Binder1 monday,february 10, 2014

Sanctity of Truth Monday, February 10 - Sunday February 16, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 2

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PIB: Presidency places embargo on Minister, NNPC Missing $20bn: lFG’s loss to bill delay hits $125bn Adeola Yusuf

T

he presidency has ordered Minister of Petroleum Re-

sources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

We’ll expose Sanusi on Thursday –NNPC

(NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, and other top functionaries from making ‘any further’ public announcement of a likely CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Page } 50

Mrs. Alison-Madueke

Shekarau: Tinubu, Buhari, manipulated APC constitution

lSays ex-Lagos governor unilaterally awarded membership cards’ contracts lFive reasons Buhari can’t be president – Akinjide lLai Mohammed: Akinjide is living in the past; Shekarau should prove allegations

Ike Abonyi, Suleiman Bisalla, Ayodele Ojo, Onwuka Nzeshi, Temitope Ogunbanke and Eze Onyekachi

5 QUESTIONS FOR

F

are we still 1. Why experiencing regular

ormer governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has accused leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of manipulating the party’s constitution.

Shekarau accused former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; and the interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

NNPC GMD, ANDREW YAKUBU vandalisation of pipelines, given the huge sums spent in securing them?

much did the NNPC 2. How remit to the Federation Account in 2013?

much of this 3. How unremitted amount

is the Corporation legally empowered to withhold?

L-R: Doyen of the Stock Exchange, Mr. Sam Willie Ndata; Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu; Deputy Group Chief Executive, Mr. Moje Boyo; and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyeama, during a courtesy visit to the floor of the NSE in Lagos... at the weekend.

PHOTO: Suleiman husaini

We didn’t endorse Jonathan for 2015, say Northern elders lPresident urges Nigerians to pray for unity CONTROVERSY

Yakassai says it will be foolhardy to endorse Jonathan when he has not declared interest.

Muhammad Ali

C

hairman of Northern Elders’ Council (NEC), Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, has said that the

council never endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan’s widely speculated ambition to run for the presidency in 2015.

The elder statesman

INSIDE

noted that the communiqué, which was issued after NEC’s General Assembly last Thursday in CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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2 11 18 19 21 43 39 51

is the Corporation 4. What doing to ensure

adequate gas is supplied to power stations, towards increased electricity generation?

much has the 5. How Corporation collected

as oil subsidy in the last three years?

Response to these questions should be sent to: info@newtelegraphonline.com lPresidency yet to respond to last week’s questions.

Lagos

Very Cloudy

33O | 25O

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Lagos ports take delivery of N7.65bn palm oil LAGOS PORTS Two Lagos ports are set to take delivery of N7.65 billion worth of palm oil before month end.

Bayo Akomolafe

I

n what experts see as a sad commentary on the way the government has neglected agriculture, no fewer than 35,500 metric tonnes of palm oil worth N7.65 billion will be discharged at the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port before the end of the month.

Already, MV Angel 12 has been moored to discharge 4,000 metric tonnes of the product at the Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL), Lagos Port Complex while MV Steam Adventurer berthed with 11,500 metric tonnes at Josepdam in Tin Can Port.

Also, MV Melati 5 and MV Eagle arrived Josepdam terminal last week

with 10,000 metric tonnes each.

Last year, manufacturing companies in the country imported no fewer than 729,900 metric tonnes of palm oil between January and August through the two ports to ameliorate the short falls, which has hit the country.

It was learnt that 90 per cent of palm oil being imported is consumed by food industry while 10 per cent is used by the nonfood industry.

Producers of noodles, vegetable oil, biscuits, chips, margarines, shortenings, cereals, baked stuff, washing detergents and even cosmetics are said to rely on imported crude palm oil.

Between 1950s and 1960s, Nigeria was the largest producer of crude oil palm in the world with a market share of 43.0 per cent. It supplied 645,000 metric tonnes of palm oil, across the global market annually.

Oil palm are found

Ondo, Abia, Enugu, Anambra, Ogun, Bayelsa, Akwa-Ibom, Ebonyi, Imo, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, and Rivers states.

Stakeholders, who spoke on the importation explained that manufacturers, like those that manufacture soaps, have no option than to import the commodity.

Shipping expert and

the National President of the Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarding, Dr Zebulon Ikokide, blamed government for the importation of the commodity.

He explained that it was a misplaced priority for government to have allowed the country to degenerate to that extent.

He revealed that only the Imo State Government “is trying to revive

its palm oil plantation”.

Ikokide said that all the soap manufacturing companies had no other option than to import the commodity.

He noted: “There is shortage of red palm oil in the country. The soap manufacturing companies don’t have enough.

That is why they have to resort to importation.”

Also, former President

All Progressive Congress (APC) supporters waiting to register at Kofar-Fada polling unit in Birnin-Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State

Shekarau: Tinubu, Buhari, manipulated APC constitution CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

as being responsible for the manipulation.

He also decried a situation whereby Tinubu singlehandedly awarded the contract for the printing of membership cards for the APC. Shekarau said the trio of Tinubu, Buhari and Akande have hijacked the party, and running it as a private estate.

The former governor said the APC should forget the presidency in 2015 because the party remains in the hands of a clique.

Shekarau, a former presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was at the forefront of the formation of the APC, an amalgamation of opposition political parties that came up to challenge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has dominated the political space since 1999.

Speaking to New Telegraph in Abuja, Shekarau disclosed that the Constitution drafted by the

89-member committee of the parties that gave birth to the APC had been fraudulently tampered with before being taken to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He stated that the provision in the original draft of the constitution, which recommended that the interim committee of the party has only a lifespan of six months, during which it should superintend congresses and convention and handover, has been removed.

The second violation, according Shekarau, is the removal of the provision that recommended for elections at the unit level.

These two violations, Shekarau said, were clear indications that some persons in the party were out to rubbish the vision of those who mooted the idea of floating a mega opposition party that will give power to the people.

“Eighty-nine of us were part and parcel of this constitution. But when some

of the National Association of Nigerian Ship Chandlers, Mr Vickson Aghanenu, described the situation as abnormal.

He said Nigerian should exporting crude palm oil to other countries.

Twenty litres of the commodity is sold at N6,000 in Nigerian markets and one metric tonne is N300,000.

people wrote to INEC to obtain the certified true copy of the constitution, to our dismay, we discovered that the constitution with which INEC registered APC does not contain Schedule 3, which specifies six months interim leadership. Incidentally, it is the last schedule and the last page, but it has been removed,” he said.

In his first major interaction with the media since his exit from the APC, the former governor regretted that the interim committee avoided calling meetings so that questions would not be raised on this constitutional matter.

“Go and check the timetable they have released now; they have unconstitutionally avoided conducting congresses at the unit level. This is a constitutional breach.

They were supposed to start the congresses from the polling units. So, we suspected that some people somewhere in the party are attempting to pocket the party and are,

therefore, refusing to allow this grassroots ownership of the party.

“We put in the Constitution that this transitional period will only be for a period of six months. The idea was that within the first three months of the registration by INEC, you set up the structure of the leadership of the party at all levels. This means putting in place interim leadership at the national, state and local government levels that will now facilitate the take off of the party.

“Another thing they were to do within the first three months is to commence the registration of members. Then the last three months, you do the congresses up to the national convention so that within six months, we have a full house of elected officials as provided by the Constitution.

“You remember that the party was registered on July 31, 2013 and if you count six months, it expired on January 31, 2014.

Up to the day I left APC on January 29, 2014, none of these exercises had been done,” he stressed.

Shekarau recently dumped the APC and headed for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following some irreconcilable differences in the opposition camp, particularly the manner in which his political rival, Governor Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State, was admitted into the party and the privileges given to him.

The former governor said the APC had lost its bearing and was no longer pursuing the vision of giving the electorate a credible alternative political platform and strengthening democracy in Nigeria.

He lamented that rather than accomplish the assignments as mandated by the Constitution, the transitional leadership had preoccupied itself with other extraneous projects and ego trips designed to keep the party in the pocket of Tinubu.

CONTINUED ON PAGE4

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST PORT HARCOURT

34o 23o Drizzle

ABUJA

37o 24o Partially Cloudy

KANO

34o 16o Mostly Sunny

ENUGU

36o 24o Very Cloudy

IBADAN

34o 26o Cloudy

CALABAR

35o 22o Partially Cloudy

MAIDUGURI

36o 20o Mostly Sunny

ONITSHA

36o 25o Cloudy

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

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Monday, February 10 - Sunday February 16, 2014

PIB: Presidency places embargo on Minister, NNPC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

date for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

The prohibition came just as the Federal Government’s loss to the nonpassage of the 14-year old PIB from February 2009 to February 2014 hits $125 billion.

A source at the Presidency said in a telephone chat: “The reckless announcement of date by government functionaries has caused serious embarrassment to the government and portrayed the country in bad light before the international community.

“The government’s decision to stop members of the executive from making further announcement of passage date is justifiable. There is separation of power and what this means is that it is the National Assembly that could make such announcement,” the source said.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke had, in 2010, boasted in front of the international oil and gas experts and investors in London that the PIB would be passed “without doubt, before December, 2010.

The estimated $125 billion loss was occasioned by the inability of Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude

exporter, to attain her annual crude production capacity of about 3.6 million barrels per day due to investment draught in her multi-billion dollars oil and gas industry since five years ago.

Experts have, after assessing the growth prospects of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, raised the alarm over the declining investment in exploration and production since 2009,

when PIB became controversial.

Immediate past President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), George Osahon, said that Nigeria’s target of 40 billion barrels oil reserves would remain ‘a tall dream’ if the foot-dragging on the PIB passage continues.

“That we are yet to have the bill has implications on exploration activities

160,000

the number of policemen being trained to ensure hitch-free gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun States this year and the 2015 general elections.

Source: Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar

in the country and, like I said earlier, it is in the interest of all of us that the bill is passed,” he told news men in a recent interview.

At the Chatham House forum on the controversial PIB, experts from the private sector, operators in the oil and gas industry, management and financial consultants also warned that government’s business was facing a tur-

$40m

the amount which Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) says it has invested in business expansion in the last four years.

Source: NAHCO Chairman, Mallam Suleimon Yahyah

bulence, which may wreck havoc on the economy of the country that depends largely on oil proceeds to service over 85 per cent of its budget.

The upstream sector was responsible for the loss of the $125 billion between 2008 to date as it failed to attain her annual crude oil production quota even when resources and investment to achieve same are available.

$1.5b

the amount of profit reported by Facebook for the year 2013 Source: Founder, Mark Zuckerberg

Shekarau: Tinubu, Buhari, manipulated APC constitution CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

“It was only around December (last year) we heard that Tinubu has awarded a contract to a private printing enterprise and has paid N89 million for membership cards to be produced.

“So, the production of the forms for the registration is now at the mercy of Tinubu. He said he has paid but we said look, ‘if you want to assist even if it is in billions, give it to the party.’ Why should an individual go and award a contract, even if it is your own money, you are donating to an institution. It is not a personal affair.

“He gave it out and since he is the one that gave out the job, he is the one that knows the printer and the volume to be printed. So naturally, he will be the one to dictate when the job will be finished,” he said.

On the recent defection of five PDP governors to APC, Shekarau said there was nothing wrong with anybody joining any party but faulted the procedure adopted in admitting the governors.

“For goodness sake, there is nothing wrong in recruiting anybody into APC. We needed everybody to come but, let the process be right. Take care of what you have on ground, then you can start recruiting more. But when

Buhari

Shekarau

Tinubu

you are failing to get the house organised ... you don’t have structure of any kind,” he noted.

He attributed the crisis plaguing the APC in Sokoto, Kano, Kwara, Ogun and other states to the manner in which the leadership went about its recruitment of the “big wigs” into the party.

“What triggered the crisis was when Tinubu, Buhari and Bisi Akande, the three of them are always the ones doing these things, they are the key players all the time, without any meeting, without any discussion and without informing anybody, they decided to start going round to visit the PDP governors and asking them to join the APC. There is nothing wrong with that but where they made a mistake was that at least in every state, even if you don’t have a recognised body, there are leaders of ACN, CPC, ANPP and everybody recognises that we are the major stakeholders if not anywhere else, in our own parties.

“They kept meeting

with them (PDP governors) even though nobody met with us. They kept meeting with them to the point we heard that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). In that MoU, they said that the PDP governors are automatically the leaders of APC in their states.

The worst of it all is that any PDP legislator at the federal level who comes along with his governor will have automatic ticket in 2015. I have never heard of this nonsense,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Attorney-General and Justice Minister, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), has said Buhari can never be president in 2015 or in the future.

Buhari, a leading figure in the APC, has not declared his interest in the presidential ticket of the party.

He contested the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections.

Akinjide, who gave five reasons that will work against Buhari’s ambition, said, among others, that the former Head of

State’s antecedent in the past shows that he is not a democrat.

To him, other reasons that will work against Buhari’s ambition are these: •President Goodluck Jonathan’s achievements; •Buhari doesn’t have electoral advantage to win an election; •the politics of North and South has changed forever; •the mathematics of Nigerian politics is against him.

Akinjide cited the undemocratic way Buhari stopped the metroline project in Lagos when he overthrew the Alhaji Shehu Shagari administration on December 31, 1983 as another reason that will work against his presidential ambition.

He said: “I am 100 per cent sure that once the election is conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act, Jonathan will win; he will become President again. I have no doubt about that. In 2011 when he won the election, how many states did PDP control in the South-West?

And his win was total and the same thing is going to happen in the next election. The crisis in the PDP is going to be settled and you will see how things will emerge. We have now got an excellent man as national chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu; who believes in unity, democratic norms and that would change the equation of politics in the South-West and in Nigeria as a whole.”

But in his reaction to the allegations, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described Akinjide as a man living in the past.

He also challenged Shekarau to prove the allegations levelled against the APC leaders.

Mohammed said: “When General Buhari was Head of State, he couldn’t have been a democrat because that was a military dispensation. But now, he has transformed from a military officer to a democratised politician.

What Chief Akinjide is doing is politics of bitterness.

Rather than what should unite us, he is dwelling on what will divide us. If we are to hold people responsible for what happened decades ago, then Chief Akinjide should not be talking today. He is still living in the past. What I will tell him is that Nige-

rians, not Chief Akinjide, will decide their leaders in 2015. We won’t allow the likes of Chief Akinjide to stampede us. Nigerians won’t fall into that trap. We have gone beyond playing politics of the past. APC has to do with change and that is what we are going to give Nigerians in 2015 just like we are doing in the states we control now.

We will never join a rabblerousing crowd”.

On the allegations by Shekarau, he said: “We hate to join issues with Shekarau because we see him as an honourable person but if he is honourable enough, he should prove these allegations. I urge politicians to be mindful of their language in the allegations they are making. Where is the proof ?

How can you just accuse anybody of criminal offence? If he has proof, then he should go to the police.

We should be careful not to say something that will haunt us later in life and we should not, in the name of politics, destroy other people’s character. Buhari, Tinubu, Akande know nothing about the constitution. I can confidently say this because I am an insider. There is nothing like that. I am shocked that a man of Shekarau calibre should make such unsubstantiated allegations”.

•See the Akinjide interview on pages 12 & 13

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Monday, February 10 - Sunday February 16, 2014

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Fashola: Missing $20bn could provide 50 cable bridges across Nigeria ALLEGED FRAUD Governor Fashola says level of impunity in financial mismanagement is alarming Muritala Ayinla

G

overnor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has decried continued culture of impunity and financial mismanagement in all the public sectors, saying the $20 billion reportedly missing from the Federation Account could have built over 50 cable bridges across the country, if the money was judiciously utilised.

Fashola, who bemoaned the frequent missing funds in the coffers of Federal Government’s agencies, urged Nigerians to focus on the public accounting challenges and raise their voices over the missing public funds and other economic issues in the country.

He said his administration constructed LekkiIkoyi Link Bridge (Cable Bridge) with less than N30 billion while $20 billion public fund could not be accounted for.

Fashola spoke at the weekend during the 2014

Interdenominational Divine Service of the Lagos State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), held at the Apostolic Church Nigeria, International Convention Grounds, Ketu, assuring that Lagos residents would continue to witness the completion and commissioning of projects till his last day in office, even as he advocated restraint and tolerance among the citizenry.

Speaking on the theme, “Remember Now Thy Creator”, Fashola added that it is those who restrain themselves in the course of advocating their rights who have acted with nobility.

While urging Nigerians to pay less attention to their differences and focus on economic issues, the governor urged the citizenry to pay attention to goings on in the country in a peaceful way and manner.

He said: “I think the question of poverty and under development requires us to focus less on ethnic divides and religion and more on economic issues, public accounting challenges that we are seeing and how impacted the $20 billion or $10 billion can be in our lives if

they are properly utilised and properly accounted for and utilised in accordance with Appropriation laws that are made by our representatives”.

He urged Nigerians to raise their voices and demand proper account of the alleged missing money so that the issues can be resolved in a way that

benefits the poor people, noting that since the issue of the missing money became public knowledge, Nigerians have not been paying attention.

“I have urged our people to continue to listen, to participate in and to do so peacefully. The reason why we have to listen and participate is that, that

accounting problem must be resolved in favour of ordinary Nigerians, because if there was over accounting and we found out that the money has been properly spent then, we can only provide more for the benefit of our people in terms of roads, jobs, food in terms of security and so on and that for me

is the most important issue of the time that people should pay attention to,” he said.

Fashola said the number of new roads, hospitals and cancer centres that can be built from the usage of such a huge sum for the benefit of the generality of the people is better imagined.

L-R: Deputy Editor, Politics, New Telegraph Newspapers, Mr. Ayodele Ojo; Saturday Editor, Mr. Laurence Ani; Managing Editor, Mr. Felix Abugu; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Managing Director, Mr. Bolaji Tunji; Daily Editor, Mr. Gabriel Akinadewo; and Sunday Editor, Mr. Emeka Madunagu, during the formal presentation of the newspaper to the Governor in Ado-Ekiti

4,800

58.4%

2.4%

the amount in billion cubic metres a year (bcm/y) to which global gas consumption will increase by 2025 from the current figure of about 3,500bcm/y Source: General Electric

the share of Android platform in the mobile phones market in the United Kingdom. Apple’s share is 27%, Blackberry 3.1% and Windows 11.4% Source: Kantar/WorldPanel/Comtech

the level by which the number of registered jobless rose in Spain in January. The number of workers sacked in the month was 113,097 Source: The Punch

We didn’t endorse Jonathan for 2015, say Northern elders CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Kaduna, never mentioned any endorsement.

According to him, NEC had expressed happiness with the cooperation that Vice President Namadi Sambo is giving to Jonathan. ‘’We urged them to continue working together in the interest of the country’’, he added.

The NEC chairman pointed out that the sour relationship between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar towards the end of their tenure was a bad omen to the country. ‘’We don’t want a repeat

of that sour relationship’’, he said adding: ‘’That is why we urged the vice president and the president to continue cooperating,’’ he said.

Yakassai noted that in a separate interview after the communique had been read, he was asked whether NEC had endorsed President Jonathan but he had answered in the negative.

The elder statesman said that ‘’it will be stupid for anybody to endorse a candidate who has not declared for a position. What will happen if the person refuses to declare after you have endorsed him?’’

He said that NEC will

only endorse a candidate if all the aspirants of all the political parties declare their intentions and unfold their programmes. ‘’On the basis of our conviction, we will choose one of them,’’ he said.

The NEC chairman accused the media of being in a hurry to file stories without actually understanding the communique.

He said that INEC has released its timetable, adding that the media should wait for the candidates to declare their interests.

Meanwhile, Jonathan, on Sunday, urged Nigerians not to relent but to continue to pray for the

peace, stability and unity of Nigeria.

Jonathan made the call at the enthronement of the Most Rev. Oche Job, as the Methodist Archbishop of Abuja Diocese.

Job succeeded Most Rev. Chimaroke Iweha, who retired in November, 2013.

Represented by the Minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, Jonathan noted that the situation in the country would have gone worse were it not for prayers. ``We should continue to serve God in our nation. We need to continue to cry out (pray) to him; if we have not been doing

that, it will be much worse. ``Even though things don’t seem to be the best, it will have been worse if we are not crying out and telling people not to do the wrong thing,’’ he said.

The Senate President, Senator David Mark, who read the first lesson at the service, also called on Nigerians to be faithful and continue to pray for the nation.

He urged both Christians and Muslims to live in harmony and work together for the progress and stability of the country.

Earlier, the Prelate of the church, His Eminence, Dr Samuel Uche, called on

government at various levels to provide for the welfare of the citizenry. ``In any nation, there is what we called intangibles, honesty, integrity, transparency, high morality that makes a country stable; these are what the church provides. ``The government provides the tangibles like the roads, water supply, energy, employment, ensure there is security and make sure that citizenry are well cared for. ``In other words, the church takes care of the soul and spirit, while the government takes care of the physical needs of the people,’’ he said.

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Monday, February 10 - Sunday February 16, 2014

OUr guests

L-R: Officials of Newspaper Distributors Association of Nigeria (NDAN), Mr. Tunde Oladunbi; Chairman, NDAN, Ikeja, Kalu Eke Kalu; Mr. Ayodele Adesola, and the Managing Director, New Telegraph, Mr. Bolaji Tunji at the event

A cross-section of of the officials of the Newspapers Distributors Association of Nigeria (NDAN), Lagos Chapter, during the inaugural launching of the New Telegraph Newspaper to Agents and Vendors of NDAN in Ikeja, Lagos.

A cross-section of members of Newspapers Distributors Association of Nigeria (NDAN), Lagos Chapter, during the inaugural launching of the New Telegraph Newspaper to Agents and Vendors of NDAN in Ikeja, Lagos.

L-R: Chairman, Editorial Board, New Telegraph, Dr. Emman Shehu; Managing Editor, Felix Abugu; Managing Director, Bolaji Tunji, Prof. A.U. Nnonyelu, Dr. Femi Olufunmilade and Victoria Ibanga

A cross-section of members of Newspapers Distributors Association of Nigeria (NDAN), Lagos Chapter, during the hosting of Agents and Vendors of NDAN in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday

A cross-section of members of Newspapers Distributors Association of Nigeria (NDAN), Lagos Chapter, during the hosting of Agents and Vendors of NDAN in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday.

in the news

L-R: Guest Speaker, Prof. Henkjan Verkade; President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Ngozi Nnam; Member, Board of Directors, Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria, Isaac Agoye and Past President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Tola Atimo, at the 9th Olu Akinkugbe WAMCO Nutrition Seminar organised by FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc in Lagos.

L-R: Executive Secretary, South-East/ South-South Professionals of Nigeria, Winnifred Obazeah; President, Mr. Emeka Ugwu-Oju; Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril Aku and Member, Mr. Kelechi Nwankwo during the group’s visit to the Bank in Lagos‌.on Friday

PHOTOS: suleiman husaini, TONY EGUAYE AND OLUgbenga JOSEPH

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7

Our products of global quality –Dangote Cement CERTIFIED Dangote Cement says products from its three plants are of certified 42.5 grade Ayodele Aminu

D

angote Cement has defended the quality of its products, saying that all the commodities manufactured from its three cement plants are certified 42.5 grade in line with international standard and quality benchmark.

The company was reacting to the threat by a coalition of civil society groups and professional bodies in the construction industry to lead protests against manufacturers and importers of 32.5 grade cement.

L-R: Former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; National PDP Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu and President Goodluck Jonathan, during the defection ceremony of Attahiru Bafarawa from APC to PDP in Sokoto on Saturday PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMONISAN

Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, Director, Sales and Marketing, Dangote Cement, Ekanem Etim, said the company’s

belief that Nigeria and Nigerians deserve the best, informed the decision to make sure that all the cement manufactured are

42.5 grades.

He said: “We (Dangote) remain steadfast in meeting up that standard and take exemption to the alle-

gation that cement manufacturers are not meeting up the set standard.

Dangote Cement, he said, aligns with the posi-

tion of the civil society groups for the requisite cement standard to be maintained, adding that the company is already pushing for the production of 52.5 grade cement.

Wondering why some companies would prefer to manufacture the 32.5 grade cement, Etim explained that the cost of production for this grade, which is meant for plastering and production of culverts, and 42.5 grade that is used for construction of storey buildings, by builders and block makers, are the same.

He said that because Dangote Cement was committed to giving back to the society, the company had been conducting training programmes for block makers and users across the country to stem the tide of building collapses in the country.

Stop drumbeats of war, group warns Ango Abdullahi TENSION Group counsels against ‘unguarded’ comments that could create tension Abiodun Bello

T

he South-West NonIndigenes Forum has warned former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof Ango Abdullahi, not to create tension in the country through his “unguarded” comments.

The President General of the forum, Chief Sam Ubochi, gave the warning in a February 5, 2014 letter to Abdullahi over the latter’s threats to take a legal action against former Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Lt.Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika.

Abdullahi and the Northern Elders Forum have threatened to take Ihejirika before the In-

ternational Court of Justice (ICJ) over alleged mass killings in some parts of the North during his tenure as CAS. But Ubochi said though Abdullahi had the right to take a legal action, it should be done without heating the polity.

He said: “As an elite by academic rating, you should have known the best approach to issues of such sensitivity, rather than indulge in unguarded vituperations which tendencies are capable of ‘unamalgamating’ the soul of Nigeria from the flesh of unity.

“The world over, professors are reputable for their uprightness, fairness, cautiousness, transparency, with overriding consideration and concern for the peace and unity of their country.”

Ubochi also accused Abdullahi of being a tribal champion.

He said the former

VC’s “regular vicious comments,” which seem to undermine the integrity and dignity of leaders and people of other ethnic nationalities, particularly the South-South and the South-East regions, had distinguished him as an ethnocentric leader.

“As a professor, good conscience demands that a man of your status should champion the cause for national integration, rather than unleash terror on the nation that has made you,” he added.

Ubochi also wondered why Abdullahi has closed his eyes to the ethnic cleansing in Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau states allegedly orchestrated by the northern leaders.

He said the resolve to use the platform of the Northern Elders Forum to sue the military chiefs, past or present, was designed to give a psychological boost to Boko Haram.

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8

NEWS

Residents lament ‘one policeman guarding 600 people’ in Kwara SHORTAGE

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Nigeria, others source $14.5bn to save Lake Chad people CATASTROPHE

Bayo Akomolafe

More than 30million people are on the verge of famine in Nigeria and three other countries

N

Kwara residents saynot enough policemen to secure the state

igeria and three other countries have resolved to source $14.5billion to tackle ecological catastrophe causing untold hardship on

the 30 million people living around Lake Chad basin.

The $14.5 billion intervention fund, it was learnt, would be transferred to source water from River Bangui in Central African Republic to Lake Chad.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation has already observed in its report on Friday that the area is being consumed by famine.

Other countries grossly affected by the shrinking lake are Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

T

he great shortfall in the number of policemen needed for adequate security in Kwara State became glaring last week during a meeting between the Assistant Inspector General of police (AIG) in charge of zone eight, Mr. Christopher Dega and selected stakeholders in the state.

Zone 8 comprises of Kogi, Ekiti and Kwara states and has its headquarters in Lokoja, from where Dega came to coordinate the meeting which held inside the Banquet Hall opposite Government House, Ilorin.

Although the Commissioner of Police for Kwara, Mr. Agboola Oshodi-Glover said the command is not witnessing a high rate of crime like some others, he still lamented that the command is confronted with shortage of manpower in an effort to secure the state. He equally lamented that the command lacked efficient communication network, disclosing that the command’s communication system “has been in comatose for four months”.

Oshodi-Glover, who noted that the command has only 4,072 officers, said the development has led to the closing of many police outposts because of inadequate personnel. With a population estimate of 2,371,089 going by the 2006 census, it means that one policeman is in charge of 583 residents. One of the participants at the event even hiked the number given the influx of those fleeing the insecurity in the north-west axis to the state.

L-R: President, Nigeria-Britain Association, Mr Tunde Arogunmati; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Henry Odein-Ajumogobia and Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Peter Carter, at a cocktail for the 2014 Akintola Williams Annual Lecture by NigeriaBritain Association in Lagos.

1.5

the minimum temperature increase, in degrees Celcius, that the world is likely to experience by 2100 relative to 1850 – 1900 levels, unless carbon emissions are rapidly reduced Source: scientificAmerican

$1.8b

the amount by which the nation’s external reserves fell within a period of eight weeks Source: CBN (Feb. 4, 2014)

10b

the number of exosomes – tiny materials which travel in body fluids, such as blood, urine and saliva; they shuttle generic materials and proteins between cells – in a milliliter of blood plasma.

Source: Popular Science

Two die as Pathfinder SUV plunges into canal in Lagos lAnother accident claims six-year only child at scene TRAGEDY Hit-and-run driver kills boy Muritala Ayinla

I

t was double tragedy in Lagos at the weekend when a Nissan Pathfinder Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) plunged into a canal after colliding with a bus at Pleasure Bus Stop, Abeokuta Expressway, killing the two occupants instantly.

This was even as a hitand-run driver crushed three pedestrians, killing

a six-year-old boy and left his mother and another woman in a coma near the scene of the canal accident.

The latest accident occurred following the traffic gridlock on the axis as a result of the recovery effort by the emergency agencies.

The hit-and-run driver was said to have attempted to manoeuvre when he rammed into the waiting pedestrians at the Bus Stop.

New Telegraph gathered that the Saturday accident occurred around 10p.m. at Pleasure Bus Stop inward Abule Egba

area.

The occupants of the Pathfinder SUV were Islamic clerics from Shamsudeen Islamiyyah Society of Nigeria.

The driver of the Pathfinder SUV was said to have swerved into the canal following the gravity of the collusion but he and the other occupant could not survive the accident.

The 911 Bus also fell on the SUV in the canal.

It took the intervention of the emergency agencies before the remains of the occupants of the SUV were removed from the carcass with sophisticated equipment.

The carcass of the vehicles were removed from the canal on Sunday morning.

A resident in the area, who pleaded anonymity, said the sympathisers tried their best possible to detect the whereabouts of the occupants after discovering the SUV had plunged into the canal.

According to him, “we did all we could to recover the victim, but it was dark and we had no equipment to move the jeep out of the canal on Saturday night.

So, we reached out to the emergency management agencies.”

See photo on Page 10

According to the Executive Secretary of Lake Chad Basin Authority, Sanusi Imran Abdullahi, the drastic recession and degradation facing the lake calls for concern and collective efforts to avoid or mitigate a potential human and environmental catastrophe that may further plunge the region into economic, security and even political crises.

Leaders from the four countries, led by Nigeria’s Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on Friday converged on Abuja to discuss possible solutions to the problems of the lake which has shrunk from over 25,000 square km in 1964 to 1,500 at present.

Abdullahi urged the parliamentarians of member countries to support the restoration of Lake Chad’s past glory.

Boko Haram: Security expert urges use of force multipliers Biyi Adegoroye

A

security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, has advised the military high command to deploy force multipliers in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists.

He said this had become necessary as military personnel resource needed to control the geographically-vast hot zones of Boko Haram atrocities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States was scarce and there was a need to invent new strategies in the war against terror.

Ekhomu explained that in recent deadly attacks in Madagali LGA of Adamawa State, and Gwoza, Damboa, Chibok and Kondugha LGAs in Borno State, the terrorists had shown adaptive capacity, choosing to carry out stealth attacks in communities, villages and towns in these areas, while avoiding military patrols that tended to concentrate on the highways.

NEWS 9

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Our emphasis on quality, not revenue - LASU VC LASU

VC says new fees regime not affecting enrolment Kayode Olanrewaju

V

ice Chancellor of the Lagos State University, Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa has explained that the main emphasis of the 30-year old institution is quality assurance, and not revenue generation.

Speaking with the New Telegraph, the Vice-Chancellor also said that the challenge of infrastructural development confronting the university is being aggressively tackled by the state government, with

the governor Fashola administration budgeting N2.5 billion yearly for this.

He noted that the university’s new fees regime introduced three years ago, in line with the recommendations of a visitation panel, has generated controversy, but dismissed not only baseless, but also unfounded, the allegation that it is affecting enrolment.

Explaining that existing students from 200 to 600 Levels were exempted from the new fees, and that the fees were fixed based on students’ courses of studies, the ViceChancellor said courses such as Medicine, Law, Management Sciences and Engineering, among others where students pay “higher fees” were

over-subscribed in the last admission year.

“For instance, in medicine, whereas it will take between N700,000 and N800,000 to train a student in a year and in LASU the students pay N306,000, no fewer than 417 candidates in the last post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) subscribed for the 80 slots in the Faculty,” he said.

According to him, despite over subscription in some Faculties, some programmes where students pay the least fees were grossly under subscribed He said scrapping its numerous study centres was one of the best things to have happened to university in recent times.

Obafunwa, the former Provost of the university’s College of Medicine (LASUCOM), who hinted that there were a lot of internal issues about the running and management of the system before the state government ordered their closure, stressed that things were not being done properly and government felt it had to do away with it.

He said the urgent need to ensure quality control and assurance, improved quality of education and tuition delivery, accounting practices, prompt release of students’ results and issuance of certificates, which were lacking before in the system, and which led to the scrapping of the external system.

