Binder1 thursday april 16,2014

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 57

Four pages of FCT Business Watch Pages } 31-34

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Nigeria’s most authoritative newspaper in politics and business

Kwankwaso is a fraudster –Jonathan lNigerians don’t deserve you as president, replies Kano governor Muhammad Kabir Kano

President Goodluck Jona-

than, yesterday, launched a verbal attack on one of his foes, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankawso of Kano State,

describing him as a fraudster.

But Kwankwaso hit back at the president, ac-

and his government as vultures.

Jonathan, speaking to

cusing him of being insensitive to the yearnings of Nigerians. The governor also described Jonathan

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 5

Terrorists abduct 100 female students in Borno

lBurn houses, shops lKogi Speaker’s children kidnapped l10 killed, 40 houses razed in Taraba Page } 7 Ahmed Mringa, Muhammad Bashir and Muhammad Kabir

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uspected Boko Haram insurgents yesterday abducted no fewer than 100 girls in their hostel at the Senior Secondary School, Chibok,

Borno State, following a violent attack in the town.

Yesterday’s abduction came at a time Nigerians are still mourning the Monday bomb blast in Yanya, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja that claimed over 100 lives.

Eyewitnesses said the fe-

male students, who were in school preparing for their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination

(SSSCE) were abducted at about 3a.m.

The gunmen reportedly arrived at the school late in

the night and ordered the hostel’s teenage residents into trucks.

“Many girls were abducted by the rampaging gunmen who stormed the

school in a convoy of vehicles,” Emmanuel Sam, an education official in Chibok, said.

Another witness, who C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2

...And the baby survives

Bomb scare at National Assembly ...banks shut down, workers flee offices

Chukwu David and Philip Nyam

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dministrative and economic activities were yesterday disrupted at the National Assembly, over rumours of a bomb at the annex wing of the complex.

Following the rumour, most staff in the new building popularly called White House and the New Build-

ing Extension all vacated their offices. Private cleaners attached to the complex all abandoned their duty posts and headed home.

Most of the workers, who had gathered at the National Assembly complex to collect rice and oil for Easter from the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) took to their heels and abandoned C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2

Federal Capital Territory Minister, Bala Mohammed, carrying a baby whose mother was injured in the Nyanya bomb blast in Abuja, during his visit to Asokoro General Hospital…yesterday.

PHOTO: Johnchuks onuanyim

AT A GLANCE

NEWS

METRO

Monarchs sue FG over nonpayment of N500 billion to NDDC Page 11

Pakistani student arrested with N228 million drug Page 12

INSIDE

POLITICS

SPORTS

Jonathan’s speech, a coup against Nigeria’s constitution, says Olatubora Page 14

Fashanu okays Mikel, Moses despite bench roles Page 51

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LAGOS

Storm

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Terrorists abduct 100 female students in Borno CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

requested anonymity, said that gunmen overpowered soldiers who had been deployed to provide extra security ahead of annual exams.

A girl, who managed to escape and wished not to be named, told the BBC she and fellow students were sleeping when armed men burst into their hostel.

“Three men came into our room and told us not to panic. We later found out later that they were among the attackers,” she said.

The girls said she and her schoolmates were taken away in a convoy, which had to slow down after some of the vehicles developed a fault.

About 10 to 15 girls seized the opportunity to escape.

“We ran into the bush and waited until daybreak before we went back home,” she said.

Mr. Joseph Walama, a resident, said the attackers numbering about 50, stormed the town in a convey of Toyota Hilux vehicles before unleashing terror on residents.

“They arrived in the

town at about 10p.m. in a convoy of no fewer than seven Hilux vehicles and took control of the town and set fire on residential and public buildings,” Walama said.

He said some of the attackers engaged in mass looting of food items, while others harassed residents.

“Then suddenly they headed for the Senior Secondary School, Chibok, which is a WAEC examination centre. Some of the teachers and students took to their heels on sighting them, but they eventually

abducted those who remained in the hostel.

“They packed food items and the students into an abandoned lorry before heading for the Sambisa Forest,” he said.

The Borno Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Lawal Tanko, confirmed the attack, but said he did not have details of the incident.

Also, a security operative suspected to be a soldier was killed when the gunmen attacked Chibok, the headquarters of Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State.

A source said: “Apart from the abduction of the female students, the gunmen who invaded the council headquarters also carted away food stuff, before setting many residential houses and shops ablaze.”

A resident of Chibok, who escaped the attack, Mr. Nuhu Amos, told New Telegraph on phone that, “The gunmen armed with AK47 rifles, Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) and petrol bombs stormed Chibok on Monday evening and attacked one of the security posts, and shot one

security personnel, before abducting over 100 female students and set ablaze many houses and shops.

He added: “The attackers, based on my knowledge, did not kill any resident; they only shot one security operative before carting away with food stuff and went back to the Sambisa Forest.

“I also learnt that out of about 250 female students writing their SSCE, some were able to escape into the bush, while over 100 were abducted and whisked C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 5

32o 22o Storm

ABUJA

36o 25o Storm

41o 24o Partially cloudy

ENUGU

36o 24o Partially cloudy

IBADAN

34o 24o Rain storm

CALABAR

33o 24o Storm

MAIDUGURI

43o 29o Partially cloudy

ONITSHA

35o 24o Partially cloudy

AEROCONTRACTORS LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06:50; 13:30; 16:30; 19:45 (SAT/SUN) 12:30; 16:45 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 13:00; 19:00 (SAT) 12:30 (SUN) 15:30

OVERLAND AIRWAYS LAGOS-ILORIN (MON-FRI) 07:15 LAGOS-IBADAN (MON-FRI) 7:00 IBADAN-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:00 IBADAN-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:30 ILORIN –ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30 ILORIN –LAGOS (MON-FRI) 17:00 ABUJA-ASABA (MON-FRI) 10:00 ASABA-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 14:15 ASABA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 11:30 LAGOS-ASABA (MON-FRI) 13:00 ABUJA-ILORIN 16:00 ABUJA-IBADAN 15:00 L-R: Chief Medical Director, National Hospital Abuja, Prof. Bello Shehu; Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu; Board Chairman, National Hospital Abuja, Dr. Tony Okam and the Director of Hospital Services, Dr. Patience Osinubi, during a press briefing on the Nyanya bomb blast in Abuja… yesterday.

PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

Bomb scare at National Assembly CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

KANO

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

MEDVIEW AIRLINES LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:50; 12:00; 15:30 (SAT) 10:00; 15:00 (SUN) 17:30; 18:30 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 14:00, 15:00; 18:30

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST PORT HARCOURT

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

the exercise.

As a result of the confusion, all the commercial banks operating within the complex were forced to close for business before 2p.m.

Although, both the banks and staff had claimed that there was an order from the management for everybody to vacate the Assembly complex.

No official circular was seen anywhere.

Other shops and restaurants operating within the complex also hurriedly shut down for the day.

However, at about 3p.m., an anti-bomb squad with detectors were seen combing the nooks and crannies of the buildings. They refused to comment on the

rumour or their findings.

A security aide to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that “There was no instruction to that effect that they should vacate the complex”.

“It is all rumour and you know our staff here how they behave, they just want to go home. It is unfortunate,” the source said.

The lawmakers could not be reached either since they are on Easter recess and have not been coming to office again.

The rumour, which spread like a wild fire between 1.30 pm and 2.00 pm, forced some of the banks operating within the annex and the new wing of the Senate building to cut

short their business transactions as they quickly closed their offices and went away.

The United Bank for Africa, UBA, GTB, Zenith and the Sterling Banks were among the banks within the legislative complex that shut down operations before the usual closing time as a result of the bomb scare.

A State Security Service (SSS) operative at the National Assembly explained that the rumour of bomb planting originated from someone, who said that he received a prophecy that there would be bomb attack at the National Assembly.

The officer, who did not want his name mentioned, however did not

disclose the name of the originator of the rumour.

Also, the staff of the National Assembly were seen rushing out of their offices. Some of them who were accosted by the New Telegraph simply said that they were leaving “because prevention is better than cure”.

But the Acting Sergentat-Arms, who is the Chief Security Officer of the National Assembly, Mr. Ibrahim Ndako, described the development as a baseless rumour that could not be substantiated.

Ndako said: “There was nothing like that; it was just a rumour. Those banks that closed chose to close. We have told them that there was nothing like that; it is all rumour.”

ARIK AIR LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:00; 09:00; 11:00 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00; 20:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 09:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 (SAT) 07:00; 11:00; 15:00 (SUN) 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 09:00; 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 (SAT) 07:30; 11:30; 09:00; 13:00; 17:00 (SUN) 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 ABUJA-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30; 16:50 (SAT/SUN) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30 PORT-HARCOURT-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10; 18:30 (SAT/SUN) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10

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Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

U p d at e o n B l a c k M o n d ay b l ast

Police, other security agencies begin full probe Lateef Ibrahim and Emmanuel Onani Abuja

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he Police, supported by other law enforcement agencies, have commenced a fullscale investigation into Monday’s bomb blast in Nyanya, Abuja which claimed scores of lives.

Police Anti-Bomb

Squad and other detectives have been deployed to the scene.

The Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, has equally ordered the Police to intensify surveillance on all vulnerable targets within Abuja.

Mohammed gave the order yesterday after visiting the scene of the explo-

sion where he assessed the extent of damage and the impact on the surrounding environment.

He urged the citizens and the international community to remain calm and vigilant as the police and other security agencies were stepping up measures to uncover the masterminds of the crime and avoid a recurrence.

The IGP further noted that security agents had worked round the clock to stave off such attacks on the Federal Capital and the entire country at large.

A statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank Mba, yesterday said: “The Police, supported by other law enforcement agencies, have commenced a full-scale

investigation into the incident with the deployment of the Police Anti-Bomb Squad and other detectives to the scene with the view to solving the crime.

“Regrettably, 71 persons have been confirmed dead while 124 persons sustained various degrees of injuries.

“While commiserating

with the families of the victims of the blasts, the IGP called on the members of the public to go about their normal businesses without fear and to cooperate with the Police by providing useful information in order to ensure that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are brought to book.”

Tambuwal donates blood to victims …warns against politicising insecurity Philip Nyam Abuja

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Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, being attended to by Mrs. Basillia Opara, before donating his blood to victims of the Nyanya blast at the National Blood Transfusion Centre, Abuja...yesterday.

Over 400 persons died, says rescue personnel lFCT to install metal detectors in buses, foots bill of treatment Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

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rescue team member, who was at the scene of the bomb blast has insisted that over 400 persons died in Monday’s explosion.

The police has officially released the casualty figure as 71 dead, 164 injured and 30 vehicles damaged.

The senior security personnel, who was a member

of the rescue team, said over 400 persons lost their lives, noting that many apparently uninjured persons were killed by the sound and the vibration of the explosion.

According to him, many victims without external injuries died later in the course of evacuation.

“Most people died of the noise and vibration from the explosion.

“The number of death

at the scene could not be less than 400 as there were 16 luxurious buses loading with some filled to capacity.

“Each filled bus should have about 70 passengers and about three of the buses were filled preparing to move.”

Meanwhile the Federal Capital Territory Administration said yesterday that it would install special mechanisms to detect met-

al or explosive devices on FCT High Capacity buses to forestall future terror attacks.

The FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, who made this disclosure after visiting the scene of the blast and the Asokoro District Hospital where some of the survivors are receiving treatment, also stated that his administration would pick the medical bills of those injured.

Nyanya park remains under security cover ...As First Bank closes shop Emmanuel Onani

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he Nyanya Park, scene of Monday’s blast, remained closed to motorists and commuters yesterday.

When New Telegraph visited the park, security operatives were sighted in and around the cordoned-off area, even as there was serious traffic

snarl on the Abuja-Nyanya-Keffi expressway.

A senior police officer, who spoke with New Telegraph on condition of anonymity, said “This park, my brother, will remain under this cover until when adequate security arrangements have been put in place, to avoid a repeat of what happened yesterday

(Monday).”

Another security personnel maintained that “All landmines must be cleared before the park will be opened.”

Many commuters were stranded due to shortage of vehicles.

The development also led to brisk business by transporters who increased fares almost by 100 per cent.

The deadly dawn ex-

plosion left about 200 persons dead and scores injured.

Meanwhile, a First Bank branch, located few metres from the scene of the blast (along Karu road) did not open to customers yesterday.

One of the bank’s security guards, who spoke to New Telegraph, said the explosion affected the financial institution’s network.

peaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, yesterday donated blood to victims of the Nyanya blast.

Tambuwal, who was at the National Blood Transfusion Centre, located on Abidjan Street, Wuse, Zone 3, was accompanied by the Deputy Minority Leader, Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila; the chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Bashir Adamu (PDP, Jigawa) and other members of the House.

Speaking on why he donated the blood, Tambuwal said the humanity in him motivated him.

He appealed to all Nigerians to be their brother’s

keepers, especially in this trying period. “I call on well-meaning Nigerians who have the capacity to donate blood to please come out and donate blood and whatever is required for the survival of the victims,” he appealed.

The Speaker who had earlier visited the National Hospital to commiserate with victims of the blast, warned political leaders in the country to stop politicising issues of insecurity and take necessary actions to protect lives and property of Nigerians.

At the National Hospital, he met the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who in the company of the Chief Medical Director, conducted him round the wards of the Emergency Unit.

Scared commuters shun long buses Jude Opara ABUJA

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bviously scared by the Monday blast horror, commuters in Abuja yesterday avoided mass transit buses also known as ‘El Rufai’ buses.

New Telegraph observed that at the popular Tipper Garage in the Kuje Area Council where most of the buses used to anchor to load passengers going into the city centre, most of the commuters avoided the long buses preferring the kabu kabu cars or begging for “lifts” from private car owners.

The situation was the same along the Abuja Airport Road. At the Lugbe Berger Bus stop, numer-

ous commuters were seen loitering as they refused to board the buses parked along the road waiting fo passengers.

Many of the commuters admitted to New Telegraph that they were afraid of boarding the long vehicles which convey as many as 70 people, because of the blast.

“Honestly speaking, I am afraid of entering these ‘El Rufai’ buses because of what happened yesterday. Nobody knows where they will want to carry out their evil plot next. If I don’t see anybody that will give me a lift or a smaller car, I will go back home,” said a lady who gave her name as Kate.

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Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

More reactions on ABUJA BOMB blast

Northern govs condemn Abuja explosion, urge vigilance Dan Atori MINNA

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he Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has condemned the bomb

blast saying there is no justification for what the perpetrators did.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, expressed the fo-

rum’s deepest condolences to the families of the victims, saying no grievance could justify such a dastardly act against defenceless citizens.

In a statement signed by

Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, the forum called for vigilance, emphasizing that the issue of security should not be left to security agents alone.

“The issue of security should not be left to government alone. All hands must be on deck to stop the activities of terrorists which have left hundreds of innocent Nigerians either dead or wounded,” the statement said.

