added: “If that time comes, it must be one of the top teams and not any team just for the sake of playing in England, but CSKA Moscow are okay for me at the moment, I am happy here.”

There was some talk of Musa being on the radar of some Premier League clubs after the World Cup in Brazil, but the former JUTH FC and Kano Pillars player was quick to dismiss them.

“All that talk was speculation because I was not informed of any formal contact from any Premier League team for me by my agent or my club. So, any talk remains speculation,” he said.

with Nigeria, and other players are still struggling for fitness.

“The positive (from this game the players spent some time on the pitch and we need that.

(Didier) Drogba, Mikel, (Eden) Hazard, (all had just) two days training.

This (Sunday) was the third day for them.

“They are not in condition to play football.

The fact that they were on the pitch and they had to run and compete is a very important thing,” Mourinho said during the post-match press conference.

s controversy and uncertainty continue to surroundthe forthcoming elections into the board of the Nigeria Football Federation, a former executive committee member of CAF and FIFA, Dr. Amos Adamu, has called for a fair electoral process into the next NFF board.

Several prospective aspirants have found it difficult to purchase the electoral forms, with some going as far as accusing the NFF of hoarding the forms, and favoring certain people. But Adamu, a former Director-General in Nigeria’s sports ministry says the electoral committee has got to make the process easy for everybody.

“They should give everybody a fair chance of participating in the electoral process and that means those that are qualified to contest should be allowed to,” he told SL10.

“They shouldn’t allow for conspiracy theories where some people feel maligned and ostracised. All qualified candidates should be given level playing field so that the best people can emerge at the end of the day.”

Falconets declare war on Mexico Ifeanyi Ibeh

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layers of Nigeria’s Falconets have set their sights on victory against Mexico in their opening game of the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, in the Canadian city of Moncton.

The encounter gets underway 8 pm local time on Wednesday (12 am on Thursday in Nigeria) at the Moncton Stadium and victory over the Mexicans will go a long way in easing the path of the Falconets out of a tough Group C, where they will also come up against England and South Korea.

Falconets captain, Patience Okaeme, disclosed that she and her teammates will do their best to ensure they emerge victorious at the end of the encounter.

“We owe it to ourselves to make Nigeria proud by winning not only our first match but all our matches,” said Okaeme.

Falconets forward, Sarah Nnodim added that, “We are happy the team is not built around particular players,” said Nnodim. “That unity will give us the needed victory. We

urge Nigerians to pray for a good outing for the team.”

Team handler, Peter Dedevbo, insists he is confident about the calibre of players at his disposal, noting that he has assembled the best players available for selection.

“I have assembled some of the best players in the country; they are smart and experienced,” said Dedevbo. “Bringing in players from the U-17 team that went to Costa Rica and others from the Super Falcons has brought competition to the team.”

C’wealth Games:

No reception as athletes arrive Ajibade Olusesan

S

econd batch of Nigerian contingent to the Commonwealth Games arrived the country on Tuesday but there was no official reception to welcome the team.

Weightlifters, table tennis players and power-lifters were in thebatch that touched down at the Murtala Muhammed Airport around 1pm aboard Ethiopian Airline.

But our correspondent who was at the airport observed that there was no reception to properly welcome the team.

Some of the athletes who spoke to New Telegraph lamented that despite their heroics in Glasgow they were madetosneakintothecountry without pomp.

“Iamnothappythewaywe havebeenreceivedhere.Weare appreciated abroad than even in our own country. You can’t imagine the way the English people treated us, just because wehadourmedalshangingon our necks, they were asking for our autographs, taking pictures with us, shouting and singing our names” gold medallist in powerlifting, Paul Kehinde, said “But here people are just looking at us as like’ “who are these people?” I can’t blame them because one would have expected that there would have been a proper reception for us here at the airport. Anyway, that is my country, but it sad.”

World Record

On Marble

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.

– Chinese Proverb

Sanctity of Truth w w w. new tel eg rap ho nl i ne. co m

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth – Buddha WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014

T

The first Nigerian plane crash occurred in Ikogosi, Ekiti West Local Government Area of Ekiti State in 1942.

N150

Who is after the North?

he northern part of the country as it is today, is a region in a great deal of trouble.

No thanks to a conspiracy of fates that played the section into an awaiting opportunityforactionandcrackdownonanarea long ear-marked for total destruction.

Indeed, a region so rich in vast arable land, intimidating numerical strength, seasoned politicians, tested and trusted administrators, bornleaders,ablerulersandapeoplefastplayingcatch-upinareastheyareapparentlyweak in,isunderstandablyaregiontowatch.Thisis evenmoresoinacountrywhereearlyregional politics had left in its trail divisive tendencies that adequately find favours in calculated historical distortions and factual errors which significantly force an order of mutual distrust and fear in our supposed collective journey to greatness.