Officials of Bende Export Ltd, Gsc France, Belcarbon Belgium, Florasen Bruxelles and Matro Anterwarp after sealing a merger deal in Belgium. The new entity, which is expected to provide alternative source of energy in Europe, is now to known as BBFM Carbon. Third from left is Dr. Orji Kalu.

REGISTRATION

Exercise to prepare ground for electoral fraud - PDP Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

E

kiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the use of Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) designated voting centres by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ongoing registration of party members, saying it is intended to confuse the

Membership drive: PDP faults APC’s use of INEC voting centres l Go and do same, replies APC electorate by giving false impression about the exercise.

Also, the PDP, according to the Ekiti State Chairman, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, sees the use of the centres as a ploy by the APC to perpetrate fraud in future polls.

Ogundipe, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday through his media aide, Mr. Femi Omolusi, wondered why the APC de-

cided not to use its ward offices for the exercise.

“What the APC is trying to do is to give the impression that by registering bogus number of people in each polling unit, they will be able to lay a foundation that they are popular and that when elections come, they can then claim that if they were able to record so and so number of members in a unit, why should people

challenge them if they fraudulently record huge votes from those centres.

“Also, they are confusing people, especially illiterates who think that their useless exercise is real voter’s registration by INEC. If they think their tricks will succeed, they have failed. Their efforts to cajole public servants and others to register for their directionless party is also null and void,” he said.

Mixed reactions trail LagosHOMS prices, conditions BEYOND REACH Homes not affordable for low income corners Muritala Ayinla

M

ixed reactions have continued to trail the prices and conditions of the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMs) unveiled by Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) last week.

While some residents are commending the state government for what they described as laudable and befitting project to address problem of housing deficit in the state, others lamented that the prices are too high and might not be affordable for low income earners, for whom the scheme is said to be targeted at.

Governor Fashola had, while inaugurating Lagos HOMs website and the state mortgage board, listed conditions applicants must fulfil before they can be considered eligible to apply for the homes. He had said applicant must show evidence of tax payment in the last 5 years and must be ready to pay 30 percent of the total cost of their choice home, after which the remaining bal-

ance would be paid over a period of 10 years at 9.5 percent interest rate.

The prices of the new homes vary from N4.30m to N9m for a bedroom flat, also known as ‘room and parlour’, depending on the location.

The price tag for the two-bedroom flats in the scheme ranges from N6.5m to above N18m, also depending on the location, while the three-bedroom flats cost between N6m and N32.5m.

But some residents described these prices and conditions as unrealistic and too stringent for many low income earners and those in the informal sector to meet.

Speaking with New Telegraph, Mr Adeshina Adedapo, a civil servant lauded the initiative but urged the government to design the allocation of the homes in a way that would benefit low income earners.

Another resident, Mr Alex Ugo, expressed worry that the scheme might be hijacked by more influential citizens in the state.

Mr Olaniran Olawuyi, a public affairs analyst, said the housing scheme might not be affordable by average Nigerians, going by the prevailing economic circumstances in the country.

Lagos school owners pledge support for quality education Mojeed Alabi

O

wners of private schools in Lagos State have pledged their support and commitment to government policies and programmes aimed at ensuring high academic standard.

Chairman of Otto, Awori chapter of the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Mr. Mathew Ogbonna made the pledge in a speech during the association's first edition of annual seminar held recently at Summit Hotel, Shibiri,

in Lagos.

According to Ogbonna, the association has made it its responsibility to ensure that private school owners follow due procedures in establishing schools and in the conduct of their staff and students.

"It has become obvious that schools are no longer judged by the size or the height of their buildings but by their academic standards.

Now, the question is, do we have to wait for the clampdown before we do the right thing? It shouldn't be so.

10

ACROSS THE NATION

BENUE MAKURDI

Cholera kills 8 in Benue The Benue Government has said that the cholera outbreak recorded in the state a few days ago had claimed eight lives.

The Commissioner for Health and Human Services in the state, Dr Orduen Abunku, who made the announcement at the weekend while speaking to newsmen in Makurdi, said that 240 people had been diagnosed with the disease and were currently being treated.

BAYELSA YENAGOA

Bayelsa Govt to

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

JIGAWA

ABUJA

PLATEAU

HADEJIA

ABUJA

JOS

Jigawa college matriculates 1,864 students The Bilyaminu Usman College of Agriculture, Hadejia, Jigawa, has matriculated 1,864 students for the 2013/2014 academic session.

The Provost of the college, Prof. Muhammad Hussein, said this while inducting the new intakes in Hadejia last Friday.

Hussein, represented

by Garba Isah, the Registrar of the college, said the students were admitted to pursue Ordinary National Diploma (OND), Higher National Diploma (HND) and certificate programmes, and urged them to be of good moral conduct and abide by the rules governing the institution.

FCTA remitted 3.2bn to PENCOM in 2013 – Minister The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration remitted N3.2 billion to the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) in 2013.

A statement issued by the FCTA in Abuja at the weekend, signed by Mr Muhammad Sule, the Chief Press Secretary to

KADUNA

ANAMBRA

KADUNA

Kaduna Govt. to spend N400m on small-scale enterprises The Kaduna State Industrialization and Microcredit Management Board (KSIMMB) has said it would spend N400 million on small and medium enterprises in 2014.

Mr. Edward Marshal,

the FCT Minister, said the remittance was the contribution of staff of the administration and those of the six area councils.

It said the payment was done after due reconciliation between officials of the FCT Administration and PENCOM.

Executive Secretary of the Board who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna at the weekend, added that the fund would be for graduates to enable them develop small businesses.

AWKA

Anambra SSG hails inclusion of Achebe’s book in World’s 100 best works The Secretary to Anambra government (SSG), Mr Oseloka Obaze, has applauded the inclusion of late Chinua Achebe’s work, Things Fall Apart, in the Amazon List of

Top 100 Books.

The list entitled, ``List of 100 books to read in a lifetime’’ was published on the website of Amazon Book editors.

Plateau Govt. earmarks N2bn to resuscitate Jos Wild Life Park The Plateau Government has earmarked N2 billion to resuscitate the Jos Wild Life Park.

The Commissioner for Tourism and Culture, Mr Abraham Yiljap, who made this known in Jos at the weekend when he inspected the facilities at the park, further said the present administration in the state wants to ``touch tourism sector in a unique way”. ``What we have this year to tackle is that the Jos Wild Life Park is going to receive some action to the tune of N2 billion.

inaugurate over 20 projects in two days – Commissioner Mr. Lawrence Ewrudiakpor, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructural Development in Bayelsa, has said that the state government would commission no fewer than 20 projects in two days.

Ewrudiakpor, who stated this at the weekend in Yenagoa after inspecting some of the ongoing projects in the state, said that he was impressed with the quality of work done by some of the contractors.

ONDO AKURE

Ondo Govt. deploys GIS to monitor forest reserves Ondo State Government has employed a technological device, known as Geographical Information System (GIS), to monitor its various forest reserves across the state.

Mr Tunde Atere, Commissioner for Natural Resources, who disclosed this to journalists in Akure at the weekend, said that the device would be stationed at strategic positions in the forests and be controlled from Akure.

Rescue operations at scene of an accident involving two vehicles, a Pathfinder SUV with registration number Lagos FKJ 516AL and a Lagos Commercial bus (Molue) with registration number FHJ 201XH at Pleasure Canal of Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos... yesterday. Two people were confirmed dead.

PHOTO: ADEYANJU OLOWOJOBA

$7b

the amount by which Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) in the country declined in the third quarter of 2013.

Source: CBN report

£250m

The amount Britons spend every year on roaming charges in the United States.

Source: Three/USWITCH

$2b the level to which financial commitment from donor countries to Nigeria's power sector is expected to hit by 2018. Source: Dr. Patrick Kormawa, Representative of UNIDO in Nigeria

LAGOS

KEBBI

LAGOS

BAGUDO

DISCOs blame TCN for poor power delivery Some top management staff of the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) at the weekend blamed the ongoing nationwide epileptic power supply on the inability of the Transmission

Company of Nigeria (TCN) to meet energy demands.

The officials, who pleaded anonymity, gave the blame in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Kebbi council sets up committee to boost relationship with Niger, Benin Republics Bagudo Local Government Council, Kebbi, has set up a standing committee to facilitate the sustenance of cordial relationship between its communities and their counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Benin republics.

The Vice Chairman of the council, Alhaji Aliyu Zagga, told newsmen in Bagudo at the weekend, that the committee would ensure the enhancement of socio-economic activities in the communities.

KANO KANO

Kano govt. sets up committee to enforce law prohibiting street begging The Kano State government has constituted a 100-member Task-force Committee to enforce the Street Begging Prohibition law in the state.

The Director-General of the state Hisba Board, Dr Abba Sufi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano last Friday.

APGA’s endless litigations / PAGE 14 | TIMETABLE: Stormy weather for INEC / PAGE 15 11

POLITICS

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/politics

Five reasons Buhari can't be president – Akinjide

p-12

ayodele Ojo

Deputy Editor, politics

ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

ayodeleojo@yahoo.com

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Atiku: Between political desperation and principle Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not new to the political game of defection, but FELIX NWANERI reports that his recent dumping of the Peoples Democratic Party for the opposition All Progressives Congress has raised questions over his political ideology.

F

ormer Vice President Atiku Abubakar made good his threat of dumping the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), should the party’s leadership fail to return it to the vision of its founding fathers, with his defection to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) last weekend.

In a statement that announced his formal exit from the platform on which he and former President Olusegun Obasanjo contested and won the 1999 and 2003 presidential elections, Atiku listed lack of direction and internal democracy; impunity; nonadherence to the rule of law and respect for the dignity of members and Nigerians as his reasons for jumping ship.

He also cited marginalisation, saying: “As a former Vice President, I am by virtue of the PDP constitution, a member of the party’s Board of Trustees and its National Executive Committee.

However, I am not invited to the meetings of those organs nor consulted on their decisions, apparently because I dared to exercise my right to contest in the party’s primary election for a chance to be its flag-bearer in the 2011 elections.”

He added that “the PDP continues to be beset with many crises, mostly leadership-induced crises. It has since lost touch with Nigerians and efforts made by many well-meaning members and stakeholders to bring it back to the vision of the founders have been rebuffed.”

Concluding that the party is beyond redemption, the Turakin Adamawa declared that “party cannot be redeemed. In short the PDP has abandoned Nigerians, the very people who gave it life

Atiku’s words on marble 2006 I had to leave because I was pushed to the limit... Of course, the bigger scheme was to ensure that I did not succeed my boss (Obasanjo) and many electoral victories.”

Familiar path Atiku is not new to the politics of defection. He had first left the PDP in 2006, when his decision to run for the 2007 presidency pitched him against Obasanjo.

Both men had engaged in a bitter political battle before then over Obasanjo’s bid to amend some provisions of the constitution in order to take another shot

2009 For any one still harbouring any doubts about my return to our great party, the PDP, let me assure that I am back for real and in it for the long run

2014 The PDP cannot be redeemed. In short the PDP has abandoned Nigerians, the very people who gave it life and many electoral victories

at the presidency for the third consecutive time.

Obasanjo’s insistence that Atiku would not succeed him forced the former vice president to leave the PDP for the defunct Action Congress (AC), which handed him its presidential ticket on December 20, 2006.

Atiku then said of his decision to quit: “I had to leave because I was pushed to the limit. A scheme was introduced, by which I and

my supporters were removed from the party under the guise of re-registration. Of course, the bigger scheme was to ensure that I did not succeed my boss (Obasanjo). ” Despite securing the AC’s ticket, the power play led the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to omit his name from the final list of the 24 candidates for the presidential CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

POLITICAL NOTES Rivers: Not yet Uhuru despite Mbu’s exit

T

he Federal Government has finally bowed to pressure by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) on the Rivers State political crisis with the redeployment of the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu. Mbu has of late come under fire by the opposition party over his alleged partisanship in the stand-off between the Rotimi Amaechi-led Rivers State government and the Presidency.

Though the Police high command claimed that the redeployment which involved 12 other commissioners was “part of strategic efforts to reposition the force for improved efficiency and better service delivery,” many believe that it was a fallout of the directive by the APC to its members in the National Assembly to block the passage of all executive bills, including the 2014 budget if President Goodluck Jonathan fails to intervene in the impasse.

But despite the euphoria over Mbu’s removal, some political observers are of the view that it is not yet Uhuru for the people and government of Rivers State, as the end of the lingering crisis in the oil-rich state is beyond the removal of the police boss.

To these observers, the underlying factor in the crisis that has almost grounded governance in the state is not far from the 2015 presidency.

With Amaechi seen as an opposition to Jonathan’s second term bid, the “creek war” will only assume a different dimension now that Mbu is out of the way.

The President’s foot soldiers in the state and their Abuja commanders are expected to review their war plans and come out with fresh strategies, while Amaechi and his band of loyalists are expected to show more resistance to the “invading army.”

The insistence of each of the warring camps having its way promises more stormy days ahead for the people of the Garden City, who have been at the receiving end since the supremacy battle began.

12

POLITICS | MONDAY DIALOGUE

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Five reasons Buhari can't

Says, ‘Power won't shift to North in 2015, Jonathan will be re-elected’

Akinjide

From the First Republic, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) has been an active participant in Nigerian politics. A former Attorney-General and Justice Minister, he strongly believes that President Goodluck Jonathan will be re-elected in 2015. The First Republic Federal Minister of Education and member, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) advises former Head of State, Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), to quit politics because if he contests for the presidency 10 times, like he did in 2003, 2007 and 2011, he can never be president. Akinjide, in this interview with AYODELE OJO and TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE, also said Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State should forget his return to the Agodi Government House, Ibadan. Excerpts: As an active participant in all the republics, how would you assess the state of the nation?

Excellent. In my view, there is nothing to worry about. As long as we obey the wordings of the constitution, we have nothing to worry about.

There are threats and counter-threats about President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election and the 2015 elections. How do you feel about the development?

In my view, what decides an election is the result. Politicians must talk politics; whether they are from the South or North or from the East or West. Nobody should worry about that. They say even worse things in France, Germany, England, USA and South Africa. So, I don’t see why people are worried about that. In politics, you must jaw-jaw, not war-war; no violence, no killings. As long as you obey the law, we have nothing to worry about.

As a leader in the PDP, do you see your party winning South-West in the 2015 elections?

We will. We will follow the law, the Electoral Act, the electoral rule and the PDP will win. I don’t think anybody should worry about the party controlling the states in the South-West or not controlling it. I don’t want to go into details of that but those who perpetrated atrocities

in past elections; they have suffered for it and they would continue to suffer for it. I don’t want to comment on that. Once the electoral tribunal makes pronouncement and it is final, whether it is right or wrong, we have to obey it. But let us wait for the result of the next election and see who is going to win and see who is going to lose.

With the All Progressives Congress in firm control of five of the six states in the SouthWest, do you see President Jonathan winning the 2015 election in the zone?

There was a time Chief Obafemi Awolowo was controlling the whole South-West and when we did the federal election in 1954/55, the NCNC won; Awolowo’s party was defeated. Yet Awolowo’s party was in control of the Western Region at that time. That was when Chief Kola Balogun became a Federal Minister, Adegoke Adelabu became Federal Minister and other people from South-West became Federal Ministers. There is no permanency in politics. A party in power today may not be the party in power tomorrow. It is not a permanent fixture. In England, the Labour Party had been in power and they are now in opposition. There had been time when the Conservative had been in power and

FACT FILE zz zz zz zz

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Born on November 1931 Called to English bar in 1955 Started practising law in 1956 Member of Nigeria’s Parliament from 1959 to 1966 Federal Minister of Education between 1965 and 1966 Detained in the First Republic President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) 1970-1973 Attorney-General and Minister of Justice between 1979 and 1983 Member, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT)

the Labour came in. The same thing happened in Germany, France and USA. So, I don’t see why people should be unnecessarily nervous about 2015. The party in power today may be in opposition tomorrow.

You have not answered the question: will Jonathan be able to win in South-West come 2015?

I am 100 per cent sure that once the election is conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act, Jonathan will win; he will become President again. I have no doubt about that. In 2011, when he won the election, how many states did PDP control in

the South-West? And his win was total and the same thing is going to happen in the next election. The crisis in the PDP is going to be settled and you will see how things will emerge. We have now got an excellent man as national chairman of the party, Adamu Muazu; who believes in unity, democratic norms and that would change the equation of politics in the South-West and in Nigeria as a whole.

But people felt the mutual alliance between Jonathan and Bola Tinubu helped the president in the 2011 election.

I don’t accept that analysis. Jonathan won because people voted for him and he will win again because people will vote for him. It is as simple as that. I have no doubt that PDP will come to power in South-West.

Do you foresee Governor Ajimobi returning to office in 2015?

No. I don’t see him coming back. I see the PDP winning the election.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has threatened to withdraw from PDP activities if Buruji Kashamu remains the party leader in South-West. Do you feel comfortable with Kashamu being the party’s zonal leader?

In the first place, former President Obasanjo has not withdrawn from PDP. If you have a complaint, it is your duty to complain to leaders of the party or to the chairman of the party and that is what he (Obasanjo) has done. Isn’t that better than stoning yourself or fighting each other?

It is all politics. It has come and it will go away.

For me, I don’t see him leading the party in the South-West. A magazine has published the details of his case (drug) in America, which he denied. He said he had no case in America. The PDP believes in democratic norms; we obey the rule of law and anything contrary to law, we will not go over it. I don’t see him ruling us in the South-West. Kashamu ruling us would be a disaster.

He (Kashamu) said many of the leaders that are opposing him are no longer relevant in the politics of South-West....

What relevance has he got himself? I want anybody to tell me. I don’t even know him. I have never seen him before. He should be very careful the way he makes statement. And that is perhaps why he had problem in America and has been exposed by the American authorities. I don’t think you should attach much importance to his statement. He should be very careful.

Recently, Jonathan and Obasanjo were engaged in public spat; is there any process in place to reconcile the duo?

I don’t see any altercation. I saw exchange of letters. It is normal in politics that you exchange words either in writing or by words of mouth. Which political party does not do that? Even the party in government in the South-West does the same thing. In the North, they do the same thing.

In South-South, they do the same thing. It is normal in politics; just don’t fight each other, only exchange words. As long as you do that, there is no problem. Writing letters

POLITICS | MONDAY DIALOGUE

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

13

be president – Akinjide is healthy but stoning yourself or fighting is not healthy. If people exchange letters, that is normal in politics. Don’t forget that we inherited this system, we did not create them. It was brought by the British, Americans and the Europeans generally and we are doing it here the way they do it there.

So, why should anyone get worried, except somebody who is suffering from political ignorance.

Do you think some of the issues raised by Obasanjo are really germane or out of place?

It all depends on, one; your politics. Secondly, how you look at it and thirdly, where you are going.

The former President said corruption has grown in Jonathan administration. He also talked about clannish issue; that the Ijaws have taken over the government and the rest.

Are these issues real or just imaginary?

There is no politics in Nigeria that is controlled by a particular group. The Presidency has the whole constituency as his electoral base. Therefore, to be elected, you need people from Sokoto, Oyo, Ijaw, NorthEast, North Central and the Igbo to support you. Many people making statement are making them out of sheer ignorance and political incompetence. If I may say so. There is nothing happening that has worried me at all.

So, you feel there is no need to reconcile the two?

What is the meaning of reconciliation when you exchange words in the papers, on television or radio? That is normal. The Germans, British, Americans and Japanese do the same thing. This politics we are doing is not in our history; we inherited it from the British, Americans, Japanese and other people. So, why should anybody blame us?

The North is angling for power shift in 2015. Do you support power shift?

There is nothing wrong about that, even you asking to be President of Nigeria. It is normal. There is nothing wrong even for people from Benue or Anambra to say that they want to be President. It is normal to say such things. I have no problem about that at all.

So, you don’t have any problem with power shift in 2015 to the North?

Shift to where? I am supporting Jonathan 100 per cent to contest election again, win and remain President.

Why are you supporting Jonathan?

One, his performance. Two, the people of his area have seen something they have never seen before in the history of the country. We have had Yoruba as President, Northerners as Presidents and we had Igbo as Governor-General of this country. So, if we have an Ijaw occupying the same place, I don’t see anything wrong in that.

But some critics like the APC feel there is nothing on ground to show that the President has done well.

That is arrant nonsense. Look at what he has done about power. Look at what he is trying to do about the aviation industry.

Look at the roads he is doing; the expressway he is doing between Ibadan and Lagos, in the North and in the East. If you inher-

ited any problem of 10-15 years, there is no way you can solve them within a short time, it takes time.

How do you see the defection of PDP governors and lawmakers to APC and what is the implication of the move?

This is just internal politics and it is going to be corrected before long. You just watch out. The constitution is quite clear on that. If you contest election on the platform of a political party and you want to leave and go to another political party, you have to resign and contest again. If you don’t do that, then you are doing something that is wrong and I don’t see that happening. I believe that the PDP will put its house in order and there is no question of defection being total or final.

Do you see a Northern candidacy defeating Jonathan in 2015?

The politics of Nigeria has moved away from North and South or East and West.

Anybody who is reading Nigerian politics in that context must be very ignorant. We now have 36 states. Before, we had three regions, then 12 states, then 19 states. How can you talk of North and South in that context? It is not possible. The politics of North and South has changed forever.

In the event former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari, emerges as APC presidential candidate, do you see him defeating President Jonathan in 2015?

If Buhari stands for any election 10 times, he will lose.

Why? He hasn’t got the electoral advantage to win an election. He has done a lot of things in the past, which shows that he hasn’t got democratic norms. For instance, the government of Lagos State was to do the railway system and we know what he did about it. Nigeria has one of the worst railway systems in Africa today. Lagos State was going to do water system; he (Buhari) cancelled it. He even cancelled the railway system (metroline) in Lagos State. The railway system was approved

by Shehu Shagari and the agreement was vetted by me as the Attorney-General

Akinjide

and Lagos State deposited $50 million to a French company, which they forfeited and then they were asked to pay damages again in arbitration. Buhari was told that and he didn’t care. His belief was that South would be better developed than the North.

Anybody who thinks like that is not worthy of being President of this country. That is one of the reasons he has no political advantage for any political party. We all know what he did about human rights abuses. He imprisoned many political leaders.

Is that why he has contested in the last three presidential elections and lost?

Let him contest again. If he does again, I don’t see him winning and I mean it.

But Buhari fought corruption.

There is nobody in this country who has not fought corruption, one way or the other. But if you remember when he became Head of State, he was from the North, the Vice President was also from the North (Kwara) and the Secretary to the Federal Government was also from the North, as if South did not exist at that time. That is a serious wrong political arithmetic.

People will not forget that and I mean it.

But when he left power through a military coup against him, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida came to power and he took as Number Two people from Abia and later Edo State.

So, we had a fair balance at that time. If you are doing Nigerian politics, you must have a fair balance. Anybody that made that mistake again as Buhari did, he will lose election.

So, you don’t see him winning election even though he contests 10 times?

I have repeated that several times.

He hasn’t got the electoral advantage to win an election. He did a lot of things in the past, which shows that he hasn’t got democratic norms

The mathematics of Nigerian politics is against him and I don’t see any electoral advantage that he might have.

Then, who in the APC do you think poses a serious threat to Jonathan’s re-election?

Nobody. I say that categorically and seriously, there is nobody. The dominance of Jonathan now is total and as time goes on, we will see that he will emerge as the dominant person to win the presidential election.

How do you feel and do you have any regrets in politics?

I have never regretted being in politics.

I started being in politics when I was a law student in England. So, in practice, and in theory I learnt it in England. I used to go to the House of Commons and House of Lords to see how they did it and when I came back to Nigeria at the age of 24, I went straight into politics and three years after that, I was a Member of the Parliament in my 20s.

You spent some months in prison after the First Republic coup…

All politicians virtually were detained then and I was one of those politicians detained.

How do you feel about your prison experience?

Delightful. That was the First Republic when there was an unnecessary military coup and a Prime Minister was killed; a Minister of Finance killed and some Premiers lost their lives. But after that, things were corrected and those of us who were thrown out of power came back to power again. It was after that that I became the Attorney-General again. So, the democratic norms remain intact and correct.

And those who did that coup at that time had been proved to be wrong.

Today, Tinubu is more or less seen as the leader of Yoruba.

I don’t accept that. Nobody has elected anybody as leader of Yoruba. People have been rising that they are this and that.

They may be leader of their party, but leader of Yoruba, no way.

Is he not qualified to be leader of Yoruba?

I can’t comment on that.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said he can’t guarantee perfect elections in 2015.

What is your take on this?

If an election is perfect, there would be no election petitions in Electoral Act. There have been election petitions in USA, England, France and Germany. It is normal; that is part of democratic norms so that where there is mistake, it can easily be corrected. I don’t have any problem with what they are doing and I have no problem with what we are doing here. It is normal.

Nigeria is 100 years. Some feel the country should disintegrate while others believe we stay together. What do you feel?

The marriage of 1910 and the other marriage of 1914 and the independence we had in 1960 are total. I have strong reasons to believe that that marriage will remain forever. We are now one family; marrying each other, being educated together, and I don’t see such things breaking.

14 POLITICS TEO

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

APGA’s endless litigations The leadership tussle in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has taken a toll on its fortunes.

TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE reports on the endless litigations in the party

APGA crisis is manmade and the party has not survived from its crisis since I left in 2004... While I was leaving the party, I left with its soul and since then the party has no life

T

oday, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has practically turned courtrooms into its secretariat. Since its formation on June 25, 2002, leadership crisis has been the party major undoing while its fortunes of controlling two states had been depleted; it now controls Anambra State.

Going by the words of its founding chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, it will take a long time for the party to overcome its leadership crisis as the party’s leaders are embroiled in series of litigations.

Speaking to New Telegraph, Okorie said APGA crisis is man-made and it will continue because he (Okorie) had left with the soul of APGA. “APGA crisis is manmade and the party has not survived from its crisis since I left in 2004 because the crisis is caused by those spreading one propaganda or the other to suit the sponsor of the crisis.

“While I was in APGA, they said that I was the creator of the crisis rocking the party. But since I left, the party has not been able to resolve its crises. While I was leaving the party, I left with its soul and since then the party has no life,” he said.

True to his words, before and after Okorie’s exit, APGA has not known peace. The party has been experiencing leadership crisis, forcing the party gladiators to be using the instruments of court to fight their cause.

A long drawn battle The battle for who steers the ship of APGA has resulted in unending litigations among its leaders. In the last 12 years, three people have laid claim to APGA national chairmanship. They are Okorie, Victor Umeh and Maxi Okwu.

The first power tussle in APGA was between Okorie and the party’s treasurer, Umeh. They both laid claim to the national chairmanship position of the party for many years before the matter was finally resolved by the Supreme Court in favour of Umeh. Okorie and some of his loyalists were later expelled from APGA. He left and formed United Progressive Party (UPP).

With Okorie’s expulsion many thought that APGA crisis would be over, but the party has continued to swim in crisis.

With Umeh in the saddle, he had a chummy relationship with Anambra State governor, Peter Obi. But they soon fell apart.

During the crisis, Justice Innocent Umezulike of an Enugu State High Court in a judgement delivered on February 8,

Okwu

Inside the Party 2013, sacked the entire Umeh-led National Working Committee (NWC) of APGA on the ground that their tenure expired in 2010. Rather than accept the judgement, Umeh took the matter to a Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu.

A few hours after the court sacked Umeh, the Obi-led faction held a party’s national caucus meeting in Abuja and appointed Okwu as APGA’s acting national chairman pending the conduct of the party’s national convention.

The appointment of Okwu generated controversies especially the allegation that he was not a card-carrying member of the party at the period he was appointed the acting national chairman.

The Obi-led faction eventually held a national convention on April 8, 2013 and the convention, which was supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) produced Okwu as the national chairman. Some party’s national executives were also elected alongside Okwu.

While Okwu’s faction was still rejoicing, a Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu in a unanimous judgement on April 9, 2013 affirmed Umeh as the national chairman of APGA. The court quashed the earlier judgement of the Enugu State High Court that sacked the entire Umehled NWC. Following the trend of litigation in APGA, Okwu on August 19, 2013 filed a suit in a Federal High Court, Abuja asking for an order directing Umeh and all officers they represent to vacate their offices forthwith not having been elected in accordance with Article 18(4) of the Constitution of the party which prescribes mandatorily that election into the offices

Umeh

shall be by secret ballot, and order directing INEC to deal with Maxi Okwu’s leadership of APGA. Different governorship primaries In continuation of the leadership crisis, both factions conducted different primaries for the last governorship election.

Chief Willie Obiano emerged as Umeh’s faction governorship candidate while Dr. Chike Obidigbo was Okwu’s faction candidate but INEC recognised Obiano as APGA’s flag bearer. APGA won the election and Obiano became Anambra Governor-Elect, waiting for swearing-in on March 17.

Court sacks Umeh On January 15, the Federal High Court, Abuja sacked Umeh from office and directed INEC to forthwith, recognise Okwu as the chairman of the party. This has again made both gladiators to return to the courts.

The court presided by Justice Abdulkadir Abdul-kafarati, in its ruling, upheld Okwu as APGA's authentic national chairman and all the other national officers elected at the party’s national convention held at the Women Development Centre Awka, Anambra State on April 8, 2013.

Reacting to the judgement, Okwu commended the ruling. “The judgement is indeed another opportunity for the party to re-discover its soul and move forward.

We do not claim victory and no one has been vanquished. We call on APGA members to resolve that there be an end to litigation as no party can make progress through incessant, protracted, intra party dissension and litigation,” he said.

But Umeh described the judgement as an act of judicial rascality. He has taken the matter before an Appeal Court sitting in Abuja, contending that the Enugu Division of the Appeal Court had ab-initio okayed the indefinite suspension of all the Okwu-led executive from the party and stressed that the Supreme Court was

already aware of the facts of the case.

The Umeh leadership equally filed a motion for an order staying the execution of the judgement pending the hearing and determination of its appeal.

The bone of contention between Okwu and Umeh over the January 15 ruling has again thrown up the litigation battle, which for APGA, is business as usual. The court is expected to rule on February 26 on the stay of execution of the January 15 ruling filed by Umeh’s faction . To many people, the outcome of the February 26 ruling is not going to be the final say on the leadership tussle in APGA, as either Okwu or Umeh will likely take the matter to the upper court.

Umeh’s media assistant, Mr. Stan Okeke, is of the opinion that the current court case has no effect on the party.

“APGA is progressing under the leadership of Chief Victor Umeh. APGA is one party under the leadership of Umeh and what we are talking about is that Maxi Okwu is an impostor. He is an ingrate. Somebody who does not have any hold on the party, because when there was a crisis he was called on, he now wants to take over the leadership of the party. That is completely absurd. When we talk about issues like this let us always remember that there is posterity,” he told New Telegraph.

Okwu’s Senior Media Assistant, Victor Eneh, said that his principal is not happy about litigations in the party.

“Okwu believes that the party has had so many litigations. And towing the path of peace and reconciliation, he is asking Umeh to agree to a negotiation. He is asking for out-of-court negotiation so that they can settle the matter and move the party forward,” he said.

APGA’s founding chairman, Okorie, believes the crisis will linger for long which will affect its performance in the 2015 elections.

Will APGA be able to put its house in order or continue its litigation battle?

Only time will tell.

POLITICS 15

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

The announcement of the 2015 elections timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seems to have unsettled politicians. While some applaud the early process, others simply cry wolf over the election timetable.

WALE ELEGBEDE writes about the contention trailing it.

Stormy weather for INEC

T

he schedule of the 2015 elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been criticised by the opposition, accusing the electoral body of succumbing to external pressure with the timetable. To the critics of the election timetable, it was done to favour the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But the electoral commission said it acted in good faith.

Rising from a two-day retreat for its Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) held in Kaduna, INEC scribe, Augusta Ogakwu, released a threeparagraph statement bearing the timetable of the eagerly anticipated 2015 elections.

Unlike in the 2011 elections where the polls started with only the National Assembly elections, the order of the 2015 elections, according to INEC,will commence with the conduct of both Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 14, 2015, while the Governorship and State Assembly elections would take place on February 28 of the same year.

Though there were some adjustments in the schedule of 2011 elections owing to logistics challenge on the part of INEC, this made the National Assembly election to be shifted from its initial April 2nd date to April 9; a shift which altered the timetable earlier drawn for the elections.

As against the one-week interval drawn between elections in 2011, the next general elections was given the luxury of two-weeks spacing in the timetable, making provisions for supplementary elections if need arises.

Opposition at daggers drawn In their currency of trade, politicians have started picking holes in Jega's timetable, raising logical and in some instance, sentimental opinions on the election timeline.

For the opposition, having the presidential election ahead of the governorship is likely to swerve other elections in favour of the PDP that presently controls the central government at the expense of other parties. However, those on the other side had also argued that the flip to the bandwagon effect is also true as exemplified during the cancelled April 2nd, 2011 National Assembly polls.

Already, governors on the platform of the APC have expressed their displeasure against the sequence and ordering of elections in the timetable,

saying that the process is mischievous.

Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, came down hard on INEC, saying the ordering of the election leaves a loophole for rigging, arguing that there are assumptions that elections will be rigged and therefore people are worried He said: “I don’t understand why INEC wants to climb the tree from the top; they do recognise they have some explanations to make. Common sense demands that you climb a tree from the bottom for good reason.

“When you want to do Presidential Election first, and you are deviating from an old pattern, you have some explanations to do.

Oshiomole urged the leadership of INEC to have a retrospective view of the already released timetable, stressing that conducting the election from House of Assembly to Governorship and National Assembly before Presidential Election would pay-off for the 2015 election.

Speaking with New Telegraph, former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, gave credence to Oshiomole's stance on the issue. "Nigerians are not sure whose interest INEC is serving. It is surprising why INEC is changing the sequence of the election. Why is the presidential election not coming last? Are they not wary of the bandwagon effect? These sorts of action from INEC would only make Nigerians not to have confidence in Jega and INEC.” Also, the factional National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Maxi Okwu, raised concerns about how the electoral body ostracised political parties.

He said: "INEC ought to have held consultations with political parties before the timetable. Again, the election pattern is top down, not bottom up. The National Assembly and the presidential should have come last in the order of elections," Okwu told New

Election Timeline

1999 LG = December 5, 1998.

Governorship = January 9, 1999 National Assembly -February 20, 1999 Presidential = February 27, 1999 2003 National Assembly - April 12 Governorship and presidential = April 19 2007 Governorship and State Assembly = April 14 Presidential and National Assembly = April 21.

2011 National Assembly = April 9 Presidential = April 16 Governorship = April 26.

Telegraph.

But, the Chairman of the steering committee of the yet to be registered Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, in an interview with New Telegraph, said, " the timetable schedule is fair enough, if the bandwagon effect later favours those clamouring now, do you think they will utter a word?"

We’re not under pressure -INEC Meanwhile, INEC chairman, Prof.

Attahiru Jega, has said that the commission was never under any external pressure in designing the election timetable the way it did, saying the electoral body's decision was informed by rational and logical considerations, not sentimental or ulterior motivations.

While fielding questions from the audience after a presentation he made at a forum at Chatham House, London, Jega said the Commission was mindful of its own operational effectiveness and global best practice in grouping national elections together in one day, and state elections together in another.

“Nobody has put us under any pressure. We did these things logically and rationally, in terms of what we considered best for our country,” he said.

On the rationale for the election schedules, Jega said: “As far as we are concerned, the presidential election is not positioned first. What we did is that we combined the national elections, so you can’t say that presidential election is placed first.

“Some Nigerians wonder why we can’t have all the elections in one day.

It is true that in some countries, they conduct all their elections in one day.

From our own assessment, the enormity of challenges associated with that is such that we are not prepared in the electoral commission to do all the elections in one day.

“But then, we felt that instead of having three elections, let us have two.

In 2011, we had three: we did the National Assembly elections first; then, the presidential; and then, the governorship as well as State Assembly elections. But we felt that (in 2015), let us have two elections rather than three.

“That is the logic, that is the rationale; and it is defensible. But you hear politicians make all manners of allegations; because in their own calculation, some people want certain elections to come first, others want it to come later. If you do not satisfy what they want, then they would start accusing you as if there is an interest being served, or that we came under some pressure. Nobody has put us under any pressure.”

Corroborating his principal while speaking with our correspondent, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said the challenge for those faulting the timetable is to look at it rationally.

"There is nothing you do that people won’t complain. There is no difference between what we did in 2011 and what we hope to do in 2015. We are only grouping national elections together and state elections together.

"INEC is not under any pressure but the challenge for us is to continue to be firm, clearheaded and rational in our service to the nation," he said.

A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, Dr. Laja Odukoya, averred that politicians and stakeholders should be more concerned about issues of preparation, logistics, security and organisation as against the ordering of elections.

"First, concerning the order of elections, whatever the order, there will still be disagreement. What is germane for me is not which election comes first but the quality of the election in terms of its being free, fair, transparent and credibility. These are issues of preparation, organisation and security,” he said It is doubtful if INEC would reverse its timetable in favour of the opposition.

16 POLITICS

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Atiku: Between political desperation and principle The PDM was pioneered by a one-time Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'Adua but was inherited by Atiku after the former’s death.

It was against Atiku’s affiliation with the group that some supporters of President Jonathan pointed towards him after PDM’s registration by INEC despite his denial of any link with the party.

The president’s camp insisted that the PDM was the former vice president’s ‘Plan B’ in his quest to unseat Jonathan in 2015.

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 1

election it released on March 15, 2007.

INEC cited Atiku’s indictment for corruption as the reason for the omission. But in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the electoral body had no power to disqualify candidates, and Atiku contested the poll, but came a distant third behind the PDP candidate, late Umaru Yar'Adua and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) with 2.6 million votes – seven per cent of the total votes cast.

He rejected the result and called for its cancellation, describing it as Nigeria's “worst election ever.”

Leaving the AC After the 2007 elections, Atiku returned to the PDP in 2009 in what many then likened to the “dog going back to its vomit.”

But he was quick to defend his action, saying: “For any one still harbouring any doubts about my return to our great party, the PDP, let me assure that I am back for real and in it for the long run. And to those my supporters in Adamawa and elsewhere yet to make good their return to the PDP, I urge them to come back home and rejoin us in the bid to make good things happen in our dear country.”

While his return was initially resisted by his state (Adamawa) state chapter of the PDP, he was granted a waiver by the party’s national leadership.

The waiver paved the way for him to contest the 2011 presidency. On November 22, 2010 the Northern Elders Political Leaders Forum (NPEF) led by former Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, selected him as the region’s consensus candidate over former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, former National Security Adviser Aliyu Gusau and Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State.

He was however floored at PDP’s presidential primaries alongside Mrs. Sarah Jubril by President Goodluck Jonathan who later went ahead to win the election.

Link with nPDP and PDM Unlike in 2007, Atiku opted to remain in the PDP after the 2011 elections apparently to fight “the injustice” in the party from within.

His first battle was the resistance of an attempt in 2013 to foist President Jonathan on the party as its sole candidate for the 2015 polls.

His argument was that the PDP has never adopted the right of first refusal in the contest for its presidential tickets since 1999.

While his position enjoyed the support of most PDP members, his 2015 ambition was said to be the underlying factor for the stand.

The picture became clearer when he, alongside some aggrieved governors of the PDP – Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) staged a walk out during the party’s spe-

Atiku

We are waiting for Atiku to go on this voyage and to come back. He has done it before; this is not the first time and we will welcome him back when he comes because APC cannot win election because they are not firmly rooted cial convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja on August 31, 2013.

They later converged at the Yar'Adua Centre, also in Abuja where they recounted the numerous sins of the then National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and why he must first step aside.

The sins included the inability of the Tukur leadership to convene the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting at least four times in a year as stipulated by the party’s constitution and failure to resolve the crises in about nine states. The walk out culminated, first, to the metamorphosis of the new PDP. Then came the transformation of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), a pressure group within the PDP to a political party, and more significant, the defection of five out of the seven aggrieved governors to the APC on November 26, 2013.

Chances in APC Atiku has never pretended about his intention to have another shot at the presidency after the failed bids in 2007 and 2011, but the question many have asked is: What are his chances in the APC? Analysts have already predicted a possible clash of interest between him and the likes of Gen. Buhari and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, should he go ahead with his 2015 presidential ambition.

Buhari, like Atiku, is also determined to return to the seat he vacated close to three decades ago.

While it was initially believed in some quarters that the presidential ticket is his exclusive preserve, given his role in the merger deal between the opposition parties and the APC’s preference to have a northerner as its presidential candidate in 2015, some political leaders in the North are said to be looking beyond the former military ruler, given his age. He would be 73 in 2015.

Being touted in Buhari’s stead are the likes of Tambuwal though he is still in the PDP; Governor Kwankwaso and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

How Atiku will bulldoze his way through these persons who have been in the APC before him remains unclear, even as he may still have the Bola Tinubu factor to contend with.

The former Lagos State governor and APC’s arrowhead in the South-West is likely not to have forgotten the way Atiku dumped him and his followers, who rallied behind him during his battle with Obasanjo, shortly after the 2007 elections.

What next after 2015 Will Atiku return to the PDP should he fail to clinch the APC presidential ticket and consequently the presidency in 2015?

Some have asked.

A former Federal Commissioner for Information and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, who apparently offered an answer to the puzzle, described the former vice president as a desperate politician and one who “will go to anywhere and will do anything,” to realise his ambition.

The PDP on its part expressed optimism that Atiku will, like in 2006, when he left the party for the defunct AC and returned in 2010, still come back.

The Deputy National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, who gave the assurance, said: "I can tell you that they will go and come back. We are waiting for Atiku to go on this voyage and to come back. He has done it before; this is not the first time and we will welcome him back when he comes because APC cannot win election because they are not firmly rooted," he said.

But the former vice president, who has ruled out any clash over his defection to the APC, has not minced words in explaining that he will sacrifice his ambition for the growth of the party.

Speaking during a recent visit to Governor Wamakko, he said: “All of us are now willing to set aside our individual ambitions so as to build a formidable APC. So, for now, we are not talking about how to pursue our selfish political aspirations.

We are collectively working to ensure the growth of the APC.” On Clark’s comment, he told New Telegraph through his media aide, Shehu Garba that “he (Clark) is entitled to his view. We therefore have no comments.”

The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who also spoke on the issue, told the newspaper that the Ijaw leader’s outburst was borne out of a failed bid to persuade Atiku to stay and revive the PDP. His words: “They are making such comments about the former vice president because he refused to stay in the PDP and revive the party. While we won’t join issues with the likes of Clark, we want to assure the PDP that we in the APC will not engage them in the politics of abuse because all that Nigerians want is good governance, efficient healthcare system, good roads, security and others.”

Will Atiku give up his ambition and help build an APC that will stop the PDP in the forthcoming elections? Only time will, as politics remains a strife of interest masquerading as a contest of principles.

CROSSFIRE Asari Dokubo is a Why is this pygmy thug. I don’t compare making all this noise? myself to him. I have He borrowed legs from never taken up arms Peter and Usain Bolt against the state. I am when his fellow Gambari a normal human, law- was in power. He should abiding Nigerian. I don’t just thank Allah that a compare myself with Goodluck Jonathan is thugs.

President –Nasir el-Rufai, former – Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, Minister of FCT President, NDPVF,

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

Monday, FEBRUARY 10 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2014

Alarming rise in the rape of minors

R

ecent reports indicate a steady upsurge of rape incidents in the country and more worrisome is the fact that minors seem to be the target of rapists. Penultimate week, a five-year-old girl was reportedly raped by a landlord’s son, in the Mushin area of Lagos State. For daring to talk about an issue that is surrounded by a culture of silence, the tenancy of the victim’s mother was terminated by the landlord, forcing her to petition the Lagos State House of Assembly for redress.

Shortly before that incident, a policeman in Abuja raped a twoyear old girl. The list of underaged victims is growing at an alarming rate.

Indeed some of these infants become prey to their care-givers turned predators. What reason can an adult give for sexually molesting a child? Is it indecent dressing, seduction or what?

Anybody who rapes or attempts to rape a child is a potential murderer, not even a psychopath or social deviant; for there is no justification for such a horrid act.

Several factors are said to be responsible for this heinous crime; influence of drugs and exposure to pornography, conflict in relationships, outright wickedness, a growing culture of

lasciviousness, and the erosion of traditional family values.

Parents and guardians are increasingly spending less time with their children and wards, abandoning them at the mercy of care-givers and other predators without adequate protection.

A child that is raped is prone to suffer lifelong psychological and emotional trauma, not to mention the excruciating pains associated with such attack, arising from injuries sustained in her genitalia.

Apart from heightening the risk of HIV infection, rape victims are exposed to other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) such as syphilis, and gonorrhoea, or even permanent disability.

It is a matter of concern that appropriate authorities having acknowledged the extent of sexual crimes committed against Nigerian children are not taking adequate measures to address them, but rather seem helpless in curbing the continuation of the abuse and the impunity of the perpetrators.

Regrettably, the provisions of

Parents should live up to their responsibilities and be wary of the custodians of their children and wards

relevant laws in the country are not in sync with today’s realities. Various definitions given to rape by the Federal, State, Sharia and Customary laws are restrictive, narrow, tepid, unfair and lopsided. For instance, the Penal Code describes rape as a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment of up to 14 years, which can be combined with a fine, and up to seven years and a fine in the case of a child-related sexual assault (defilement).Whereas Section 357 of the Criminal Code Act confirms the seriousness of rape as a crime, but lacks the bite for proper conviction and implementation. According to section 358 of the Criminal Code Act, rape is punishable with life imprisonment. Also, section 359 of the same Act stipulates 14 years of imprisonment with or without caning as a punishment for attempted rape.

A major drawback is Section 179 (5) of the Evidence Act, which stipulates that: “A person shall not be convicted of the offences mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of Section 51 or in Sections 218, 221, 223 or 224 of the Criminal Code upon the uncorroborated testimony of one witness.”

This provision as it were has made some of the anti-rape laws in the country a mockery. More importantly, there is the problem

of adequate implementation of the law. Judicial attitude of light sentencing, light bail terms and elongated trials paralyse the effectiveness of statutory provisions as deterrent measures.

It is expedient that extant laws are amended to accommodate present realities as well as ensure conformity to International Human Rights law on rape, molestation, defilement and incest. In addition, the on-going National Assembly review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria must urgently address the rape of minors and expedite action on the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill.

For states that have domesticated the Child Rights Act, we implore its immediate implementation.

We urge non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to get involved in community education on the need to report rape cases to enable people speak out and seek redress in the court of law. On the other hand, parents should live up to their responsibilities and be wary of the custodians of their children and wards. Besides, judicial officers must use their discretion proactively to penalise paedophiles in our midst. Enforcement of the law must be severe without an option of fine or compensation or out of court settlement.

BOLAJI TUNJI Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief IKE ABONYI Deputy Managing Director FELIX ABUGU Managing Editor, South SULEIMAN BISALA Managing Editor, North GABRIEL AKINADEWO Editor, Daily LAURENCE ANI Editor, Saturday EMEKA MADUNAGU Editor, Sunday LEO CENDROWICZ Bureau Chief, Brussels MARSHALL COMINS Bureau Chief, Washington DC SAM AMSTERDAM Editorial Coordinator, Europe EMMAN SHEHU (PhD) Chairman, Editorial Board BIODUN DUROJAIYE News Editor PADE OLAPOJU Production Editor TIMOTHY AKINLEYE Head, Graphics ROBINSON EZEH Head, Admin.

18 NEWS

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

OPINION

Is there a country called Nigeria?

Tola Adeniyi

Q

uite frankly I am not sure there is a country called Nigeria. And I believe, based on what I know and what I have seen in my 70 years of living in the land space where over 250 nationalities cohabit that there is really not a country. Many of the nationalities that occupy this space as well as their constituents merely pay lip service to the expression Nigeria when it suits them to do so.

I would not know what happened in 1914. Bless my mother and my father, 1914 was just 2 and 3 years older than both, and in their growing up years, the amalgamated territories were mere toddlers. While the so-called space Nigeria was yet to take form, peoples of the territories were trading beautifully, travelling across the land space unhindered and without fear of notorious armed robbers, kidnappers, and ritual killers.

The Yoruba man was a Yoruba man.

An Igbo was Igbo. It was the same with Izons, erroneuosly called Ijaws, Ibibios, Efiks, Fulanis, Shuwa Arabs and Tivs. Hausas kept their identity and acted and behaved as Hausa.

The regions that harbour these na-

tionalities were semi autonomous and even had their own flags, emblems and Mottos. Attempts were made to fashion out Constitutions that would govern the political and economic behaviours of the nations that were forcibly brought under one umbrella by British imperialism, but such efforts have yielded no fruits. 100 years after the so-called formation of a country, the various dissimilar components are still shouting on top of their voices for a National Conference. How can we have a NATIONAL conference when and where there is no NATION? You can not talk of a country where there has never been a leader. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was seen as a Bauchi-Fulani Prime Minister, not a Nigerian leader, because in the psychology of the various constituents, there was no Nigeria. When it was time to take him out, he was just picked out like a jigger. “He was not our man!” And the Fulanis who mourned and avenged his death called him ‘Our Man’.

General Aguiyi Ironsi belonged to another nationality. And it was ‘they’ from another nationality who believed they should chop off his head to appease the gods of ‘their’ own nationality. The Yoru-

ba nation mourned Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, their own man who fell along with his guest, the heroic Ironsi. While the Igbo nation and the Yoruba nation were deep in sorrow and mourning, the HausaFulani were celebrating and jubilating.

Muritala Muhammed, a most daring General became the Head of state of the space called Nigeria. But he was perceived as a burning spear from Hausa country. Throughout his short reign, he was perceived by the nations of the Middle Belt as an enemy of their own man, General Yakubu Gowon who was shoved off in a palace coup.

General Olusegun Obasanjo was a mere decoration, a furniture item as the Military head of state. He was in office but not in power. The levers of power were firmly in the grip of the duo of General Shehu Yar’adua and General Theophilus Danjuma, representatives of the Hausa-Fulani-Middle Belt hegemony.

Gentleman Shehu Shagari, a most decent politician and Elder statesman must be installed to continue where Muritala Muhammed stopped. To the Hausa Fulani, Shagari was ‘their’ man, while the most cerebral Obafemi Awolowo, who was robbed of victory, was seen

as belonging to Yoruba country.

Generals Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Abacha and Abdulsalami Abubakar came in rapid succession with regimes spanning a total of 16 years. Throughout the long reigns, other nationalities saw the governments these Generals headed as the ‘governments’ of the Hausa –Fulani.

General Chief Olusegun Obasanjo came back, this time in Agbada, because, the puppeteers believed, rightly or wrongly that he was the man from the presumed Yoruba country who could be used as compensation for the daylight robbery which the great MKO Abiola suffered. Unfortunately Obasanjo, whose claim to Yoruba ancestry has been roundly queried, was not convincingly accepted by the Yoruba nation.

Then came in Gentleman Umaru Yar’Adua who was quickly followed by the PhD holder Goodluck Jonathan. When trouble brewed upon the ill-health of Yar’adua, the slogan from the Fulani axis was ‘Allow our man to continue even if he was dying’. And now the loud mouths in the Izon country are threatening blue murder if one of ‘their own’ Ebele Jonathan was not allowed to continue as the Izon ruler of the space called Nigeria.

Aba suffers under Gov. Orji Rubby Obinna

W

hatever the rented crowds of Gov. Theodore Orji celebrate him for, all I know is that Abia State needs redemption. Sad enough is that a dog is fighting its master and, fighting too hard to kill him and, has given him many unsuccessful bites.

My grouse is that in all these, false governance has not been sent on errand. It saddens me that when I look at Abia State to seeing good governance, what I see is a businessman as the governor.

Somebody may ask what my interest is in Abia State, but am Igbo. There is a proverb among my people that if you forcefully snatch a fish from one Okrika person, you have done so to all Okrika people.

My bane is that with the incessant cry of our people of Abia State, all Igbo nation is affected. Abia people are today hapless unlike what they use to be. And, somebody who is aloof might think that the people are partners in the disaster

that has befell them. The blow they are receiving from Gov. Orji is worse than that of Mike Tyson to any of his rivals.

Sometimes I cry that Abia people say that this government only works in the media, even when most of them believe that they regret missing the government that was before the present one. What this government has been bent on doing is to paint the former governor black of fingering the state coffer while at the same time has not told the world the tone of the alleged sum that he pillaged.

This government which suffers Abia people has hinged its excuses on that and has refused to improve the lots of the

state in the area of infrastructural upliftment, but rather prefers fabrication as original.

I must say to the best of my knowledge that the government of Gov. Orji is defocused.

The government is always contending about distractions from the blues when in earnest it is its own enemy, playing to the gallery at every given point in time. The latest is the meaning of the match to Abuja to stop the national chairman of PDP from recognising the former governor of the state as a member of the party.

Cruel as this might seem, the Abia State Government was not thinking that the party needs members at this time of its mismanaged trials.

A government of divisiveness never stands. The question is why the government of Gov. Orji likes photo-shopping and sends to the media and its contacts as ‘legacy roads’ it is building in Abia State.

This government confuses me, but I’m not confused. The government publishes these beautiful roads in the media,

when what are on ground are cesspits. Whereas there were hardly any motorable roads in Abia State, I’ve been thinking why the governor suffers the people with the noise of such projects like airport, seaport and monorail.

The governor likes showing the people of Abia State rocket sciences always, as projects.

Why the governor has preferred not to build projects that add values to life does not meet the eyes. Such projects would be good for the state, but to no avail. Even when there is no road that would lead to the purported airport, the government is deafening our ears with nuisance of the mirage projects.

I’m surprise that Gov. Orji who is overrated as once a Civil Servant is wallowing is abject cluelessness and steering in the excitement of bad leadership. It does not take one to be enough schooled to understand that this government lacks the nitty-gritty of good governance, but prefers assemblage of praise-singers whose livelihoods depend on misleading the people in the media.

Let the governor go to Aba of Abia State and rebuild it before telling the world of his phantom seaports, airports, monorail projects. I would prefer to see Abia State that rides on good roads than the one that would be flying on air and lands to meet no road.

It is dangerous to treat malaria before sleeping with the mosquitoes. Gov. Orji should stop smiling in the midst of suffering Abia people. He should think outside the box and rejuvenate the state once again and stop the state from becoming where elders glaringly lie to the chagrin of the youths.

Nevertheless, instead of going to Abuja or Lagos to spend Abia money on media, it would be enthusiastic the governor builds media houses in Abia State, at least, to create job opportunities for the teeming jobless people in that state, while at the same time using the media houses for his lies, while Abia suffers under Gov. Orji.

Rubby Obinna writes from Umuagwo, Owerri, Imo State.

metr

NEW TELEGRAPH

WAHEED BAKARE Deputy Editor, SATURDAY

waheed.bakare@newtelegraphonline.com

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Legal fireworks may soon start between indigenes of Abuja and the Federal Government over land acquisition, Yekeen Nurudeen writes.

T

he indigenes of Abuja under the aegis of Original Inhabitants Development Association (OIDA) have vowed not to give up their land.

The indigenes, who accused the Federal Government of marginalising them over the last 38 years, expressed their grievances in a communiqué titled, "Kuje Declaration 2013."

"We note sadly that Section 297 of the 1999 Constitution which vests all lands in the FCT on the Federal Government of Nigeria is a satanic clause as there has never been prompt compensation of our indigenous and customary lands by the Federal Government.

“Hence, until the 1978 compensation value and figure of N2.8 billion with 37 years interest paid, the Nigerian government cannot claim ownership of the present lands in the FCT. Thus, on our ancestral land we stand," the communiqué reads.

They threatened to take the government to court for forcible usurpation of their lands without prompt payment of compensation or due process as outlined in Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution.

"We shall also institute another legal case against the Federal Government of Nigeria to challenge the interpretation of sections 299, 300, 301, 302 and 304 which have made us second-class citizens," OIDA said.

They also rejected the landswap policy of the Federal Capital Territory and directed all indigenes to stop further negotiations on resettlement or compensation with the FCT or Federal Capital Development Authority officials until the “1978 compensation value of N2.8 billion was paid with interest.”

"No amount of intimidation, division of our people or use of divide and rule tactics will make us give up our lands," OIDA added.

President of OIDA, Pastor Danladi Jeji, said it was necessary for the government to involve FCT indigenes on policy formulation in order to avert crisis whenever allottees or investors come to the communities to start development.

He said, “We praise the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, for the several efforts to reduce tension but we are disappointed with the Machiavelli antics adopted by some of the committees set up to resolve issues and how the outcome of such committees remain top secret, unreleased to the public or are mostly one-sided in favour of government .

“We plead with the FCT minister to re-

19

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We won’t give up our lands –Abuja indigenes

Some of the indigenes during a protest.

consider the demands of OIDA and other FCT stakeholders for the restructuring of such landswap agreements to include project affected community through legally signed documents.”

Another indigene, Dr. Andrew Zamani, regretted that the issue had not been resolved since the military administration of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo despite the importance the people attached to land.

He said, “We are facing a situation where a productive agrarian population is being internally displaced and replaced by a parasitic elite community. This is not acceptable. Our affiliation to the land mass of Abuja is spiritual while theirs is material. Spiritual affinity is superior to the material."

In his reaction, Coordinator, Abuja Infrastructure Investment Company (AIIC), Faruk Sani, said the policy had the best interest of the Abuja indigenes at its nucleus.

He said although the Nigerian constitution had already vested all land in the FCT in government, yet the same constitution stated that land owners must be compensated.

Sani said, "We are pandering to what they (original inhabitants) want. We are looking at the possibility of realistic integration which is what they prefer. Which

We are facing a situation where a productive agrarian population is being internally displaced and replaced by a parasitic elite community administration has done that?

"I'm surprised they say they don't have anything to gain from it. If there is any group that stands to benefit from the landswap, it is the original inhabitants of Abuja. The constitution has already vested all the land in the FCT in government. Notwithstanding, it has recognised that they must be compensated," he said.

Faruk whose office oversees the landswap project admitted that the FCT administration currently had resettlement and compensation liability of over N200billion.

According to him, a framework that will address the twin problem of compensation and resettlement under the landswap policy is currently being worked on.

Landswap investors, he noted, were going to pay the compensation under the policy as against old practice where gov-

ernment was obliged to do so.

He said, “When this minister came in, he said, ‘look, I can't close my eyes to the plights of the indigenes. The administration must treat them the way it treats all Nigerians. We must recognise that they have special status, therefore, whatever we do, their interest must come first.

“We have resettlement and compensation liability of over N200 billion today.

Where's the money to pay that? If we are to start new projects, there's always the issue of compensation and resettlement.

The minister said the first thing we need to do in this landswap programme is to talk about resettlement and compensation.

“There has never been a minister that sits down with original inhabitants to ask what resettlement and compensation policy they want. That's one. Second, he gave assurances and these are what we are working on. There won't be commencement of infrastructure work until compensation is paid.

“This time, the investors are paying the compensation. We are working out the framework. It's not only compensation; there is also the issue of resettlement. We agreed with all investors.”

Faruk assured the indigenes that they would get a better deal at the end of the day.

20

METRO

Sanctity of

Monday, February 10 - Su

Ogun school where teachi learning take place the ha Muritala Ayinla

T

he case of the pupils of Akute Community High School, Ogun State, is like being out of the frying pan into the fire.

In 2012 when water from Oyan Dam was released, it resulted in flooding of some communities in the state. This was further compounded by the incessant rain at that time.

One of the worst hit areas was Akute where the school was located. As a result, academic activities in the school were paralysed as raging floods overtook the premises. The pupils were like sheep without shepherd as their teachers abandoned them. For almost three months, there were no serious academic activities in the school.

As the West Africa School Certificate Examination was approaching, the state government relocated 100 Senior Secondary School pupils to neigbouring private schools to enable them to write their final exams.

The remaining 700 pupils and their 52 teachers were eventually relocated to makeshift classroom within Zumratul Isamiyah II, a primary school in the community.

But their temporary abode had been partially demolished by the ongoing construction of Sango-Akute-Ijoko Road resulting in the exposure of the pupils to a harsh environment that is not conducive to learning.

The roof of the shield had been removed while pupils also have noise pollution to contend with. There are no library and sick bay in the school.

The pupils and their teachers share two toilets.

When it rains, rain falls on the pupil and when it is sunny, they learn under scorching sun.

When our correspondent visited the school on Friday, it was observed that the situation in the school has deteriorated to the extent that the veranda of the host school, Zumratul Islamiyyah Primary School II, now serves as staff room.

Ironically, none of the teachers was willing to speak with our correspondent for fear of being victimised by the school authority.

One of them said, “Only the state Ministry of Education and Ifo Local Government can make comments on the situation in the school.”

Most of the pupils also declined to speak, saying they had been warned not to speak with journalists.

However, one of them, Ibukun Olamilekan, urged the state government

NEGLECT A public school in Akute, Ogun State, urgently needs government’s attention

Can our chairman or councillor send their children to our school and allow them to go through this pain?

Akute Community High School

to come to their aid on time.

Olamilekan, a JSS II pupil, said, “Can our chairman or councillor send their children to our school and allow them to go through this pain?

“We want the government to come to our aid, we are not enjoying like our counterparts in other public schools.”

Another pupil, who refused to give her name, said, “If my parent could afford to enrol us in private school, me and my brother would have left this school long ago. But we have no option than to still remain in the school may be the school management would relocate us.”

Hakeem Olasile, 14, another pupil, said the situation in the school has affected their academic performances, adding that learn-

ing in that environment distracts them.

He said, “From our class, we see area boys who are demanding fees from motorists. Sometimes we see them fighting one another. All these cause distraction when we are being taught. Can’t government create better place for us? How long do we continue to stay in this makeshift classroom?”

The school Parents Teachers Association Chairman, Alhaji Agbonmagbe Olasile, expressed concern that the ongoing road construction has taken half of the expanse of the schools land.

According to him, the school is the only public school that serves the entire 10 communities in the areas such as: Akute, Alagbole, Olori-Otun, Isashi, Denro Abule-Ojo and other neighbouring communities.

photos: muritala Ayinla

He added that the Community Development Council had written several letters to the state Commissioner for Education but had yet to get favourable response from the government.

“This is the third time they will sit for exams in that school and they all performed woefully. In fact, most of the pupils that graduated from the school passed their O’ Level exams after enrolling in other schools.

Olashile warned that investment on education without corresponding provision of a conducive learning environment would not yield expected result.

“We are not ungrateful of his (Governor

BUSINESS

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/metro

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

ayodele aminu, ayodele.aminu@newtelegraphonline.com ayodeleaminu@yahoo.com

Obasanjo's farm thrown into darkness

Consultants uncover N5bn unremitted revenue by banks Preliminary report by JK Consultant firm, a lead consultant hired by the government to probe banks' tax collection on behalf of Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) and the FIRS), has uncovered over N5billion unremitted taxes.

Adeola Yusuf

T

he Headquarters of Obasanjo Farm Nigeria Limited (OFN) in Ota, Ogun State the main revenue cash cow of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been thrown into darkness, which is now taking a toll on the agro-allied production of

}p-22

Fuel scarcity looms

}p-22

Diamond Bank, Startimes, dump TPT, CMC Connect Diamond Bank Plc and Startimes, a digital terrestrial platform, have parted ways with their Public Relations agencies.

}p-25

Increased costs to impact Banks' Q1 results –FDC Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) has predicted that banks are likely to post below par results in the first quarter of this year as a result of increased finance costs and a weaker naira.

}p-27

BUSINESS CREW AYODELE AMINU, Deputy Editor (Business) Simeon Ogoegbulem, Dep. Business Editor BAYO KOMOLAFE, Asst. Editor (Maritime) SUNDAY OJEME, Asst. Editor (Insurance) JONAH IBOMA, ICT Editor DAYO ADEYEMI, Property Editor ADEOLA YUSUF, Energy Editor DELE ALAO, Brands/Marketing Editor CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor Abdulwahab Isa, Finance Editor Chuks Onuanyin, Energy NNAMDI AMADI, Freelance

}p-28-29

Deputy Editor, business

What's news

The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), whose membership includes Total downstream, Forte Oil, Oando, Conoil and MRS has said that their fuel depots across Nigeria will run out of fuel by mid February.

Nigerians to buy Aero Airline shares – AMCON MD

Main gate of the Obasanjo Farms, Ota

PHOTO: Adeola Yusuf

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

Bridged banks made profits in 2013 –AMCON GOOD OUTING All the rescued banks continued their profit making streak, justifying the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Ayodele Aminu

T

he Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has given a clean bill of health to the three bridged banks, saying that all of them recorded profits last year.

The Corporation’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mustafa Chike-Obi, said this in an interview with The New Telegraph.

He said AMCON had seen the 2013 unaudited accounts of the three bridge banks-Enterprise, Keystone and Mainstreet-

and they all made “reasonable” profits.

The AMCON CEO, who dismissed speculations that the banks’ managements would use the proposed sale of the lenders as an excuse not to perform well, stressed that the corporation was satisfied with how the management team it appointed, has so far run the banks.

He said: “What we have done is that we have employed people who have tremendous pride in what they do; people who realise that this is not their last stop. I don’t think that any of the MDs of those banks thinks

What we have done is that we have employed people who have tremendous pride in what they do

that this is their last stop in the banking sector or in Nigeria as a whole. So, they have pride, they take a lot of pride in what they are doing. They want those banks to do well.

“The kind of people who would say that these banks are going to be sold so let me either loot the bank or let me not perform are not the kind of people we have put there to run these banks. So, we have a lot of confidence in the managements we have. All those banks made very reasonable profits; we have seen their unaudited accounts for the year and they reported reasonable profits. So, we have a lot of confidence in their managements.”

Mainstreet Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited, which emerged in August 2011 from the old three rescued banks namely, Afribank Plc, Bank PHB Plc and Spring Bank Plc,

respectively, had returned to profitability in 2012 after recording losses the previous year.