The statement urged security agencies not to be discouraged by the activities of terrorists,

emphasizing that the nation would forever remain grateful to the military and other security agencies for the successes recorded so far in the war against terror.

The governors prayed God to grant the souls of the deceased eternal rest and members of their families the fortitude to bear the loss.

Kenya sympathises with Nigerians over the tragedy Ummal-fadal Babagirei

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he government Kenya has expressed its condolences to Nigerians and families of the unfortunate victims of the blast.

It spoke during the a press conference to officially launch the single east African tourist visa held at the Rwanda High Commis-

Women cleaning the scene of the blast...yesterday

sion in Abuja yesterday.

The Kenyan High Commissioner, Ambassador Sango Amolo, said his country understood what Nigeria is going through saying, “we are in complete solidarity with the government and people of Nigeria during this difficult time because Kenya has also suffered in the hands of terrorists.”

NSCIA faults FG’s handling of terror attacks Provocative utterances by APC leaders embolden insurgents –PDP Lateef Ibrahim Onyekachi Eze

ABUJA he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the provocative utterances of some chieftains of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the past are responsible for the spate of bomb attacks on innocent Nigerians.

The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, yesterday, also warned that it would henceforth go beyond shedding tears each time there was Boko Haram attack to exposing the enemies of the nation.

“It is easier to stop at shedding tears after each carnage. This, the PDP has severally done. The

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difficult part however, lies in attempting to limit reckless statements which fuel violence.

“We believe this will go a long way to stopping those who instigate violence through utterances and shed crocodile tears thereafter,” the party said.

PDP said inflammatory utterances by certain key politicians against the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan, sparked off hatred against the administration by their followers, while attracting impudent insurgents, who started demanding the ouster of the President with threats to cripple the system through acts of terrorism .

“When the PDP, said

that the APC is responsible for the spate of terror in Nigeria, many had an emotional response, but it is now time to dispassionately focus on the facts in order to stop the carnage on innocent Nigerians.

“Whilst we concede that insurgency existed in the nation before the advent of the current administration, we wish to point out that inflammatory utterances from leaders, many of whom by design or otherwise, are now chieftains of the APC, have succeeded in emboldening them to launch large-scale attacks, maiming and killing our people, believing their actions enjoy the approval of such leaders”, Metuh noted.

Abuja

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he Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has condemned the blast, alleging however that the country is “applying an 18th Century solution to a 21st Century problem” and expecting good results.

The council, in a statement by the chairman of its media committee, Alhaji Femi Abbas, insisted that the Nigerian government has been applying the wrong method in the past three years.

According to it, the terror situation requires strategy and wisdom rather than military might.

The statement by NSCIA read in part: “For the umpteenth time, the

Obiano, Chime call for integrated intelligence gathering Uwakwe Abugu Awka

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overnors Willie Obiano of Anambra State and Sullivan Chime of Enugu yesterday called for a more integrated intelligence approach to terrorism and the populace’s maximum support for se-

curity agencies.

In a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant, Media, James Eze, Obiano called for a new approach to intelligence gathering in the on-going war against terror, saying that “intensified intelligence monitoring and analysis of every link in

the conception and execution of possible terror attacks will go a long way in containing the threat”.

On his own part, Chime in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Chukwudi Achife, called for increased support of Nigerians to the security operatives in tackling in-

surgents.

Chime urged Nigerians to continue to pray against terrorism and its perpetrators and sponsors while lending their maximum support to the government and relevant agencies to forestall the visible efforts of the insurgents to destabilise the country.

Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is hereby lamenting and condemning the bomb blast that once again occurred in Nyanya, Abuja, on Monday in which scores of innocent Nigerians were killed in cold blood… “ We need to ask ourselves some fundamental and bitter questions… ”Unless these questions are sincerely answered and the necessary decisions are taken at the appropriate time, any hope of graduating from a country into a nation may end up in forlorn.

“Today’s precarious experience is not peculiar to Nigeria. Some other countries have passed through similar experience in their

history.

“The only seeming difference is that while others were very serious in tackling such a horrible situation, the required seriousness is conspicuously absent in our own case.

“We prefer to pass the bulk even where bulk passing serves no purpose.

“It is strange that in a country which claims to be civilised, we are still applying an 18th Century solution to a 21st Century problem and yet expecting a deserving result.

“Treating the effect of an ailment while ignoring its cause, as Nigeria seems to have been doing in the past three years, is like scratching a monster on the head.”

Britain condemns blast Oluwatosin Omoniyi

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he British government has condemned the bomb blast. In a statement by their embassies in Nigeria, they described the attack as callous .

According to the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, the attack as wicked saying his country would con-

tinue to offer support for the Nigeria government and expressed the hope that the masterminds would be brought to justice.

He said: “I was deeply saddened to hear of the bomb explosion in the east of Abuja. I unreservedly condemn those responsible and hope they are swiftly brought to justice.

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

5

Jonathan, Kwankwaso trade tackles CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

supporters in Kano yesterday, accused the Kano governor of stealing allowances of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegates during the party’s primaries in 2011.

Kwankawso refused to receive Jonathan during his visit to the state yesterday. Neither did he send representative to welcome the president.

The Kano governor, who defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has recently embarked on endless attacks on the president and his party, PDP. But the president took

his pound of flesh from Kwankwaso during his visit to Kano to receive the former governor of the state, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, into the PDP. Shekarau defected from APC to the ruling party in March.

“What Kwankawso did (not welcoming him) was a clear demonstration of arrogance and illiteracy which should not be condoned,” Jonathan said.

On the attack against his person from Kwankwaso, the president said: “I read in the papers that Kwankawso was calling me a devil, that is why I appear with my hat. He said anybody who wears hat is a devil and he

regretted voting for me as president. This statement is false and malicious because Kwankawso did not vote for me or the Vice President during the PDP primaries and the main election because when he saw I was winning the party’s primaries in 2011, he quickly packed his belongings and ran away.

“If he had voted for me, why didn’t he celebrate with me when I won the primaries and the 2011 election?”

The president went ahead to remind Kwankawso that there was a report from the delegates that the money given to them

for accommodation and transportation from his campaign office, he ate the money and denied to give the delegates single kobo.

“Who is a devil in this context: the person who denied people what is being given to them or the person who gave them no matter how little it was?” the president asked.

Jonathan said the problem with Kwankawso was that the governor told a lot of lies. “While we speak less and work diligently for the people, and for this they think we don’t know what is happening. That is why I’m putting it to Kwankwaso who said he regretted

A victim at the hospital...yesterday

Terrorists abduct 100 female students in Borno CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

away by the attackers using a 911 truck abandoned by its driver who was heading to Maiduguri, the state capital,” one of the residents said.

Amos added: “Prior to this incident, gunmen have attacked Chibok for almost three times without success, but this time around, they were able to accomplish their mission.

They were in Chibok since 9p.m. and had a field day before fleeing at about 3a.m. on Tuesday.”

Another resident, who did not want his name in print, said: “Seven of my children including those of my elder brother and sister who are writing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) in the school are

still missing, and I don’t know whether they were abducted or amongst those who escaped in the bush.”

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Gideon Jubrin said there was attack in Chibok, but said he was yet to get details on the number of casualties.

Gideon said: “Yes, there was an attack in Chibok yesterday evening suspected to have been carried out by members of Boko Haram terrorists, but we are yet to get details, as soon as details of the attack reaches my table I will get back to you. Thank you.”

Also, suspected gunmen yesterday abducted two children – Afeez Jimoh (3) and Ogirima Jimoh (7) – of the Speaker

of Kogi State House of Assembly, Alhaji MomohJimoh Lawal.

The abductors invaded the Speaker’s residence at about 4 a.m., scaled the fence and broke into the house at Okengwe in Okene Local Government Area.

Narrating his ordeal in a telephone conversation with New Telegraph, the Speaker said the abductors also took the Speaker’s wife Toyota Yaris, collected the sum of N20,000 and a television set.

After several search, they demanded for the Speaker’s phone number and went away with the two children in the car to an undisclosed destination.

The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Speaker,

Mr. Austin Akubo, confirmed the abduction.

“The abductors demanded for the children: Ogirima (7) and Hafeez (3) and also made away with other valuables. They took television set, generator, Toyota Yaris saloon car belonging to the wife of the speaker and N20,000.

“The incident was promptly reported to the police and other security agencies in the state,” Akubo added.

He said the kidnappers were yet to open communication with the family on their demands.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Emeka Emeh, confirmed the incident.

He said the police would leave no stone unturned to rescue the children.

voting for me to say why he refused to celebrate with me when I won,” he noted.

The president, who was visibly angry, stated that it is on record that even the election money that was sent to Kano by PDP in 2011, Kwankawso refused to give anybody single kobo and ate everything.

Jonathan explained that because of the bad habits of Kwankawso, he didn’t allow the people to know the intervention of the Federal Government in Kano State, especially in agriculture. He noted that through the intervention of the Federal Government, the state generated over N38 billion in just one year on rice farming.

“Kwankawso refused to allow you to know what the Federal Government is doing in Kano, the heavy job we are doing for the betterment of the people of Kano,” he said.

According to him, not less than 716,000 farmers received improved fertilizers and seeds from Kano which is the highest number in Nigeria, adding that the Federal Government have in the last one year provided over 70,000 first class tons of fertilizers and 58,000 seeds of rice and maize to low income farmers all in Kano.

“On farming alone, the Federal Government had impacted positively on Kano, because I promised Emir Bayero that we are returning Groundnut Pyramid, although now what the state is witnessing is Rice Pyramid because of our efforts,” he said.

He said the 44 local government areas of Kano had from 2011 to date received more than N255 billion, “which has been diverted by the government of Kwankawso. You should ask him what he did with your money?”

Those present at the event included, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, Governors of Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna and several PDP bigwigs and ministers.

Responding to the president’s accusation, Kwankwaso lamented that at a time when the nation should be mourning the Nyanya bomb explosion that left many either dead or injured, the president

decided to embark on what he described as “merrymaking trips.”

“At a time when several innocent lives have been lost, when many of the victims are in hospital seeking blood donations to survive, the president is gallivanting round the country in the name of PDP unity rally,” the governor contended.

The governor, who spoke in Hausa during the 2nd Matriculation Ceremony of students of Northwest University, Kano, at the Government House lawn, yesterday, wondered why the president should be travelling aimlessly with taxpayers’ money, while the common man is being killed daily because of failure of the Federal Government to adequately protect lives and property.

Kwankwaso chided the President for justifying, promoting, and sustaining corruption, pointing out that despite the allegation of corruption against the Minister of Aviation and the missing $20 billion oil funds, the president remained silent on such issues during his campaign visit to Kano.

“The man came to Kano to smear our image but thank God, the man gave me free publicity by mentioning my name over 50 times in a 15-minute address,” the governor stated.

“The President, his vice and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation are vultures.

They want the PDP to die and feed on its carcass,” the governor said.

“Supposing I decide to contest for the Number One seat in this country, I will beg APC, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Labour Party not to cast their votes for me – I want to assure you that with the PDP vote that I will garner, definitely I will defeat the incumbent President hands down,” the governor maintained.

He said the Federal Government, under Jonathan has failed people of Kano State and indeed other Nigerians by not doing what is expected of a responsible government to better their lives, adding that Jonathan is not the President Nigerians deserve.

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NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Imoke, Tambuwal want more empowerment projects Clement James Calabar

C

ross River State governor, Liyel Imoke, yesterday criticised politicians who give out motorcycles to their constituents in the name of empowering them, saying such were not helping to generate employment in the society.

The governor spoke yesterday at the inauguration of a project; the Agricultural Business Farms and Park (ABFP) in Atan Okonyon, Odukpani Local Government Area of the state.

The project was facilitated by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Nkoyo Esu Toyo, as part of her contribution to the development of her com-

munity.

Governor Imoke said rather than giving people motorcycles and the like, politicians should float educational and agricultural programmes that would add value to the lives of the people.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, who inaugurated the ultra-modern farming facility, described it as the biggest empowerment project he has ever seen implemented under constituency project by any of his colleagues.

He commended Hon. Toyo for her initiative, which he advised should be emulated if the country wants to fight unemployment headlong.

2015: Ogoni move to claim governorship seat in Rivers Joe Ezuma

Port Harcourt

A

s sectional contention for the Governorship of Oil-rich Rivers in 2015 reaches pulsating crescendo , the Ogoni of Rivers have staked their claim to the seat .

To this end, over 12 pressure groups yesterday declared support for the quest by the people , to produce a successor to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi come 2015.

The groups include the Ikwerre-Etche Peoples Fo-

rum (IEPU), the Rivers Voice (RV), the Niger Delta Renaissance (NDR), the Council of Orashi Ethnic Nationality (COEN), the Kalabari Stakeholders Forum (KSF), and the Ijaw Justice Forum (IJF).

Others are the Hausa Community Welfare Association (HCWA), the Opobo Democratic Movement (ODM), the Rivers Youth Mandate (RYM), the Obolo Consultative Forum (OCM), the Kalabari Peoples Assembly, and the Rivers Democratic Congress (RDC).

NERC tasks youths in hydro power plants’ communities James Nwabueze Abuja

T

he Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has charged the National Youth Movement for the Creation of Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) on peaceful coexistence with utility companies in their areas.

The Chairman/CEO of the Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi, gave the change when the delegation paid

him a courtesy visit in Abuja, ostensibly to garner support for the establishment of HYPPADEC and to declare their readiness to partner with NERC on the development of their communities.

The National Youth Movement for the Creation of HYPPADEC, which has representatives from six states including Kebbi, Plateau, Benue, Kwara, Kogi and Niger, was formed in 2008 to sensitize and encourage the youth towards the establishment of the commission.

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, launching Operation Zero-tolerance to pot holes in Nnewi, Anambra State... yesterday

Anambra Tribunal: Obiano was validly nominated, says Umeh CANDIDACY

Anambra tribunal told that Governor Obiano's candidacy for the governorship poll was authentic Uwakwe Abugu Awka

T

he National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday testified before the Anambra State Governorship Petition Tribunal in Awka, saying that Governor Willie Obiano, was truly the candidate of the party for the last election in the state.

Obiano emerged the candidate in that the time

Governor Willie Obiano emerged as the governorship candidate of the party last year, Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday told the Anambra State Governorship Petition Tribunal "that the governor was validly nominated as the candidate of the party for the November 16, 2013 election in the state."

Umeh who was crossexamined yesterday at the tribunal by counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ayotunde Ogundele, who held the brief of Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), also tendered documents to prove his claim.

Chief Chike Obidigbo, an APGA chieftain who vied for the party’s governorship ticket had brought

a petition before the tribunal, claiming that he was the authentic candidate of the party election.

Relying on a Federal High Court judgement, that had pronounced Maxi Okwu as APGA national chairman at that time, Obidigbo has been at the tribunal, claiming that he won the APGA governorship primaries, which was supervised by INEC and his name was submitted as the candidate to the electoral body and that correspondingly, he won the governorship election and not Obiano.