I’m talking of a brand of regional politics thatcreatedandsuccessfullypromotedamanner of political antics that form the shameful trademarkof ourbodypolity,andadangerous focal point in our daily mission and vision.

No thanks again to our respective local championswhotookundueadvantageof this disorder to create and maintain a life-time national relevance that places them at the very center of every action and inaction.

This is a disgusting fact which, either directly or indirectly, ensures a puzzling line of essence that inevitably recognizes and maintains a circle of people with obviously no good will of any kind but worn out socio-political relevance.

Thisisafacttoowhichisindeednotwithout its telling effects on the nation and its people.

It does not only guarantee that the nation “marches on” on the same spot, but it sees to itthatNigeriansremainunsuspecting,willing toolsinagameof sheerchanceandopportunitywhereourcollectivewell-beingandnational development are no prime considerations.

Even far beyond this, it ensures a continuous denial of the freshness of changes which are much needed for the meaningful breakthrough that will eventually unveil and demystify the age-long mystery surrounding our deepening national crises and other divisive realities.

Then, buried beneath all these, is a region swimming in the thick waters of troubles, a region that is pretty torn apart by crises, its people sadly disunited, its socio-economic activitiesmercilesslycrippled,itsvitalinfrastructure and institutions maliciously destroyed, its peace deliberately denied and the people’s sense of being and belonging successfully lost to a fast consuming uncertainty and a questionable nonchalance from the rest of the nation.

Most unfortunate is the question of insecurity that comes with a lot of collateral damages. The issue of insurgency which started in the region like a case that could be officially

Jonathan

addressedintherightmannertheNiger-Delta onewashandledbythegovernment,hastoday become a huge menace that consumes, on almost daily basis, lives, property and the little peace left for the region.

Butevenmorepainfulistherealitythatthe hope for succor for the north thins away with daily emergence of fresh threats and even attacks that could as well have been averted if real, relevant ang genuine security measures were timely put in place.

Of course, a lot of us do not doubt the efficiency of the nation’s security outfits. All other odds considered, I always maintain that thecountry’ssecurityoperativeshavethesure expertise and general ability to do far beyond thefunnydramanowbeingstagedontheissue.

This adequately waters a fast growing suspicion that the insurgency itself has, sadly enough, been over taken by superior forces as it appears to have provided an avenue for easy infiltration of long incubated plans to cripple aregionwronglydeemedanareathatunfairly rode to greatness on the resources of others.

The north is no doubt seen as a section of the country that held on to power for too long, and in the process established a wrong order of national activities in place.

And what this seems to suggest now is, thrown in with a long awaited chance today, courtesy of power shift, there is no checking the revenge mission.

Now, wrong as this scenario is, it has steadily formed the platform upon which a lot of efforts are based, including the question of insecurity in the north and any attempt at damage control.

Nyako

Shekarau

In fact, the major problem with this is the nagging failure for recognition of facts, even when they stand out tall in the relative backwardness of the north in important indices like education, health, science and technology, among others.

Of course, the north as a region once had a promising future with highly intimidating potentialsthatnaturallyteasedtheenvyinothers.Itspeoplehadanimpressiveresilienceand a wonderful ability for last minutes sacrifices that would eventually strengthen them and keep them united against the wish of others.

This had particularly kept the north great even at the instances of political storms or religious disturbances that were clear set ups meant to tear the section to intolerable parts.

With a display of that resilience which adequately checkmated any effort at destroying the area and its people, the determination for this evil intention was decidedly redirected to

find outlet in a growing insurgency that could havehonestlybeentackleddiplomaticallyand hence taken care of once and for all.

Therefore,itisprettyunderstoodthataninsurgency that has its known original targets has so questionably turned almost everything and everyone into its victim in the north.

Apparentlydeterminedtotakethedestruction to a conclusive stage, this effort is constantly followed up with other divisive ones that clearly set up people, communities, tribes and religious faiths against one another, such that the very factor that had been a source of unitycouldbelosttoresultantmutualdistrust and religious intolerance.

Now, a situation where attacks on communitiesarereportedlybeingcarriedoutbykhakiwearing men; where mosques are bombed in much the same way churches are attacked; where arrested suspects cut across major religions, certainly calls for quick redirection in the search for the common enemy.

The recent failed attempt by some governorsinthecountrytoregisternorthernersresident in their respective states at a time when the north is still going through unusual crises, truly calls for questions.

In fact, a belated but sudden reaction to this by a group of obviously incited northern youths demanding for legislative recognition for a bid to send all non-northerners packing back to their respective regions could have actually unlocked the last door to the final “mission” but for the official intervention that checked the situation.

Yet,evenasitistoday,Ibelievethatofficialintervention came not because somebody genuinelywantedtomakerightaperceivedwrong, but because some opportune local champions feel it’s not yet time to “strike”. So, who really is after the north?

OMOBABA

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