For instance, Enterprise Bank recorded Profit-BeforeTax (PBT) of N11.3 billion from the year ended December 31, 2012, a marked improvement from the loss of N5.2 billion for the five-month period it operated as at December 2011. In addition, its gross earnings grew by 283.9 per cent to 40.4 billion as at year ended December 2012 from N10.5 billion achieved in the five-month period ended 2011.

The bank’s deposit also grew from N162.6 billion to N208.4 billion between the year ended 2011 and 2012 respectively. This represents a growth of about 28.2 per cent. Total assets also rose by 31 per cent between the periods from N198.5 billion as CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE December 20...........................8.00% November 2013.......................7.90% October 2013...........................7.80%

LENDING RATE InterBank Rate. . . . . . . . . . . 10.75% Prime Lending Rate. . . . . . 17.01% Maximum Lending Rate. .24.90%

EXCHANGE RATE

EXCHANGE RATE

USD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N168.50 Pounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N279 Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N226

USD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N157.35 Pounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N253.93 Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N210.48

(Parellel As at Feb. 7)

(Official As at Feb. 7)

22 business | NEWS FRAUD Consultants hired by the NCS and FIRS have closed in on banks and discovered huge sum of unremitted taxes collected by banks

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Consultants uncover N5bn unremitted revenue by banks

Abdulwahab Isa

P

reliminary report by JK Consultant, a firm hired by the government to probe banks' tax collection on behalf of Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has uncovered over N5billion unremitted taxes withheld by collecting banks.

New Telegraph gathered that the figure could be much higher by the time the final report is presented to the Revenue Mobilization Allocations and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

A source whose firm was among the 53 sub-consultant outfits engaged for the exercise, narrated the ordeal went through in getting the mandate letter to the affected banks from FIRS and the customs.

"We encountered initial challenge because of the uncooperative attitude from officers of FIRS and the customs. This is because the bank accounts to be verified belong to FIRS and

L-R: President, Anadariya Farms Ltd, Usman Dantata (Jnr.), with Managing Director/CEO, Unity Bank Plc, Mr. Henry James Semenitari, at the bank's MD/CEO Customers' Forum, which held at The Afficient Place in Kano.

NCS and, as operators of these accounts, it behoves on them to give us issuing letter to the affected banks. Getting the issuing letter authorizing us as consultants to verify their books took time.

At some point, FIRS men said the exercise was a wasted effort

because the job the revenue commission mandated us to do had been done before and resolving this took much time", he said.

He said that while FIRS was dilly-dallying in giving issuance letters to the hired consultants, the Nigeria Customs Service re-

sponded to the directive, and that enabled consultants to start early with the banks collecting duties on behalf of Nigeria Customs.

He said all the 53 consultants had submitted preliminary report to the lead consultant, JK Consulting own ed by former Ac-

Fuel scarcity looms from February 15, oil marketers insist FUEL SCARCITY Major oil marketers in the country have said that depots would dry up by February 15 Adeola Yusuf

T

he Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), has said that their fuel depots across Nigeria will run out of stock by mid February.

Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Thomas Olawore, said in a telephone interview with New Telegraph that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulating Agency (PPPRA) was still adamant in making the first quarter fuel imports allocations available to marketers.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude exporter depends on importation of over 65 per cent of refined products due to inefficient refining capacity.

Fuel depots in Lagos, which

controls over 60 per cent of products' storage capacity in Nigeria, could to run out of stock within five days, Olawore had alerted.

He said that other depots in Nigeria would dry up by middle of February if nothing was done to facilitate fuel allocation to marketers.

He insisted that nothing had changed on his position on the fuel imports allocation and the backlog of N120 billion, which the PPPRA is owing members of MOMAN under the subsidy support fund.

The N20 billion debt, according to Olawore, is accumulated interest on foreign exchange incurred on bringing fuel into the country between third and fourth quarter of last year.

"The first quarter allocation is yet to be released and we all know the implication of that," he said adding that he still stood by all he said at the press conference penultimate week in Lagos.

Asked why the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Independent Petro-

leum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had refuted the claims of fuel shortage, Olawore said: "NNPC cannot say that.

Anyway, let me react to your question. On the implication of not making first quarter fuel imports allocation available, we all know the implication and as a press man you can infer the implication. Your motto, as a press man, is fact are sacred opinions are free."

Meanwhile, NNPC and IPMAN have continued to puncture the position of Olawore on fuel scarcity.

MOMAN, whose membership includes Total downstream, Forte Oil, Oando, Conoil and MRS, had been in a cold war with the IPMAN over who controls the petroleum products' market.

IPMAN's National President, Aminu Abdulkadri, who made the position of his association and that of NNPC known at a media briefing debunked the rumour of proposed fuel scarcity in the country.

"There is no scarcity of fuel in

the country. Marketers or Nigerians should stop promulgating wrong signals over scarcity of petroleum products.

"We are lodging petroleum products adequately from all NNPC depots across the country and we don’t think there any possible scarcity because NNPC and PPMC have assured us of sufficient stock in the country,’’ Abdulkadiri said.

But Olawore said: ’’We ended 2013 on a very tall hope. We brought in products and were promised that payment would be made by the PPPRA. We continued bringing the products but we were told our payment is being processed and would soon be paid.’’ ‘’We appeal to the Federal government to urgently produce allocation to marketers in the country.

"The appeal is not only urgent but also founded on the fact that if stocks are not improved, marketers would be forced to rely solely on PPPMC and this will spell a major disaster for the country,’’ he stressed.

countant General of Federation and one time Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenues Service, Mr. Kayode Nayieju.

The tax auditing exercise was engineered by the Revenue Mobilization Allocations and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in May 2013, mandating the lead consultant firm to verify the books all the 21 banks in the country engaged by FIRS and NLC as collecting vehicles for tax collection and excise duty payment. The auditing coverage was for a four year span from 2008 to 2012.

New Telegraph could not reach Naiyeju.

Mr. Ayodele Akinmulewo, who attended to New Telegraph’s enquiries, confirmed that the exercise had reached its last stage noting "they are on the last lap now because the report is being cleaned up."

The Spokesperson of RMAFC, Mallam Mohammed Ibrahim told our correspondent that the report will be ready soon, but denied knowledge of what had been established in the preliminary report as unremitted funds by the banks.

Ibrahim said: "Very soon, the report will be ready. In fact, they have gone above 70 % but I can't speculate for the consultants because they were given a template

by FIRS and NCS. But what I can assure you is that the committee is up and doing and they will soon file their report".

Bridged banks made profits in 2013 –AMCON C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 1

at end of 2011 to N261.1 billion as at the end of 2012.

Similarly, Keystone Bank’s 2012 results showed that the lender’s total assets for the period grew by 7 per cent, from N361.48 billion to N388.23 billion; total comprehensive income of the Bank rose by 157 per cent, from a loss of N13.79 billion to N7.81 billion, while customer deposits leapt from N282.75 billion to N297.54 billion during the review period.

Also, the 2012 results for Mainstreet Bank, showed that it posted a PBT of N23 billion, gross earnings of N47.90 billion and net interest income of N23.83 billion.

BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS 23

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

7-Feb-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

FGN

Description 10.50 18-MAR-2014 10.75 31-MAR-2014 9.20 29-JUN-2014 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 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.00 23-JUL-2030

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

18-Mar-11 31-Mar-07 29-Jun-07 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 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10

10.50 10.75 9.20 9.25 4.00 13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 16.39 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00

320.00 35.00 45.00 100.00 535.00 247.47 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 75.00 150.00 200.00 546.57

18-Mar-14 31-Mar-14 29-Jun-14 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 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30

0.11 0.14 0.39 0.64 1.21 2.52 3.22 3.47 3.56 4.31 5.39 5.71 7.97 14.81 15.29 15.78 16.46

12.51 12.56 12.79 12.95 12.98 13.43 13.58 13.44 13.44 13.45 13.54 13.47 13.53 13.53 13.53 13.54 13.60

8.01 9.13 11.44 12.10 12.83 13.36 13.46 13.32 13.32 13.35 13.47 13.37 13.47 13.48 13.48 13.47 13.54

99.73 99.68 98.62 97.78 90.25 99.20 103.80 90.29 88.71 91.17 109.15 74.78 113.70 109.25 93.28 67.46 76.55

100.23 100.18 99.12 98.28 90.40 99.35 104.10 90.59 89.01 91.47 109.45 75.08 114.00 109.55 93.58 67.76 76.85

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

4,312.04 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

#

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue 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

0.73 1.29 1.65 2.84 3.20 3.41

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

14.01 15.78 15.42 15.38 14.92 14.44

90.63 82.17 102.70 89.26 86.39 84.99

09-Feb-14 05-Aug-14 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 21-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

0.01 0.49 0.68 1.56 0.93 1.46 1.47 3.20 2.03 3.90 2.67 4.65 2.87 2.87 3.45 3.34 5.79 3.40 4.20 6.80 4.20 4.24

2.94 4.88 5.99 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 7.60 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00 1.21 1.00 2.46 1.94 2.74 2.74 1.00 1.44 1.95

15.35 17.75 18.97 17.59 16.35 17.61 16.63 19.02 20.76 15.24 15.14 14.46 14.39 14.60 14.44 15.90 15.41 16.18 16.19 14.47 14.89 15.40

99.98 98.29 96.87 93.29 97.24 95.75 98.84 79.05 89.28 96.42 97.73 98.43 100.40 103.16 100.17 99.17 96.54 96.50 95.86 95.84 101.27 100.89

07-Oct-14 18-Dec-14 31-Dec-14 17-Aug-15 09-Dec-15 06-Jan-16 29-Sep-16 25-Oct-16 30-Sep-17 30-Nov-17 09-Apr-18 09-Sep-18 09-Sep-18 22-Sep-18 18-Oct-18 17-Feb-19 14-Nov-20

0.66 0.86 0.90 0.81 1.12 1.20 2.64 2.71 3.64 2.26 2.17 2.33 2.33 4.62 2.44 2.53 6.77

1.00 5.21 8.71 4.88 1.00 2.63 1.00 1.34 4.52 1.88 3.48 5.20 5.06 3.06 2.29 6.11 2.76

13.97 18.29 21.81 17.93 14.15 15.78 14.33 14.69 17.96 15.10 16.68 18.44 18.30 16.52 15.56 19.41 16.23

98.45 96.28 96.20 93.04 98.11 98.36 97.12 98.98 87.08 106.42 99.07 99.36 101.92 92.03 100.63 95.37 96.00

11-Feb-18

4.01

1.00

14.45

87.40

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,304.32

Sub-National Bonds A-/Agusto; A+/GCR Bbb-/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR Bb+/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 A-/GCR

LAGOS KWARA NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS *EKITI *NASARAWA

13.00 LAGOS 9-FEB-2014 14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 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 21-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

09-Feb-09 05-Aug-09 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 21-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14

13.00 14.00 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 14.50 15.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

617.90

Corporate Bonds A+/Agusto; AA/GCR Aa/Agusto Nil Bbb+/Agusto A-/Agusto BBB-/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto A+/GCR BBB-/GCR BBB+/DataPro; BB+/GCR A-/DataPro; A-/GCR AAA/DataPro; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR BBB-/DataPro; BBB-/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

50.00 17.00 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

LAFARGE WAPCO GTB µ NGC *UPDC *FLOURMILLS *CHELLARAMS NAHCO FSDH UBA *C & I LEASING *DANA# *TOWER# *TOWER# UBA *LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS# NAHCO

11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014 10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

07-Oct-11 18-Dec-09 01-Apr-10 17-Aug-10 09-Dec-10 06-Jan-11 29-Sep-11 25-Oct-13 30-Sep-10 30-Nov-12 09-Apr-11 09-Sep-11 09-Sep-11 22-Sep-11 18-Oct-13 17-Feb-12 14-Nov-13

11.50 13.50 17.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 13.00 14.25 13.00 18.00 16.00 18.00 16.00 14.00 15.75 17.00 15.25

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

11.80 13.17 2.00 15.00 37.50 1.50 15.00 5.53 20.00 0.94 8.01 3.63 1.00 35.00 3.00 0.54 2.05

175.67

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

IFC

11-Feb-13

10.20

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

12.00

12.00 Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue Value ($'mm)

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

5.60

5.44

106.54

107.48

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

18-Dec-09

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.77

4.58

101.40

102.17

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

01-Apr-10

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

6.16

6.03

101.49

102.42

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

Corporate Eurobonds Afren PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

3.91

3.49

114.25

115.13

GTBank PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

4.84

4.45

105.63

106.52

GTBank PLC II

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.23

5.96

99.06

100.16

B+/S&P

Access Bank PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

7.27

6.85

99.94

101.22

B/S&P; B/Fitch

Fidelity Bank PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

8.44

8.07

94.50

95.75

B/Fitch

Afren PLC II

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

5.43

4.91

114.23

115.41

B-/S&P; B/Fitch B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

10.00 23-JUL-2030

23-Jul-10

10.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

NA

546.57

23-Jul-30

16.46

13.60

13.54

76.55

76.85

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

4,312.04

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

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

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

24 business | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS ***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

0.73 1.29 1.65 2.84 3.20 Monday, 3.41

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 February 1.00

14.01 90.63 15.78 82.17 15.42 102.70 15.38 89.26 14.92 86.39 Sunday, February 16, 2014 14.44 84.99 Sanctity of Truth

10 -

1,304.32

Unclaimed dividend hits N80bn mark Sub-National Bonds

A-/Agusto; A+/GCR Bbb-/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR Bb+/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 inding lasting A/Agusto the problem of A-/GCR

LAGOS KWARA NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS solution to *EKITI unclaimed *NASARAWA

investment

Dividends yet to be claimed by investors have risen to N80 billion

Stories by Chris Ugwu

F

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE seems dividends in Nigeria Bondsthe regulatory autoCorporate have eluded A+/Agusto; of AA/GCR LAFARGE WAPCO thorities the Nigerian capital Aa/Agusto GTB µreturns on market as investors’ Nil NGC Bbb+/Agusto have continued *UPDC to acinvestment A-/Agusto *FLOURMILLS cumulate year BBB-/GCR astronomically *CHELLARAMS A-/GCR onA+/Agusto; year without being claimed.

NAHCO A-/Agusto FSDH This has pushed the value A+/GCR UBA ofBBB-/GCR the unclaimed dividends to *C & I LEASING BBB+/DataPro; BB+/GCR *DANA# 2013, N80 billion as at December A-/DataPro; A-/GCR *TOWER# a AAA/DataPro; source close to the*TOWER Securities # A-/GCR A/Agusto; A/GCR and Exchange Commission UBA Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *LA CASERA (SEC) told New Telgraph.

BBB-/DataPro; BBB-/GCR *CHELLARAMS# The source, who pleaded anA+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO TOTAL OUTSTANDING onymity because heVALUE was not in position to comment on the matSupranational Bond AAA/S&P IFC ter, told our correspondent that TOTALwere OUTSTANDING VALUE efforts in top gear to tame the monster, which has been of Rating/Agency Issuer great concern to market regulaFGN Eurobonds tors and investors.

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P that e-dividend He noted BB-/Fitch;of payment, whichFGN system was BB-/S&P

13.00 LAGOS 9-FEB-2014 14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUErecent 30-JUN-2016 the most introduced by 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 the SEC in a bid to address the 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 delays associated with the veri13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 fication of proceeds of public 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 offers as well as delay encoun14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI tered by 09-DEC-2018 investors in getting 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 returns on their investments, 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50not GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 had recorded the desirable 14.50 LAGOS 21-NOV-2019 impact to help in war against 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 the menace.

13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 Alhaji Suleiman Ndanusa, 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 the Chairman, Board of SEC, 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

09-Feb-09 13.00 05-Aug-09 14.00 15-Oct-09 14.00 31-Aug-10 12.50 30-Sep-10 13.00 30-Jun-11 14.00 geria, that the commission was 30-Jun-09 15.50 going19-Apr-10 to reduce the10.00 quantum 30-Jun-10 13.75 in the of unclaimed dividends 30-Dec-10 14.00 Nigerian Capital Market,which 30-Sep-11 14.00 stood04-Oct-11 at N60 billion then.

14.00 09-Dec-11 “We are going to14.50 reduce the 12-Dec-13 14.00 quantum of unclaimed divi14-Feb-12 15.50 02-Oct-12 dends.

When I was at15.50 SEC from 21-Nov-12 14.50 1999 12-Dec-12 to 2004, I was an advocate 14.75 30-Sep-13 for doing away with14.75 unclaimed 27-Nov-13 13.50 dividends, because it’s a gover31-Dec-13 14.50 06-Jan-14 nance issue” he said.15.00

had said last year at the maiden meeting with Publishers 11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 and Chief Executive Officers 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 of17.00 media organisations in NiNGC 31-DEC-2014

Ndanusa, who expressed worry over the rising wave of 07-Oct-11 11.50 unclaimed dividends, affirmed 18-Dec-09 13.50 that at the time he was 01-Apr-10 17.00 the Di-

50.00 09-Feb-14 0.01 17.00 05-Aug-14 0.49 6.00 15-Oct-14 0.68 8.50 31-Aug-15 1.56 16.50 30-Sep-15 0.93 13.00 30-Jun-16 1.46 rector General (DG) of the Com18.50 30-Jun-16 1.47 mission, the level of unclaimed 57.00 19-Apr-17 3.20 50.00 30-Jun-17 dividends was just about2.03N8 25.00 31-Dec-17 3.90 billion.

50.00 30-Sep-18 2.67 said4.65 it is 9.00The SEC Chairman 04-Oct-18 20.00 09-Dec-18 2.87 either a company is declaring 12.00 12-Dec-18 2.87 paper profit 14-Feb-19 and does not want 27.00 3.45 20.00 02-Oct-19or give other 3.34 to pay dividends 80.00 21-Nov-19 5.79 excuses, so, the market must 30.00 12-Dec-19 3.40do 11.40 30-Sep-20 something to ensure that4.20 this 87.00 27-Nov-20 6.80 practice is stopped.

5.00 31-Dec-20 4.20 5.00“Otherwise 06-Jan-21 4.24 in the next three

617.90 to four

years, we would probably be talking of hundreds of 11.80 07-Oct-14 0.66 billions of naira as unclaimed 13.17 18-Dec-14 0.86 dividends” Ndanusa said.

2.00 31-Dec-14 0.90

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 18.00 LEASING 30-NOV-2017 or C&I efficiently and consisMPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 tently managing its risks, MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 Sterling Bank Plc has been MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018 honoured in the Banking and 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 Investment Services category MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 II 14-NOV-2020 of 15.25 theNAHCO prestigious Nigeria Risk

17-Aug-10 10.00 09-Dec-10 12.00 06-Jan-11 14.00 29-Sep-11 13.00 25-Oct-13 14.25 30-Sep-10 13.00 Enterprise 30-Nov-12 Risk Management 18.00 09-Apr-11 practices in Nigeria.16.00 09-Sep-11 18.00 The umpire affirmed that 09-Sep-11 16.00 22-Sep-11 14.00 ‘Sterling Bank was being hon18-Oct-13 15.75 ored with the award based on its 17-Feb-12 17.00 upscale risk management prac14-Nov-13 15.25

Award (NRA).

The award according to a 10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 statement from the bank, was organised by Conrads Clark Nigeria (CCN) Limited; a United Description Kingdom affiliated institution in conjunction with Institute of 6.75 JANUK 28, 2021 Risk Management to reward organisations5.13with impressive JUL 12, 2018

turnaround time between the tice. This according to the insti- 175.67 tution, has led to significant con- project commencement and ob11-Feb-13 10.20 12.00 11-Feb-18 tribution to the entrenchment taining certification.

This,4.01acof a risk management culture 12.00 cording to the statement, was within the bank and a commit- achieved within a remarkable Issue Date Coupon (%) Issue Value ($'mm) Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) ment to a sound, safe and stable 6-month period. financial institution.

“This certification attests 07-Oct-11 6.75 issued 500.00 28-Jan-21 5.60 The lender said it was to the security of card related the Payment Card Industry Data transactions of Sterling Bank as 18-Dec-09 5.13 500.00 12-Jul-18 4.77

15.00 17-Aug-15 0.81 37.50 09-Dec-15 1.12 1.50 06-Jan-16 1.20 15.00 29-Sep-16 2.64 5.53 25-Oct-16 2.71 20.00 30-Sep-17 3.64 Security Standard (PCIDSS)2.26 cer0.94 30-Nov-17 8.01 09-Apr-18 2.17 tification on February 8th 2013.

3.63 09-Sep-18 2.33 According to09-Sep-18 the Qualified2.33Se1.00 35.00 22-Sep-18 4.62 curity Assessor (QSA), Sterling 3.00 18-Oct-18 2.44 Bank remains the only bank 0.54 17-Feb-19 2.53 that 2.05 has achieved 14-Nov-20 the fastest 6.77

Sterling Bank gets risk award

F

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

01-Apr-10

6.38

500.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

12-Jul-23

6.16

2.94 15.35 99.98 4.88 17.75 98.29 5.99 18.97 96.87 4.44 17.59 93.29 3.23 16.35 97.24 4.46 17.61 95.75 Speaking to New Telegraph, a 3.48 16.63 98.84 senior broker said on the condi5.59 19.02 79.05 7.60of anonymity 20.76 tion , that89.28 the in1.79 15.24 96.42 ability of the registrars to key 1.80 15.14 97.73 into the e-process had continued 1.00 14.46 98.43 14.39 100.40 to 1.00 be constrain to the initiative 1.21 14.60 103.16 meant 1.00 to reduce 14.44 the unclaimed 100.17 2.46 15.90 99.17 dividends.

1.94 15.41 96.54 The Managing Director, 2.74 16.18 96.50 2.74 Securities 16.19 Limited, 95.86 Mr. Crane 1.00 14.47 95.84 Mike Okpara Eze, also reacting 1.44 14.89 101.27 to 1.95 the rising15.40 wave of 100.89 the un-

claimed dividends, said majority of the problem bedeviling the 1.00 13.97 98.45 e-dividend malaise emanated 5.21 18.29 96.28 from shareholders.

8.71 21.81 96.20 4.88 17.93 93.04 1.00 14.15 98.11 2.63 15.78 98.36 1.00 14.33 97.12 1.34 14.69 98.98 4.52 17.96 87.08 one1.88 of the safest 15.10in the Banking 106.42 3.48 Industry ,” the16.68 statement99.07 added.

5.20 18.44 99.36 According to Mr. Joachim 5.06 18.30 101.92 3.06 16.52 92.03 Adebayo Adenusi, the Manag2.29 15.56 100.63 ing6.11 Director of19.41 CCN, who95.37 spoke at the presentation of the award, 2.76 16.23 96.00

the medal process was very rigorous, transparent and profes1.00 14.45 87.40 sionally handled by eminent risk managers selected from different parts of the world.

Offer Yield (%) Bid Price Offer Price Sterling Bank Plc is one of Prices & Yields the leading commercial bank in 5.44 106.54 107.48 Nigeria and one of the country’s fastest growing banks.

4.58 101.40 102.17 6.03

1,500.00

101.49

102.42

7-Feb-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 Corporate Eurobonds to the FMDQ OTC PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

B-/S&P; B/Fitch

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

FGN Bonds

Afren PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

GTBank PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

GTBank PLC II

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

B+/S&P

Access Bank PLC

Issuer Fidelity Bank PLC

Description

Issue Date 6.88 MAY 09, 2018

Coupon (%) 09-May-13

B/Fitch

Afren PLC II

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

First Bank PLC

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

Afren PLC III

10.25 APR 08, 2019 10.50 18-MAR-2014 18-Mar-11 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 10.75 31-MAR-2014 31-Mar-07 9.20 29-JUN-20146.63 DEC 09, 202029-Jun-07 9.25 28-SEP-2014 28-Sep-07 4.00 23-APR-2015 23-Apr-10 13.05 16-AUG-2016 16-Aug-13 15.10 27-APR-2017 27-Apr-12 Bid Offer 9.85 27-JUL-2017 27-Jul-07 11.35 11.10 9.35 31-AUG-2017 31-Aug-07 11.85 11.60 10.70 30-MAY-2018 30-May-08 12.05 11.80 16.00 29-JUN-2019 29-Jun-12 12.15 11.90 7.00 23-OCT-2019 23-Oct-09 12.05 11.80 16.39 27-JAN-2022 27-Jan-12 12.05 11.80 15.00 28-NOV-2028 28-Nov-08 12.10 11.85 12.49 22-MAY-2029 22-May-09 12.10 11.85 8.50 20-NOV-2029 20-Nov-09 12.10 11.85 10.00 23-JUL-2030 23-Jul-10 12.10 11.85 12.10 11.85 12.20 11.95 12.10 11.85 12.20 11.95 Description 12.20 11.95 12.15 11.90 12.10 11.85 11.85 11.60 0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 11.50 0.00 FMB 11.75 24-MAY-2015 11.75 17.25 FMB12.00 II 03-APR-2017 12.05 11.80 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016

08-Apr-12 10.50 07-Aug-13 10.75 09-Dec-13 9.20 9.25 4.00 13.05 15.10 Yield (%) 9.85 11.40 9.35 11.93 10.70 12.16 16.00 12.29 7.00 12.22 16.39 12.25 15.00 12.33 12.49 12.36 8.50 12.39 10.00 12.42 12.48 12.61 12.54 12.67 Issue Date 12.71 12.71 12.88 12.72 28-Dec-11 13.01 24-May-10 13.49 03-Apr-12 13.62 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

B/S&P;Rating/Agency B/Fitch

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE **Treasury Bills DTM 14 NA 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 91 TOTAL OUTSTANDING 98 105 112 Rating/Agency 119 133 182 Agency Bonds 210 301 336 NA 350

Maturities 20-Feb-14 FGN 27-Feb-14 6-Mar-14 13-Mar-14 20-Mar-14 27-Mar-14 3-Apr-14 10-Apr-14 17-Apr-14 24-Apr-14 VALUE 8-May-14 15-May-14 22-May-14 29-May-14 Issuer 5-Jun-14 19-Jun-14 7-Aug-14 4-Sep-14 AMCON 4-Dec-14 FMBN 8-Jan-15 22-Jan-15 ***LCRM

0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Sub-National Bonds *from the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the duration #A-/Agusto; A+/GCR LAGOS 13.00risk LAGOS 9-FEB-2014 Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity premiums Bbb-/Agustoof non-trading t.bills KWARA 14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 **Exclusive A-/GCR NIGER 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 A+/Agusto KADUNA 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 A/Agusto *EBONYI 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 Nil *BENUE 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 A+/Agusto *IMO 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 A+/Agusto; A+/GCR LAGOS 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 A-/Agusto *BAYELSA 13.75Porfolio BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 Total Outstanding Modified Duration Market A/Agusto EDO 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 Buckets Value(Bn) Volume(Bn) A+/Agusto; A+/GCR *DELTA 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 Bb+/Agusto; A-/GCR NIGER 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 <3 1,198.34 1,235.27 A/Agusto; A-/GCR *EKITI 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 3<5 951.30 A-/Agusto *NIGER 14.00 NIGER III1,065.64 12-DEC-2018 >5 418.40 546.57 A/Agusto; A-/GCR *ONDO 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 A/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBEMarket 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 2,682.38 2,733.14 Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS 14.50 LAGOS 21-NOV-2019 A/Agusto; A-/GCR *OSUN 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 A/Agusto *OSUN 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 A/Agusto *EKITI 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 A-/GCR *NASARAWA 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Corporate Bonds

Bonds

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

3.91

3.49

114.25

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

4.84

4.45

105.63

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.23

5.96

99.06

7.25

350.00

Outstanding Value 6.88 (N'bn)

Maturity 300.00Date

10.25 320.00 8.25 35.00 6.63 45.00

100.00 535.00 247.47 452.80 20.00 Tenor 100.00 CALL 300.00 7 DAYS 351.30 30 DAYS 60233.90 DAYS 90600.00 DAYS 18075.00 DAYS 150.00 365 DAYS 200.00 546.57

4,312.04

300.00 18-Mar-14 300.00 31-Mar-14 360.00 29-Jun-14

28-Sep-14 2,960.00 23-Apr-15

FIXINGS 16-Aug-16

Tenor 1M 2M Coupon 3M (%) 6M 9M 12M 0.00

NIBOR

NITTY

27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 Rate (%) 31-Aug-17 10.8333 30-May-18 11.2500 29-Jun-19 11.5833 23-Oct-19 11.9167 27-Jan-22 12.1667 28-Nov-28 12.4583 22-May-29 12.7500 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30

Rate (%) 12.2459 12.2713 Issue 12.4215 Value (N'bn) 12.8728 12.8803 14.0254 978.35

0.00 24.56 17.25 6.00 0.00/16.00 NIFEX 112.22 0.00/16.50 116.70 Current Price ($/N) 0.00/16.50 66.49 BID($/N) 163.2075 OFFER ($/N) 163.3075 1,304.32

09-Feb-09 13.00 50.00 05-Aug-09 14.00 17.00 15-Oct-09 14.00 6.00 31-Aug-10 12.50 8.50 30-Sep-10 13.00 16.50 30-Jun-11 14.00 BOND INDEX 13.00 FMDQ FGN 30-Jun-09 15.50 18.50 19-Apr-10 10.00 57.00 30-Jun-10 13.75 50.00 Weighting by Weighting by Mkt Bucket25.00 Weighting 30-Dec-10Vol 14.00 Outstanding Value 30-Sep-11 14.00 50.00 04-Oct-11 14.00 9.00 45.20 09-Dec-11 14.50 44.67 20.00 0.45 34.81 12-Dec-13 14.00 39.73 12.00 0.35 14-Feb-12 15.50 15.60 27.00 0.20 20.00 02-Oct-12 15.50100.00 20.00 1.00 100.00 21-Nov-12 14.50 80.00 12-Dec-12 14.75 30.00 30-Sep-13 14.75 11.40 27-Nov-13 13.50 87.00 31-Dec-13 14.50 5.00 06-Jan-14 15.00 5.00

617.90

25-Jul-17

TTM (Yrs) 02-May-18

7.27

Bid Yield 8.44 (%)

08-Apr-19 5.43 0.11 12.51 07-Aug-20 7.26 0.14 12.56 09-Dec-20 6.74 0.39 12.79 0.64 12.95 1.21 12.98 2.52 Money Market 13.43 3.22 13.58 Tenor Rate (%) 3.47 13.44 OBB 10.33 3.56 13.44 4.31 13.45 O/N 10.54 5.39 13.54 5.71 REPO 13.47 7.97 13.53 Tenor Rate (%) 14.81 13.53 Call 10.33 15.29 13.53 1M 12.00 15.78 13.54 3M 12.50 16.46 13.60 6M 12.75 NOTE:

Maturity Date * :Amortising Bond

:Benchmarks Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

6.85

Offer Yield 8.07 (%)

0.01 0.49 0.68 1.56 0.93 1.46 1.47 3.20 2.03 Implied 3.90Yield 2.67 4.65 13.40 2.87 13.53 2.87 3.45 13.60 3.34 13.53 5.79 3.40 4.20 6.80 4.20 4.24

106.52

Price 100.16

99.94

Bid Price 94.50

101.22

Offer Price 95.75

4.91 114.23 115.41 8.01 99.73 100.23 6.87 103.72 105.24 9.13 99.68 100.18 6.56 99.36 100.26 11.44 98.62 99.12 12.10 97.78 98.28 12.83 90.25 90.40 13.36 99.20 99.35 Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) 13.46 103.80 104.10 13.32 90.29 90.59 Tenor Bid ($/N) Offer ($/N) 13.32 88.71 89.01 13.35 91.17 91.47 Spot 163.30 163.40 13.47 109.15 109.45 7D 163.33 163.59 13.37 74.78 75.08 14D 163.58 163.92 13.47 113.70 114.00 1M 164.17 164.80 13.48 109.25 109.55 2M 165.39 166.59 13.48 93.28 93.58 3M 166.47 168.89 13.47 67.46 67.76 6M 170.36 173.97 13.54 76.55 76.85 1Y 177.74 185.66

# Risk Premium (%)

µ :Convertible Bond AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria FGN: Federal Government of0.73 Nigeria 31-Oct-14 1.00 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 24-May-15 1.29 2.63 IFC: International Finance Corporation 03-Apr-17 1.65 2.27 LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management 09-Dec-16 2.84 2.00 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 20-Apr-17 3.20 1.49 NGC: Nigeria-German Company 06-Jul-17 3.41 1.00 UBA: United Bank for Africa UPDC: UAC Property Development Company WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company 09-Feb-14 05-Aug-14 15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 % Exposure_ 31-Dec-17 Mod_Duration 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 22.22 09-Dec-18 40.35 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19 37.43 02-Oct-19 100.00 21-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

115.13

2.94 4.88 5.99 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 7.60 Implied 1.79Price Portfolio 1.80 1.00 100.3286 1.00 118.1674 1.21 1.00 81.9823 2.46 102.8687 1.94 2.74 2.74 1.00 1.44 1.95

NA :Not Applicable Valuation Yield Indicative # :Floating (%) Rate Bond Price ***: Deferred coupon bonds 14.01 15.78 15.42 15.38 14.92 14.44

15.35 17.75 18.97 17.59 16.35 17.61 16.63 19.02 20.76 INDEX 15.24 15.14 14.46 1,014.87 14.39 1,000.60 14.60 14.44 992.46 15.90 1,001.06 15.41 16.18 16.19 14.47 14.89 15.40

90.63 82.17 102.70 89.26 86.39 84.99

99.98 98.29 96.87 93.29 97.24 95.75 98.84 79.05 89.28 YTD Return 96.42 (%) 97.73 98.43 1.4872 100.40 0.0597 103.16 - 100.17 0.7539 99.17 0.1055 96.54 96.50 95.86 95.84 101.27 100.89

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

BUSINESS | BRANDS & ADVERTISING 25

Diamond Bank, Startimes, dump TPT, CMC Connect FIREd Dissatisfied with the performance of its Public Relations agencies, Diamond Bank and Startimes have ditched them Stories by Dele Alao

D

iamond Bank Plc and Startimes, a digital terrestrial television platform, have parted ways with their public relations agencies.