However, Umeh tendered documents before the panel to show that he remained the national chairman of APGA all through the of the period

of the election and that Obiano was validly nominated by the party.

The documents he tendered, included the Feb. 7, 2013 judgment by Chief Judge of Enugu State, Innocent Umezulike of the Enugu High Court, which sacked the entire National Working Committee (NWC) of APGA and ordered a fresh convention to elect national officers.

He equally tendered the order made by the Court of Appeal on April 8, 2013 for stay of execution of Umezulike’s judgment, and maintenance of statusquo , which meant that he (Umeh) remained national chairman on the same day Okwu and his group conducted the convention.

Crisis of confidence rocks Cross River APC Clement James Calabar

A

lle g ations and counter-allegations rocked the conduct of Local Government Chapter Congress of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Cross River State yesterday as one of the aspirants to the State Chairmanship seat, Hon. Hilliard Etta

accused the Interim State Chairman, Hon. Alex Irek of doctoring the delegates' list.

On his part, Irek denied the allegation, claiming that those who accuse him were doing so out of selfish interest.

Etta, who until the merging of the parties was the state chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), said the interim

chairman submitted names that were not known to many of the members, thus trying to cause confusion in the party.

“This is past 2pm and the man who is supposed to conduct the congress is not here. If you check the list, you will see that names of people who are not members of the APC and have never been known have been

smuggled in for whatever reason,” Etta said.

He said before the congress, he had made his fears known to the national leadership of the party “but nobody took me serious.”

Etta said one Effiom Okon Ayi from Odukpani was supposed to conduct the congress “but up till now, we have neither seen the man nor the materials."

NEWS

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

7

Lagos to begin screening, surgery for goitre IODINE

As Lagos steps up war on goitre, it probes why its incidence is high in Badagry despite intake of iodined salts.

Muritala Ayinla

T

he Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), yesterday said the state government would commence screening and surgery for residents with goitre, pledging that his administration would bankroll the surgeries of all infected Badagry resi-

1,940.5

...Probes high incidence of goitre in Badagry dents.

Fashola spoke at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) venue of the surgery for goitre patients, saying henceforth, government would conduct regular screening and surgery.

About 48 residents of Ajara Community in Badagry were discovered to be suffering from the condition during the free primary healthcare mission held in the Badagry Local Government in December 2013. Some of the residents were said to have been suffering from

The number of journalists per 1m of Norway in 2004.

Source: Blatantworld.com

the diseases for over two decades.

The governor said that apart from the free surgery, experts have also been deployed to the community to investigate the likely cause(s) of the diseases, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.

Fashola added that beyond securing the lives of residents through establishment of security trust fund, he remained committed to securing of lives against life-threatening diseases.

He said: "Our regular

N2.6bn

The internally generated revenue of Zamfara State in 2012.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

health mission that usually includes screening, antenatal care, diabetes, medical consultation, hypertension and hernia treatment will now include goitre treatment and surgery, as the mission moves across the state. We will continue this, but I am not sure how the medical team can cope with the large number, but the treatment will get to everyone.

He charged the beneficiaries to commend the tax payers in the state, saying the taxes paid by some residents enabled his administration to embark on the

45.8%

The percentage of male internet users of Morocco in 2012.

Source: Itu.int

L-R: Managing Director, Unicem, Olivier Lenoir; Director, Federal Highway, Federal Ministry of Works, Charles Bosah; Country Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Nigeria & Republic of Benin, Guillaume Roux and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade & Investments, Abdu Kadir Musa, during the second Lafarge National Dialogue Series held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja…yesterday.

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

A

Kaduna-based lawyer, Auta Maisamari, has taken the Kaduna State House of Assembly to court over a bill to elongate the tenure of council chairmen by amending the Local Government Administration Law of 2012.

Maisamari, who dragged the assembly to court along with the state governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, is also relying on a judgment delivered on August 2, 2011

by Justice Gideon Isa Ku-

Lawyer sues Kaduna House over tenure elongation rada which declared that the state government has no powers to appoint unelected leadership for the 23 councils of the state.

The originating summons dated 11th April, 2014 further joined Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General, Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and State Independent Electoral Commission as defendants.

In the summons,

Maisamari stated that the state government had accepted the August 2, 2011 judgment as it did not appeal it, adding that the court should restrain the state government and the assembly from carrying out illegality in the 23 councils.

On March 12, 2014, Kantiok Irmiya Ishaku, House chairman of the Kaduna HouseJudiciary committee had sponsored a bill for a law to amend

the Local Government Administration Law 2012 which sought to elongate council chairmen tenure to three years from two years enacted in 2012.

Ishaku, in the proposed bill, argued that the need to amend the law has become urgent towards addressing what he referred to as ‘present circumstance’.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.

free health mission.

"As to the cause of this ailment, some of the things I was told is iodine deficiency, but we have started a very extensive study in Badagry with a view to identifying what

really caused this problem. It is unusual to see people who take iodined salt experience this kind of prevalence. They will study and come back to us and we will tell you what to do," he added.

10 killed, 40 houses razed in Wukari, Taraba State

I

t was mayhem yesterday in Nwokyo village of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State following an attack by Fulani herdsmen. New Telegraph gathered that 10 people were killed while 18 other people were injured.

It was also learnt that property worth millions of Naira went up in flames as about 40 houses were razed by the marauders. The attack was said t have taken place n broad day light.

Spokesman of the Police in the state, Joseph Kwaji, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) said the “heardsmen” came from Plateau State.

Kwaji, who placed the casualty figure at seven said: “There was an attack on a village called Nwokyo

by Fulani herdsmen from neighbouring Plateau State.

“They crossed over through River Benue and killed seven persons in Taraba.

“They also burnt 40 houses during the attack.”

But an eye-witness said the invading herdsmen were dressed in military uniform and numbered

over 300.

“An MDG Hospital in the area was razed when health workers were attending to patients,” another source said.

A former senator representing Taraba South, Joel Danlami Ikenya, said he was “dismayed” over the continuous attacks by Fulani herdsmen.

The former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said he felt sad that the state government has not found time to visit any of the attacked areas.

Ikenya said: “In some state when there is crisis, government visits affected areas and gives relief materials to survivors. But in Taraba, the government has not deemed fit to visit these areas.

“It is the responsibility of government to protect lives and property so that people could live with one another peacefully.”

Ikenya added that the MDG Hospital in the area and some worship centres were also torched by the herdsmen. “No house is standing there now,” he said.

Group flaunts Jonathan's achievements, backs second-term bid Wale Elegbede

A

s the 2015 election approaches, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Network in the South-West, has declared its support for the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking at the end of its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Lagos, the group’s director for media and publicity, Afolabi Semiu, noted that the decision of the group

to declare support for the president, emanates from the numerous achievements of his administration.

Also, the Director for Special Duties, Mr Ralph Olalekan, said “the President has diligently implemented its agenda for national transformation in priority areas, including power, rehabilitation and expansion of national infrastructure, agricultural development, increased funding for education and employment generation.”

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News

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Ogun

Ondo

Abeokuta

Akure

Bandits kill driver, motorcyclist in Ogun Suspected armed robbers yesterday killed a commercial driver and a motorcyclist in two locations in Ogun State.

The slain driver, identified as David Olaseyinde, was shot dead along the Abeokuta - Igbo-Ora road, while the motorcyclist was gunned down at the OrileAje axis of the Abeokuta-

Ayetoro road.

New Telegraph gathered that the separate incidents occurred almost simultaneously about 1:00pm, forcing road users to promptly desert the roads.

Eyewitnesses said a detachment of police personnel from Lafenwa division later visited the scenes to evacuate the casualties.

FCT

Ondo AG advocates weak FG Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN yesterday pushed for the rework of the Nigerian constitution in such a way that will weaken the powers of the Federal Government.

Also, he berated politicians who dumped their political parties for another under the pretext of crisis in their political

Benue

ABUJA

EFCC recovers N4.3bn from suspects The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has recovered N4.3b from suspects involved in the multi-billion naira petroleum subsidy fraud.

The disclosure was made by the Commission's Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren.

Lamorde was said to have made the revelation in Abuja yesterday, when the management team of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), led by the Executive Secretary, Farouk Ahmed, called on the chairman.

According to Uwujaren's statement, the anti-corruption boss stressed the importance of the existing partnership between the commission and PPPRA.

parties.

Besides, Jegede said it is only lazy lawyers, who are not ready to compete with others that push for the scrapping of the rank of senior advocate of Nigeria.

Speaking with reporters on the state of the nation, the Senior Advocate expressed his anger over the rate at which political parties dumped their political platform for another without recourse to party manifestos.

Makurdi

Group condemns Benue killings A body under the auspices of Agatu Elders Committee (AEC) have condemned the killing of eight persons at Obagaji, the headquarters of Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State last Monday by suspected Fulani gunmen. That is despite concerted efforts by the state government to restore peace between the

Fulani invaders and local farmers.

The AEC in a statement by its chairman, Sule Ngbede and Secretary, Abu Onum, equally miffed at the persistent attacks in Agatu land, lamenting that the people, apart from losing several of their loved ones to the attacks, also lost their houses and other properties worth millions of naira.

Minister of State for Agriculture, Mrs. Asabe Ahmed (middle), presenting starter packs to a beneficiary, Mrs. Martha Daos, at the presentation of starter packs for aquaculture and poultry production to trained staff of the Ministry of Agriculture in Abuja …yesterday. With them is the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote and others

lagos

Anambra

Ikeja

awka

CACOL warns against politicization of bomb blast The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has condemned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for accusing the All Progressives Party (APC) of culpability in the bomb blast which killed over 100 people in Nyanya, Abuja.

CACOL, in a statement by its Executive Chairman, Comrade Debo Adeniran,

described the trivialisation of the tragedy by the political parties, as worrisome.

“It is very unfortunate that the government could be playing games with the lives of innocent Nigerians. The triviality of this national tragedy is worrisome. It is crass irresponsibility for political parties to pass buck at this time.

What they should do is to find immediate solution to this carnage.

APGA: Okwu writes INEC for full recognition In a bid to ensure that the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA) does not miss out in the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, National Chairman of the party, Chief Maxi Okwu, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) asking it to afford it all neces-

sary facilities.

In a letter dated April 14, 2014; signed by Okwu and Sagir Maidoya, Chairman and Secretary respectively, APGA urged INEC to respect the decisions of the courts which ruled that the National Working Committee, (NWC) of the party elected at the April 8, 2013 national convention of the party was the authentic leadership of APGA.

Adamawa

Benue

Yola

Makurdi

FG proposes youths development fund

Suswam nominates two commissioners

The Federal Ministry of Youth Development has drafted a bill for the establishment of Youth Development Fund to tackle the challenges of unemployment in the country.

The Minister, Mr Boni Haruna, made this known Monday in an interview with newsmen in Yola.

"We have on ground a draft bill for the establishment of Youth Development Fund. This fund is meant to provide for our youths that can access it and develop their skills", Haruna said.

Haruna noted that there were brilliant youths that needed capital to be self employed and even employ others that could benefit from the fund.

Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State yesterday sent a list of two commissioner-nominees to the State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation.

The commissioner nominees are Mr. Innocent Anume from Gwer West and Mrs. Esther Zungwe from Ushongo local government areas respectively.

The nominees were listed in a letter to the state Assembly through the office of the Secretary to the State Government, David Salifu and was duly read at plenary presided over

by Speaker, Barrister Terhile Ayua.

edo Benin

OYC raises the alarm over proscription plot The youth arm of Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday raised the alarm over alleged plot by police and some members of a secret cult group in Enugu State to proscribe it.

The President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, Comrade Anachuna Chukwudi, in a statement in Benin, Edo State, accused a splinter body of Ohanaeze Ndigbo of conniving with the Enugu State Command of the Nigerian Police force.

Comrade Chukwudi narrated that trouble started when at the inauguration of the apex youth organization of the Igbo people on Friday, 11th April, 2014.

FCT Abuja

NAF offers free medicare The Nigerian Air force (NAF) has offered free medical services and free drugs to the community of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area, Lagos as part of activities marking its 50th anniversary.

The one-day exercise was celebrated in all the NAF bases across the country with the force interacting and rendering free medical services to communities close to it.

Lagos Ikeja

Fashola demands more shares for states,LGs Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday accused the Federal Government of being unfair to other tiers of government by taking all the share of proceeds from privatised national assets.

Fashola also argued that since the privatised assets belonged to all Nigerians, it behoves the Federal Government to share the proceed with the states and local government.

Speaking while receiving members of the Senate Committee on Privatisation at the Government House in Ikeja, Fashola urged the central government to correct what he called the injustice for the sake of true federalism.

Oyo Ibadan

Olubadan , a man of impeccable record – Jonathan President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday described the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade, who clocked 100 years on Monday, as a man of honesty, clean character and impeccable record.

The president gave the remark when he paid the monarch a visit at his Monatan, Ibadan residence to felicitate with him on the celebration of his centenary birthday.

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

DISAFFECTION Defected members from the PDP may cause disaffection in Imo APC

Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

I

mo State governor, Rochas Okorocha and workers in the state yesterday continued to bicker over the removal of six heads of government agencies in the state.

The state government had announced the suspension of six heads of government agencies and their accountants.

Their removal came after

Okorocha, workers bicker over sack of heads of agencies several weeks of speculation that the Okorocha administration was planning to sack heads of government agencies and corporations and replace same with politicians ahead of the 2015 elections.

In the announcement signed by the Senior Special Assistant on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, the state government said it suspended the general managers, director generals and directors of account department in six parastatals over alleged financial misappropriation,

employment without waivers and other administrative irregularities.

But reacting swiftly to the development, an activist and lawyer in the state workforce, Emperor Iwuala, leading other workers, said the state government, earlier last week, set up a panel to probe all the state government parastatals.

He said it was shocking that heads of such government agencies and parastatals had been sacked before the panel would

conclude its work.

Those suspended yesterday include the General Managers/Directors and Directors of Accounts of six state parastatals namely; Imo Newspaper, Imo Library Board, Agricultural Development Project (ADP), Bureau for Procurement, Imo State Council for Arts and Culture and Imo Water Corporation.”

Iwuala added, “Not a few people are concerned that a similar speculation suggest-

Ekiti State Labour Party governorship candidate, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (middle) and Head, Political Section, British High Commission, Paul Edwards, during Edwards' visit to Iyin Ekiti. With them is the party’s Chairman, Mr. Akin Omole

13.2

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions of Asia & Pacific region in 2012.

Source: Itu.int

N1.9b

The IGR realized from PAYE (taxes) of Yobe State in 2010.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

55,000

The number of adults and children estimated to be living with HIV in Sierra Leone in 2008.

Source: Blatantworld.com

2015: Stakeholders move to USAID commends Imoke on produce Fashola’s successor quality healthcare delivery Wale Elegbede

P

oised to present one of its indigenes as the next governor of Lagos State, stakeholders in Ikorodu, under the auspices of the Liaison Group of Eminent Persons and Residents of Ikorodu Division (EPID), have expanded and inaugurated a liaison group, tasking the team to search for credible candidates ahead of the 2015 gubernatorial race.