Until recently, TPT Interntional was handling Diamond Bank’s media relations business, while CMC Connect was responsible for Startimes.

For TPT International, the cause of the break in relationships could not be ascertained barely a year after it won that account. Findings by New Telegraph however, revealed that the bank is “not satisfied” with the performance of the Magodo, Lagos based PR agency.

A source in Diamond Bank also told this newspaper that there were also some complaints about the agency from the media, which the lender was not pleased with.

In late 2012, Diamond Bank Plc appointed TPT international as its PR agency. The agency emerged from a highly competitive pitch process that involved four top leading PR agencies selected for the pitch, which included; The Quadrant Company

Nigeria, Mediacraft Associates, and C&F Portal Novelli.

TPT, it was gathered, emerged the preferred based on its creative direction during the pitch and its clear interpretation of the brief. Indeed, it was a very keen contest according to our sources, as all the agencies gave a good account of themselves.

Diamond Bank’s media relation business now resides with John Ehiguese-led Mediacraft, which was said to have come second at the pitch that brought in TPT. TPT started business in February 1998 with only one client, Rothmans of Pall Mall and has since grown into the leading public relations solutions provider to top brands that spread across various sectors of the

Nigerian economy.

In recognition of its performance, it has been named the PR Company of the year several in the last 10 years in various awards organised for PR agencies.

It also prides itself on the diversity of its client roster, with experience including the Federal Government of Nigeria, Cross Rivers State, BAT, Pfizer, FinBank, Lagos Lotto, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Procter & Gamble West Africa, British Council, MTN Foundation, Starcomms, Mastercard, IBM, Promasidor Nigeria Limited and many others.

For Yomi Badejo-Okusanyaled CMC Connect, it was a brief stint with the Chinese-led Startimes.

Expansion drive ‘forces’ FBN Holdings to rebrand refreshed identity First Bank has refreshed its identity to beat competition

T

he adoption of an elephant as a universal icon or logo has been identified as the main reason behind the recent new look of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc, New Telegraph has gathered.

Many of the bank’s branches in major cities across the country are now wearing the new look.

The bank, which has created a unique identity for 120 years with the iconic African Elephant, in its expansion drive to some African countries had encountered some legal and cultural challenges.

Some banks in the African countries which FBN had planned to begin operation had already adopted the African Elephant as their icon. Hence, the primary need for this new Elephant, which is described as peculiar to FBN. Designed to reflect the company’s strategic direction and position it to meet the future needs of the market, the refreshed identity will be rolled out across the Group’s operations, New Telegraph was informed.

First Bank new logo

Founded in 1894 as The Bank for British West Africa, FBN Group’s FirstBank was the very first banking institution to be established in Nigeria.

Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer, FBN Holdings, Mr. Bello Maccido, said that the refreshed FBN Group’s identity is an important milestone and the culmination of hard work.

“We are committed to building a financial institution that consistently supports growth, that celebrates and showcases the unique characteristics of the diverse nations on our continent. We believe that our continued success will be built on the principle that we will add value nationally, regionally and at continental level.

Our customers have always

come first and each and every change that we implement as a group is designed to ensure that continues,” the CEO said.

Also, the Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank, Folake Ani-Mumuney, said that the refreshed identity embodies the group internal values and the direction it is heading like the iconic elephant, which she noted, signifies strength and resilience. These she explained, were two of the greatest traits to have as an individual, as an institution and a nation.

She said: “Since launching in 1894, the FBN brand has established itself as a brand of strength and dynamism, with the vision to be the leading international financial services

group in Sub Saharan Africa.

Our brand is at the heart of the holistic experience we seek to deliver to our stakeholders, an essential part of retaining patronage and the competitive edge that keeps us at the coveted position of market leader. Refreshing the FBN Group brand is a major milestone in a wider strategic plan to ensure that the group is more efficient and effective in delivering on the needs of its customers. Our approach places the highest priority on the needs of our customers.”

Ani-Mumuney added that far more than a logo, the new corporate identity has been designed to ensure that the FBN Group continues to be at the forefront of the African financial services industry.

Heineken changes gear in new TVC

A

gainst all expectations, Heineken, described as the world’s leading international premium lager beer, has for the first time in history, changed the way it delivers its Television Commercial (TVC) content as it unveils its latest global ad campaign, ‘The Odyssey’.

Checks reveal the new TVC celebrates the premise that every man is legendary at something. The beer brand cast non-actors in the TVC to play the central protagonists.

The advert, created by Heineken with Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, follows its recent ‘Legends’ platform, which saw a series of ‘Men of the World’ who are pushed to discover their limits and overcome them. However, this is the first time that non-actors have been used in the campaign and given a stage, proving that every man has the ability to become legendary.

The TVC, which has already premiered in Lagos, follows the main character’s adventures aboard a cruise ship as he uses his wit, charm and skills to impress his fellow passengers.

Covering everything from a limbo contest, to diving perfectly into a swimming pool, to dancing the perfect conga, “the advert gives real men a stage on which they can perform their skills.”

The advert features 20 nonactors, who were cast in an open casting, where their legendary skills were put to the test. The final 20 were picked for being masters at the skills (diving, conga dancing and sliding down banisters) needed for the TVC. On the new TVC, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Walter Drenth, said: “Our Legends campaign is an entertaining homage to our drinkers and their legendary behaviours. We are convinced that many of our drinkers out there have at least one legendary talent. They just need a chance to show it to the world.

This is why Heineken decided to offer its next film, The Odyssey, as an opportunity for 20 young men to show us what they’ve got. And they are all legendary.”

The advert, which is already live on a variety of platforms across broadcast and digital, is for a duration of 90 seconds.

26 business | CAPITAL MARKET

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at February 7, 2014

BUSINESS | MONEYLINE

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

27

Increased costs to impact banks' Q1 results –FDC in the first quarter of this year as a result of increased finance costs and a weaker naira.

The research firm also believes that there is an increased risk of default on dollar- denominated loans this quarter.

Ayodele Aminu

F

inancial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) has predicted that banks are likely to post below par results

Ican appoints Enterprise as collecting bank

E

nterprise Bank has been appointed as a lead and collecting bank for various payment schemes of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

The lender made this known in a statement made available to New Telegraph.

A letter from the institute to its stakeholders, titled, ‘Appointment of Enterprise Bank as collecting bank for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN),’ stated: “We are pleased to inform you that Enterprise Bank has been appointed as a Lead Bank as well as Collecting Bank for various ICAN payment schemes. The schemes include student registration fees, annual subscription, examinations fees, and

practicing license fees.

While celebrating the appointment of Enterprise Bank to collect for a body as strategic as ICAN, the lender fsaid that the main platform to process all ICAN payment schemes in the bank is the Pay-Direct platform. It added that all branches of the bank have been enabled to seamlessly participate in the collection.

The latest appointment according to the statement, also indicates an expression of ICAN’s confidence in Enterprise Bank and has added to the growing list of collections the bank undertakes on behalf of the federal and state governments, parastatals and other institutions.

FDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Bismarck Rewane, expressed these views in his presentation at the Lagos Business School Executive Breakfast Session last week.

He cited the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) increase in the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) on public deposits from 12 per cent to 75 per cent, as well as the commencement of tapering of the stimulus programme in the United States as major factors that would adversely affect the performances of banks in the first quarter of

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 1

the former President, New Telegraph has learnt.

The farm, which has been battling with lack of power supply for over two months, now rely on 24-hour supply from power generating sets to mitigate the havoc that the blackout has wrecked on its agricultural production and income, our reporter gathered when he visited the farm.

The Transmission Com-

As at 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

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

Treasury Bills Maturity Date 08-May-14 07-Aug-14 22-Jan-15

Bid 12.10 12.10 12.05

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

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

of February. The firm, however, expects Nigeria’s external reserves to fall below $42billion while inflation will increase marginally to 9 per cent this month.

Other forecasts by the FDC for 2014, include, the global economy growing at 3.25 per cent this year compared to 2.5 per cent in 2013; the Nigerian economy growing by 7.4 per cent; election spending to spur consumption growth and the US, Chinese as well as the Eurozone economies recording improved performance.

Obasanjo's farm thrown into darkness

Economic Indicators M2* CPS* INF IBR MPR 91-day NTB DPR PLR Bonny Light Ext Res**

2014.

According to him, other risk factors for financial institutions this year include the likelihood of the end of tapering in the US and further increases in the CRR. As Rewane put it, “Increased CRR stifles banking profitability and increases borrowing costs.”

But the FDC boss predicted that due to the CRR hike, the naira will appreciate to N165 in the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market and N160 at the interbank in the month

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

pany of Nigeria (TCN) and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), the company in charge of electricity distribution to the area, are however, bickering over the cause of the blackout, which is also affecting the whole of Ota Industrial Estate and neighbouring communities like Eledi-Atala, Ijagba and Dada Asaila among others.

Investigations by this newspaper, however, showed that the disconnection of electricity supply to Obasanjo's farm and others came from a 133x32 KV Transmission Station Network (TSN) situated few kilometres behind the farm due to a faulty 30 KVA transformer.

Minister of power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, who has been briefed on this development is yet to give a nod for the replacement of the faulty transformer.

When New Telegraph visited

the TCN substation in Ijagba, which is under Lagos regional transmission network, the station manager, Engineer T.O Abiola declined to comment on the issue, saying "it is sensitive."

But Spokesperson for IBEDC, the company in charge of Ota/ Obasanjo Business Unit, Deji Bada absolved his company of complicity in the blackout. He told New Telegraph in a telephone interview that TCN is solely responsible for the power failure.

"The TCN are just shying away from their responsibility.

What happened is that a 30 MVA transformer at their transmission station is completely down.

"Engineers have earlier been coming and trying to see if they could fix the transformer to no avail. It needs a replacement and until this is done the power situation in the area may still be in that state," he said.

‘Service delivery's best way to start business'

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ervice delivery is the most critical factor in any startup, the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, SLOT Systems Limited, Nnamdi Ezeigbo, has said.

He said this at the Fidelity SME Forum, a weekly radio programme sponsored by Fidelity Bank Plc. Speaking on the topic: “Managing and Growing a Retail Business in a Fast-Growing Market”, he said that rather than running around looking for capital to set up a business, potential entrepreneurs should focus more on how to render quality service to the customer.

“The most important thing when it comes to business is

the question of how do you start? Most people always run around looking for start-up capital and how they would raise money to start business.

I think the best way to start is by rendering services and that is what I did”.

He explained that he invested in social capital when he found out that he could not raise the needed fund to start his business. “I could not have afforded to raise money to start a store as at that time, so what I did was to invest in myself, train myself and acquire the technical know- how and then with that I was able to build what is called social capital and not financial capital”.

28 MONDAY | INTERVIEW

Sanctity

Monday, February 10 - Su

Nigerians to buy Aero Airline About two months ago, when the idea of designating cash-strapped Aero Airlines as a national carrier was mooted, there was a lot of outcry over the plan. But in this interview with AYODELE AMINU, the Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which owns 60 per cent of the airline's shares, Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi, spoke on a wide range of issues, including the state of the bridged banks, the likely effects of quantitative easing by the United States on Nigeria, the anticipated lifespan of the corporation, and why Aero and not Arik, was so designated

Mustapha Chike-Obi

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here have been lots of controversies about the issue of turning Aero into a national carrier with critics accusing the government of hijacking the whole process. What exactly transpired?

I find that to be one of the most amusing things that I have experienced on my job. First of all, we can all agree on certain things. It is beneficial to Nigeria to have airlines that are designated as national carriers. It helps Nigeria; it helps us take advantage of our bilateral air services agreement with other countries, so it is a good thing. So, let us agree on that.

The next thing is how do you do that? The option is either to start a national airline or to designate an existing airlines or a number of existing airlines as national carriers.

In the United States of America there are a number of private airlines designated as national airline. They don’t have a national carrier as such. So, the issue is, is it a good thing to have one?

The answer is yes. How do we get it? You get it by creating a national airline or by designating an existing airline as a national airline. After much thought, and I’m sure we all agree on this too, it is not a good idea, for Nigeria to have a national airline as such. It would cost capital, it would cost money and it would be subject to what I would call the fear of abuses.

Because we only have two airlines (Aero and Arik) that have any chance of being designated as national carriers- the decision was to designate one or both airlines as national carriers. The preference of the minister of aviation, which I think is correct, is that any such airline designated as national airline, because it is taking on some benefits of the Nigerian people, should be sold to the Nigerian public so that they can have ownership of it. So, the issue is this, which of these airlines is willing to designate a significant portion of its shares to be sold to the Nigerian public among other issues

that are important to the present government? I think you will find that Arik was reluctant to make that commitment.

Luckily, Aero is owned 60 per cent by AMCON. So, AMCON will say its shares in Aero be sold at the right time through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) to the Nigerian public. That is what made Aero the most attractive option. Nothing else changed; Aero remains as it is; it is designated a national carrier so that we can take advantage of all the agreements we have with other countries. And we at AMCON

I suspect that some of the controversies are caused by people who don’t want to do this (to make their airline a national carrier) but don’t want anybody else to do it.

PHOTOs:SULEIMAN HUSAINI

agreed that, at the appropriate time, we will put our shares up for IPO so that the Nigerian public can purchase some of the shares. We are also committed to supporting the aircraft of Aero so that it can actually take on the role designated for it.

That is all; there is no other controversy.

There is nothing else there; government is not putting in a kobo, government is not buying any shares, it is just a matter of designation.

I suspect that some of the controversies are caused by people who don’t want to do this but don’t want anybody else to do it. But I challenge anybody to explain to me why it is bad for Nigeria to take advantage of the bilateral agreement between Nigeria and England, and Nigeria and the US. For instance, Delta Airlines and United Airlines fly to Nigeria and they have daily flights. In a week, I believe the US has 10 flights to Nigeria and 10 flights from Nigeria. Just the US! We have Arik that flies three times a week to the

MONDAY | INTERVIEW 29

y of Truth

unday February 16, 2014

shares – AMCON MD US. So, even in that agreement, we have been short-changed because we did not take enough advantage of the bilateral agreement. What we are saying is that we should do that; we can do better than that.

So I don’t understand the controversy and I’m yet to be told why it is bad for Nigeria.

But one of the national dailies recently published a picture of an Aero aircraft painted in national colours. Are you saying some of the Aero planes have been painted in Nigerian colours?

It is not possible for any airline to have different colours for its aircraft. It is entirely possible that when they (Aero aircraft) are designated the national carrier, that they may wish to rebrand. And if they wish to rebrand, that will take time.

So what is the status of the proposed national carrier now technically, and when would Nigerians have the opportunity of flying the national airline?

All I know is that AMCON is a shareholder in Aero. Aero has a board of directors. This decision is for Aero directors to make. What we (AMCON) are concerned about are three things: one, to make sure that this is good for AMCON; two, to make sure that it is good for Nigeria and three, to ensure that all processes leading to it (national carrier) are transparent, defensible and done in best practice. They (Aero directors) have written us a letter in which they have assured us of being prudent. We are satisfied that it is good for AMCON; it is good for Nigeria.

Aero’s ownership structure in terms of value, how much is it?

In terms of value, AMCON owns 60 per cent of Aero, the legacy holders own 40 per cent and it would remain that way.

In terms of indebtedness there are also allegations that you are looking the other way for Arik?

AMCON does not look away from anybody owing the corporation; if you owe AMCON, you will pay. We have restructured Arik and they are performing; we have restructured Aero and they are performing. We have restructured hundreds of other loans. They (Arik) are not special; if they owe us money they will pay, if they don’t pay we will take the next step. So it is not true that we are looking the other way.

Are you worried that AMCON might be adversely affected if the next CBN Governor happens to be someone who is ‘uncooperative’?

It is not possible for there to be a CBN Governor that will be uncooperative. As long as AMCON continues to do what is in the interest of Nigeria, I have no concern about the CBN Governor. We have some of our toughest times at AMCON with CBN examining its supervision.

They (CBN) give us tough knocks but we

all know that what we are doing is in the best interest of Nigeria. So that is not a concern.

There are fears about the impact of the end of quantitative (QE) easing in the US on the Nigerian economy. How seriously do you think this will affect the Nigerian economy?

Well, the fact that you are worried about QE in Nigeria tells you that we have a lot of work to do in our economy.

I have spent 30 years in Wall Street and my experience is that there is always the news about something that is going to change the world and the thing happens and the world does not change. The most famous being the 2000 bug, I don’t know if any of you remember when they thought the computers were going to crash and the world was going to end. 2000 came and went. So, I think QE tapering will come and go. It will have an impact on Nigeria but I don’t think it is going to be extensive. Our stock market may retreat by 10 or 15 per cent, but we can handle that. So, the critical thing for us (Nigeria) is to focus on growing our economy, our manufacturing and industrial base. We should also reduce our dependence on foreign influences. I think that is what we should focus on so that in future, things like QE and QE tapering will be very, very minor things for us. I think there will be an impact but I don’t think it is something we should be worried about.

How would you rate the state of Nigerian banks in terms of their performance and credit to the private sector?

Let me say this generally, we get this idea that banks should lend to the private sector, banks should lend to SMEs, banks should do this, banks should do that. Banks want to do those things. But in every country that is developing or

It is not fair to ask banks to do developmental work; they are not created to do that

BIODATA Previous job: MD/CEO, Madison Park Advisors, New Jersey; held senior positions in various Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs, Bear Steains and Guggenheim Partners among others.

Schools: University of Lagos, Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Degrees: First Class degree in Mathematics, MBA Experience: Over 30 years

has developed recently, the largest financial institutions are developmental institutions. In Nigeria, that is not the case. Our developmental institutions are very, very small even compared to our banks. So banks are being asked to do developmental work. We do need to consider creating very large developmental institutions that would do those things.

It is not fair to ask banks to do developmental work; they are not created to do that. So, if you make them do it, they will do it reluctantly; they will do it badly and they will end up embarrassing themselves.

Can you give a projection on when AMCON would actually begin to wind down its operations?

If AMCON is not a very small institution with a very small balance sheet, 10 years from now, I would be very disappointed.

You said recently that your initial guideline for selling the bridged banks in 2014 was no longer realistic. What would you say to critics who claim that the managements of these banks have no incentive to perform since the lenders will soon be sold?

Well, critics have a right to say that.

But what you can say is that that danger exists; what have we done about it? What we have done is that we have employed people who have tremendous pride in what they do; people who realise that this is not their last stop. I don’t think that any of the MDs of those banks thinks that this is their last stop in the banking sector or in Nigeria as a whole. So,

they have pride, they take a lot of pride in what they are doing. They want those banks to do well. The kind of people who would say that these banks are going to be sold, so, let me either loot the bank or let me not perform are not the kind of people we have put there to run these banks. So, we have a lot of confidence in the managements we have. All those banks made very reasonable profits; we have seen their unaudited accounts for the year and they reported reasonable profits. So we have a lot of confidence in the managements.

You did express willingness to turn around Tinapa. Exactly when do we expect Tinapa to become viable?

Tinapa is a multi-stage project. Typically, when you have a project like that, the first thing is to establish partnership with the state government. We have established that partnership. We have established it in a way that the state government is happy, AMCON is protected, and even the state assembly, not only have they endorsed the agreement we have with the state government, they have applauded it. So that is the first stage.

The next stage based on that agreement is to find a private sector-driven plan that would ensure the success and viability of Tinapa over the long term. That plan also has to work in conjunction with what the state government is planning. There are other things that are non-Tinapa related that are critical to Tinapa’s success. We need more flights to Tinapa; we need the airport expanded because if you have more flights you are going to need a bigger airport. It is important to dredge certain parts of the Calabar River so that boats can come up. There are things that the Customs can do. One of the things we are looking at is to have all goods destined for Tinapa, which is a free trade zone to be transshipped to Tinapa. I think that would make a difference. There is a section of the road from Uyo to Tinapa, that needs to be fixed, that would make transportation easier. And there are things that the state government is doing. The state government is building a 5,000 seater modern convention centre right across from Tinapa; they are building a road from Calabar to Tinapa that would shorten the distance from Calabar to Tinapa that would bring Calabar closer to Tinapa. So, there are a number of things that are being done. But it is important for Nigerians to know that Tinapa’s success is a Nigerian success.

There is a lot of tourism for shopping and for leisure that goes on among exporters that are interested in foreign goods.

Dubai is clearly a favourite destination, for instance, so we can replicate something of that here - that gives Nigerians an option to go to Calabar and relax, to go for wedding, honeymoon or shopping. I think that will be good for Nigeria; it will help employment, it will help our airlines and our foreign exchange. I think it is something that everybody should wish for. We think that there is a high degree of a chance of success and we want to make sure that we do what we can to ensure that it is successful.

30 business | ICT WORLD

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

NCC's new broadband plan may put operators' investment at risk competition Operations of undersea cable companies' to suffer hitches as NCC plans to issue new licences Stories by Jonah Iboma

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lans by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to limit telecommunications companies to the scope of their licences, could lead to some existing companies losing billions of naira already spent on infrastructure expansion, investigations by our correspondent have revealed.

This also becomes more imperative as the plans to issue new licences draws near, NCC says that with the expected emergence of the wholesale broadband provider, undersea cable companies that currently provide both wholesale and retail broadband services in the market will be made to adhere to licence restrictions.

"The submarine cable infrastructure and landing station licensees will continue to provide their services based on their license conditions.

The WWASL licensee may be a subscriber of the submarine cable infrastructure and landing station licensees for bulk International bandwidth.

They are playing in different segments of the market", the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah said in a statement a recent stakeholders' forum.

Companies likely to be affected by the move by NCC include MainOne and other landing station licensees, who are currently expanding their operations to reach subscribers directly. If NCC implements the move, there is the possible that the landing station companies may not be allowed to sell bandwidth to end-users even if their infrastructure were within their (customers') reach. Already, MainOne company has spent millions of naira in building metropolitan fibre network in Lagos and a few other states.

The move by NCC has, however, received mixed reaction from industry watchers. While some see the expected restriction as important to present a level -playing field between wholesale and retail broad-

band services, others opine that such a move could kill innovation and desire by some companies to survive in the market.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Phase3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede, for companies that provide wholesale services such as the international undersea cable companies to expand their reach into providing retail broadband services, it will not augur well for the market. This he said, will amount to direct competition with their existing customers.

"Companies that provide

wholesale services and that are now venturing into the retail broadband services segment are competing with their customers. This is not good for the market. If it is true that NCC wants to limit such companies to the scope of their licences, I fully support it, he said.

However, the immediate past President of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria, Mr. TitiOmoEttu, noted that it will not be fair for the regulator to prevent companies from seeking ways of survival in view of current realities in the market.

According to him, amount of investment made by undersea cable operators was huge and that being a business, they must seek for ways of recouping their investment.

He also added that undersea cable companies have excess capacity, which is needed for various services in the country, but which many wholesale and distribution companies have not been able to effectively achieve. Consequently, he noted, the companies will naturally expand to see how to sell their services to people who need them.

Recharge cards: MTN struggles to normalize prices

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fforts by MTN Nigeria to bring down the price of its recharge cards recently hiked by dealers have so far yielded little impact in the market, despite series of meetings between the mobile phone company and its business partners.

Investigations by our correspondent across a few states including Ondo, Edo, Oyo, and Delta showed that MTN recharge cards were still sold at hiked prices despite efforts by the company to ensure that the cards are sold at the stated prices.

For over a month now, MTN recharge cards such as N100, N200, N400 and N750 cards, have continued to be sold for between N10 and N20 above the printed prices. The development has led to complaints by subscribers and, in some cases, the refusal of the purchase of the cards.

On its part, the mobile

phone company has moved to address the problem and has held series of meetings with its dealers.

An official of the firm, who spoke with our correspondent in last month blamed dealers and retailers for the problem.

He said the meeting with the business partners would address the issue and that problem would be over within few days.

The firm also issued a statement stating that it was working towards addressing the situation so that recharge cards are sold at their stated prices.

"We wish to inform the public that the cost of every recharge card remains the value stated on it, and MTN has not authorized any variance to this long-standing principle. Any sale of MTN recharge cards at a price higher than the value stated on the card is without MTN's knowledge or authority", the statement read.

L-R: Director of Operations, Middle East and Africa, Lenovo, Shashank Sharma; Marketing Manager, Lenovo Africa, Monique de Klerk; and General Manager, Lenovo Africa, Graham Brown, at the media launch of Lenovo smartphones in Lagos

Nigeria, South Africa to lead Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mobile data growth â&#x20AC;&#x201C;IDC

I

nternational Data Corporation (IDC) has predicted a wave of growth in digital and media content in Africa over the coming months with Nigeria and South Africa expected to lead the way.

IDC, the premier global provider of market intelligence for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets said that the development is expected to happen due to massive acquisition of smartphones and African telecom users becoming more sophisticated in their use of mobile applications.

The global research and mar-

ket advisory firm also identified the ongoing, rapid deployment of 3G networks across the continent and the fledgling expansion of LTE services as key drivers of this growth in content.

LTE, (Long Term Evolution) is a fourth generation standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals.

"African telecom service providers are intensifying their efforts to develop their own application stores and generate local content, with smartphone shipments up more than 40% year on year in 2013," says Spiwe Chireka, program manager for

telecommunications and media at IDC Africa.

"These developments, coupled with the growth in mobile data consumption through smart devices, are setting the scene for the spread and use of smartphones and mobile applications in 2014. Last year marked a turning point for LTE networks in Africa, with the number of commercial deployments in the region increasing to 20, up from four in 2012.

As a result of this accelerated growth, services such as enterprise mobility are set to become more and more commonplace in the year ahead."

BUSINESS | MARITIME 31

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Nigeria to import 2.9m tons of rice Bayo Akomolafe

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Containers stacked at the AP Moller Terminal, Lagos Port Complex, Apapa

Lagos Port security threatened Danger The security of the Lagos Port is being threatened by poor security, negligence and obsolete equipment

Stories by Bayo Akomolafe

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he outdated equipment installed by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) at Lagos Port Complex control tower is threatening the port security and the Lagos channel.

Besides, the movement of ships from the fairway buoy to their prospective berths can no longer be monitored effectively due to negligence.

Investigation revealed that

pilots were using torches and rechargeable lamps for operations at night because all the facilities at the five light houses have broken down completely.

New Telegraph gathered that the operational facilities in the Marine and Harbour Department of the authority were not only in a deplorable state but also below international standard.

According to Engr. Olu Akinsoji, a marine engineer, the NPA does not pay attention to infrastructure - especially the ones in the marine sector, which has an international linkage.

He said Nigeria was lagging behind in the international shipping.

The marine engineer explained that NPA had no solid plan for anything that affects

Tincan Port receives 11,563 units of vehicles

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total of 11,563 units of both used and new vehicles were discharged in January 2014.

The port handled 76,598 units of vehicles in the third quarter of 2013, an increase of 13 per cent over 67,804 units recorded in the same period of 2012.

According to the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) shipping position, a total of 23 vessels came into the port last month with vehicles, 12 of the vessels berthed at Five Star Logistics Terminal while 11 arrived at

Ports and Terminal Multiservice Limited (PTML).

Also, a total of 8,663 units of both used and new vehicles were handled by Five Star Logistics terminal while 2,900 units of unclassified vehicles were handled at PTML. Three thousand seven hundred and fifty three units of new vehicles were discharged at Five Star Logistics Terminal at Tin Can Island Port, while 4,910 used vehicles were discharged at the RoRo terminal in Lagos.

ships, noting that that was the beginning of the problem at the port.

He said: “The Nigerian light houses are all broken down, so vessels coming into Nigeria have to use extra skill, knowledge and all others for identification because all the light houses are not working. We have five of them but they are not working.

"The ideal situation is to have enough equipment to monitor vessels and their cargo, even the personnel on board before they come to our territorial waters.

If we have the right equipment like vessel tracking, vessel identification system we can relate with other neighbouring countries.

But the Harbour Master, Lagos Pilotage District (LPD),

Capt. Eboreime, who denied the allegation said: " The information is wrong. How do we bring in vessels into the country when we don't know the vessels coming in? We have berthing meeting at 10am where we discuss every berthing issues and we give update every week from Monday to Friday in the morning. That is where we discuss shipping business."

"Every vessel that gets to the navigation ends at the fairway buoy; it is only the Nigerian Navy and NPA operational crafts that have the right to go beyond the fairway buoy. No vessel can go beyond the fairway buoys else you will be taken as an enemy; so there is communication and it is international except you have criminal activities.

espite the new Agricultural Transformation Agenda, Nigeria’s rice imports in 2014 are likely to remain at 2013 levels of around 2.9 million tons, to meet an annual consumption demand of around 6 million tons, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said.

In its 2014 report, it noted that the anti-import measures such as high duties, levies and proposed import ban may not work due to smuggling of rice imports from the neighbouring countries.

According to the USDA, illegal rice imports could reach around 100,000 tons in 2014.

It noted that Nigeria’s milled rice production would increase from 2.4 million tons in 2013 to about 3.1 million tons in 2014, an increase of 29 per cent.

Besides, the USDA stressed that yield for rice was down around 22.4 per cent due to floods in 2012, which caused rice prices to increase in the country.

Annual consumption of rice by the country is put at 6 million metric tons.

The USDA in its report explained that the Nigeria was trying to boost local production to become 100 per cent self-sufficient in rice within two years but was failing in this effort due to several factors.

One reason, it added, was the disruptive activities of Boko Haram, which made access to farms and markets risky and expensive.

Also, it stressed that climate change had also hurt Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in rice goal.

Firm acquires 25% stake in Lekki Port

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MA Terminals, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, has signed an agreement with International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) for the acquisition of 25 per cent of the Lekki International Container Terminal Services LFTZ Enterprise (LICTSLE) in Lagos.

ICTSI explained that the agreement was a major milestone that has been achieved since the signing of the subconcession for the terminal in 2012.

The port, it was learnt, would serve as regional transshipment hub in West Africa -allowing the

countries connected with the hub to grow sustainably.

According to an official of the company, Ms Carolin-Carmen Neubauer: “With a straight-line quay of 1200m and a yard area of 66 hectares, this modern facility, which is expected to be fully operational in 2017, provides the market with an annual capacity of 2.5 million TEU. This capacity will serve the Nigerian market in the long run and will ease capacity pressure. The terminal is designed to allow for further capacity growth exceeding the initial 2.5 million TEU. “The advantageous location,

60 kilometres east of metropolitan Lagos, will be combined with state-of-the-art facilities including 14 Post-Panamax cranes,” ICTSI, said the statement.

Also, CGM Group Executive Officer, Farid Salem, said: “We are very pleased this cooperation with ICTSI. This major future investment is undoubtedly a great opportunity for the CMA CGM Group, through its dedicated subsidiary, CMA Terminals, to further increase its presence in Nigeria, a country in continuous development.”

32

BUSINESS | INSURANCE

stalemate The Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Insurers Association are at loggerheads over the latter's database

Stories by Sunday Ojeme

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s the successful implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database gathers momentum and receives commendation from vehicle owners, the conflict generated by the project between the owners, the Nigerian Insurers Association, and the Nigeria Police Force is yet to be fully resolved.

The disagreement stemmed from the allegations by the police that the underwriting umbrella body had infringed its jurisdiction by designing a database scheme similar to its Biometrics Central Motor

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

NIID: Police, insurers yet to resolve ‘copyright’ conflict Registration (BCMR) scheme, which the former said was meant to prevent crime.

Speaking with New Telegraph, the spokesperson of the NIA, Mr. Davies Iyasere, said while the association was already collaborating fully with the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Vehicle Inspection Office for the successful implementation of the scheme, it was still looking for further ways to do same with the police.

He said: “The NIID scheme has been a remarkable success. It has been able to check fake motor vehicle insurance.

We are collaborating with the FRSC and the VIO but still looking for further avenue of

collaborating with the police.

The delay with the police has to do with the allegation that the NIID project is conflicting with their own biometrics initiative.”

The Nigeria Police, through its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, had announced at a press conference in Abuja that it was mandatory for vehicle owners to carry along the BCMR document as part of what they needed to drive on Nigerian roads for security reasons.

But security experts and motorists had kicked against the idea of replicating biometrics documents in the country, stressing that as a security agency mandated to investigate

crime, the police could make use of such documents from other government agencies.

The NIID scheme is a platform to verify the genuineness of insurance policies. It is the only central record of all insured vehicles in Nigeria. As one of the most important tools to ensure that only insured vehicles are driven on the roads, the NIID is meant to be used by the police and other agencies to enforce motor insurance law.

Prior to the implementation of the NIID scheme, over 60 per cent of motor vehicles on Nigerian roads were covered with fake insurance certificates, some of which were issued through genuine licensing offices. It was also difficult for

vehicle owners and the police to identify fake certificates as fraudsters cleverly cloned the documents to appear like original.

However, the NIID scheme has made it possible for the insured to receive a text message on their telephone lines from the insurer after the certificate had been issued to confirm the validity of the insurance document.

Davies, while promising that the NIA will add energy to the successful implementation of the scheme in order to yield its desired result, said the association would stop at nothing to ensure that the conflict with the police is fully resolved as discussions were still ongoing.

We can’t gamble with pension assets –Ideva

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he Managing Director, Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Wilson Ideva, has assured that contributors to the new pension scheme have nothing to worry about.

He spoke against the backdrop of apprehension being nursed in some quarters that the rapidly growing pension assets might go the way of other such projects in the past.

Ideva said that the scheme was perfectly structured against any form of influence that could affect it negatively.

According to him, the Act setting up the scheme has provided enough guidelines to ensure that at no point will anybody or institution be able to gamble with the pension assets.

He added that the guidelines allowed for infrastructure investment must be done through structured instrument.

The contributory pension scheme currently has assets worth over N3 trillion and has also been meeting all financial obligations to beneficiaries since its operations began in 2005.

The Premium Pension boss said: “There is nothing to worry about. There is no cause for alarm for Nigerians. PenCom has enough technocrats. Even the director-general must have certain qualifications to occupy that position."

L-R: Vice Chairman, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, Mr. Olorogun O’tega Emerhor; Chairman of the company, Alhaji Yahaya Sa’ad; Company Secretary, Mrs. Agnes Okiemute Umokoro; Managing Director, Mr. Imokhai Thomas and Group Executive Director, Mrs. Orerhime Emerhor-Iwuagwu, at the company’s 17th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos

Photo: Ade Ajayi

Marine: NIA moves to block premium leakage lUnitrust, others pay N.4bn claims

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he Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has concluded plans to extend the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database to the marine sector as part of measures to block all channels of premium leakages.

This is coming as underwriters have met their claims obligation to marine insurance policyholders as 10 of the operators have paid out over N400 million to those who suffered various forms of losses.

Findings by the New Telegraph revealed that the highest claim of N60.98 million was paid by Unitrust to oil

conglomerate, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) for the losses it suffered in one of its premises.

Besides Unitrust, ADIC Insurance Company Limited also paid out claims to Infinity Tyres and Dana Foods Limited, while Cornerstone and International Energy Insurance met their obligations to Anotech Global Nigeria Limited, Japaul Oil, Total E & P Nigeria Limited, and the Nigeria Police Force respectively.

Details of the payments contained in the current edition of the Nigerian Insurance Indus-

try Digest, further revealed that Lasaco Assurance Plc, Law Union and Rock, Leadway Assurance, Mansard, Mutual Benefits, NEM, Staco, Union Assurance as well as Zenith General Insurance Limited also met their obligations to the policyholders.

The maritime industry, which is unarguably the second highest revenue earner for the country after crude oil, has for long constituted a major problem for underwriters as fake insurance documents were often used to effect multi-million dollar transactions with the

connivance of insiders.

In a bid to cover the industry properly and block premium leakages, operators believe that the NIID scheme that has recorded a remarkable success in vehicle insurance division would be the best option to be deployed.

The spokesperson of the NIA, Mr. Davies Iyasere, said that since members of the association were so far satisfied with the outcome of the NIID as regards vehicle insurance documentation, the next port of call would be the maritime sector.

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

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Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

BUSINESS | ENTREPRENEUR

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36 BUSINESS | ENTREPRENEUR

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METRO

Truth

unday, February 16, 2014

ing, ard way

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‘Queen of robbers’ dies in police custody DEATH The police say an autopsy will clear the air on what killed a notorious female robber

lHer robbery exploits lHow she killed a male robber for raping female victim

Juliana Francis

A

female robbery suspect, Alhaja Faith Balogun, otherwise known as Queen of Robbers in the underworld, has died in the custody of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos State.

She slumped and died on December 17, 2013, a day after she returned from the General Hospital, Ikeja, where she was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. She was also on anti-retroviral.

“Presently, SARS is awaiting an autopsy to be carried out on her, to determine the immediate cause of her death. However, we all knew she was HIV positive. She never hid that fact from anyone,” the source said.

Before she was arrested, Balogun reportedly took part in many robbery cases within and outside Lagos. She was also implicated by some arrested robbery suspects such as Abiodun Ogunjobi alias Godogodo and Goke.

New Telegraph Metro learnt that Balogun claimed to be 37-year-old and had three kids; two girls and a boy from different fathers.

Among her robbery exploits were the attacks of a new generation bank in Ketu, where a pregnant bank manager was killed in October 2008 and the robbery at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

“It was not only the bank manager that was killed in that robbery operation. One policeman and a market woman were also killed,” the source added.

Balogun and Ogunjobi were part of the gang that robbed in different parts

Lagos CP, Umaru Manko

of Lagos on September 9, 2012, shooting, maiming and killing in what was later dubbed ‘Black Sunday.’

The robbers, who stormed Lagos in a Toyota and Armada Sports Utility Vehicles robbed a Bureau de Change and stole bags containing local and foreign currencies.

The robbers killed three policemen and injured seven civilians, including a child.

After she was arrested, police investigations revealed that she was arrested four years ago, and charged to court where she was granted bail.

Not suspecting that she was the notorious female robber on their wanted list, the police re-arrested her for attempting to buy a stolen vehicle.

The police later searched her house if any incriminating material could be found to strengthen their case against her. When nothing was found, the police decided to release her after she had been detained for three months.

But while waiting to be released, a male robbery suspect saw her in one of the offices at SARS and quickly alerted the police that she was a member of a notorious gang.

A police source said, “Immediately the suspect saw her, he said: ‘But this is the Alhaja Faith I have been telling you people about.

“Alhaja Faith just looked at him, fell down and started weeping profusely. She couldn’t deny knowing the suspect. She cried because she knew it was the end of the road for her.”

One of the suspects, identified as Korede, who was also part of the Godogodo gang, had during interrogation told the police Balogun (Alhaja Faith) provided the vehicles used for the robbery.

He said: “In the Black Sunday robbery, Alhaja Faith was at the Bureau de Change with us. She was also with us at the Hajj Camp, Alade, Ketu bank robberies, among others. She used to go on surveillance for our gang before we struck. She also used to get arms for us and was in charge of selling whatever we stole, including vehicles.

“I first met her when I sold a Pajero SUV. I snatched thevehicle at Oshodi.

Alhaja Faith bought the car from me for N200, 000. But only gave me part of the money. This led to a quarrel between us. I later discovered that she was a robber. We teamed up and started working together.”

“She once killed our gang member for raping a female victim during operation. She shot and killed him after we went back to the hotel, where we were supposed to share the loot. Immediately she shot and killed the man, we all took to our heels. She was fearsome!”

Pastor commits suicide in Akwa Ibom Tony Anichebe Uyo

A Ibikunle Amosun) giant strides in the state, but we are appealing to him to consider the plight of our children. This is the only public school we have in the area and we don’t want our children to suffer again. Government should please come to the rescue of children, our future,” he appealed.

When contacted on the phone, the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Segun Odubela, said he was attending to a family matter, promising to call back or reply the text message sent to him.

But he neither called back nor responded through a text message as at press time.

pastor with Living Faith Bible Church (A.K.A Winners Chapel) and a veterinary doctor, Ita Ekere, has committed suicide.

Ekere, a retired director of veterinary services in Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Agriculture, committed suicide in Ekit Itam Akpan Obong community, Itu Local Government area of the state.

New Telegraph Metro gathered that after his retirement, he went into commercial farming and combined it with his pastoral work.

Although Ekere, who had no fewer than 10 staff on his payroll, did not leave any suicide note, one of his employees said the suicide might have been premeditated.

The employee, who craved anonymity, said late last year Ekere had a merriment with the staff, paid them their salary and

instructed them to proceed on Christmas and New Year holiday.

“We found it strange when he instructed us that we should not resume until he recall us. We were also shocked when we heard that he had sold all the products in his farm. He also sold the three Alsatian dogs guarding his premises,” the employee said.

One of Ekere’s church member, Mr. Okon Etim, said the congregation became apprehensive when the deceased in his last church service handed over the church’s property at his disposal to his assistant without any explanation.

“We are still in confusion over his strange behaviour before the news of his suicide filtered into the community,” he said.

The late pastor was in charge of the Mbiaya Uruan community branch of the Winners Chapel as a senior pastor and was also in charge of supervising neigh-

bouring churches in Northern Uruan and East Itam villages in the state.

One of his neighbours, Mr. Friday Ekong, a tricycle repairer, said Ekere’s family members became disturbed when on January 23, he didn’t return home and had his mobile phone switched off.

On January 24, Ekere’s son, Ekong, broke into the business apartment of his father and met his corpse dangling from the ceiling of the office.

The son raised the alarm that attracted neighbours and sympathisers who trooped to the premises.

New Telegraph gathered that policemen from D Division, Itu, examined the corpse before it was taken to the mortuary.

The state police Public Relations Officer, DSP Etim Dickson, who confirmed the incident, said investigations were ongoing, adding that “our findings will be made public.”

38

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

LAW

NEW TELEGRAPH

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FOLUSO OGUNMODEDE JUDICIARY Editor

foluso.ogunmodede@newtelegraphonline.com

FG’s underfunding of judiciary is threat to justice delivery system -Adekoya }p-40 & 41

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Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

L

AWYERS, including their umbrella body- the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), at the weekend, described as ‘skewed and unfair’, the modalities adopted by the Federal Government in choice of delegates to the proposed national conference.

To them, unless the process and modalities employed by the government was reviewed, the confab may hit the rocks as the NBA with over 100,000 members, scattered across 104 branches nationwide was mandated to produce only one of the 492 delegates that would make the proposed confab .

The lawyers urged government not only to rescind its decision barring prospective delegates from discussing the nation’s unity but review the ‘skewed’ and ‘unfair’ process that ceded to them only one slot to the confab.

The Federal Government had on January 30, approved 492 delegates that would participate in the proposed national conference, billed to commence next month.

According to the unveiled list, President Goodluck Jonathan will nominate 46 of the 492 delegates, comprising 37 elder statesmen from each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), six representatives from the judiciary as well as the chairman, deputy chairman and secretary of the conference.

Besides , governors of the 36 states, will nominate 108 delegates, while the nation’s five political parties- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP) and Accord Party (AP), will be required to send 10 delegates, comprising two nominees each.

But only one delegate was approved for the NBA with its over 100,000 members.

Apparently miffed, Jubrin Okutepa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) simply said, "the modalities show the intention of the government. It is bound to fail".

Okutepa went on : “The system of choosing the delegates is faulty. NBA is allotted only one delegate when there are well over one hundred thousand lawyers in the country.

"Issues to be discussed are legal and lawyers are central to such discussion, expired politicians are going to have several slots. Elders too, will have several slots, how many youths are participating?

"There is nothing they will say that Nigerians have not heard before. What we need is leadership; we need social amenities; we need to reduce waste in government”.

Another Senior Advocate, Chief Adeniyi Akintola said, "you are giving NBA one slot, NUJ-two slots, Guild of

National confab

Lawyers fault FG on delegates’ list As preparations for the proposed National Conference gear up, lawyers have raised an alarm over what they described as ‘skewed’ and ‘unfair’ mechanism, adopted by the Federal Government to shut out the Bar. They told TUNDE OYESINA their grouse

Wali, SAN

We want to place on record our dissatisfaction with the list of conference delegates, particularly, when put against representations from some other organizations and bodies Editors -two slots, NAWOJ -two slots, can you imagine all these, I don't think our leaders read and this is the bane of the society.

"When you have that type of composition, it boils down to the fact that the entire exercise will end in futility, no issue will attract seventy-five percent support in this country.

"They did not do proper reading, they don't understand the political arithmetic and configuration of the country."

Akintola was echoed by the lawyers’ umbrella body, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), which maintained that the Bar would lose faith in the confab as the exercise may become null and void should the government refuse to make amends.

In a statement, its President, Mr.

Raji, SAN

I am of the opinion that where other groups are being asked to bring one or two delegates, lawyers should be asked to bring at least ten delegates Okey Wali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria said: “The NBA received with utmost disappointment the statement credited to Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, requesting the NBA to nominate one delegate to the upcoming national conference.

"We want to place on record our dissatisfaction with the list of conference delegates, particularly, when put against representations from some other organizations and bodies".

"The NBA is a membership-based professional and legal organization of all lawyers in Nigeria with 104 branches across the 36 states and Abuja, organized into various practice sections, fora, institutes and committees.

“The NBA speaks for the legal profes-

sion, that is, the Bar and the Bench.

"To demonstrate our seriousness and commitment to a successful national conference, we had on January 7, 2014 set up the NBA national conference committee under the chairmanship of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as the Secretary (the only committee or forum or section of the NBA with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as secretary).

"In view of the fact that so many legal issues will be addressed at the national conference, it is only fitting and proper for the umbrella association of all lawyers in Nigeria, the NBA, to have more than one delegate at the national conference. This is an area we are supposed to possess enormous expertise and will definitely add a lot of value to the process. We do not want to think that our expertise is neither appreciated nor welcome.

"This is not glory seeking, this is about adding value to the process, because the good of this country, is the good of the Bar and so we are determined to give whatever is needed to make our country great.

We do not believe that the single slot given to the NBA will be impactive enough, and so, we request that you, please, reconsider the one slot offer to the Nigerian Bar Association, as we regrettably will be unable to accept that offer.

"We hold it in your favour, that this may very well be an oversight, and that the Federal government will have no difficulty in revisiting the issue".

Ahmed Raji, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria said, “ practically speaking, I think the Federal Government has tried to bring in all shades of opinion from the religious circle, ethnic nationalities, regions, key industry operators represented.

“I am of the opinion that where other groups are being asked to bring one or two delegates, lawyers should be asked to bring at least ten delegates”.

40 LAW

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

FGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s underfunding of justice delivery system The judiciary is being funded through the Budget Office of the Minister of Finance.

What implications do you think this will have on the justice delivery system?

The concept of Separation of Powers envisages a level of independence for the Judiciary to ensure that it secures sufficient detachment to act as a check on the other arms of government. Equally, given that the Federal Government has committed itself to the Rule of Law, it is therefore expected that it would abide by the provisions of the Constitution. It has been argued that by virtue of Section 84(2), (4) and (7), the amounts standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund (consisting of salaries, allowances and recurrent expenditure of judicial officers) are to be charged upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund, thereby exempting such funds from the President's Appropriation Bill that is laid before the National Assembly.

Instructively, Section 81(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that "The amount standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation shall be paid directly to the National Judicial Council for disbursement to the heads of the Courts established for the Federation and the states under Section 6 of this Constitution." Only funds relating to capital expenditure may be subject to appropriation.

You would also recall that Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court had, while relying on the provisions of Section 81(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), ordered that funds in the Consolidated Revenue Fund, due to the judiciary should be paid to the heads of court. This will guarantee some level of fiscal autonomy for the Judiciary. I have no doubt that the government will take immediate steps to not only increase funding of the Judiciary, but to ensure that the Judiciary secures the requisite independence to carry out its constitutional mandate. This will facilitate justice delivery.

This year alone, the Judiciary got N65 billion from the national budget. Is this a good bargain? I mean, how would you see this as complying with Section 88 (7) of the Constitution , which gives the judiciary first line charge funding?

Your question highlights two critical issues, namely underfunding of the Judiciary and securing fiscal autonomy for the Judiciary through the first-line charge model. While relative fiscal autonomy of the Judiciary has been secured by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as recently reiterated by the ruling of Justice Adeniyi Ademola, underfunding in the judiciary remains a present danger.

Funke Adekoya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is aspiring to take over from the outgoing President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Okey Wali, SAN come July. She spoke with Judiciary Editor, FOLUSO OGUNMODEDE, on judiciary, the ongoing reforms of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Maryam Mukhtar, Same-Sex Prohibition Act, State Police, jungle justice and sundry issues.

The progressive decline in the funding of the judiciary is clearly a threat to the justice delivery system

Adekoya, SAN

You would recall that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar had raised this serious issue at the swearing-in of new Senior Advocates in September last year. The progressive decline in the funding of the judiciary is clearly a threat to the justice delivery system, even while conceding that other concerns are competing for the limited resources available to government. A situation where funding for the Judiciary declined from N95 billion in 2010, N85 billion in 2011, N75 billion in 2012, N67 billion in the 2013, to N65 billion this year is clearly worrisome. The implication is that within a span of four years, funding of the judiciary declined

by N30 Billion even when the number of judges is increasing, as is their workload. Global trends of automation among other things require that the Judiciary should receive more funds. This trend

should be reversed urgently to enable the judiciary discharge its justice delivery mandate and secure our democracy.

The Federal Government is proposing the return of toll gates as a way of sustaining development. What is your view?

I believe that the return of toll gates may not be unconnected with government's new policy thrust towards Public Private Partnership where the private

A situation where funding for the Judiciary declined from N95 billion in 2010, N85 billion in 2011, N75 billion in 2012, N67 billion in the 2013, to N65 billion this year is clearly worrisome

sector developer will recover its investment through the collection of tolls from road users. The speed with which government needs to provide new and replace decaying infrastructure such as the road and rail network makes public / private sector partnership the only viable option as government faces the challenge of conserving and channeling limited resources to areas of need such as health and education.

Recent history, however, teaches us that government needs to ensure that such agreements are properly and carefully negotiated, and contain a carefully structured rate, review mechanism which ensures an equitable return on the private sector investment whilst protecting the consumer from unjustified toll gate increases.

2014 is a crucial year for the nation especially the judiciary. Reason: the CJN is retiring.

LAW

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

judiciary is threat to â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Adekoya There is also the NBA elections. What role do you think the Bar and the Bench would play in the electioneering year?

The Chief Justice of Nigeria has shown exemplary leadership since her inauguration. Her Lordship has been highly reform-minded and focused.

Her battle against judicial corruption has been legendary. When she completes her tour of duty, it is expected that she will retire to enjoy her well-deserved rest. Her Lordship's place in the annals of Nigeria's Judiciary is firmly secured.

I envisage a seamless transition as has been the tradition with the Bench, even as it continues to carry out its constitutional duty of justice delivery.

Also, the Bench is essentially shielded from the Bar politics, while the inevitable rapport between the Bar and the Bench remains intact, with ample room for improvement.

As for the Bar, it is expected that members will play by the rules; the Bar must show good example to the rest of the country. It is hoped that the disputations that attended the last general elections will not recur. Instructively, the current NBA President, Mr. Okey Wali SAN, has initiated several reforms that should put the Bar on a growth trajectory. If he is able to bequeath to the NBA a free, fair and transparent election process devoid of rancour and acrimony, this will be his greatest legacy to the profession.

INEC is proposing external voting in 2015. To what extent do you think this would assist the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s democracy and the rule of law?

I believe that every Nigerian should have a right to determine who gets elected to public offices in Nigeria irrespective of the fact that he or she resides outside the shores of Nigeria. A sizeable proportion of these Diaspora Nigerians are economic migrants who left the country very reluctantly. To also deny them the right to vote would seem like double jeopardy. Indeed, in this age of the Internet, some of them are even more aware of the issues that dominate the Nigerian socio-economic and political landscape than their compatriots resident in Nigeria. At any rate, other countries have shown that "external" or Diaspora Voting is possible. To the extent that it enables us to elect the best candidates for each office while allowing these Diaspora Nigerians to exercise their franchise and perform their civic duty as citizens, it should be encouraged. However, all loopholes must be plugged to ensure that it does not become an avenue for electoral malfeasance.

The U.S Government and the Church of England want Nigeria to reverse its decision on same sex marriage, what do you think the Federal Government should do in this circumstance?

The basics are that the law is to represent the social morals of the society. The social morals of many African societies of which Nigeria is one , is that marriage is a union between families and the families are represented by a man on one side and a woman on the other side. And that is the society within which we live

today and the view of the majority of Nigerians is that a marriage is the union of two families ,represented by a man on one side and a woman on the other side. The fruit of that relationship is children. And that is why in every marriage , there is always the prayer that such marriage will be fruitful, and the fruit of the womb as the result. So , I totally support the Federal Government in putting its foot down that it will not be forced to be stampeded by other countries to accept a culture that is alien to us. Its rejection of same-sex legislation, is an attempt to say that this is not our culture. Marriage Act clearly defines marriage, and under the definition of marriage, same-sex marriage cannot even happen not to talk of being accommodated. Therefore, same-sex marriage is a non-issue that should not even be given attention . But my worry is an attempt by some people to take the law into their own hands by now taking actions against people they perceived as homosexuals and lesbians . Irrespective of our sexual orientation, everybody is entitled to protection under the law and trial according to law. So , I support the legislators even though I do not think it was absolutely necessary because I think we have criminal code and penal code that can deal with this issue of same-sex marriage . That is why I am worried that the police may not be able to protect the people from those that may want to resort to self-help by taking the laws into their own hands.

What roles do you think the law enforcement agents must play in its enforcement?

The enforcement of the law by the law enforcement agents, that to me, is one of the major problems because the way the law is even being drafted and it is something I would have wished the professionals were involved in at the point of drafting . It is so wide ranging that if I see in the street the way we Nigerians will react to when two men hug themselves or two women hug themselves; it is possible for someone to say it is an act of homosexuality or lesbianism. That is where I see the problem. There are so many issues that affect the

Adekoya, SAN

41

citizenry, which I would want us to concentrate upon such as the level of poverty, education and unemployment. For instance, two men hugging themselves in the public may be misconstrued even the way players hug themselves on the pitch may be seen as an act of homosexuality and that becomes an issue.

Do we then need additional laws to tackle this issue especially as demonstrated in the mindless torture of the two Ejigbo women, allegedly for stealing pepper by a vigilante group a couple of weeks ago in Lagos?

I do not think we need additional legislation as there are more than enough laws in our statute book to protect women , children and even men against jungle justice, against the mob. But the truth of the matter is that people see that they are not getting justice, nothing will happen and now tend to take laws into their own hands.

And once a mob gather together, no one can control them because the identity of the individual is lost and many horrible things will happen. In fact , that video clip of the gory incident that went viral on the internet, came into my box, I refused to open it because I feel, for someone to stand and film it, shows a lot of inhumanity to the other person. People determine that you are guilty whereas we have laws that can determine that. I support all the efforts to bring these people to justice especially since one of the Ejigbo victims has allegedly died . It shows that we need to beef up our security because if something like this happens in a civilized country, before calling the police, they would have been there. It is very clear that we do not have enough policemen to protect the citizenry and that is why all these things are happening. If the government finds it difficult to provide security, things like this will continue to happen because if people feel they cannot get justice they will say: I will give myself justice, they will take laws into their hands.

Do we then suggest community policing?

Well, it depends on the definition you give to community policing as it differs from one person to the other.

If you talk about the State Police, I will say I have had cause to speak on this issue at different fora in the past and to say we are practicing federalism, then federalism allows for State Police. The issues are as some people will say : Are we ripe for it? Are we ripe for the state police? But the state with the largest viable resources should take that up by providing for the take-off and the state with a lesser population will have a lesser burden of providing. In federal countries , we have federal police as well. For instance, In the United States of America, there is state police , city police even university police. But as for the community policing, some of these vigilante groups , will tell you that is what they do. That is not what I mean by community policing, my ideal community policing is different.

What would you say about the All Progressives Congressâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (APC) directive that its members at the National Assembly should frustrate executive Bills ,especially the 2014 Budget forwarded to the National Assembly?

The APC themselves have countered it , saying the directive was misunderstood. The party insisted that that was not what it meant. Also on cross-carpeting, the constitution provides for a procedure under which a member can vacate his or her seat at the National Assembly. And I think the constitution is very clear on this matter that a legislator can move from one party to another without necessarily losing his or her seat only if the constitutional requirements were met.

42 LAW

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Ozekhome seeks legal ‘teeth’ for confab

Mike Ozekhome, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), is an activist lawyer. He bares his mind on the proposed national conference , its limitation and the challenges before the prospective delegates. CAJETAN MMUTA met him.

Ozekhome, SAN

A

LTHOUGH he believes that the proposed national conference billed to commence next month,would solve the socio-political and economic problems bedeviling the nation if it is supported by stakeholders, Chief Mike Ozekhome , a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has faulted President Goodluck Jonathan’s inability to initiate a Bill that would give the convocation of the confab a legal baking.

He said: “The first challenge which is one major hurdle that the conference will have to cross, is that as at today, there is no legislation backing the convocation of this national conference. The more rational thing would have been that there will be a Bill before the National Assembly by Mr President which will give the structure for holding the national conference.

On the controversy trailing the national conference, Ozekhome said: “No matter the shortcomings of the national conference as we have it today, we must give kudos to President Goodluck Jonathan for initiating it; for being able to brave the odds and decide that Nigerians must talk .

But I am ashamed that suddenly, some campaigners for the national conference even for a sovereign national conference, I am ashamed to see most of them turn their back to it because of political advantages to say that we don't want a conference’’.

On the grey areas, he said: “I congratulate President Jonathan for having the temerity to organize the conference, but let me begin to point out some problem areas that he needs to look at for us to have a formidable and successful national conference, otherwise we may be treating a serious ailment like leprosy with medicine meant for eczema or headache.

“The first challenge, there is no legislation backing the convocation; the only thing Mr. President has done is strictly by him and on him alone as a person and the presidency. It could be argued though and I think this is the argument the advisers of Mr President have given to him, that Section 5 of the Constitution gives executive powers of Nigeria to Mr. President. Having a national conference is

part of the ingredients that will lead to peace, good governance and stability and security in Nigeria.

That is hurdle number one.

On the N7billion earmarked for the confab, he said “the second challenge the national conference will have is, where will the N7 billion for the project come from? The national budget is still before the National Assembly and with the tug of war of filibustering or not filibustering, numerical strength or no numerical strength, between the PDP and the APC, with the Labour Party, APGA being interested parties, nobody knows when the budget is going to be passed. And if it is not passed, where will Mr President get the money to carry out this confab?

“But I want to believe like other people that the N7billion is a small amount for us to talk and bring about peace to Nigeria, after all that is the amount that some Permanent Secretaries and some deputy directors have been found to have pocketed in Nigeria. So, I do not have problem with that amount at all because it is from that amount that stipends will be paid to all the participants who, of course, for the three months that the conference will take place, will have to leave their businesses to be in Abuja”. On the confab’s three months duration, Ozekhome said “the duration of this conference which has been put for three months, will be inadequate . From my own experience, as a member of the National Political Conference in 2005, as the chairman of the Sub-Committee on Civil Society and the Media, from my experience of that confer-

No matter the shortcomings of the national conference as we have it today, we must give kudos to President Goodluck Jonathan for initiating it

ence where I was later elected as the spokesman of the entire South South delegates, three months which was also earmarked for that conference was definitely not enough. We had to write for an extension to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo because, the conference was to be convened as a plenary session.

“The first one to three weeks would be used as plenary session, debating the modalities for the conference of which and what committees should be set up? What will be the object of each of the committees? The committees would need at least one month to sit down and do a clean job, two months already gone. Then the work of the committees will be brought back to the plenary session of the conference, each committee will bring out the items and each item will be debated one by one, and a conference that would have about 496 members, each person will want to speak because any one who is not allowed to speak will say the conference has a hidden agenda.

By the time about 496 people are debating several issues, you will need about one and a half or two months for that. And after the debate and agreements are reached by these committees, they will again go back to the plenary session for voting for each of the committees’ findings item by item. How do you use three months to do all these?

On method of voting, he said “Mr President said you must have a consensus on each subject matter.

Consensus? Are we ever going to have a consensus on the issue of fiscal federalism, resource control, devolution of power from the center to the units, if we are not going to have that consensus how do we vote? Mr President and his people said 75 per cent of the people have to vote for each item to be agreed upon, that is a tall order. There are two problems with 75 voting strength. One, some minorities from the Niger Delta who have been clamouring for resource control and who their northern counterparts have been telling to even show gratitude to the 13 per cent already given to them by way of revenue allocation, it will look like climbing mount Everest for them to be able to get 75 per cent of members of the conference to vote that we should have resource control. I can't see it happening. Problem number two, is that we may end up with having a radical minority, against a helpless majority. Let us assume that 74 per cent have voted for an issue, that we want this issue resolved this way and the 74 per cent is one per cent short of the 75 per cent needed to pass this issue, it means that the voting of that issue has been defeated and if the voting of that issue is defeated, it means that 26 per cent which is the silent but not tyrannical minority have carried the day against 74 per cent majority just because the majority was one per cent less than the 75 per cent required.

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Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

38 Years After Murtala Muhammed's Assassination

Day Murtala Muhammed became history Some said he gave himself away to the conspirators by opening his flanks in an unnecessary show of patriotism. Others are of the opinion that his style of governance was a practical demonstration of how leaders should be close to the people.

GABRIEL AKINADEWO writes on the events of February 13, 1976, when General Murtala Ramat Muhammed was assassinated.

The car in whch Muhammed was killed

I

t was the fourth coup in the country.

And it was executed on a Friday. Thirty eight years ago, at Obalende, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria's fourth Commanderin-Chief, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, was assassinated. It was a black Friday. Born in 1938, he was 38 when his life was cut short by bullets. And this Thursday is the 38th anniversary of that bloody coup.

Colonel Bukar Sukar Dimka of the Nigerian Army Physical Training Corps was the leader of the conspirators. His major grouse was the way he was left in the cold when some of his colleagues were promoted. He found a soul mate in the then Minister of Defence, Major General Illiya D. Bisalla.

Bisalla was Muhammed's course mate and the then Chief of Army Staff, LtGeneral Theophilus Danjuma, was his (Bisalla's) junior officer when he was a General Officer Commanding (G.O.C.).

In the promotion which was previously done by the Army High Command after General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown, Muhammed was promoted a full General, Danjuma, a Lieutenant-General and Bisalla, a Major-General. Bisalla was livid.

Even if Bisalla was going to accept the

leadership of Muhammed, he was not ready to answer 'sir' to Danjuma, who was hitherto, his junior in rank.

So, the machinery was set in motion and Dimka was chosen as the arrowhead. In fact, his house was used as the meeting point by the coupists. Obviously, their first target was Muhammed and they knew they were going to succeed in killing the Kano-born General, given his low-profile status.

Dimka

Everyday, since July 29, 1975, when he became the Head of State, Muhammed would leave his residence for the office in his official black Mercedes Benz saloon car, accompanied by his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa, his orderly and driver.

The only sign of protection was the pistol with the orderly. No convoy, no outrider, no military police personnel, no siren, no security. Obviously, the coupists

Bisalla

had three main targets: Muhammed, his deputy (Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters) General Olusegun Obasanjo and Danjuma.

Major I.B. Rabo was detailed to take care of target one. Lt. Usman Dauda was mandated to remove Obasanjo from the surface of the earth and 2nd Lt. Lawrence Garba was to lead the death squad that would exterminate Danjuma and some of his loyalists.

Before 7 a.m on February 13, 1976, the coupists had already been dispatched to their various locations.

The next thing Dimka did that morning was to go to the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) compound in Ikoyi from where he would announce the overthrow of Muhammed. The station was just a stone throw to the spot Muhammed was to be assassinated.

His visit was to make sure he had enough men on the ground before making his broadcast. Satisfied, he left for George Street beside the filling station with his two soldier-bodyguards to monitor the arrival of Muhammed's car. He stood beside his Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) with Major Rabo.

Captain Malachy Parvwang had alCONTINUED ON PAGE 47

44 Investigation

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

38 Years After Murtala Muhammed's Assassination

Was Muhammed a hero or villain?

General Murtala Ramat Muhammed died at 38 on February 13, 1976. In this report, ISIOMA MADIKE tries to recapture his unique life and what many consider his outstanding regime in his short but dynamic 200 days in government.

M

urtala Ramat Muhammed meant different things to different people. For many Nigerians, he paid the ultimate price for a nation he fought for, and is considered a national hero. To others, the late General represents one of the greatest tragedies of Nigeira, a measure of the extent to which the nation has been unlucky with leaders much of its history.

He was assassinated on Friday, February 13, 1976, the eve of a Valentine’s Day, when lovers were perfecting plans on how to surprise their mates.