Addressing the gathering, Chairman, Ikorodu Division Resource Development Board, Prof. Kunle Ade

9

Wahab, noted that Ikorodu division, which is part of Lagos East Senatorial District, is still struggling with others in the district.

Notable sons and daughters of Ikorodu present at the gathering, which was chaired by the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Salawu Oyefusi, include Hon. Abike DabiriErewa, Professors Adebayo Ninalowo and Michael Ajetunmobi, Chief (Mrs.) Opral Benson, Ambassador Demola Onafowokan, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, among others.

Clement James Calabar

T

he United State Agency for International Development (USAID) Country Director, Mr. Michael Harvey, has described Cross River State as a model of transformation in the country.

Harvey, who made the assessment when he led a team of USAID mission to Governor Liyel Imoke on a courtesy visit at the Government House, Calabar, on Monday, said the state was an important

partner of the USAID. “It is one state that we are optimistic about, one we are happy with, because it is an example of where Nigeria is taking leadership to and it is really driving modernisation in the country and where things are getting done rightly,” he said.

The Country Director added; “We particularly want to thank you sir, because I know the personal commitment you have made to enhance and extend quality of healthcare services in the state."

ing that the government had sacked the parastatal’s heads to create openings for politicians, who are threatening to decamp from the party should they not be given consideration in the state, was true afterall.

"The governor has a right to protect his party by making efforts to stem the tide of decampment that has hit his party in recent times, but not at the expense of professionalism and due process,” Iwuala said.

Redeployment: Osun REC pitches PDP against APC Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State yesterday disagreed over the redeployment of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, to another state.

APC’s Director of Publicity and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, in Osogbo, has asked the PDP to stop its serial blackmail of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the matter.

But the PDP, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, called for Akeju’s removal, saying his continued stay in the state would favour the

APC ruling party in the forthcoming election, charging concerned authorities to quickly get him re-deployed before he causes havoc in the state.

Olaoluwa said except the Resident Electoral Commissioner is replaced, the PDP will not consider the election results credible.

But Oyatomi accused the PDP of planning to corrupt the electoral process by arm-twisting INEC to replace a man the PDP has found impossible to manipulate.

The PDP chairman also alleged that the APC was working hand-in-hand with the state Resident Electoral Commissioner to perpetrate electoral fraud in the gubernatorial election slated for August 9, 2014.

Fayemi promises potable water, roads for Ekiti West Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

E

kiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, who is also the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming election in the state, has promised timely completion of water projects in Erijinyan-Ekiti and others in Ekiti West Local Government area of the state.

Also, the governor said the AramokoErijinyan-Ikogosi road will be rehabilitated to complement government’s efforts in the provision of motorable roads across the state.

The governor made these promises while on a campaign tour of Erijinyan, Ipole-Iloro, Ikogosi and other towns in Ekiti West council area on Monday.

He urged the people of the area to consider the various programmes and projects executed by his administration and give him and his party the necessary support in the June 21 election.

“We have done well in the implementationof ourEightPoint Agenda. Our welfare scheme for the elderly is second to none. We have rehabilitated public schools across the state and doing same for our hospitals, he said.

10

NEWS

DIVISION Trouble looms in Rivers APC as two factions emerge Charles Onyekwere PORT HARCOURT

T

wo factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State yesterday held parallel congresses in the state.

This followed the controversy and protests that was the lot of the party before the ward and local government congresses of the APC in the state.

New Telegraph gathered that members of the Legacy Group, comprising the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) held their congresses

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

APC holds parallel congresses in Rivers side by side with that of Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s faction in the state.

Sources told our correspondent that the congresses were done in a manner not to show the clash of interests within the party.

According to sources within the party, APC members from the legacy group were being discriminated against by those who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party as there was an unwritten law that those from the legacy group cannot hold certain positions in the ward, local government and the state as chairman or secretary.

Our correspondent also learnt that those who joined the APC from the PDP with Governor Amaechi, have hijacked the party structure and leadership, pointing out

Nigerian Navy, allied navies move to improve maritime safety Flora Onwudiwe

T

he Nigerian Navy, the navies of some European countries, the United States and those of the Gulf of Guinea nations have come together to fight oil theft and other crimes in order to improve maritime safety in the Gulf of Guinea.

The coming together of these navies was the realisation that no single nation was strong enough to effectively stamp out crude oil theft and other maritime illegalities without the help of other nations.

Briefing defence correspondents on Monday at the NNS Thunder in Lagos, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command (WNC), Apapa, Rear Admiral Samuel Ilesanmi Alade, said the joint exercise, tagged; “Obangame Express” was to further consolidate the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), ViceAdmiral Usman Jibrin’s effort at fighting oil theft and other crimes in the country.

He said: “The Nigerian Navy, the United States government, European partners, Gulf of Guinea nations and other maritime nations of Africa decided to come together to conduct annual multinational maritime security exercise known as Obangame Express.”

According to him; “The aim was to improve cooperation among participating nations in order to increase maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.”

Obangame, a Camerounian Fang language for togetherness, he said, was carefully selected by participating African countries as proof of their commitment to promoting regional cooperation among navies of the countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

This was the second time the Nigerian Navy would be hosting Obangame Express after its successful outing in 2012.

Alade said the Nigerian Navy decided to make this year’s exercise unique as it would be conducted simultaneously in three different zones in Gabon, Cameroun and Lagos.

that there was nobody from the Legacy Group in the current interim executive of the APC in Rivers state as they are all from the PDP. The group also said if its members would not be allowed to vie for the

posts of chairman and secretary, they would rather hold their own congresses because the group would cease to exist within the APC. When our correspondent visited the Legacy Group office in Port

Harcourt on Monday, the officials were seen collating the results of the congresses from the various 319 wards and 23 local government areas of the state.

Leader of the group and spokesman for the

aggrieved APC members, Mr. Mmuen Kpagane, who refused to comment on the parallel congresses, said he would not discuss the issue with the media until after a meeting with Governor Amaechi.

L-R: Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu; Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State; President Goodluck Jonathan; the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade I and his wife, Moriyike, cutting the centenary birthday cake of the Olubadan when the president visited his palace in Ibadan… on Monday.

7.7m

The total population of people living in London in 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

5.5m

The number of internet users in Hungary in 2008.

Source: Blatantworld.com

1.97m

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

Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

Assassins after my life, says Adegboruwa THREAT Rights activist cries out, alleges threat to his life Joseph Onyekwere

L

agos lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, yesterday alleged that assassins were after his life.

According to him, on Monday, April 14, 2014, at about 3.00am, armed men stormed his house at Plots 1-3, Ebun-Olu Adegbouruwa Lane, Itedo, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos with the intent to assassinate him.

He said: “They were about eight in number. Well armed with shotguns. They scaled through the fence, tied my security man and driver at my gatehouse. They asked if the compound belonged to Adegboruwa,

if Adegboruwa had a mobile police guard, if Adegboruwa lived alone or had tenants and whether my neighbourhood had policemen on patrol.

“The men then started to demolish my window burglaries, they scaled upstairs to my terrace, to break into my living room upstairs, by which time I had already called for help, from the neighbours and from the police.

“They then tried to gain entry into my kitchen downstairs, without success.

“They descended upon my security man and driver, beat them up mercilessly and started uprooting my burglary with the heavy instruments they brought with them. It was at this point that the police arrived, but the police could not gain entry into my compound, because my secu-

rity man had been tied.

“I saw the armed men myself from my location upstairs. They looked very

mean and determined, possibly not the usual armed robbers after material things,” he stated.

Attacks on my person won’t distract me –Fayose Adesina Wahab ADO-EKITI

F

ormer governor of Ekiti State and governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has said that he would not be distracted by attacks on his person by political foes.

Fayose also said he would not allow pettyminded people to draw him into needless arguments and exchange of words.

He said this on Monday in Ikere-Ekiti at a solidarity rally organised for him by a former governorship aspirant, Chief Bisi Omoyeni.

Fayose said abuses

being hurled at him by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not stop him from defeating Governor Kayode Fayemi in the June 21 election.

He added that the ongoing reconciliation with the 13 aggrieved aspirants had begun to yield fruitful results, saying the party was now wellpositioned and fortified to defeat the APC in any election.

He said: “I won’t be distracted by whatever they say about me. I am committed to this cause.

It is like running a race, so I won’t look sideways, but where I am going.”

NEWS

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

11

suit: Appeal Court dismisses Monarchs sue FG over non- N11.5b Alao-Akala's application payment of N500bn to NDDC A Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

BICKERING

States and Federal Government bicker over NDDC funds

Tunde Oyesina Abuja

T

raditional rulers from the oil producing states yesterday in Abuja insisted that the Federal Government has shortchanged the people of the states by refusing to pay its counterpart fund to the Niger Delta Development

8,188m

Commission (NDCC).

Speaking at the Federal High Court, Abuja,the Executive Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of the Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), His Royal Majesty Eze Raphael Akuwueze Ikegwuruka, said that the issue of youth restiveness would be drastically reduced if the Federal Government honoured its obligation to the commission.

He added that the traditional rulers met and decided to exploit a le-

The peak height of Cho Oyu, China/Nepal.

Source: Blatantworld.com

gal means to press home their demand for the development of the region.

Twenty one of them had filed a suit against the Federal Government demanding the release of N500billion meant for the development of the region. Cited as defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Finance, the Finance Ministry and the NDDC referred to as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respondents respectively.

According to the plaintiffs, the amount in

154m

The number of fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions of Europe region in 2011.

Source: Itu.int

question, meant for disbursement to the NDDC between 2001 and 2009, was withheld by the Federal Government since the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The monarchs, who commenced the legal action on behalf of themselves and their communities on the platform of TROMPCON, said the case was instituted because for many years, the Federal Government had refused to release funds meant for the infrastructural development of the rich oil region.

2.4m

The number of adults and children estimated to be living with HIV in India in 2008.

Source: Itu.int

FEDERAL Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan yesterday dismissed a suit filed by a former Governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, seeking to quash the N11.5 billion suit filed against him and two others by the EFCC. Alao-Akala, Sen. Hosea Agboola, and a business man, Olufemi Babalola, had appealed a December 12, 2012 ruling by Justice Akintunde Boade of the Oyo State High Court which held that they had a case to answer.

The EFCC had arraigned the appellants before the Court on an

Omisore accuses APC of plotting to kill opponents ...He’s joking - APC Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

T

Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada (middle), flanked by the First Lady, Hajia Halima Ladi; Mrs Mariam Ladi Ibrahim (third left); Chief Mrs. Nike Okundaye (left) and other women, cutting the celebration cake at the recently concluded Kogi Women Conference held in Lokoja, Kogi State.

Wole Shadare

W

orkers in the aviation industry yesterday protested the merger of three agencies by the Federal Government.

They were propelled by the imminent loss of jobs the exercise that plans to merge the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NAMA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) would have on them.

The workers also protested what they termed

Aviation workers protest merger as violations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) by Nigeria.

Nigeria is a signatory to the global aviation regulatory body’s convention as enshrined in Article 38 of the convention which stipulates autonomy for nation’s civil aviation authority.

Some of the workers who spoke to New Telegraph before the protest said they were waiting for their unions to spearhead the struggle to free the sec-

tor from policies that were inimical to the growth of the industry.

At noon, they trooped to the venue where the three unions were expected to brief the media. The more than 100 workers expressed their disappointment on those consulted before government adopted the Steve Orosanye’s committee’s report that bundled the agencies together.

The workers noted that the Orosanye's committee report would do more damage to the sector at a time

many countries in Africa, including Ghana were in Nigeria to copy the model of autonomy for the various aviation agencies.

Three unions: the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) at a joint press conference yesterday at the Lagos airport said the action was a violation of ICAO convention

11-count charge bordering on conspiracy, contract awards without budgetary provisions, and obtaining money by false pretence.

The accused had, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Delivering judegment, Justice Monica DongbanMensem, held that the preliminary objection by Alao-Akala was premature, stressing that the appellant should have waited for the trial to go mid-way at the High Court before appealing.

She held that Alao-Akala did not provide enough evidence to warrant the court to quash the ruling of the lower court, and therefore ordered AlaoAkala to return to the High Court for his trial.

he Osun State PDP gubernatorial candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, yesterday raised the alarm that there are strong indications that the APC in the state is planning to kill one of the aggrieved PDP gubernatorial aspirants.

That he said, was to send a wrong signal that he was killed within the PDP circle.

Senator Omisore, who raised the alarm in a statement made available to newsmen in Osogbo,

however called on security agencies in the state not to take with levity the rumour going round about orchestrated plan by the APC to perpetrate the ungodly act, but rather swing into action to avert such.

In the statement signed by the Director of Media and Strategy Prince Diran Odeyemi, Senator Omisore said: " I have received series of text messages about plans by some APC leaders to kill one of us in the PDP, so as to make it look as if the killing is as a result of rivalry over the gubernatorial primary election we just did."

Inflation jumped to 7.8% in March - NBS Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

D

ays after it carried out the rebasing exercise ranking Nigeria economy as the largest in Africa with $510billion GDP, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has pegged inflation rate for the month of March at 7.8 per cent. The figure is slightly higher than the February figure of 7.7 per cent .

According to the NBS monthly inflation report

released yesterday , for the month of March, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation, edged higher when compared with February as prices rose by 7.8 per cent (year-on-year) in March, a figure that is marginally higher from 7.7 percent recorded in the previous month.

The slight increase in inflation was caused essentially by higher prices for consumables like bread and cereals, fish, dairy, oils and fats, and fruits classes.

metr

NEW TELEGRAPH

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ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun. bello@newtelegraphonline.com

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

CONFLICT

Residents desert an Edo community over invasion by armed thugs, killing, maiming and setting houses on fire Cajetan Mmuta Benin

R

Sanctity

Wednesday, A

0802 393 8212

Two murdered in Edo over leadership tussle

esidents of Azagba in Uhumwonde Local Government Area of Edo State have deserted their homes following the gruesome murder of two indigenes of the community over leadership tussle.

The deceased are Mr Monday Ighitu and a middle-aged man identified as Aimugniosa.

They were shot by thugs on the alleged orders of the Chairman of the Community Development Association, Charles Egbe.

But when contacted yesterday, Egbe denied any involvement in the killing.

In a petition through their counsel, G. E. Oaikhen & Co, members of the community asked the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 5 to investigate the murder.

Their lawyer asked the AIG to “order im-

lHouses set ablaze, residents flee mediate investigation into this sad and ugly event so that our clients can go back to their village to continue their living without any molestation”.

“That when our client assumed the throne in 2011 there were some gross irregularities, massive looting of the community’s money and sales of the community land by Charles Egbe and his gang, which necessitated our client calling Charles Egbe and his gang to come and render an account of the community money in his custody running into N100,000,000,” the petition reads in part.