Muhammed’s sudden death left many Nigerians groping for explanations. The nation would not recover - not even 38 years after the tragedy. Before that incident, Nigerians very rarely shed tears for their leaders, but all that changed in Muhammed’s episode as he evoked so much emotion and pity. His loyal and devoted ADC, Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa died with him. He defended his boss to the very last and remained the first in Nigeria’s history to die while protecting a Head of State. He hailed from Ondo town in Ondo State. His orderly, Staff Sergeant Otuwe was lucky.

Not so for driver, Sergeant Adamu Minchika, who was also killed. Otuwe continued in the army until the late 1980s and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer. His last known unit in the 1980s was said to be the Second Mechanised Division Garrison headquarters. Also killed during the period was the then Governor of Kwara State, Col. Ibrahim Taiwo, and a number of other officers. Taiwo was abducted, shot dead and his body found much latter in a shallow grave outside Ilorin.

His government and attributes Many held the opinion that Muhammed had certain attributes, which distinguished him from many young men of his age both inside and outside the Armed Forces. He was seen to be tough, dogged, and fearless.

He was said to be frank to a fault and like all those who are cut out

Muhammed

for greatness, Muhammed was, according to informed opinions, constant and unchangeable in his resolves. Whenever there was contradiction in his dictates, he readily acknowledged his faults with dignity and without any show of fawning regret.

He became the first Nigerian ruler to dispense with the colonial “madness” of long convoy of escort vehicles with armed escorts who often caused traffic nuisance on the roads. He left his defense in the ‘army’ of people he ruled and continued to move around without armed escorts.

It was during one of those unguarded movements that he was ambushed and killed.

He became Head of State and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces on July 29, 1975. As soon as he assumed office, all the 12 military governors under General Yakubu Gowon were sacked and retired, and a probe ordered into their conduct in office. Ten of the 12 governors were found to have illegally enriched themselves while in government, prompting Muhammed to declare that they had “betrayed the trust and confidence reposed in them by the nation, and betrayed the ethics of their profession.”

Muhammed did not stop

Muhammed’s sudden death left many Nigerians groping for explanations

there as he excluded the new military governors from the Supreme Military Council (SMC) as a way of curbing their excessive powers. This action, in itself, achieved greater separation of powers, which the people applauded.

After describing his government as a “corrective regime” that would tackle the corruption that was increasingly infecting government institutions, Muhammed began the reforms that made him perhaps, the most popular, people-oriented leader ever in the history of Nigeria.

To restore public confidence in the Federal Government, he unleashed an onslaught against public sector corruption and inefficiency on a scale, perhaps, never seen before in Africa. This led to a wave of dismissals and retirement of over 10,000 public officials who were summarily dismissed or retired on grounds of inefficiency or corruption.

They were dismissed without benefits. The purge affected the civil service, judiciary, police and armed forces, diplomatic service, public corporations, and universities. Some officials were brought to trial on charges of gross misconduct in office.

Muhammed also began the demobilisation of 10,000 troops from the swollen ranks of the armed forces. Twelve of the 25 ministerial posts on the new Federal Executive Council went to civilians, but the cabinet was secondary to the SMC. He initiated a comprehensive review of the Third National Development Plan, singling out inflation as the greatest danger to the economy. He was determined to reduce the money supply that had been swollen by government expenditures on public works.

He also announced that his government would encourage the rapid expansion of the private sector into areas dominated by public corporations.

He reappraised foreign policy, stressing a ‘Nigeria First’ orientation in line with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) price guidelines that were to the disadvanCONTINUED ON PAGE 46

Muhammed and figure 13 jinx Emeka Obasi

B

arley 13 years into Nigeria's status as a Federal Republic, the cycle of bloodletting continued to rotate. And it was the 13th day of February.

General Murtala Muhammed, Head of State and Commander -in-Chief of the Armed Forces, was on his way to work that morning in 1976, when some of his troops turned their guns on him.

February 13, 1976 was not a Night of the Long Knives. It was not a red letter day either for many Nigerians. Everything red about the day was blood. The tale was not all about Muhammed and Lagos. Ilorin also shed blood. Kwara State Governor, Col. Ibrahim Taiwo, was not spared. Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Head of State, Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa, died with his boss. Army Ordnance boss, Col. Reys Dumuje, also saw red. Mistaken for General Olusegun Obasanjo, hot lead was pumped into his system.

Death eluded him.

General Muhammed was 38 when he died. His first son, Zakari, was 10 at the time.

On August 13, 1993,the young man was shot dead, allegedly, by a friend. The younger Muhammed was 28. It was indeed a bad year for the family as they had earlier lost the elderly Mama Sariyu Akanke Lanval.

That was also the year one of Muhammed's daughters lost her husband in a road crash.

The deceased, a pilot, was Joseph Tarka's son.

The spot where Mohammed was assassinated on February 13, was just about the same area where Brigadier Zakari Maimalari was killed in 1976.

Zakari was indeed named after Maimalari by the then Major Murtala Muhammed.

On October 13, 1993, the late Zakari Mohammed's friend appeared in court, charged with culpable homicide. Till date, the puzzle surrounding the demise of the promising first son of the General has not been unravelled. His siblings Aisha, Fatima, Risqua and Zeliha may still be waiting for justice.

Some of those tried over the February 13 plot had something to do with the number 13.

Compol. Joseph Dechi Gomwalk was born on April 13, 1935. One of General Yakubu Gowon's younger brothers, Isaiah, an army Captain, bagged a 15-year- sentence.

When Capt. Gowon passed on in 2010, his Nigeria Military School (NMS), Zaria 1966 mates chose November 13 to put up an obituary advert in the papers.

One of the NMS'66 boys, Ibrahim Rabo, was part of the 1976 group. Another, Helpus Dimka, shared same surname as the man who led Lt. William Seri to ambush Muhammed. In Zaria, Helpus Dimka's number was NMF 130. Remove the last digit.

What you get is 13.

Exactly 13 years after Muhammed's departure, on Monday February 13,1989, President Ibrahim Babangida dissolved the 28-member Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC). Babangida was one of the young Colonels that enthroned Muhammed in 1975.

He was also active on February 13, 1976. Sent to flush out Bukar Dimka from Radio Nigeria Ikoyi, Babangida fished out his target but failed to smoke him. Much later, some fellow officers called it an act of bravado for confronting Dimka without arms.

The February 13, 1989 dissolution of the AFRC by Babangida threw up one Brigadier Abdusalam Abubakar. Like Muhammed, he commanded an army division. The newcomer was one of the 19 members of the new-look AFRC, and Abubakar had something to do with 13.

Born on June 13, 1942, he would later become Head of State a few weeks after the man who owed much of his wealth to Murtala Muhammed, Chief Moshood Abiola, died in detention.

General Obasanjo stepped into Muhammed's shoes on February 13, 1976. Most of those who were executed following the coup were from Plateau State.

The Balogun of Owu returned to power in 1999. In 1976, Obasanjo's predecessor was killed on the 13th. In 1999, Obasanjo's predecessor, was born on the 13th. So, on November 13, 2006, Obasanjo descended on the Plateau.

Governor Joshua Dariye was impeached with impunity.

And that was 13 years after the death of Murtala Muhammed's first son.

Red blood flowed on the 13th.

It began with the coup of 1976.

Many more Nigerians were executed for plotting a coup in 1990. And their day of annihiliCONTINUED ON PAGE 45

Investigation 45

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

38 Years After Murtala Muhammed's Assassination

He was a lovely dad, says Fatimah Muhammed-Yesufu, Daughter Mrs. Fatima Muhammed-Yesufu is the third daughter of the late Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed. A graduate of Accountancy from Cardiff University in London, she was nine years when her father was assassinated in 1976. She tells ISIOMA MADIKE that though she was young when the incident happened, she could still recall the love her dad showered to his family

I

t is 38 years now that your father, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, was assassinated in an aborted coup. How old were you then?

I was a child then; just nine years old.

What memory of your father can you still recall?

Well, a lot of them, even though I was just a child then.

As busy as he was, he had time for the family. Every Sunday, he will take us to the Federal Palace Hotel, and places like Ikoyi Club among other places. I also remember that every evening, he had to talk to all of us, and in the morning, he would come down-

Muhammed and Figure 13 jinx C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 4

ation was fixed for the 13th.

On September 13, 1990, the second phase of executions following the Gideon Orkar coup, took place under the cover of darkness in Ogun State.

The answer may not be in us. But indeed, there is something between Murtala Muhammed and number 13.

When he picked his Supreme Military Council in 1975, there were 13 army officers.

Among them was Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, who was in his 13th year as an officer.

Danjuma was commissioned in 1962, Muhammed was ADC to a Yoruba, Dr. Moses Majekodunmi, Administrator of the Western Region, that same year. The young officer's fiancé was a Yoruba lady named Ajoke.

In the next 13 years,1975, Muhammed became Head of State. His fiancé had become Mrs Mohammed and assumed the position of First Lady. Murtala chose a Yoruba ADC. Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa and both of them died on February 13.

stairs to have breakfast with us.

He was a lovely dad.

Where were you when the incident happened?

We were all in school. At my age, one doesn’t seem to understand what death is. That happened to me. I thought he went somewhere and would return in a while, something like that, until I came of age before I realised what had happened to me and the entire family. I believe his death would have more impact on my elder sister because at her age then, I believe she would understand better than any other person in the house except my mum.

How were you able to cope with the vacuum created by his death?

Well, the fact is that no one teaches you how to cope and adapt at such circumstances. It is just something that with time, things will naturally take care of itself. Again, when you experience something like that, a lot

of people will be around you, talking and petting you and trying to take your attention away from the realities of the time. At the same time, one realises at a point that your father is no longer there; you feel bad because of the things you would need from him. But then, life continues.

The family just had to move on.

Have his friends been supportive since his death?

Like I told you earlier, as a nine-year-old, I was not really familiar with the friends he had.

A lot of people visited and tried to support in their own little way, but I could not point to any as his intimate friend then because I was still young when he died.

How did all these affect your mother?

My mother has always been a very strong woman; she has been playing the role of both father and mother perfectly.

Though, it has not been easy and sometimes you feel, oh, how

Muhammed, Ajoke, Aishat and Zakari

I wish he’s around! There are some peculiar things that only fathers can handle. All the same, my mother has played a good role in bringing us up without my father. She did everything she could to make sure we get the best of education in spite of that circumstance.

You look so much like your father.

Do you usually get embarrassed when people tell you that you have the looks of your father?

Oh, I am used to it now; a lot of people say that to me and I just feel good with it. It makes me proud to know that I look like my loving father. In fact, I get good reactions often from people who know my father or have read much about him. I can’t remember any bad reaction whatsoever from any quarters.

What class were you when your father was killed?

I was in primary two then.

What is the special thing you missed from him?

A lot! You know at times there are things you would only like to confide in your father. That fatherly thing, you know; I missed his fondness and fatherly advice. Sometimes I assume it’s all a dream; that he will return back home someday.

How has the government been helpful to the family?

Well, government at some point came to help, especially in our education. The Foundation has also been wonderful. It has been very supportive.

Muhammed was a disciplinarian, hero – Ex-military administrator, Col. Dungs

Isioma Madike

F

or the former military Administrator of Delta State, Col. John Dungs, “the name of General Murtala Muhammed will ever remain green in the minds of not only Nigerians but also members of the international community. He was able to lay a strong foundation for Nigeria’s socioeconomic development and quickly shot the country into global limelight before his unceremonious exit.”

Dungs said Muhammed was not only extra-ordinarily courageous in terms of decision making but also highly focused and determined to achieve set objectives. These rare qualities

Dungs

in him, Dungs said, manifested when he initiated the idea that set the machinery in motion for

the movement of the Nigerian federal capital from Lagos to Abuja.

He said Muhammed’s uncommon spirit made him to adopt a posture unheard of in Nigeria’s foreign policy considered in some quarters as antagonistic to Western powers. A case in point, he said, was Muhammed’s decision to support the communist People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), one of the factional rebel groups in Angola’s 1975 independence crisis against the U.S.-backed UNITA. Dungs, however, noted that though Muhammed’s administration was cut short, he was able to transform the country within a very short period. “Mu-

hammed was a disciplinarian.

His style of governance was a departure from corrupt and sectionalist tendencies of past leaders and that is why he was able to achieve a lot within a short period. As a 2nd lieutenant in the Nigerian Army then, I knew him as somebody who was target-driven and achievementoriented and would not take personal credit for the success recorded. Instead, he would attribute it to the members of the units under his command. This is why many Nigerians regard him as a true hero. And I think the present crop of leaders at the helm of affairs should emulate him as they govern this country.

This is the best honour to one of our heroes past,” Dungs said.

46 Investigation

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38 Years After Murtala Muhammed's Assassination

He was a good soldier... an Igbo hater –Achuzia Col. Joseph Achuzia (rtd.), now ‘Diokpa’ meaning eldest man, in Igbo language, is a living witness to all that transpired before, during and after the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. He tells DOMINIC ADEWOLE that General Murtala Muhammed generated enough hatred to exterminate the Igbo race during the war and as such could never have been said to be a hero in that part of the country.

G

eneral Murtala Muhammed was alleged to be the mastermind of the now famous Asaba and Onitsha massacres during the Nigerian civil war. Could this have been true?

What a soldier does, at a moment of action in battle, is completely different from what hitherto he would have done if he was not to be in a battle front. As such, we always find it difficult to be called upon to discuss issues that might put the character and person of a celebrated soldier in jeopardy by making adverse comments that do not really represent the person; reason being that Muhammed as a person, within the context of Nigeria, was a celebrated soldier. He made wearing of uniform a thing of pride, but going into his activities for which he wore that uniform can only be seen from the opposite side, a villain.

But, was he not a hero as being viewed by many Nigerians?

To avoid being called or looked at as a villain or sell-out, he had to perform his duty to the letter by generating enough hatred towards Ndigbo to enable him perform his duty. Whether those things were done willingly or unwillingly, the truth is that he closed his eyes towards the massacre of Ndigbo in Asaba and Onitsha. As

Achuzia

a Commander of that Division and that front, he took full responsibility. Whether he knew about it or not, the fact remains that he couldn’t be distanced from it. He started as a humble soldier, became a hero to his people but an enemy and a vandal to the Igbo.

What about Gowon, would you also say he played a role in that massacre?

Well, General Yakubu Gowon too can’t distance himself from that crime because

he was the one that shared out the job to various Divisions. He told them to ‘cow down the Igbo, use any means at your disposal, but bring back victory’. For that, Gowon shares in the blame. If you told an Igbo man to look for a mean man, they will look towards Gowon; but, if you say look for the man that executed the job, they will point at Muhammed. So, whichever way you look at it, Muhammed wore two guards; one, a distinguished soldier, especially on the part of those that fought

Muhammed's memory lingers C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 4

tage of other African countries.”

Nigeria became “neutral” rather than “nonaligned” in international affairs.

The shift in orientation became apparent with respect to Angola. The country had worked with the OAU to bring about a negotiated reconciliation of the warring factions in the former Portuguese colony.

But late in 1975, Muhammed announced Nigeria’s support for the Soviet-backed popular Movement for the Popular Liberation of Angola (MPLA), citing South Africa’s armed intervention on the side of the rival National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) as reason for that action. The realignment strained relations with the United States, which argued for the withdrawal of Cuban troops and Soviet advisers from Angola.

In response to national debate on the military’s continued hold on governance, Muhammed announced plans for

the military to disengage from politics.

Some officers were also genuinely concerned that military rule had a corrosive effect on professionalism. He, therefore, laid out the framework for the return of Nigeria to democratic rule on October 1, 1979. Although, several “new” political parties emerged as clones of the parties of the 1960s in the end, he also stressed that the military did not intend to stay in office “a day longer than necessary.”

He created more states, bringing the number from 12 to 19, and announced government's plan to develop a new federal capital city. The plan was to move from the crowded and crime-ridden Lagos to a location within the Abuja territory, seen as central to other components of the nation.

He held office for only 200 days. But opinions on the short period he reigned, hold that he did more for Nigeria than his predecessors, in those 200 famous days of dynamism. In that short period, he and his colleagues were seen to have been

decisive and courageous. He had literally electrified the mood of the nation, and sacked the empire-building governors and their commissioners, forced them to refund their ill-gotten wealth, and virtually cleared the Apapa Wharf, which was choked by uncleared goods, no thanks to the gross inefficiency of the ports authorities.

But while some believe a few of his decisions were wrong and ill-considered, many saw them as sound, patriotic and very reasonable. He was believed to have given the country a government that kept promises; one with a disciplined team that tried to listen to public opinion and exposed and punished abuse of office.

Those who believe that Muhammed was completely wrong, even rash in some of the decisions he took, opten point to the allegation that he was the mastermind of the coup-d’état that overthrew Ironsi’s regime and brought General Yakubu Gowon to power in July, 1966. It was a bloody affair. He was also said to

for one Nigeria. But, if you look at it from the other angle, the Igbo, who were fighting for survival because they had no other place to go when they were being chased helter-skelter from every angle in Nigeria then, you don’t expect them to turn round and accept that people like Muhammed, Gowon and others in that mould were heroes; we can only see them as villains, enemies. Even former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as far as we are concerned, is also a villain.

But for that circumstance, do you think they would have acted differently?

Well, from a soldier’s point of view, as far as I am concerned, they remain distinguished soldiers because they performed their duties, carried out the last order, the way in which they were called up to act. If they had done otherwise, the people that were responsible for their evil, and their weapons of destruction they were using, would have regarded them as sell-outs.

In that case, would you regard Muhammed as a hero like many other Nigerians?

He was a nice young, humble and kind soldier. But after the coup, things changed; he became a champion of all that stood opposed to the existence and survival of the Igbo. Consequently, my attitude towards him changed. Because warfare is not a tea-party, war is not a friendly visit, the conditions precedent in warfare makes it necessary that when you didn’t even know the other person, because you got to know somebody before you can hate the person, you just have to generate, internally within you, enough hatred to want to kill the person.

So, leaders face peculiar problems when it comes to security matters. Honestly, he couldn’t have done otherwise. If he had seen things beyond that point, he couldn’t have performed his duty, and to people he was supposed to protect, he would have automatically become a villain.

have liberated a large part of Midwest State and Onitsha in the then East Central State during the Nigeria/Biafra civil war and caused the massacre of defenseless citizens. Muhammed was the General Officer Commanding the 2nd Infantry Division and led federal troops to victory in the area under his command. He was, however, criticised for being “unnecessarily” brutal in that campaign. Some account said too many lives were needlessly lost. But, in all wars, criticisms of this nature are common.

However, Asaba became the legendary centre where Muhammed was said to have set a record of war crimes. In a rain of blood, tens of thousands of innocent youths, some of them just sixyears-old were allegedly lined up on the streets of Asaba and executed in cold blood on his direct orders. The Asaba massacre was the first of its kind in Africa and remains one of the bloodiest to date in the history of the continent.

As a further testimony to the bloodlust and depravity allegedly demonstrated CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

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47

38 Years After Murtala Muhammed's Assassination

Danjuma to Babangida: Dislodge Dimka C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 3

ready been detailed to give the warning order on sighting Muhammed's vehicle.

Parvwang was to be on the watch to signal Rabo and Lt. William Seri on the approach of the vehicle of the Commander-in-Chief.

At this period, the construction of the Federal Secretariat Complex was going on. Parvwang must have taken his mind off his assigned duty to briefly watch the gigantic edifice and in that fraction of a second, Muhammed's car passed.

It was when Parvwang took his eyes off the complex that he saw the car already moving. He was momentarily afraid because he knew the punishment for such an omission was summary execution.

But he quickly composed himself and alerted his superiors. Dimka, Rabo, Seri and others moved fast. While Dimka and a few others used the SUV, the remaining ran after Muhammed's Benz.

At the end of the road, a policeman was controlling traffic. Due to Muhammed's low profile, the cop did not know that Nigeria's most-powerful man was approaching.

There were about five cars between Dimka's SUV and Muhammed's car and there was the possibility that Muhammed's car would slip into the traffic going towards the NBC and Ikoyi Cemetery. Once that happened, it would be difficult for Dimka and his men to accomplish their mission.

But unfortunately, an army truck came roaring from the direction of Bank Road and on sighting it, the policeman stopped the line of traffic in which Muhammed's car was moving.

And Muhammed's driver stopped.

Dimka and his fellow plotters did not allow the opportunity to slip away. In five seconds, they were beside Muhammed's car. Rabo, Seri and others had already unlocked the safety catches in their guns and they fired away, emptying the contents of their magazines into the car.

Muhammed, his ADC, Lt. Akinsehinwa and his driver were killed instantly.

Apart from the assassins, others within the vicinity could not comprehend what was going on. On instinct, the policeman knew a killing had just happened and when he realised who was killed, on recognising Muhammed's car, he simply took to his heels.

Then, there was pandemonium as drivers left their vehicles to escape from the scene. Vehicles were all over with no drivers. In a few minutes, the whole area was deserted.

Dimka's plan was to go to the NBC in his SUV to make the broadcast but there was no way for his vehicle to move. Since the radio station was only 300 yards away, he simply ran the distance with his two bodyguards.

Waiting for him was Abdulkarim Zakari, a graduate of the University of Ibadan and elder brother of Mrs. Victoria Gowon, General Gowon's wife, who led him to the studio room.

Zakari had signed for martial music records from the station library the previous night.

The spot where Muhammed was killed

Danjuma

While it was easy for the coupists to assassinate Muhammed, it was a different game for the second and third main targets.

That the attempt of Dimka and his men on Obasanjo's life failed could be attributed to fate, which manifested in the early morning visit of Joseph Oluyemi Bajowa, then a Colonel, to Obasanjo.

This eventually led to a case of mistaken identity in which Colonel Raymond Dumuje of the Army Ordnance Corps got a dose of the hot lead specifically reserved for Obasanjo.

The soldiers, who laid ambush for Obasanjo, mistakenly pounced on Dumuje, shot and wounded him.

Bajowa himself was one of the officers on the list of the plotters. According to a statement by the Federal Military Government on February 18, 1976, other officers on the list included Lt. Col Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Colonel Joe Garba, Colonel Olu Bajowa, Colonel Ibrahim Babangida and Colonel Ibrahim Taiwo.

According to Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo in his book 'Olusegun Obasanjo: In the Eyes of Time', it was the request of Bajowa, the Quarter Master-General at the time, which he wanted Obasanjo to grant (he wanted to name his son after Obasanjo) that delayed Obasanjo in the house on that black Friday.

In fact, before he got to Obasanjo's house at 36, Lugard Avenue, Ikoyi, he met Dumuje on the road “who seemed to be signaling him to stop but Bajowa waved and gestured that he was in a hurry”.

With this, he saved his life and that of Obasanjo because if he had waited, Obasanjo, due to pressing official matters, could have left the house and run straight into the net of Usman and, possibly, the same fate could have befallen Bajowa.

After granting his request, Obasanjo quickly dismissed him “because he was rushing to the office to keep a previous appointment”, but it was as if God wanted to give Obasanjo 100 per cent immunity from the coupists' bullets.

Usman and his men, who by then had realised that Dumuje was not their target, were still waiting for Obasanjo and he would have ran into them had he left his secured official residence that moment.

He was saved by his ADC. Lt. Rowland Omowa, whom he had ordered the

previous day to go to the office ahead of him and tell his visitors that he would be slightly late due to the appointment he had with Bajowa.

Omowa rushed in after five minutes to inform his boss that he could not get to the office as instructed.

He narrated how he saw Muhammed's body in his car, saying there was pandemonium all over Lagos. Initially, Obasanjo did not believe him but when it eventually dawned on him that the worst had happened, survival instincts prevailed.

He knew his life was in danger and it would be useless and foolhardy to wait for the murderers at home or run into them by going to the office.

“Armed with his telephone book, a pen and a pistol, he jumped into Amodu's small car” and eventually ended up in the house of Chief Saliudeen Bolaji Bakare.

Danjuma, the number three target, got to his office without any knowledge of the coup, the assassination of Muhammed and the attempt on Obasanjo's life.

Feared by many of the officers under and around him, from his house, he went to his office in Marina. Unknowingly, he met Garba and his men on the way.

He was a clear target but the coupists had a major problem. At that time, the army high command organised a conference for senior officers, GOCs, Brigade Commanders and others, in Lagos.

Danjuma was with about four senior officers on the way to the office, chatting with them. If an attempt had been made on Danjuma's life, some of the officers would have been killed. Garba decided to play it safe because he believed it would not be in their interest to widen their enemies' list. That decision saved Danjuma.

The army was under his command. Now, a section of that army planned a coup under his nose against a government in which he was number three and embarrassingly, killed

It was while going through one of the dailies that one of his aides rushed in to tell him about the coup.

For a few minutes, he could not say a word. Tactically, the army was under his command. Now, a section of that army planned a coup under his nose against a government in which he was number three and embarrassingly, killed his Commander-in-Chief. Danjuma was livid.

Danjuma himself is an experienced coupist. He played a major role when the first military Head of State, MajorGeneral Johnson Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi was kidnapped from the Government House in Ibadan and killed on July 29, 1966.

Danjuma did not allow his rage to becloud his sense of alertness. He moved quickly. It was at this time that Obasanjo got in touch with him on the telephone. He also got in touch with the then InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP), Alhaji Mohammed Dikko Yusufu.

The first thing Danjuma did was to secure Bonny Camp, Victoria Island and Ikeja Cantonment. The control of these two military installations was important if any coup was to succeed. He also made sure that the Ikeja Airport was under the command of loyal troops.

He told the senior officers in Lagos to call their divisions and ensure the loyalty of their men to the Federal Military Government.

He also ordered that the chaotic traffic situation be normalised. Then came the big task. How to dislodge Dimka from the NBC. Danjuma gave the task to Babangida after getting some tanks and men from the Ikeja Cantonment.

The Taraba-born three-star General, was surprised when Babangida later came back to inform him that Dimka didn't want to leave the station. Babangida was very close to the Danjuma family.

In fact, he used to go to their house personally to give birthday presents to Danjuma's kids.

This affinity could be said to have saved Babangida that black Friday because he could have been shot instantly on Danjuma's order “for disobeying a direct order”.

Danjuma was shaking with anger when he told Babangida that he did not send him to the station to persuade Dimka to leave the premises.

Danjuma ordered Babangida to go back, dislodge Dimka “and level the whole place, if necessary”.

When Babangida got back to the station, Dimka had disappeared.

But the riddle of the day was the role Muhammed's predecessor, Gowon, was alleged to have played in the assassination. When Muhammed was killed, not a few Nigerians pointed accusing fingers at Gowon. In fact, the Federal Military Government had to dismiss Gowon, who was then on exile in London and declared him wanted.

One of the circumstantial reasons for the suspicion was the fact of an ideological and natural difference between them, which manifested even in the army.

Right from the day Gowon became the CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

48 Investigation

Sanctity of Truth

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

38 Years After Murtala Muhammed's Assassination C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 6

by Muhammed and his forces, a few kilometres away in Onitsha, another barbaric massacre was said to have been unleashed in the Apostolic Church where over 300 civilians, devout Christians, including women and children, who had stayed back and continued in their prayers after the fall of Onitsha, were brutally murdered in cold blood.

Muhammed’s family Muhammed might have been a strong-headed soldier but he was also said to be an amazing family man. His Yoruba wife, with partly Fulani roots, Mrs. Hafsat Ajoke, recollected the fond memories in 2006. She said: “At home and at work, my husband was one and the same person. His behaviour at work and home were the same. He was a firm person, upright and had a great sense of humour.”

Ajoke said they met in 1961 while she was studying at the School of Dental Hygiene in Lagos. Muhammed was then a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army.

Both of them were introduced to each other by his cousin.

They hit it off, fell in love and when they met in Kaduna later, he proposed to her and they got married in Kaduna in 1963 after her studies, the same year Muhammed became a Captain.

Their marriage was a blissful and peaceful one. In 1965, the marriage was blessed with a baby girl, Aishat, now Mrs. Aishat Oyebode, who later attended the Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos.

On January 22, 1966, they had their first son, Zakari.

When he was made the Head of State, Ajoke would stay awake for days, weep out of fear and anxiety, remembering the bloody coups and countercoups, knowing how unpredictable life in the military could be. She resigned her job as a dental therapist and became a full-time housewife, to cater to the needs of the family, especially the kids, who were actually very young then.

When Muhammed was killed and the news was relayed to her, she broke down and wept. Her shock doubled when she heard of General Iliya D.Bisalla’s involvement and kept asking, ‘oh, even you?!' She was also said to have asked an ambassador how her husband would be buried, and she was stunned by his response: ‘Oh, he has been buried’. She could not believe that her own husband was interred in her absence.

Today, Mrs. Ajoke Muhammed is ageing gracefully and widely respected for her

I met Muhammed in 1961, says Ajoke

Obasanjo consoling Muhammed's wife, Ajoke

charitable activities and calm demeanour. Her pet job – tending to her beautiful garden at her Cooper Road residence in Ikoyi keeps her busy. She does not joke with her botanical garden and she salvages plants going into extinction and plants

them. Even as a First Lady, she was said not to have been unnecessarily flamboyant. Her marriage was blessed with six children.

Aishat, the eldest of the family, now married to Oyebode, was 12 years when her father

died. She is a lawyer and graduated from the Kings College, University of London and also bagged a masters degree in Business Administration from the Imperial College, University of London.She runs an asset management company and has

Gowon: Muhammed's killing, not my show C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 7

Head of State on August 1, 1966, he was handicapped. Although he knew about the coup that toppled Aguiyi-Ironsi, he did not take any active part in it.

His choice as Head of State was not as reward for his leadership role in the coup but because he was the most senior army officer from the North.

It was easy, therefore, for all those officers who risked their lives to hold him to ransom, but the reverse was the case with Muhammed as the hardy, robust and tempestuous moralist was popular for his stubbornness and assertiveness, qualities which are very essential for leadership role in the army.

Although Gowon was the Commander-in-Chief between 1966 and 1975, Muhammed had a large following in the army which was a cause of concern for Gowon. Muhammed had the rank and file of the army behind him, which was why an officer such as the late General Joe Garba, a relative of Gowon, would go and beg Muhammed to be Head of State after Gowon to give the new regime credibility.

Gowon's personalisation of Nigeria's foreign policy was another reason for the enmity between the two. For example, Gowon almost dispatched Nigerian troops to Niger in 1972 to forestall a coup against his friend, President Hamani Diori.

Also, Gowon's incessant Christmas gifts to many coun-

Gowon

tries infuriated Muhammed.

To worsen matters between the duo, Gowon dismissed as unrealistic the 1976 deadline for a return to civilian rule. Muhammed would have none of these. That was why after three months in office, Muhammed announced a five-stage programme leading to the military handover of power in 1979.

Obviously, the real final confrontation between the two came on July 4, 1975 at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Lagos. On that day, the appointment of the General Manager of the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC), as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was then called, was to be considered.

Gowon had wanted Mr. I.G.T. Ordor, then head of the country's only refinery in Port Harcourt, for the post but majority of the members of FEC rejected him.

Gowon was infuriated but

in summing up the conclusion of the council decisions, he announced that the body had decided to appoint Ordor as the General Manager of NNOC. Muhammed, who was then the Federal Communications Commissioner, (as ministers were then called) interrupted Gowon and asked why he announced that the council had appointed Ordor when it had spent hours rejecting him.

He said it would be more honourable for Gowon to say that he had appointed Ordor by executive order, instead of attributing the appointment to the council.

Eventually, the meeting stormed to a close. On July 14, the appointment was announced and 25 days after the stormy meeting, Gowon was overthrown to give the nation “a new lease of life”. Eight days later, Ordor was removed by Muhammed.

With this background, not a few believed in the complicity of Gowon, Bisalla, Dimka and the British government, in the assassination of Muhammed.

To buttress this, Obasanjo, who succeeded Muhammed, never visited Britain during his term of office and discouraged his officials from doing so, unless absolutely necessary. In fact, in 1977, he almost pulled Nigeria out of The Commonwealth.

Dimka was said to have visited Gowon in London and when Muhammed was killed, he went to the British High Commission in Lagos, ostensibly to make

been the Executive Secretary of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF).

Zakari was 10 in 1976. He later died in a shooting incident in 1993 in circumstances that are still very unclear. Fatimah, who was nine when her father was assassinated, trained as a horticulturist; she is also a qualified accountant. Risqua Abba, the only surviving son, got a business administration degree from the University of Lagos and later did his postgraduate programme at the University of Cardiff, United Kingdom.

He was a Special Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Privatisation.

Zalihatu was two when her father died. She is based in Lagos, where she works for a real estate company. She is also an Economics graduate from Nottingham University, United Kingdom while Jumai, the baby of the house, was less than a year old when her father was killed. All the daughters are married. contact with Gowon in London.

Colonel Ibrahim Taiwo, the Military Governor of Kwara State, was the only officer killed outside Lagos by the coupists and to tighten the complicity theory, Mr. S.K. Dimka, the then Kwara State Commissioner of Police, who was arrested in connection with the coup, was a relation of Dimka and the husband of Gowon's elder sister.