But reacting to the allegations, Egbe said it was his ‘boy’ that was killed by the suspected

Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State governor

thugs determined to perpetuate criminality in the community.

He said: “As I speak to you now, they are burning down my house and setting my filling station on fire. I am with security agents over the matter.”

Also, yesterday, aggrieved family members and youths from the community, wearing mourning clothes, staged a protest at the Secretariat complex of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council.

The protesters said that their lives were no longer safe as a result of constant harassment and invasion of their community by thugs.

Their spokesman, Prince Elvis Ero, said they were at home on Sunday after the church service when thugs, armed with guns, invaded the house of one of the deceased and shot him dead.

Pakistani student arrested with N228m drug A

Court sentences barber to dea

Dominic Adewole Asaba

TOURIST ATTRACTION

A tourist, who claims to be enamoured with the beauty of Victoria Island and Ikoyi, is now in the NDLEA custody for carrying illicit drug

Juliana Francis

A

19-year-old Pakistani student, who came into Nigeria with the aim of touring Victoria Island, has been arrested for smuggling heroin into country.

The drug is estimated at N228 million.

The suspect, Iftikihar Muhammed Arslan, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

He had cleverly hidden the prohibited drug in a smaller bag inside his luggage.

Arslan, who speaks English fluently, said: “I am a student of Punjab College and I am in Nigeria as a tourist because my friend told me that Victoria Island and Ikoyi are beautiful tourist centres.

“Unfortunately, when I arrived at the Lagos airport, the heroin was found

in my luggage. This is the first time I came to Nigeria and I had intended to spend a week or two.”

The drug, weighing 25.400kg, was discovered in the suspect’s luggage during inward screening of passengers on board Qatar Airline flight.

Narcotic agents believe that the Pakistani is not working alone, but a member of a drug cartel, determined to infiltrate Nigeria.

Preliminary investigation so far has shown that Arslan left Lahore, Pakistan with the drug to Abu Dhabi then Doha from where he connected Lagos.

The NDLEA spokesman, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspect is believed to be working for a Pakistani drug cartel.

He said: “This is the largest single seizure of heroin made at the Lagos airport since January 2014.”

The NDLEA Commander at the Lagos airport, Mr Hamza Umar, added that the 19-year-old Pakistani was found in possession of 25 parcels of brownish substance which tested positive for heroin, weighing 25.400kg at the arrival hall.

Umar disclosed that the suspect was cooperating with the agency’s team of investigators.

The Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, who expressed joy over the ar-

Arslan

rest, said that Nigeria was winning the fight against narcotics.

He said: “This arrest and seizure will further send a warning to drug trafficking cartels that Nigeria is winning the fight against narcotics.

“NDLEA is prepared to halt the criminal activities of drug barons through coordinated drug detection strategies. We are working very hard to also identify other members of the criminal group.”

Giade added that while investigation was on-going, more proactive measures would be taken to prevent the use of Nigeria as a transit point for illicit drugs.

He said that all suspects linked to the crime would be charged as soon as investigation was concluded.

n Ogwashi-Uku High Court in Delta State has sentenced a barber, one Stephen Amamife, to death by hanging for armed robbery.

For decades, the convict, who escaped from prison custody in December 2010, and his gang members, had terrorised the residents of Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of the state, a town hosting the state-owned polytechnic.

Nemesis, however,

caught up with him and his gang members, when they raided a pharmaceu tical store.

They had pretended to be searching for a particu lar herbal mixture before asking the staff to lie down and robbed them at gun point.

A pharmacist, Chidebe re Orji, was robbed of his mobile phone, as well as his wife’s gold necklace, wrist watch and N46,000 cash.

Amamife was found guilty on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery, punishable under Section 1 (2)a, of the

31-year-old man arraigned for st Camillus Nnaji

A

31-year-old man, Adesodun Aiku, was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing 56 handsets.

Aiku, according to the charge sheet No. MK/R/71/2014, committed the offence at No. 57, Kofo Abayomi Street, Apapa, Lagos.

It added that the accused and others at large conspired

among themselves to com mit felony to wit: Burglary and stealing and thereby committed an offense pun ishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2011.

The prosecutor, Inspec tor Ramon Unigbe, told the court that on November 25 2013 Aiku broke into the shop belonging to one Ibidun Ade mola of No. 57, Kofo Abayo mi Street, Apapa, Lagos and stole 56 pieces of assorted

Ekiti 2014: Fayemi, Fayose, Bamidele square up for governorship / PAGE 40-41

POLITICS

NEW TELEGRAPH

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ayodele Ojo

Deputy Editor, politics

Nnamani: We don’t have legal backing to subject CONFAB outcome to referendum

ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

ayodeleojo@yahoo.com

WEDNESday April 16, 2014

p-14-15 POLITICAL NOTES

And the killing spree continues

M

Jonathan

Okonjo-Iweala

Tambuwal

How Reps passed 2014 budget After more than three months of intrigues and manoeuvrings, the House of Representatives, last Wednesday, passed the 2014 Appropriation Bill.

PHILIP NYAM recounts the process

O

n December 19, 2013, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala laid before both chambers of the National Assembly the 2014 Appropriation Bill.

This was a sharp break from the usual tradition of the president personally addressing the lawmakers at a joint session before presenting the budget estimate. This novel practice was however necessitated by the disagreement that ensued between the National Assembly and the Presidency over the Me-

dium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which was earlier submitted to the parliament by the Executive.

The bone of contention between the two was the absence of an acceptable oil benchmark.

While the National Assembly pegged the oil benchmark at $77.5 per barrel of oil, the Executive had proposed $76. As a result, the president had on two occasions postponed the budget presentation.

When President Jonathan

finally made up his mind to lay the budget, he wrote to the Assembly informing them on his decision to send the finance minister to represent him. In the letter he said: “I have delegated the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, to lay before the distinguished Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria the 2014 budget estimates.”

What OkonjoIweala presented was N4.642 trillion.

The intrigues Following the delay in the presentation of the budget, it was not debated before the Na-

CROSSFIRE Agents of the Federal Government moved soldiers there, claiming that they own the land....

They instructed the soldiers to stop the construction –Babatunte Fashola

It is a complete lie. I did not stop anybody from working, neither did I disturb anyone. That land...in fact belongs to the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority.

What they are doing is illegal and unfortunate –Musiliu Obanikoro

tional Assembly proceeded on Christmas and New Year. But Nigerians were welcomed in the New Year with a shocking directive from the All Progressives Congress (APC), to its members in the National Assembly to filibuster all legislative proposals including the “Budget and confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public office until the rule of law and constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State. Although, the party members in the Senate had disregarded the directive, their House counterparts made real the threat when at the commencement of debate, a motion from chairman of the House committee on FCT and a new entrant into the party, Hon. Emmanuel Jime (APC, Benue) shot down the process. The Majority Leader, Hon. Mulikat AkandeAdeola (PDP, Oyo) was cut half way when she attempted to lead debate on the general principles of the budget.

Jime had raised a point of order strictly on grounds of law.

He noted that the budget estimates, as presented before the House, breached Section 21 (I, II, III) of the Fiscal Responsibly Act, 2007. According to him, the Act provides that the governCONTINUED ON PAGE 44

.

onday morning, Nyanya, a town on the outskirts of Abuja city, was violently shaken when a bomb went off, killing scores of people, with many more injured and maimed. The act was suspected to be an act of terrorism.

This adds to the daily increasing list of innocent Nigerians who have been mowed down in their prime, by terrorists, religious militants, tribal combatants, herdsmen and any other aggrieved groups.

Clearly, the value of life in some parts of the country has been reduced to naught, and even citizens are scared to sleep.

As much as everyone agrees that terrorism is a global phenomenon, plaguing a number of countries in the world, the conundrum still remains for how long would the government and people of Nigeria allow it to continue festering on its soil? No matter what rhetoric, promises, lip service, action and inaction government puts forward, the bottom line remains that Nigerians are helplessly dying daily.

As usual, government officials are expected to rephrase and deliver the usual template of; it’s regrettable and barbaric, government is on top of the situation, no stone will be left unturned, the perpetrators will be brought to book and so on.

But the killing spree continues.

These callous and cowardly activities of a few misguided criminals have been allowed to go on for too long, and it is expected that any responsive, and responsible government should go beyond short term reactionary efforts, to long term proactive efforts, with a convincing will to stem the continued massacre.

Government also needs to convince Nigerians that it is serious to prosecute the war against terrorism by actually bringing to book, high profile sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria, not just the over publicized trial of foot soldiers.

14 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Jonathan’s speech, a coup against Hon. Remi Olatubora, a lawyer, is the leader of the Ondo State delegates to the ongoing National Conference in Abuja. The Commissioner for Adult Literacy, Vocation and Tertiary Education and former member of the State House of Assembly, in this interview with LATEEF IBRAHIM, bares his mind on the inaugural speech of President Goodluck Jonathan and other issues concerning the conference. Excerpts: How would you view the President’s inaugural speech at the conference and the various debates concerning it?

A lot of my colleagues have spoken on the President’s speech. My own perspective would touch on issues of jurisprudence; the jurisprudential basis of the President’s speech. I consider the President’s speech in terms of the functions that it conferred on the conference and I would say that when you study it critically, you will find that it was a successful coup against the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is because the forces that activate constitution or that bring constitution into existence are always external to the constitution.

Let me explain. When the first constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was passed in 1960, it was done by the forces that were external to it, the Imperial Parliament in the UK. And when the constitution was brought to an end in 1966 by the General Aguiyi Ironsi coup, it was also brought to an end or abrogated by the forces that were external to the constitution. If you look at the Nigerian constitutions from 1960 to 1979 and to the present 1999 constitution as amended, you will find a loud provision stating that “this constitution is supreme and its provision shall be binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the government of Nigeria or any part thereof except in accordance with the provision of the constitution.”

Let me ask you: When a military coup takes place, does the change in government in accordance with the constitution? That is not the position. A military coup is like a revolution and in a revolutionary period, you look at the law not in the statute book, but in the event. So, what am saying in essence is that the President delivered a successful coup against the constitution and the reason why it was a coup against the constitution is that the very fact of the inauguration of this particular conference puts the constitution, as it were, as suspended and abrogated by President’s speech under probe. We are asked to look at the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the structure of government, the relationship between local government, the state government and the Federal Government, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and what would be

the constituent units. These are the issues that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria addressed. And so, if the President is asking us to probe into all of those issues, then of course, I am of the view that the speech of the President was a successful coup.

Let me make reference to the speech of the President to draw home this particular point. The aspect of that speech of the President, particularly on page 11 of his inaugural speech which reads: “It is our expectation that participants in this conference will patriotically articulate and sensitise our people’s thoughts, views and recommendations for a stronger, more united, peaceful and politically stable Nigeria, forge the broadest possible national consensus in support of those recommendations and strive to ensure that they are given legal and constitutional backing.”

So, how do we ensure that the outcome of the conference, by the delegates and the chairman is given legal and constitutional backing apart from the fact that conference itself, by the coup of the President, becomes a Sovereign National Conference? It is a Sovereign National Conference because it has been vested with powers not only to make recommendations, but to draft a new constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which automatically by the presidential speech, becomes binding. It is an idle talk for anybody to say that the recommendations of this particular conference should be subjected to Executive Council consideration or the parliament.

Looking at the issue of legitimacy, is there a law backing this conference to

The President delivered a successful coup against the constitution and the reason why it was a coup against the constitution is that the very fact of the inauguration of this particular conference puts the constitution, as it were, as suspended and abrogated by President’s speech under probe

make its recommendations binding?

You see, you look into history and then look into legal reality and jurisprudential backgrounds when you are determining legitimacy. When the Lancaster Conference of 1957 and the London Conference of 1958, which preceded the making of the Independence Constitution, were called in London, under which law? Legitimacy is not limited to election. The fact that members of the conference were not elected does not make the conference to become illegitimate. In jurisprudence and even in political theory, legitimacy can come by way of election. It can even come by way of even a dictatorial Act. For instance, when a coup becomes successful, when a revolution becomes successful, it creates a legitimate government and institutions. It is when a coup fails that the coup plotters are tried for treason. But when it succeeds, it confers legitimacy on the coup plotters to begin to rule, to make decrees that would be binding on you and I. So, legitimacy can never be by only democratic means, it can be by despotic act, it could be by dictatorial means.

That is what I meant that the speech of the President was a coup against the constitution. The constitution is under probe at the moment, the processes, the powers of the Presidency are also under probe, the powers and the processes of the National Assembly are also under probe. All arms of government, all tiers of government are directly under probe by this Sovereign National Conference.

Olatubora

Do you see the conference addressing the various diverse problems confronting Nigeria and Nigerians?

Yes. If you look at the speeches that were made by the various delegates so far, you will see that there is a genuine

Nnamani: We don’t have Former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani is a delegate at the ongoing confab. In this interview with ONWUKA NZESHI, he speaks on a number of issues arising from the conference, as well as the politics of his home state, Enugu. Excerpts: What is your position on the proposed plan to allow power shift in Enugu State?

It is only proper that it should go to Enugu North. It’s not written anywhere but it is conventional. Why do we do this? We localise the competition to a particular area, in this case Enugu North Senatorial District. The problem of who becomes governor is localised there. Therefore, it cuts down the cost of having to campaign and run around the whole state. Can you see the wisdom behind it? So, I think that we are observing it and we seem to have no

problem.

There are allegations that the power tussle between Governor Sullivan Chime and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has polarised the party and may thwart the power shift arrangement. What do you have to say on this?

I don’t like discussing individuals but I can tell you that there is no polarisation in Enugu. I have access to the governor and I have access to Ekweremadu and we are talking. We have had our first meeting and we are going to hold more. We don’t have any succession problem whatsoever in Enugu State.

What about the allegations of threats on the lives of those who want to contest against the governor’s wish?

I am not aware of any threats at all.

The days of threats are gone. We don’t have such things any more. I am not aware of any threats at all.

What’s your advice on a contentious issue

POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

15

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Nigeria’s constitution –Olatubora You have people, who have, in one way or the other contributed to the terrible state that Nigeria is now and you have younger generation of individuals who are demanding for answers from them

desire by the delegates to address, in quantitative and qualitative terms, the problems that are currently bedevilling Nigeria. Let me also draw your attention to the structure of the Assembly itself. In that Assembly, you have conservatives, you have progressives, you have liberal

democrats and you have even anarchists.

You have people, who in the years past, were regarded as NADECO (National Democratic Coalition), you have individuals, whose business it was to run them (NADECO members) out of town in that particular Assembly. So, you have people, who have, in one way or the other contributed to the terrible state that Nigeria is now and you have younger generation of individuals who are demanding for answers from them, who are demanding for information from them, right also in the Assembly. So, what is going to be distilled out of the conference will address in quantitative and qualitative terms, the problems that are currently bedevilling Nigeria. That’s my view. And also, you look at the cross section of representation. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, you have an assemblage of individuals, who are to determine the future of this country, having more than 30 per cent representation of women. For the

first time in the history of Nigeria, you have an assemblage of individuals called to decide on the issue of Nigeria, taking care of representation of the ethnic nationalities and even disabled individuals, the civil societies, those individuals who, in the last 30years, have been clamouring for a sovereign national conference.