According to the Federal Military Government: “For all practical purposes, the intent of Lt. Col. Dimka was to restore General Gowon and his associates to power. As a matter of fact, the Federal Military Government had ample evidence to say that General Yakubu Gowon knew and, by implication, approved the coup plot. The Federal Government called on the ousted Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon to come and defend himself on the various allegations of his involvement in the Dimka-Bisalla plan of shame”.

But Gowon, who was already a student at Warwick University, Britain, denied any prior knowledge of the coup.

“Can you leave me out of this? This is not my show. The problem is in Nigeria. I deny it emphatically. I know absolutely nothing about it. If it was their plan to carry out the coup and then to ask me to go back, well, that is their own look out.

“What I would have done if that situation had arisen is a hypothetical question. I swear as another officer and a gentleman and by the God who made me that I had nothing whatsoever to do with it” he said.

FOREIGN 49

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Gunman kills nun, parishioner in Russian cathedral

PUZZLING

Law enforcement officers still trying to determine why the guard did it

A

man employed as a private security guard opened fire Sunday in a cathedral on Russia's Sakhalin Island in the Pacific, killing a nun and a parishioner and wounding six others, investigators said.

Law enforcement officers detained the 24-year-old man at the scene and were trying to determine why he had attacked the Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the federal Investigative Committee said in a statement. The man worked for a private security firm in the city and was armed with a rifle. His name was not released.

Concerns about security in Russia are especially high because of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, but there was no apparent connection to the games.

Sakhalin Island is about 7,500 kilometers (more than 4,500 miles) from Sochi.

The six parishioners who were wounded were hit in the legs and their lives were not in danger, state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing the regional archbishop.

Blasts hit eastern Libyan city, no casualties EXPLOSION

Twin blasts in Libya leaves no casualties

A

Libyan security official says two strong explosions have rocked the eastern city of Benghazi but left no casualties.

The official says the first blast badly damaged a seafront restaurant in the early hours of Sunday morning while it was empty of diners. Five minutes later, a bag of explosives was placed in a central road. The second blast charred six vehicles and shattered the glass of nearby buildings, he said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Benghazi, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising that led to the downfall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, has since witnessed a series of attacks.

Emergency services outside the house of Ahmed Melk, a wanted militant, in Bourj Louzir, outside Tunis, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. Tunisia's government says the suspect in the July 25 assassination of an opposition politician is among four men arrested in an overnight counterterrorism raid.

Egypt now â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;republic of fear', says ex-presidential hopeful NO PROGRESS Abol Fotouh says he won't run this year, as the elections are meant to deceive the people

A

moderate Islamist who came fourth in Egypt's 2012 presidential election won by the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, accused the army-backed authorities on Sunday of creating a "republic of fear".

Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, 62, one of the few Islamists left in public life after a crackdown on the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies after Mursi was ousted by the army, said Egypt was not on a path to democracy as the government says.

"Our conscience does not let us participate in an operation to deceive the Egyptian people and act like there are elections when there are not," Abol Fotouh said, confirming his decision not to run for

president this year.

Although he has not yet confirmed he will run, army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win after the army said it would back him. He has wide support among many Egyptians who were relieved to see an end to Mursi's rule, but is reviled by Mursi sympathisers as the leader of a coup.

Sisi deposed Mursi on July 3 after mass protests against his rule. Supporters of Mursi's removal say it was a revo-

10 killed in C.Africa clashes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; witnesses KILLINGS Muslims and Christians in retaliatory lynchings

A

weekend of violence and looting in the Central African capital has left at least 10 people dead, witnesses and a humanitarian official said at the weekend, including two more gruesome lynchings of minority Muslims.

Fighting broke out Saturday evening between Christian vigilantes and Muslims

in the west of Bangui where many buildings were torched, they said.

A resident said that the Muslim killer of a Christian woman was lynched and killed before his body was burned and deposited in front of the local town hall, where it could be seen early Sunday.

A suspected Christian militiaman killed another Muslim civilian, and was about to burn the body when Rwandan soldiers of the African peacekeeping force MISCA shot him dead, a witness who gave his

name as Innocent said.

The shooting prompted an angry crowd to shout slogans against the Rwandan soldiers, whom they mistakenly believed to be Muslim. "Death to the Rwandans," one shouted, according to Innocent.

Five other people were killed in unclear circumstances, the witnesses said.

Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch confirmed the witness reports and said another Muslim was lynched early Sunday near Bangui's central market.

lution.

"This is a republic of fear," Abol Fotouh told a news conference convened to declare his final decision on whether he would run in the election that could happen as soon as April.

Popular leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election, on Saturday became the first politician to clearly state he would run.

The government says it has charted a course to democracy after Mursi's overthrow.

Abol Fotouh said: "There is no democratic path in Egypt".

Abol Fotouh pointed to what he said were 21,000 jailed activists and said a hotel manager had turned down a request to host Sunday's news conference not because of instructions from the authorities but because of his own fears.

"Any Egyptian who wants to express his opinion is afraid that he will be harmed, detained, that his house will be stormed, or a case against him will be fabricated, or it will be said that 'you are insulting the judiciary'," he said.

Abol Fotouh was a senior member of the Brotherhood until 2011, when the movement expelled him after he decided to stage an independent bid for the presidency.

Handball crisis sparks more confusion Mercy Jacob

T

he crisis rocking the Nigeria Handball Federation has continued to generate more confusion as warring factions have

Abdullahi

refused to shift grounds.

The sport has been enmeshed in leadership tussle since last year. Vice-President of the aggrieved stakeholders, Mega Handball Veterans, Jubril Sei-

SPORT

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

du, told New Telegraph that Yusuf Dauda, who “claims” to be the federation’s president, was frustrating peace efforts by not adhering to the terms of settlement.

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS kunle.salami@newtelegraphonline.com adekunles@yahoo.com

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

51

Seidu said, “There is no going back on this case until there is a re-run. On January 11 and 18, peace was brokered but Dauda CONTINUED ON PAGE 55

Did you know?

That with her 7.12m effort in the long jump event of the Atlanta ’96 Olympics, Chioma Ajunwa emerged Nigeria’s first individual Olympic gold medallist

BaloteLli, Suarez my deadliest opponents – Oboabona Emmanuel Tobi

C

aykur Rizesporr of Turkey defender, Godfrey Oboabona, has said that caging Italian striker, Mario Balotelli, and Uruguay hitman, Liuz Suarez, was tough during matches against the two strikers.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent on the telephone from Turkey, the Super Eagles strongman stressed that Balotelli and Suarez remain the most deadly strikers he has encountered in his career.

The Super Eagles lost 2-1 to Uruguay at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup last June but were forced to a 2-2 draw by the Italians in an international friendly at the Craven Cottage, Fulham’s home ground, in London, England on November 18, 2013. In the two games, Balotelli and Suarez tormented Nigeria’s defence.

The former Sunshine of Akure defender said that the experience garnered in the two games would be a big boost at the 2014 World

} p 55

ADEPOJU, BARUWA DISAGREE OVER OSAZE, YOBO RECALL }p-55

Godfrey Oboabona(left) challenging Mario Balotelli during the Nigeria/Italy friendly match which ended 2-2.

Kanu, Okocha, Akanni Join Stores }p-54

ERICO, ANYANSI WANT LEAGUE COACHES FOR CHAN }p-54

52 SPORT

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

COUNTDOWN TO FIFA WORLD CUP

Keshi, others battle jinx

with Algeria. Just like Keshi, Halilhodzic also played at the World Cup finals and would be appearing as a coach in the world’s biggest soccer showpiece.

On Brazil 2014, he said, “We will do our best to surprise our group H opponents. We are not going to Brazil as tourists, but it will be difficult.”

The Algeria coach is banking on top players like Madjid Boughera, Sofianr Feghouli, Medhi Lacen and Islam Slimani to make an impact.

zVolker z Finke (Cameroon)

Since 1930, the greatest achievement by African teams at the FIFA World Cup has been playing in the quarterfinals. The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, the Teranga Lions of Senegal and the Black Stars of Ghana have achieved this feat. DAPO SOTUMINU focuses on the five coaches taking African countries to the mundial with the hope of breaking the quarterfinal jinx.

zzStephen Keshi (Nigeria) He played for the Super Eagles at the USA 94 World Cup, and also helped Togo qualify for their first ever World Cup finals in history at Germany 2006 as coach of the Hawks. Armed with talented players like Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses, Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, Shola Ameobi, Ahmed Musa and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, the former Nigeria captain looks good to take the Eagles to their first quarterfinals of the World Cup or even beyond.

Keshi’s chances of emerging Africa’s best coach at Brazil 2014 will be determined by the team’s performance in the matches against Iran on June 16, Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 21 and Argentina on June 25.

Three times, Argentina had defeated Nigeria at the World Cup. In 1994, 2002

Finke of Cameroon

and 2010, the South Americans won 2-1, 1-0, 1-0 respectively.

Keshi’s strong point remains the 4-4-2 formation which he has perfected and the ability to effectively blend the home-based and the foreign-based stars, a mastery that earned him the African Nations Cup title after a 19year lull. He’s also the first African to qualify two African countries for the World Cup. He is ranked 313th on the world coaches ladder among 1,117 coaches. He also believes that at the end of the Brazil 2014 World Cup, his ranking would have gone up.

Keshi

The Desert Foxes would appear in their fourth finals after playing at Spain 82, Mexico 86 and South Africa

2010. Aside from the good start against Germany at the 1982 World Cup, Algeria’s participations at Mexico and South Africa were unimpressive.

The Desert Foxes won five of their six group matches to easily top what might have been a tricky section over Mali, Benin and Rwanda in the African qualifiers.

He started his coaching career in the early 1990s and, after a short stint at his hometown club Velez, he moved to France in 1993. His achievements include winning the 1997 CAF Champions League title with Raja Casablanca. He also helped French giants Lille OSC gain promotion to the Ligue 1 in less than three years. He won the 2004 French Cup with the PSG. The coach led Cote d’Ivoire to qualify for the 2010 World Cup now did same

Vahid Halilhodzic of Algeria

Sabri-Lamouchi of Cote d’ Ivoire

zVahid z Halilhodzic (Algeria)

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon stand out as the most successful African team in FIFA World Cup history, having qualified seven times for the Mundial, (1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014). They were the first African team to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup, in 1990.

The Indomitable Lions are ranked 50th in the world and they have a 65-yearold chief coach Volker Finke, leading the team to Brazil. Finke's last club as a coach was FC Koln of Germany, after earlier stints at German clubs Borussia Dortmund, VFB Stuttgart, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Werder Bremen, Entrechat Frankfurt and FC Kaiserslautern.

The experienced German coach was handler of SC Freiburg for 16 years. So far, he has played 10 matches, won four games, drew four and lost two. At Brazil 2014, Cameroon will play in Group A against Mexico on June 13, Croatia on June 19 and Brazil on June 23.

“Brazil are the big favourites and they are going to win the group. Obviously, we are going to give our best shot against them and, who knows, we might get a point. But they are a great team and they would have all their fans behind them,” he said.

Finke will rely on the experience of players like Samuel Eto’O (Chelsea FC), Nicolas N'Koulou (Marseille), Benoit Assou-Ekotto and AurelienChedjou at the mundial.

zSabri z Lamouchi (Cote d’Ivoire) Despite having the best set of individual star players in its fold, the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire have never made it past the group stage of the FIFA World Cup finals.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 53

Kwasi-Appiah of Ghana

SPORT 53

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Keshi, others battle C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 3

In Brazil, the Elephants will battle against Japan on June 14, Colombia on June 19 and Greece on June 24.

Frenchman Sabri Lamouchi is the handler of the team.

The Frenchman of Tunisian descent went unbeaten in his first 11 games. Despite securing a World Cup 2014 qualification, the 42-year-old is yet to win over skeptical Cameroonian fans.

Clearly aware of the problems his side have had and of the high stakes involved, Lamouchi remains upbeat despite the turbulence. "Despite the tough time in the last 18 months, I am extremely proud. The players have worked hard and we have somehow managed to build something,” he said.

The former Inter Milan midfielder, who played alongside Zinedine Zidane in the France national team, travelled to Spain to understudy Jose Mourinho to boost his job as coach of the Elephants.

Lamouchi has worked hard to develop the next generation, symbolised

by Wilfred Bony, Max Gradel, LacinaTraore and Serge Aurier. The country has also been careful not to stray from trusted players like Kolo and Yaya Toure, Arthur Boka, Romaric, Didier Zokora, Jean-Jacques Gosso, Kalou and Didier Drogba. With 48 caps at age 26, Roma FC’s Gervinho represents a key link between these two generations.

Basketball: Udoka, Akiode attack NBBF over Wild Card chase Ifeanyi Ibeh

T

he Nigeria Basketball Federation’s failed bid to secure a ticket to this year’s Basketball World Cup has received knocks from two former basketball stars, Mfon Udoka and Mobolaji Akiode; both players are of the opinion that the NBBF had no business lobbying for a Wild Card spot in the first place.

On Saturday, February 1, 2014, the NBBF, after months of lobbying and politicking, failed in its quest to secure one of four Wild Cards made available by the Federation of International Basketball Associations, for teams that had failed to secure direct qualification to the 24-team World Cup, taking place from August 30 to September 14, in Spain.

At the end of the day, though, FIBA settled for the quartet of Brazil, Finland,

zJames z Appiah (Ghana) The Black Stars of Ghana in just two appearances at the FIFA World Cup in 2006 and 2010 equaled Africa’s best-ever performance by getting to the last eight.

James Kwesi Appiah is in charge of Ghana’s master plan to reach the semis of the World Cup in Brazil. Appiah replaced Serbian Goran Stevanovic in April 2012.

Appiah is ranked 147th among coaches in the world out of 1,117. In Group G, Ghana will confront USA on June 16, Germany on June 21 and Portugal size on 26th June. He believes Germany and Portugal are the favourites to qualify in the group but the Black Stars would do everything to make life hard for them.

“We will take one game at a time and we are confident of reaching the knockout phase. We are stronger than 2010 and I think there will be a few surprises in 2014. I think we have landed in the Group of Death,” he said.

Appiah’s dream of surprising the world at Brazil 2014 will be anchored on the skills of mercurial midfield stars Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari, as well as players hitting their prime like Andre Ayew, Kwadwo Asamoah and Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Up front, the enterprising Asamoah Gyan would be a vital focal point and no doubt anxious to prove that the Black Stars can be the best team from the continent.

USA’s Kobe Bryant keeping pressure on Nigeria’s Alade Aminu (left) during a men’s basketball game at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

Greece and Turkey, much to the dismay of the NBBF officials who questioned the rationale behind Finland’s selection.

“FIBA isn't a charity the last I heard,” said Akiode, in a telephone interview with New Telegraph from her United States base. “I thought we had a better chance when China and Russia dropped out, so the choice of Finland was definitely shocking.

But they brought something to the table that FIBA wanted – advertising dollars.

“Money talks and that is the name of the game. And judging from the rules they laid in their assessment of choosing the teams, I guess it was fair.”

FIBA listed economic aspects among the criteria for wild cards. These include, amongst others, the importance of the country’s market to FIBA’s commercial partners, and the importance of the country to the organisers of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Although basketball has the potential of becoming as popular as football in Nigeria, the country has never hosted, or attempted to host a global basketball event. And on the basis of that and other benchmarks, Udoka, a former captain of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team and sister to Ime Udoka, an ex-star of the Nigeria men’s team and now an assistant coach with top American basketball side, the San Antonio Spurs, feels the NBBF had no business looking for a wild card in the first place.

“I feel Nigeria does not deserve a wild card,” she said in a telephone interview with New Telegraph. “Nothing has changed in Nigeria in terms of development and organisation in over a decade.

FIBA awards wild cards to more organized and successful countries, with potential to compete better in the World Cup. “Turkey, Greece and Brazil have far more success in international competitions than Nigeria, so we should forget about what has happened and focus on building a team that will qualify for the next World Cup,” she said.

Nigeria failed to automatically qualify for the World Cup after crashing out in the quarterfinals losing 63-64 to Senegal at last year’s African Nations Basketball Championship in Cote d’Ivoire.

I did my best in CHAN,says Agbim Ajibade Olusesan

S

uper Eagles goalkeeper, Chigozie Agbim, has argued that his performance at the just concluded African Nations Championship was not below par.

The home-based Eagles captain was heavily criticised for his inconsistent display at the competition but the goalkeeper told New Telegraph in an interview that criticising him was uncalled for.

He said he was sorry for his short-

comings in the team’s first game against Mali but insisted that his performances after that match were inspiring.

“You can see that after the incident in the Mali game, it never happened again.

I prayed to God that I never wanted that to happen to me and I thank Him that I was able to prove myself in our other matches. In football, you may have bad games but you must not allow that to weigh you down. That is what I did, I was able to come back from that and moved ahead to help my team, I thank God for that,” he said.

Agbim

54 SPORT

Erico, Anyansi want league coaches for CHAN Eagles Chimaobi Uchendu

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ormer Super Eagles coach, Joe Erico, and Chairman of Enyimba Football Club of Aba, Felix Anyansi, have tasked the Nigeria Football Federation to save Coach Stephen Keshi the stress of managing both the Super Eagles and the home-based team by appointing Nigeria League coaches to handle the CHAN team.

The two football administrators said that a respected Nigeria Premier League coach would be better as handler of the CHAN team in future while praising Keshi for tutoring the team to a

third place finish.

Erico siad, “I appreciate the professionalism of Keshi at the last CHAN in South Africa but I thought the NFF would have appointed a local league coach to handle the team while Keshi stayed in the sideline and identify some players whom he could add to his main team.”

Anyansi said, “I want to believe that the NFF had learnt from the last CHAN on the need to hire local league coaches for home Eagles. I’m not saying Keshi did not do well with the team but he should be left alone to handle the main Super Eagles.”

Atueke accuses clubs owners of bribery Jude Opara Abuja

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he Chairman of the Cross River State Football Association, Oswald Atueke, has accused club owners of bribery and financial recklessness while blaming the administrators for the problems of the Nigerian league.

In an exclusive interview with New Telegraph, Atueke said the club owners paid money to the match officials to ensure that they win their home games to impress their sponsors and the state governors.

Atueke said, “As soon

as match officials are made known, even before they arrive, club owners get their contacts to either send money through their bank accounts or use other means to reach out to them. Before the match, the officials are already corrupted. If there is a means to stop the club owners on this disgraceful act, I think our league will develop faster.

“The win at home syndrome is not allowing us to get the desired results and that is why we are not producing quality league winners who end up with woeful results at the continental level.”

Kanu, Okocha, Akanni join Stores Emmanuel Tobi

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ormer Super Eagles stars, Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha and Waheed Akanni have been named as honourary members of the management team of Stationery Stores.

According to the president of the club, Gloria Adebajo-Fraiser, the ex-internationals have accepted to serve on the board of the revived football outfit.

Stores were one of the most famous clubs in the history of Nigeria but went moribund for more than two decades.

But in an interview with New Telegraph, Adebajo-Fraiser confirmed that the club was back and would soon feature in the Nigeria National League.

“I just confirmed with our management member, Akanni that Okocha and Kanu have accepted to be honourary members of our management,” she said.

Adebajo-Fraiser also confirmed that they had concluded discussion with a foreign coach to handle the team.

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Arsenal battle Man Utd ...seek revival after Anfield flop

Arsenal’s Bacary Sagna (right) challenging Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling during the Barclays Premier League match at Anfield on Saturday in Liverpool, England. Liverpool won 5-1.

Ajibade Olusesan

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rsenal will be desperate to revive their English Premier League title dreams when Manchester United visit the Emirates on Wednesday.

The Gunners lost the grounds in the race for title when they crashed 5-1 against Liverpool at the weekend and dropped to

second position on the log.

But the London-based outfit can bounce back if the team gets the result against struggling Red Devils in this crunch tie.

Arsenal have won just once in their last 12 meetings with Man Utd. In fact, the Gunners have not defeated the Red Devils since May 2011 but Coach Arsene Wenger will be plotting

to halt that poor run.

The coach will still be without key players like Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott but the Frenchman can rely on the rest of his squad do the job.

For Manchester United, winning the title is out of their radar but a victory at the Emirates can boost their chances of making the top four.

Third placed Manchester City will also

Eagles stars missing in action zOsaze z scores for Stoke

Ajibade Olusesan

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n a weekend when several Super Eagles players were missing in action for their clubs in Europe national team outcasts, Osaze Odemwingie and Joseph Yobo, starred for their new outfits.

Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, was an unused substitute when Chelsea defeated Newcastle 3-0 at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The Eagles star has managed just one start for the Blues in their last six matches.

Shola Ameobi also watched the game from Newcastle bench though his younger brother, Sammy, pulled off a good performance in the game.

Victor Moses’s woe continued as he spent

the entire 90 minutes on the bench when Liverpool thrashed visiting Arsenal 5-1 on Saturday. The winger has not started for Liverpool since December 1, 2012 and the situation might not improve with the imperious form of Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Luiz Suarez.

Eagles cental defenders, Godfrey Oboabona and Kenneth Omeruo, were also missing in action for their clubs.

Oboabona was not listed by his Turkish club Rizespor in a 1-1 draw at Erciyesspor while Omeruo was an unused substitute for Middlesbrough in the goalless draw against Blackburn.

Emmanuel Emenike was not on the team list of Fernabahce in their game against Sivasspor due to injury.

Meanwhile, Odemwingie scored in the 38th minute for his new club, Stoke City, in the 2-2 draw recorded against Southampton.

Yobo also had an impressive debut for Norwich as the club held rampant Manchester City to a goalless draw at home.

seek to end a run of poor form when they host Sunderland.City failed to win their last two games, a development that has affected their title hopes.

PREMIER LEAGUE SN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

TEAM Chelsea Arsenal Man City Liverpool Tottenham Everton Man United Newcastle Southampton Swansea City Hull City Aston Villa Stoke City Crystal Palace West Ham Norwich City Sunderland West Brom Cardiff City Fulham

P 25 25 25 25 25 25 24 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 24

SN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

TEAM Atletico Real Madrid Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Villarreal Real Sociedad Valencia Sevilla Espanyol Levante Celta Vigo Getafe Osasuna Almeria Granada Malagab Elche Valladolid Rayo Vallecano

P 23 23 22 22 23 22 23 22 23 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 22 22 23

20

Real Betis

23

PTS 56 55 54 50 47 45 41 37 36 27 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 23 21 20

LA LIGA PTS 57 57

54 43 40 36 31 31 29 28 25 25 25 25 24 24 24 20 20 14

Monday, February 10 - Sunday, February 16, 2014

Handball crisis sparks more confusion

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

refused to respect the terms of settlement. We are surprised that he is claiming that the crisis is affecting the federation. The crisis is not disturbing any of the federation’s programmes because there is a secretariat in place which has been empowered to run the office.” in a separate interview with our correspondent, Dauda pleaded with the aggrieved stakeholders to sheath their swords and embrace dialogue to save the sport from total collapse.

“Many times, we tried to settle this case amicably, out of court. We have even promised to co-opt them into the board, but they were not satisfied. They insist on maintaining the status quo," he said.

Obviously, the crisis has continued to take its toll on the development of the game as exemplified by the dismal performance of the national team at the just-concluded African Nations Cup. The team crashed out of the tournament in group stage but the coach, Mgor Ituaangahar, was reluctant to blame their poor outing in Algeria on the current crisis.

“I cannot blame my players for their dismal performance because we did not have enough preparation ahead of that competition. We won one match and lost three. But I am not bothered about what happens at the board level, what concerns me is the technical aspect of the game,” he said.

However, when our correspondent contacted the Director-General of National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye, he declined to make comment, saying the matter was in court.

Balotelli, Suarez my deadliest opponents – Oboabona

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

Cup in Brazil where Nigeria is expected to battle Argentina, Bosnia and Iran.

He said, “Suarez is fast and very good on the ball. You cannot predict what he will do the next second because he is full of skills and tricks. Balotelli is very strong and can shoot from a distance. It was difficult dealing with the abundant qualities of these players but somehow I was able to cope because I have seen their games many times.

“Before the World Cup, we need to play more Grade A friendly games to be ready for the challenges ahead because other countries and players are also preparing big for the competition. There are many other quality players that will challenge us in Brazil and so we need more exposure before the event.”

Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero, will be in Brazil in Argentine colours and Edwin Dzeko is expected to feature for Bosnia but Oboabona is not disturbed.

“It is normal to respect these players but as a professional, I don’t fear them. I will do my

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wo former Super Eagles players, Mutiu Adepoju and Abiodun Baruwa, have disagreed over the proposed recall of old players of the team ahead of the FIFA World Cup slated for June in Brazil.

The Nigeria Football Federation had instructed Coach Stephen Keshi to come up with a 40-man list ahead of the mundial.

Players like Joseph Yobo, Osaze Odemwingie and Taiye Taiwo are expected to find their way into the elaborate list.

But in an interview

with our correspondent, Adepoju said it was not a bad idea to have the best players available for World Cup preparatory camp but the coach must be cautious not to include players who could destabilise his team.

“I am one of those who believe that we should have our best players for the World Cup. But I think he does not need to bring in players who could destabilise the team spirit.

In football, it's about teamwork and if he feels any player can damage that he must not include him no matter how good the player is,” he said.

But his former team-

job well on the field no matter the opposition. We need to enjoy good camping and peaceful atm o s p h e re.

Somehow, I am optimistic that the Eagles will be the team to beat at the World Cup. I pray that all our top players are injuryfree because that is very crucial too,” he said.

Oboabona however warned that underrating Bosnia and Iran would be suicidal while maintaining that every match must be played like a cup final.

“We are so fortunate that Nigeria is in a fair group but I want to warn that we must not underrate any team especially Bosnia and Iran

Uruguay’s Luiz Suarez challenging Nigeria’s Godfrey Oboabona during last year's Confederation Cup tie.

Uruguay beat Nigeria 2-1.

because they seem to be the dark horses.

With a good mindset and luck, the Argentines parading great players like Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero can even be beaten.

Nothing is impossible, it is football. We have to beat top teams to go far and we want to go far in the competition,” the defender said.

NUGA: OAU students may clash with authorities

Adepoju, Baruwa disagree over Osaze, Yobo recall Ajibade Olusesan

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Mojeed Alabi

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mate, Baruwa, believes the team would benefit tremendously from the invitation of these players.

“He should invite all of them to be part of his preparation. So that everyone will know that there won't be automatic shirts for anyone. They are Nigerians too, he should invite them for the preparations except they are not in good condition with their various clubs,” he said.

he 24th edition of the Nigerian Universities Games, kicking off at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, in the next two days may witness violence if certain issues are not cleared by the university management especially the eviction of students from hostels and the ban on students’ union activities; the development these students regard as part of the draconian policies of the authorities.

New Telegraph learnt that the students were querying the rationale behind the eviction order, claiming they were the real reasons for organising the tournament, and

that driving them out of the campus negated the primary objective of the event.

In a press statement issued by an ideological group on the campus, The Pacesetters’ Movement, the students condemned the action saying it was a direct attack on their rights to education bearing in mind that they just returned from a forced long break occasioned by the six-month industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

“We are not opposed to the NUGA, but we are mostly discontented with the fact that the university management has selfishly concluded plans to force students to go back to their

respective houses.

Another student who craved anonymity enjoined the university management to lift the ban placed the students’ union.

However, the university management said that it took the decision to keep the students out of hostel to allow the about 7,000 athletes to be accommodated on campus for the event.

The university’s Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olanrewaju, said, “If anyone attempts to cause trouble we will be quick to let them know that the university has its rules and regulations. The athletes must be well taken care of and keeping them outside the hostel would defeat the purpose.”

On Marble To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.

— Abraham Maslow

World Record Sanctity of Truth

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Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth – Buddha VOL. 1 NO. 1

GOVERNANCE In spite of longstay in power, the North is poorer, less literate and less upwardly mobile than the South

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oney and the military have distorted our democracy to the point of perversity. There is practically no difference in outcomes between military dictatorship and civilian dictatorship except in, perhaps, style and nomenclature.

Southern political and quasi-political actors under President Goodluck Jonathan, particularly South-South politicians, are, for lack of a better way to put it, doing very well economically. When you hear phrases such as trillionaire governors bandied about, don’t dismiss them as mere hyperbole. Even oil pipeline watchmen in the Delta creeks have been turned into instantaneous billionaires by the NNPC. Should the current situation continue up to 2019, the North will be reduced to a market place where trade in political whores will boom (compare present day Igboland – the veritable whorehouse of Nigerian politics).

Northern money and power installed Olusegun Obasanjo as president in 1999. Southern money and power installed Umaru Yar’Adua as president in 2007. Southern money and power installed Jonathan as president in 2011 (he is counting on southern money and power to claim a second term in 2015). The South has grown in political power and political wealth over the last 15 years – and exponentially so in the last four. The North’s fortunes have, conversely, undergone a massive downgrade, and the region has grown increasingly impoverished, fractured and powerless. The once redoubtable North is now wallowing in pathetic self-doubt. Out of power for another four years beginning from 2015 and the North will remain out of power for a generation to come, as the South will step up the mobilisation of its political wealth and political power to create and sustain an enduring ‘democratic’ dictatorship in this country.

It is now universally acknowledged that the North is poorer, less literate and less upwardly mobile than the South. The North has no middle class of any description, lacks the media machinery to engage in the political propaganda warfare, and the Muslim half of the northern population effectively bars its women from full participation in the life of the society.

Such advantage as it may claim in re-

Monday, FEBRuary 10 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2014.

Farthest distance climbed inverted up a pole in one minute is 9.73 m (31 ft 11 in) achieved by Nele Bruckmann Germany, on 1 September 2007.

N150

2015: Power ruined the North and power will revive the North

BROAD SIDE with EMMANUEL ONWE

spect of superior strength in numbers is doubted, challenged and ultimately repudiated by the South through the deployment of its vastly superior media propaganda artillery.

That the East, the undisputed landlord of the political wilderness in Nigeria, has been able to hold its head above the sand dunes of inequity and deprivation, is precisely because it has, to a small degree, a self-sufficient and self-sustaining middle class, and is as yet undefeated in the literacy race against the West. The East has steadfastly maintained its voice in the media megaphone and has a cultural history of allowing the female population to play a full and often leading role in the life of the community. The Igbo are by far the most self-critical and self-reflective of all the tribes in Nigeria, a quality that students of social anthropology would readily recognise as utterly vital in nourishing the dynamism of any society, particularly a beleaguered community such as the Igbo (compare the Jewish progress through historical enslavement, pogrom, holocaust, genocide, racial discrimination and ostracism).

It would be impossible to overestimate the dire nature of the prospects for the North in Nigeria today and going forward. Its dominance in the military and political power structures for such a long period masked the rot that lay beneath the glitz, glamour and razzmatazz of absolute power. The os-

Northern money and power installed Obasanjo as president in 1999.

Southern money and power installed Yar’Adua as president in 2007

tentation of the few cloaked the penury and degradation of the many. A culture of quasi-serfdom was malleable to the manipulation of the power brokers, thus enabling the masters to escape responsibility and accountability. And because northern generals held the levers of despotic power for over a quarter of a century, there was absolutely no room for dissent. In the absence of dissent and critical self-appraisal, the rot festered, metastasized and gobbled up the North’s vaunted Sarduanian political strength – unity and honesty of purpose. After the Great Self-Betrayal of 2011, the North shall find that honour once auctioned retains only but a plastic value.

The combined monthly allocation of the five South-East states is only a little more than the monthly allocation that goes to Rivers State or Akwa Ibom State. That is why the publicity surrounding a potential Lamido-Amaechi presidential ticket or Yuguda-Akpabio ticket should not be waved aside as a mere ruse. Amaechi will bring the cash and Lamido the population, so goes the calculation. No consideration is given to any easterner precisely because none of them could bring the requisite or comparable volume of raw cash to grease the wheels of a viable presidential campaign.

Like the pseudo-Azikiwe before him, Amaechi is the new, improved authentic Igboman, right? They have been playing the Igbo for suckers. But the Igbo have been playing themselves for high grade fools.

Northern politicians are power-habituated and understand how to leverage it. The sad fact is that they have leveraged power for their own narrow, selfish purposes rather than for their masses for nearly four decades. But, because the North is practically un-

ravelling in every ramification – political, economic, social and religious – they fully understand that remedial measures can only be applied through control of the might of central power.

No one should be in any doubt that Boko Haram will cease to exist as an aggressor force once a Muslim northerner assumes the presidency.

Of course it’s possible, even probable, that the Niger Delta will erupt in another bout of violence as a riposte to northern rejection of Jonathan.

But such a convulsion will lead to the unravelling of the South-South not the North. Any strife in the Niger Delta creeks will be as far away to the North as the sounds of bombs in Maiduguri are to the ears of those in the South. The devastation of the theatre of war and its surrounding environment will shift to the South – a very significant stroke in future political calculations. That alone will be a measurable achievement for northern politicians. And they know it. Thus, while the South is sanguine, even complacent, about 2015, the North recognises that the political stakes have never been higher. Power will revive the North. And power will sustain southern confidence in the very idea of a democratic federal republic. Who wants it more?

OmoBaba CRUSH B’HARAM BEFORE 2015, APC TELLS CDS, OTHERS – NEWS

- With action, not words!

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