In that conference you have people like Isekhure Nosakhare, the Chief Priest of Benin, you have Femi Falana, you have Yinka Odumakin, you have Dr. (Mrs.) Joe Okei-Odumakin and you have individuals from the civil societies who have been clamouring for a Sovereign National Conference. The only problem I have is that it does seem as if a good number of our delegates have not come to the realisation of the import of page 11 of the president’s speech, which says, “It is our expectation that participants in this conference will, patriotically, articulate and sensitise our people’s thoughts, views and recommendations for a stronger, more united, peaceful and politically stable Nigeria, forge the broadest possible national consensus in support of those recommendations and strive to ensure they are given the legal and constitutional backing required.”

So, if what we are to do is just merely to make recommendations and then drop it to the president for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council and then for further consideration of the National Assembly, in what ways would it have been possible for us to make them to become legally and constitutionally binding? So, it is part of our efforts, after making recom-

mendations, to come with a brand new constitution, a brand new constitution in spite of the responsibilities of that particular Assembly because we are to come with an outcome that will be legally and constitutionally binding on Nigerians.

How would you react to the belief, in some quarters that majority of the delegates at this conference, are those who have contributed, in one way or the other, to the problems of the country?

People have just made this general statement. Some people will say only18 young persons are in that place, only 18 innocent individuals. I have found that in that particular Assembly, people of my age and below, am 47 years, are dominant. Yes, there are old men, but we also need those old men because we need to ask from them certain information about how Nigeria got to where it is. So, it is very important when we have sessions with them in private discussion and in informal discussion, they give out information to us. When critical issues are being discussed in the Assembly, there are some of those issues that are beyond our own memory, so we call them to a corner and they give us information, very useful and honest information. So, we need them around to give us information on how things went wrong. So, it is just nice and neat that what we have there is a cocktail of different generations of Nigerians coming together to proffer solutions. Those who caused the problems, those who were enmeshed in C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 7

legal backing to subject outcome to referendum of religion at this conference?

Regarding the issue of religion, I think government should have no business managing religion. In fact, left to me, all the Pilgrims boards and Hajj boards should be abolished. Any Nigerian who wants to go to Mecca or Jerusalem, should be able to pay for himself or herself. It should be a private affair.

Religion should be an individual matter.

In fact, I can even go ahead to say that prayers at public gatherings should be discouraged. People should pray according to their own choice either before or after the event. It has become a burden on people and it tends to create what you call polarisation. When I make my submissions, I will be highlighting that there should be a clear demarcation between state and religion. The only role the state should play is to have consular assistance and protection for those going on pilgrimages.

Resource control is a major issue being canvassed at this conference but some groups are opposed to it. What is you view

on the matter?

As far as I am concerned, there is no state in Nigeria that doesn’t have one solid mineral or the other. I think what should happen is that we should encourage states to look inwards to find out areas of comparative advantage and maximise on that. All the states are equally endowed, so the idea of relying on oil alone does not help anybody in this country.

What is your position on the agitations for the report of the conference to go through a referendum?

If we listened very carefully to Mr President on March 17, he said it clearly.

The issue of referendum is work in progress. You heard him trying to persuade the Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review to fast track the process, so that we can accommodate referendum in our constitution. But right now some of us are trying to impose referendum on what we are doing. I don’t think we have reached there yet. We don’t have the legal and

constitutional backing to do that yet. My view is we have an existing constitution and Nigeria is governed by the Rule of Law anchored on our 1999 Constitution.

Until we replace it, we have nothing else

Nnamani

to guide us; we are not above the constitution. We were not elected; this is not a Constituent Assembly. So, let us be guided accordingly and do those things that we are capable of doing.

16 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

NATIONAL CONFERENCE Nigerians have noticed that there are empty seats in the hall every day, an indication that many delegates are absenting themselves from the sittings of the conference. What do you think about this development?

How do we fix Nigeria when half of us are absent? I don’t understand why people have to be absent. I don’t know maybe tomorrow, I might be absent. But I would do exactly as the rule says. I will seek permission. I will put it in writing.

I don’t think anybody would say, I cannot go. But at least let’s do things properly. If we say we want the right thing, what we are doing here is dishonourable, it is definitely not what Nigeria needs. I believe that anybody who cannot really have the tine to serve Nigeria now should say so. It’s not by force. But I think it is highly disrespectful to be called to duty by our country and we begin to toy with the responsibility. It is also disrespectful to some of us. Look at elder statesmen and the traditional rulers. They are in their 70 s and 80s yet they are seated here from morning till night. So, I don’t see the reason somebody like me should not be there.

Why confab may last six months –Briggs Human rights activist, Ms Annkio Briggs is a delegate at the ongoing National Conference who believes in fiscal federalism and restructuring of Nigeria. In this interview with ONWUKA NZESHI, she explains why the conference may last beyond three months

Could it be as a result of the absence of a definite quorum for your sittings in your procedural rules?

I don’t think that it is the absence of a quorum in the rules that is contributing to the rate of absenteeism. Do you need a quorum to attend a plenary sitting where the procedural rule say that you have to be there except you have taken permission? It has nothing to do with quorum. It has nothing to do with two-thirds or three quarters majority.

We are talking about personal commitment to the call to duty.

There have been suggestions that this conference should take its time and resolve all the issues while the forthcoming elections should be put on hold to allow President Goodluck Jonathan run a government of national unity for two years.

What do you think about this proposal?

Well, we are here to bring our different positions from where we are coming from. What I mean by where we are coming from is who are you? You are from a particular ethnic group, a particular state, a particular local government and a particular region of Nigeria. We are seated here but we’ve not started the real discussion of our issues. People are misunderstanding what is going on here as part of the discussion we came here to hold. No it is not part of it.

When we start the work is when we go into the different committees. So, whether we put political issues on hold or not, truly we are all here with different agenda because of the different people that we are.

It is from when another person is speaking that I am able to understand their own pain and their own agitation about what is going on in this country.

If I was not here, I would not have un-

Briggs

Three minutes of presentation of what I think the President said is not work. We need to go into committees and raise the core issues such as federalism, restructuring of the country, political power, regionalism or creation of more states derstood certain things, for instance, the reason the herdsmen are doing what they are doing. So, if these are the issues, let us sit down and talk. It is when we are talking that we would find the solution. It is not just sitting down on our seat and say we should keep this and that on hold.

If we discuss, maybe we would see if that is a good way to go or not. But we

must start the process of talking and let everybody say what they want and then let us see what we can give in return for what we can receive. We may not agree. People should bear in mind that people have come here with what they want for their people. There is no doubt about that, but we may also find a situation where we would agree with each other, and it would be a win-win situation. But we may again find ourselves in a situation where we may not agree. We should also be prepared for those eventualities. Let us start talking first. What we are doing now is not talking. Three minutes of presentation of what I think the President said is not work. We need to go into committees and raise the core issues such as federalism, restructuring of the country, political power, regionalism or creation of more states.

The Middle Belt has issues which they would raise. We all have issues that we would raise.

There are hints that this conference may not be able to conclude its assignment

within the stipulated three months and may need an extension. Is this the thinking of delegates?

I think that we would not be fair to Nigerians on whose behalf we say we are here if we cast three months in iron. How are we assessing what we are doing in three months? We could finish in two months if it is a win-win situation or we could finish in three months.

We could also finish in five or six months but we have to start work first.

We have not started working yet, unless you people think that we are working now. We are just getting things in order.

People are still discussing in three minutes what they feel the president has said and by their presentation you can begin to see where the real work will go.

Some people are for federalism while some people are not for federalism. We are for federalism because we know the benefits of federalism. There are people who don’t want federalism and want the status quo to remain because federalism will not work for their personal interest. There are people who believe that federalism is the only way this country can develop and move forward. They are all here to push these positions.

Why waste time debating the President’s speech for two weeks when you know you have the real work ahead of you and limited time to complete the assignment?

The debate on the President’s speech is important and not a waste of time.

We are taking the emotions that we would have taken raw if we had gone straight into the committees, and those emotions are there. Let’s not pretend.

We are taking the roughness off those emotions. Right now, for me, I understand different people from different parts of Nigeria much better than I ever did before I came to this conference. That’s just the honest truth. I am also more sympathetic with other people’s positions much better than I ever did in the past because I have been in the same room with them and I have heard them speak about their problems.

I have seen their passion, I felt the pains that they are going through. Before, I did not know as much. What I am saying is that what we are doing by debating the inaugural speech is not a waste of time.

You just cannot come, bring almost 500 people here and just push them into committees to work from the first day. What we are doing is calming everybody down. We need this space of time for emotions to calm down so that we can be reasonable and listen to each other.

POLITICS 17

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

There are issues about the legality and constitutionality of the conference, what is your take on that?

The constitution guarantees freedom of association. But the limit that the money to be expended on this national conference is not appropriated for, yes, people might challenge the government.

But that is not enough, because within appropriation, supplementary appropriation is allowed. So, maybe the president would explain to us where he got the money to organize this. Secondly, we are yet to define what we want to get out from the conference. Notwithstanding all that and legality apart, the question is with the situation we have found ourselves in this country. Do we need to discuss our future, I would say yes. For whatever it takes, whether there is a hidden agenda, whether it is legal or not, to avoid the looming danger ahead of this country, we need to dialogue with ourselves. To that extent, I think we should still go ahead. For those who feel they have axe to grind, it’s also their right to go to court. We await the outcome of the court, but that won’t stop the going of the conference, until there is a pronouncement from the court.

Are you disposed to the outcome of the conference being subjected to referendum or turned back to the National Assembly?

Sincerity of purpose is what we need in this country. Once we are honest with what we are doing, things will move. Whether the National Assembly or referendum, the whole essence is to ensure the unity of this country and entrench justice for all citizens. In doing this, we must stop suffering in the midst of plenty. Poverty knows no color, gender or tribe. If this conference could be channeled by those elected to work and they conduct it fairly, whatever method they adopt would be acceptable to the people, but if injustice is perpetrated then anything could happen.

What is your reaction to the recent tragedy where some youths died in the process of sitting for a job interview?

Nigeria is a country of paradox where we continue to suffer in the midst of plenty. We have our crude oil providing us money, capital that we can use to generate employment and create wealth for our budding youths. We have the land that we can till for farming activities. Also, we have cheap labour. So, we have no reasons for the preponderance of our youths to be unemployed.

To worsen the situation is the creating

Ogun APC crisis has not been resolved –Senator Kaka Senator Gbenga Kaka is a former deputy governor of Ogun State and presently represents Ogun East Senatorial district in the National Assembly. In this interview with WALE ELEGBEDE, he speaks on the National Conference, the protracted crisis in his party, the All Progressives Congress and the gale of unemployment among youths set. We refuse to admit that our inability to provide employment for the idle hands that resulted to the uprising that we are having. Not even ready to proffer a solution, we are now sentencing the young ones to the great beyond. The culprits must be brought to book and there must be sanitation within the system. I wonder what the NLC and TUC are still waiting for. We need to put a stop to this and attach value to human lives. It has happened before, the last exercise they did, nearly a hundred died. We must say enough is enough.

Kaka

of sad moments in the untimely death of those young ones who hopeless are unnecessarily sentenced to the great beyond. The sight was horrible and I wept when I saw it on television. If after graduating we cannot provide jobs for our youths, then the next thing is to organise a shoddy employment test.

Some months ago, the same Immigration Service was alleged to have illegally recruited 4,500 people collecting thousands of naira from applicants, and the then Comptroller-General was sacked and we have not heard anything till date. Shortly afterwards, the new one now said people should come and apply online, N1000 was collected

‘Jonathan’s speech, a coup against Nigeria’s constitution’ CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 5

the crisis and those of us who belong to the angry generation of Nigerians, who were born when Nigeria was in crisis are all part of the conference.

I was born during the civil war. I didn’t cause the civil war. I grew up to read in history the immediate and remote causes of the civil war. So, I belong to the generation of angry Nigerians, who are demanding for answers from the older generation and they were there.

On a number of occasions, I have had

discussions with Chief Olu Falae, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Olanihun Ajayi, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai and Ibrahim Coomasie, the former Inspector General of Police. I have had the privilege of interacting with them. If they are not here at the national conference, the richness of information that we have been able to derive from these individuals would have been lacking in the processes and that would have affected in a substantial way the quality of what the outcome of this particular deliberation would be.

The elders have said we should maintain peace and we are doing that. But I only hope it is not the peace of the graveyard because nobody oppresses you and gets away without your consent per applicant, how many millions paid the fee, we don’t know, just as we don’t know what they used the fee for.

If they collected such kind of money and they cannot organize a simple test, that should be conducted as if you are dealing with human beings, having our youths scrambling for sheets of paper in the stadium under a scotching sun, its unheard of. This shows we are still barbaric and still in the fifth world. If nothing is done and heads don’t roll over these issues, then Mr. President is having a case to answer, because the buck stops at his table. We cannot continue to condone this impunity, this attitude of no value to human lives. What we are having with Boko Haram today, we got the problem wrong from the on-

What is the situation in Ogun APC as regards the harmonization of the party structure?

Has it come back to normalcy now?

Like I used to say, there cannot be normalcy and peace where there is injustice. We still have injustice being perpetrated. The interim committee is still working in some states. I was duly elected as the secretary, the chairman was to be provided by the governor (Amosun), and he refused to provide it.

People said we should maintain peace, we maintained peace. After maintaining the peace, the list of those to register were supposed to be harmonized, yet only the governor’s list was used. I don’t want to comment on the registration, we are waiting for the final list to be given out and we will cross-check whether it confirmed to what transpired during the registration exercise. The elders have said we should maintain peace and we are doing that. But I only hope it is not the peace of the graveyard because nobody oppresses you and gets away without your consent. For me and many of our followers in Ogun State, we will not give consent to any oppression whatsoever. Once the oppression is not remote, you can be sure that we will continue to resist it, and we will triumph because light will always triumph over darkness.

Don’t you think this internal wrangling may affect the fortune of your party in 2015?

It cannot affect the fortunes of the party. Those of us playing politics in all the political parties are not more than five percent of the society; the remaining 95 percent are the electorate. They are enlightened and civilized; they are watching all of us. If it is only two percent that are ready to stand for excellence, justice and true democracy, the 95 percent would follow them. Those of us who are playing politics and are not ready to play by the rules of the game, they will tell them to vacate the scene, and if they don’t want to do it peacefully, they will be forced out.

More stories on Pages 40-44

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014

“IT IS IN LITERATURE THAT THE CONCRETE OUTLOOK OF HUMANITY RECEIVES ITS EXPRESSION” ― Alfred North Whitehead

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LITERATURE

Sundry rhythms, free verses in Osaze’s Burning Bush Author: Samuel Osaze Book Title: Aroma of a Burning Bush Genre: Poetry Date of Publication: April, 2014 Pages: 104 Reviewer : Reginald Chiedu Ofodile

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roma of a Burning Bush roused, then doused, a certain suspicion of mine. It is my distrust of free verse! I bow to the masters: in the last two centuries, such luminaries as Walt Whitman, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot and Langston Hughes profusely produced free verse, which are of course global classics.

However, that form, or ‘formlessness,’ has grievously degraded poetry. A certain obnoxious notion has obviously taken root. It is that, if words were set out in short lines, however uninspired, or bland or clumsy, the presentation merited the designation ‘poetry’ and all objectors deserved denunciation as stultifying arch-traditionalists. The global spawn of this concept have sometimes been work that is beneath pedestrian: devoid of insight and intellect and artistry.

Samuel Osaze in Aroma of a Burning Bush presents many impressive free verse poems. Insightful, a veritable wordsmith, he proves that free verse need not be facile or flimsy.

The topics in the collection are many and varied. The work embraces the public and the private, the romantic and the elegiac, gratitude to benign mentors and clash of elements, verses ‘Soyinkaian’ and some ‘Okigbotic.’ The poem Say Yes I do recalled the secondary school love-letter of a generation ago, and also Shakespeare’s 18th Sonnet, Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?... The eulogies in Osaze’s collection prompt the reflection that poets are famously introspective, retrospective, melancholic, preoccupied with bereavement. The sneer of John Donne’s 17th century classic, Death Be Not Proud, is echoed in Dylan Thomas’s 20th century declaration, And Death Shall Have no Dominion. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s renowned In Memoriam, his eulogy of his idolised friend Hallam, is like a widow’s grieving for her husband. Isn’t Thomas Gray immortalized by his morbid musing on death, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?

Felicitous phrases and delightful alliterations abound in Aroma of a Burning Bush. From the beginning of the collection comes: A lonely leaf protests in vain / awaiting fame of full flame / awe of helpless veils the arsonists face / for the mild fire is gone wild.

In the poem, To the Slave Owner, under (viii) is the phrase ‘throes of

trauma.’ Under (xi) comes ‘a flourishing flag of freedom.’ In Bird of Sorrow comes ‘mad on mud bed...’ In A Gaze from an Angelic Face is: ‘... excavate me / To the surface, in picnic of fresh breath...’

In Fire and Water is, ‘Your fiend, your friend,’ and in Dear Retribution ‘As Python pounces on its prey.’ Take me to my Destiny asserts the importance of the spirit, its potential to remain unshaken by crushing obstacles. It recalls the classic Victorian paean to valour, William Ernest Henley’s Invictus. Out of the Night that covers me / Black as the pit from pole to pole / I thank whatever gods may be / For my unconquerable soul... / It matters not how strait the gate / How charged with punishments the scroll / I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul.

Aroma of a Burning Bush, will scandalise and tranquillise, entertain and educate, baffle and tickle.

None is likely to fault it as bland or banal

This is echoed in a 20th century disavowal of timidity, Maya Angelou’s Life Doesn’t Frighten me. Shadows on the wall / Noises down the hall / Life doesn’t frighten me at all...

Maya Angelou, that world-acclaimed phenomenon, in her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, made an assertion that is apposite to Osaze’s collection: “We live in direct relation to the dedication of our poets.” Poetry can efface fear, restore wrecked and wretched souls, illumine, direct, inspire, inspirit.

Mahatma Ghandi, ploughing his excruciating furrow, was sustained by certain words of India’s great poet, Rabindranath Tagore: “If they answer not to thy call, walk alone.” The accomplished Nigerian writer, Elechi Amadi, despairing in detention during the Nigerian civil war, was upheld by James Elroy Flecker’s verse “...But surely we are brave, Who make the Golden Journey to Sarmarkand.”

Some suppose that poetry is invariably civil, beguiling, and unobtrusive.

Aroma of a Burning Bush, whilst manifesting considerable charm, features acerbic elements. The collection is audacious and combative, neither quailing at unpleasantness nor shrinking from the unpalatable. The poet’s forthrightness embraces even the anal: “The one whose anus / Sits upon my head, warmly afflicting my / Soul with early baldness.’

I like to think that Samuel Osaze’s work is organic. I hope he continually explores and experiments with form and other poetic elements in the lifelong studentship of the serious artist.

His poetic debut, Aroma of a Burning Bush, will scandalise and tranquillise, entertain and educate, baffle and tickle. None is likely to fault it as bland or banal.

Ivy League hosts 5th Chinua Achebe Colloquium on Africa

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s part of the festivities to marks the 250th anniversary of Brown University, the Ivy League citadel will host the fifth Chinua Achebe Colloquium on Africa. The conference will take place May 1, 2, and 3, 2014. This year the Colloquium will focus on “African Literature as Restoration: Chinua Achebe as Teacher”.

Attending this gathering is a constellation of political, cultural and intellectual superstars from every corner of the globe. Panelists from the United States, Great Britain, South Africa, Finland, Sweden, India, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Ghana, Spain, Canada and Ireland will present papers. Other special guests will include leading figures in the political, cultural – musical, dance and fine Arts sectors - from around the world, the organisers said in a statement

Founded by the late Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor emeritus at Brown University, the Achebe Colloquium annually brings together an international group of scholars, officials from African governments, the United Nations, North America, the European Union, and other organizations for several days of intense deliberation and exchange of ideas on the importance of Art, Literature and Culture; and the need to strengthen democracy and peace on the African continent.

The conference will be of interest to the general public, Art lovers, literature enthusiasts, teachers of literature, students of literature – both college and high school - cultural aficionados, high school students, book clubs, cultural groups and organizations; and the curious and open-minded.

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

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

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EDITORIAL

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Sanctity of Truth w w w.new telegraphonli ne.com

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

WEDNESday, APRIL 16, 2014

No end to dwindling telecoms service?

he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has attributed the dwindling quality of telecommunication services to multiple taxation and regulations by governments at all levels. Executive Vice-Chairman, Dr. Eugene Juwah, recently expressed regrets that some state governments has restricted the spread of critical telecommunications infrastructures. He said telecommunications has contributed 8.5 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with Nigeria maintaining the lead in Africa as the fastest growing telecommunications market for five consecutive years. The commission had as of January 2014 recorded more than 127 million active lines from less than 400,000 in 2001 and earned a tele-density of more than 91 per cent.

Indeed, there are problems confronting Global Satellite Mobile Network (GSM) operators but they too are deliberately short changing the public under different guises. Some of the problems associated with GSM service in Nigeria include increased drop calls, inability to load credit on pre-paid lines, limited network coverage, difficulty in making calls and sending text messages, sub-charging subscribers for services not applied for, illegal promos and advertisements, high

tariffs, and network failures, to mention a few.

The GSM providers ought to have factored all the challenges in the Nigerian market into their business plans from the outset.

Nigeria’s digital mobile network has grown significantly since the three companies, awarded the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) licence in January 2001, began operating in August of that year. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) the GSM network achieved 350,000 connections within six months of their launch. The new operators have also reduced their start-up prices, though customers still complain that their tariff is too high. Using GSM mobiles to connect with fixed lines is still hampered by the limited number of interconnectivity lines provided

by Nigerian Telecommunications, which used to be a GSM operator but lags behind the private firms – MTN Nigeria Communications and then Econet Wireless now Airtel – in expanding its mobile services before it went into limbo.

In 2001, the Nigerian Communication Sector took a new dimension, as GSM service was introduced and Nigerians embraced it with both hands. GSM came as a welcome development in Nigeria, because the world is now globalized and information technology is one factor that is responsible

for that. The country has demonstrated its readiness to join the league of the nations in the track of Economic prosperity associated with Communication Technology.

The percentage of Mobile Telecommunication subscribers in Nigeria is over 70 per cent and this percentage clearly shows how much we have accepted GSM as our way of communication. GSM has no doubt impacted positively on the lives of Nigerians considering the fact that it enables effective communication not only in cities but also even in rural areas. Nigerian GSM subscribers can now use their mobile phones to do many things including making voice calls, sending short messages services (text) and other high level of services like, transmitting (sending) and receiving still and line images, watching live events from any part of the world.

However, GSM operators appear to be more interested in building market share than offering quality services to their consumers. Every now and then they proudly announce the number of millions of subscribers they now have. Some are even rolling out new number ranges every time without asking how existing GSM customers are faring.

In fact, services of GSM operators are so bad these days that sometimes it feels as if Nigerians broke free from the shackles of the very atrocious behemoth called NITEL only

to end up in the shackles of the less wicked GSM operators. The only difference is that now people have a choice no matter its inherent limitations. Nigerians can choose which GSM operator is less oppressive at a given time.

The GSM operators still have a very long way to go in the provision of qualitative and quantitative services to the people of Nigeria. There is none that can be confidently referred to as offering service without a catalogue of hitches.

GSM business in Nigeria is not just a one-off thing, therefore more investment should be made in the area of installing more sophisticated equipment to address the massive subscriber base in the country and the associated problems.

NCC should partner with other institutions like the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) to effectively regulate the telecommunications industry and get the best service possible at all times.

Unchecked, service providers will cutcorners and find ready-made excuses for their inefficiencies which are not tolerated in other climes, especially the home base of some of the operators. The interests of the Nigerian consumers must always be protected. Citizens too should begin to demand for quality service within the subsisting laws, rather than allowing their patronage to be taken for granted.

GABRIEL AKINADEWO Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief IKE ABONYI Deputy Managing Director/DEIC FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU Managing Editor, South SULEIMAN BISALLA Managing Editor, North AYODELE OJO Acting 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 GEOFFREY EKENNA News Editor PADE OLAPOJU Production Editor TIMOTHY AKINLEYE Head, Graphics ROBINSON EZEH Head, Admin.

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Sanctity of Truth

OPINION What the Confab will not achieve Akpoyibo Unutemeta

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ith more than two weeks out of the three months period for the national conference, any hope that the conference shall point the way forward for a new Nigeria is fast disappearing and it is only the obviously optimistic Nigerians that still attach any importance to the confab. If members of the conference could allocate two weeks to discuss the speech of one man, the president of the nation, it staggers the imagination of how many weeks would be devoted to the many burning national problems plaguing all of us. Is it the picture of sleeping delegates or that of security personnel fighting among themselves with journalists being made the scapegoat? If members of the national conference succeed in preventing journalists from covering some of the sensitive discussions, it boils down to one thing and a very sad one at that: that the very people who are supposed to benefit from the deliberations of these select Nigerians are deprived of the benefit of the type of country they want.

There were previous conferences and the reports of such are gathering dust in federal government official cabinet. The better and wise choice was for the Jonathan administration to dust up such files and find out if the recommendations of such conferences could be beneficial to our present condition. But, the government would have none of that but would rather organise its own conference.

And that is the circus Nigerians are being fed with. For a president who staunchly resisted the idea of a national conference for more than two years only to be converted to the same idea in the twilight of his administration should be enough warning that there is more to this conference than probably meets the eye. For me, the exercise is nothing more than power retention tactic. Thus, what seems to matter is how to gain more political mileage from the national conference. History and posterity shall be the best judge in this matter. What one can say is that Nigerians are rather too sophisticated politically to be preys to such

tactics of distractions and time buying exercise.

The conference is doomed to fail going by the vibrations coming from Abuja. In the end, it will just be a waste of N7b of tax payers’ money, which could have made significant differences in the lives of my down-trodden compatriots.

Time was when it was widely believed that the steady flow of petroleum products was the achievement of the administration. Today such people are tongue tied as petroleum scarcity has become the order of the day, obviously because all the money used in turn-around- maintenance ended in private pockets. This conference will not solve the problem of corruption in the country as some of the people attending the conference were part of the people that brought us to this ugly past. Corruption shall continue to be the national symbol and the likes of Robert Mugabe shall make us a butt of dirty international jokes.

Forget about the recent rating that Nigeria`s economy is the largest in Africa. Maybe what that economic reading failed to add is that ours is the most corrupt nation in the world. The delegates currently holed up in Abuja shall never focus their minds in that direction. And if the conference cannot solve the problem of corruption, it means that this country despite the abundant crude oil and gas wealth will wear the sack clothes of poverty, with progress and development perching only in the realm of imagination.

The conference will never solve the problem of lack of unity buffeting the nation. The reason is that our political elites believe in a game of delusion and dissembling. This nation is not united and the concept of a `Nigerian` is just fictional. That is why people are not sincere about the implementation of fiscal federalism despite the fact that ours is called the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is why one traditional ruler could boast of moving to Cameroun and leaving the country. That is the more reason the struggle to control the presidency is very fierce.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Does it really make sense that a local government council should get financial allocations from Abuja to run its activities? This skewed federal system needs thorough overhaul but the indications from the national conference are that most delegates are not patriotic enough to speak the truth about fiscal federalism and resource control. My long standing argument is, implement fiscal federalism and the proponents of state creation and those angling to be local council chairmen and councillors will become dumb and irrelevant. With the current state of affairs at the national conference, the delegates would not be able to solve the issues of poverty and insecurity choking the nation. And if these fundamental underpins which are the primary duties of governance – the security and welfare of the citizens, are not addressed by the national conference, I wonder what the delegates are doing in Abuja, wasting taxpayers` money.

The national conference will not be able to solve the issues of doctored and flawed elections because as it stands today, the delegates still see Jonathan as doing them great favour by inviting them to Abuja. This is not concoction but merely a rehash of most of the delegates’ responses to the president`s inaugural speech.

And when you add the boast of the president in Enugu recently that PDP will capture the whole of South East, it will be delusional excursion to contemplate for a split second that next year’s polls shall be free and fair.

What of the state of power supply in the country?

Do our over pampered delegates have the magic wand to make the supply of electricity regular for at least four hours a day? In the governance of a nation, any nation for that matter, the key ingredients are sincerity and transparency. These are unfortunately in short supply in the country at the moment.

• Akpoyibo Unutemeta, a journalist in Asaba. 08037768392

Fashola, Jonathan and that religious jibe Kayode Ojo

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ince he became governor of Lagos state in 2007, Babatunde Raji Fashola has largely avoided unnecessary controversies. Rarely did he engage in those acrimonies that usually distract his colleagues, which many believe accounts for his unwavering focus on issues of governance. Even when his predecessorturned-godfather turns the heat on him, as he regularly does, Fashola keeps a cool mien. The result, you must concede to him, is that he has performed above average.

However, for some inexplicable reasons, Fashola is now turning that legacy upside down by jumping into unnecessary controversies.

From his actions and utterances, he now gives the impression he is not the smooth guy we have all been led to believe he is. Not only has he chosen, in the twilight of his tenure, to hurl political missiles across the land, he is raising so much dust in the process. His recent statement that President Goodluck Jonathan spends more time inside the church than he spends leading the country is one of such unfortunate statements. Fashola made this statement while speaking at the sixth Bola Tinubu

Colloquium in Lagos, tagged “The Summit of the Common man,” urging Nigerians to decide whether they want someone who spends most of his time in church or the man who is ready to spend his time on the job.

While it is difficult to relate the above statement to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, it is even more difficult to understand what he intends to achieve with it. And this leads to the question: is Fashola a true Muslim? The question is necessary because, as the governor of a multi-religious state like Lagos, famed for tolerance among the adherents of the various religions, it is surprising that Fashola has chosen to disparage the Christian faithful, just to score a cheap point over President Jonathan. Besides, Muslims in all climes have over time labored to convince all of us that theirs is a tolerant religion --- one that respects other faiths. The governor’s recent unguarded outburst would therefore appear to give that effort a bashing.

What has the President’s devotion to his Creator got to do with his performance, so much that Fashola believes it is time wasted? Let’s juxtapose this position, for if indeed he is a true Muslim, he would probably observe the mandatory five

prayers every day, most times abandoning state duties to do so. When you contrast this with President Jonathan who takes time off to worship in various churches on Sundays, Fashola would appear to be the one who spends more time in ablution and mosques. Yet no one quarrels with that.

Would he rather the President spends his time with the Babalawos in Badagry like his godfather is wont to?

In playing the religious card against President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, Fashola forgot the realities of his own party and his state. That Christians in Lagos state which he governs have over time been sidelined as far as the governorship slot is concerned, is one. The raging controversy that his party, the All Progressive Congress, is gearing for a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket for the 2015 elections with his godfather as major beneficiary is the other. Add that to the criticism that the party’s top leadership is preponderantly peopled by adherents of the Muslim faith, and you will wonder why a man like Fashola who lives in a glass house, should be busy throwing stones. Rather than advert his mind to those indictments of the political platform and the dynasty that propped him up and

continues to hold him to ransom against the wishes of the Lagos electorate, he has chosen to cry wolf where none existed.

Fashola’s attitude to Jonathan is revealing indeed, for it is a curious insight into how he regards his wife, Abimbola Emmanuela Fashola, a born again, fire-spitting, tonguespeaking Christian just like his godfather’s spouse. If he has such disdain for Christians, how has Abimbola been coping with him all this while? Is it not likely that Madam regularly gets on Oga’s nerves often for spending time in church or prayer, and getting bitterly scolded in the process?

It is understandable that Fashola’s increasing estrangement within his All Progressive Congress caucus in his Lagos state and at the regional and national levels may be driving him to frustration, but it is still not excusable for him to vent his frustration on the wrong person. In the past few weeks, Fashola as a sitting governor has wallowed in the political wilderness of Lagos, shut out from the crucial decision-making in the APC, including the search for his successor.

Not only has Bola Tinubu taken the centrestage in playing the state’s political chess, he has continually rubbished the sitting governor in the process.

• Kayode Ojo sent this piece from Ketu, Lagos.

AAU scribe makes case for quality assurance in varsities }p-26

CAMPUS

We’re repositioning our schools to meet global standard – Osun Deputy Gov }p-23

EDUCATION

Rotaract donate to charity, participates in environmental sanitation }p-27 NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/education

KAYODE OLANREWAJU, Editor, EDUCATION

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

21

What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.

- Joseph Addison

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014

UTME: Goodbye to paper test mode END OF ROAD

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said good-bye to the use of paper pencil test in its examinations, thus, signifying the end of road for exam fraudsters.

Mojeed Alabi

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or candidates seeking admission into the nation’s higher institutions through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), it is good bye to paper mode test.

Beginning from next year, JAMB, the body saddled with the conduct of qualifying examinations into the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, has announced plans to drop the paper test mode for its much celebrated Computer-Based Test (CBT).

Massive examination malpractices, use of mercenaries to write examinations, delayed arrival of examination materials, and use of special centres, among other forms of examination fraud had continued to trail the conduct of the JAMB examinations.

Worried by the persistent examination fraud characterising qualifying examinations in to the nation’s higher institution, stakeholders at a point were canvassing the scrapping of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, alleging that the examination body had failed in its duties to conduct fraud-free exams and hence it should let go.

However, these challenges led to the introduction of the Post-JAMB, which later became Post-UTME in the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

But, confronted by this situation and the determination to rid the system of sharp practices and other sundry examination malpractices, the management of the board swung to action with various policies and measures to checkmate fraudulent activities in its exams.

The board, since the administration of Prof Salim Bello, has continued to introduce various measures ranging from the Type-B question papers, cancellation of the use of calculators, to disallowing candidates from going into examination halls with GSM phones.

Candidates writing the exam

I think except we want to keep drawing back the hands of the clock, there is no point delaying further the full take-off of the CBT mode by next year...

Wike, Minister

Despite these efforts, examination malpractices was said to be unabated, forcing Professor Dibu Ojerinde, on assumption of office as JAMB Registrar, to introduce several other policies to sanitise the system.

Paramount among these include the use of biometric system to capture the thump printing of the candidates at the entry of the examination hall, as well as the new Computer-Based Test, that will replace the old tradition of Paper Pencil Test mode.

In spite of the damning fact of lower figure of candidates who opted for the computer-based option during this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), conducted last Saturday, the management of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has restated its commitment that come 2015, no candidate willing to write its examination will have other alternative than the CBT.

Ojerinde

But stakeholders have continued to express concern over the new examination policy, casting doubt on its success and viability, and citing the various challenges associated with the use of Information Technology (IT) in the country.

With about 1, 606, 753 candidates, who registered for the three modes of the examination for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, 990, 179 candidates applied for the Paper Pencil Test (PPT); 25, 325 candidates applied for the Dual-Based Test (DBT), which is a combination of both the CBT and DBT; only 616, 574 candidates applied for the CBT. This, however, suggests that few numbers of candidates have onlisted their support for the CBT, while majority are not in support of the decision of the board.

But, to the JAMB Registrar, there is no going back on this new exploit.

According to the board, the decision to jettison the traditional paper pencil test and switch completely to the CBT mode is irreversible and that the questions about the infrastructural challenges and JAMB’s capability to overcome those challenges hold no water.

Explaining the mode of its operations, Ojerinde, who is very hopeful that the CBT mode will eliminate the perennial problem of examination malpractices, noted that there is the biometric exercise put in place for registration for entering into the examination hall.

He said: “The candidates’ thumbprints captured during registration must be recognised by the computer during a follow-up thumb printing exercise before the candidate is finally allowed into the examination hall. This process is aimed at eliminating impersonation and use of mercenaries to write examination, as well as the use CONTI NUED ON PAGE24

22 EDUCATION

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Provost tells NUC to reject varsities without counseling centres Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

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f the Provost of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Professor Adeyemi Idowu, a Professor of Guidance and Counseling, has his way, the National Universities Commission (NUC), should sanction universities without Counseling and Human Development Centres (CHDC).

Idowu, a Professor of Guidance and Counseling at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), said such universities were acting against the Federal Government directive.

Idowu, who is currently the Provost of Adeyemi College of Education made the call while delivering his inaugural lecture at UNILORIN, where he lamented that contrary to a government directive on the establishment of CHDC several universities, both public and private, are yet to obey to the order.

Idowu

In the lecture entitled: “Raising the Bar: The Counselor’s Mandate”, the lecturer expressed concern over apparent neglect of the sector in many public institutions, warning that unless the issue of counseling is adequately and appropriately addressed in our institutions, there is the danger that the country will, for a long time, continue to be a nation of unrealised hopes and unfulfilled promises.

According to the don, the refusal of full accreditation should also be extended to colleges of education and polytechnics that fail to establish such centres, which are meant to assist students in dealing with possible challenges that can affect their behaviour and psychological make-up.

He said: “The Federal Government had once issued an order to all universities to set up independent counseling centres on their campuses. Based on the order, the practice of establishing counseling centres by the Education Faculty should stop since they were not being accorded their required place in the university system.

The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Julius Okojie said the documents were produced to ensure that universities provide the psychological, behavioural and other learning support services for students.

Cross-section of graduating students of UNIOSUN, Osogbo during the 3rd convocation ceremony of the university.

AUN President visits displaced persons, donates relief items Emeldah Ogene Abuja

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orried by the spate of violence in the North Eastern part of the country, resulting to rising number of displaced person, the President of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Dr. Margee Ensign, has led some members of the Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative (API) to the Emir of Mubi, Adamawa State.

The visit to the Emir palace was part of moves to commiserate with the people on the plight of displaced persons from Borno and Yobe states, seeking refuge from the insurgency of Boko Haram sect attacks in the part of the country.

Ensign, who spoke with over person of the Group, Chief Fe- 200 men, women and children lix Ayegbusi, noted the hostel after donating relief items to would be built on Build Oper- them, urged them not to lose ate and Transfer (BOT) basis, an arrangement which would allow ADG to build and operate the hostel for 25 years, after which its ownership will be Emeldah Ogene transferred to the university.

Abuja He said: “Now that we have got the go ahead, we are gohe Federal Government ing to start work immediately. has reiterated its position Within the next three months, that education remains the the university will see how far only veritable tool in the fight we would have gone. And we are against poverty, diseases and going to comply entirely with various other socio-cultural the specifications that the uni- and political challenges conversity has given us.” fronting the country.

Ayegbusi thanked the instiSupervising Minister of tution for allowing the Group Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike be part of the infrastructural disclosed this at the ground expansion of the university, breaking ceremony for the even as he solicited the coop- construction of the Univereration of the university com- sal Basic Education (UBE) munity to make the project a Special Vocational School in huge success.

Delta State.

Ajasin varsity, Akoko group sign MoU

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Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will facilitate the build of a 200-bed space female hostel and address the problem of inadequate students hostel confronting the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State, has been endorsed by the institution and the Akoko Development Group (ADG).

The Registrar, Mr. Bamidele Olotu, who signed the MoU on behalf of the university management, praised the group on eminent Akoko people for partnering with the university in its desire to be 21st Century compliant.

Olotu appealed to the group to construct the hostel building according to the Master Plan of the university.

While explaining the modalities for the project, the spokes-

hope in spite of what they were going through.

“We are here as your mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, we feel your hunger and suffering, it makes us want to do more to stop the violence, we have come to show our love and support and to tell you that you are not alone,” she said.

In his contribution, the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Father Taparki, who prayed with the displaced persons, also encouraged them to remain calm and peaceful and to love one another.

The Secretary General of the Adamawa Muslim Council, Imam Dauda Bello, sympathised with the distressed and prayed to God to mend their broken hearts.

“We have come to sympathise with you and pray to God that this mayhem should not ever be

repeated. But look inward not to use religion to cause violence,” he said.

The spokesman for the displaced persons, Malam Ibrahim Saliu, expressed gratitude to the members of API, saying their encouragement, prayers and gifts, have gone a long way to comfort them and the solidarity of the Adamawa Peacemakers as they came to identify with their situation.

Ensign explained that their mission is that of peace and the intention of the API is to build a network of peacemakers to Mubi and other parts of the state.

The President informed the Emir of plans by the management of AUN, a private university founded by the former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the API to convene a national peace conference in Yola by June, this year.

Education as a veritable tool against poverty - FG

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The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Macjohn Nwaobiala, noted that efforts had been made in the past to ensure that UBE delivered its priority interventions with the segments of the country’s school-age population.

He lamented that though significant progress had been made in that direction, insisting that a large number of school age population are still out of school.

According to him, “without any doubt, the incidence of a large number of out-of-school

children in our country has posed a challenge to our quest for the attainment of higher level of utilization of basic education”.

Wike said the importance of education to socio-economic development all over the world is very significant especially in its role in human capital development.

The current democratic dispensation, the minister argued, has halted the implementation of very elaborate educational policies and invested heavily in the transformation of the nation’s education system.

INTERVIEW | EDUCATION

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

We’re repositioning our schools to meet global standard – Osun Deputy Gov The almost four years of Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration in Osun State has witnessed major reforms in the education sector.

In this interview with MOJEED ALABI, the Deputy Governor, Otunba Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, who doubled as the Supervising Commissioner for Education, gave details of the state’s investment in education and the positive results currently being recorded.

How will you react to the opposition to the state’s school merger and reclassification policies?

Well, we cannot discuss the merger of schools and reclassification policies without giving the details of the background to the major reforms and policies in the state’s education sector.

When our administration came on board in 2010, what we met on ground was terrible and disgusting. There was no data about the schools, infrastructure was nothing to write home about as classrooms were already caving in, and staff welfare or training was not in place. As at that time statistics revealed that only three per cent of our secondary school leavers were admissible to higher institutions. That informed the government’s decision to hold an all-inclusive education summit, which took place precisely in February 2011, and was chaired by the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka. So, the reclassification is meant to actualise all the reforms. That is the answer in a nutshell. However, for adequate understanding of the whole arrangement, we have reclassified the school system into three basic structures; the elementary, middle and high schools structures in accordance with the age group of the children which were classified as age six to nine; 10 to 14 and 15 to17 in that categories.

The reclassification involves the various components of the reforms we are carrying out for each of the categories in connection with the ages and mental capability, as well as the needs of the students. To start with, in the elementary school the pupils are children in their formative stage of their lives. I want to emphasise here that whatever one puts in the foundation of a house

determines what the future of that house would look like.

But there had been school feeding project before this administration came on board.

Of course, the free meal project was originally introduced to the State of Osun through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act of 2004.

The Federal Government started the pilot project in 13 states including our state in May 2006, and they advanced the funding expecting that all states of the federation should feed their primary school pupils at least once a day. When we assumed offices in 2010, what we found out the kids were being fed with was not attractive to us, it was not even attractive to the children themselves. Apart from the cocoa drink which was very good, the foods weren’t rich enough and to address that, we asked nutritionists and dieticians for professional recommendations for foods that will be ideal for children in their formative years.

That was meant to address the stunted growth we observed among the children especially those in the rural areas. And indeed, the recommended foods were those with carbohydrates, protein and fruits on daily basis.

The programme was originally tagged “Osun Home Grown Feeding Programme” but when we came on board we rebranded it and named it Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O’Meal). Apart from feeding the children, we also deworm them and that is done every six months. The statics as at the end of last session in July shows that on a weekly basis, we slaughter 15,000 fresh chicken, 7,800 crates of eggs, 400 tons of fresh fish and we also slaughter 35 heads of cattle

Laoye-Tomori

So, we spent N14.9 billion on the school feeding project on a daily basis, and as at last school year we have spent N3.6 billion yearly for them. The cost implication for this new session is not yet ready, but I am sure it must have increased because the reports have always shown tremendous increase in school enrollment.

So, we spent N14.9 billion on the school feeding project on a daily basis, and as at last school year we have spent N3.6 billion yearly.

What have been the effects of this investment on the school enrolment and the academic growth of the children?

UNESCO’s report of January 2012 indicated that Osun State was the second state in the South-West geo-political zone of the federation with the highest number of out-of-school children. You can believe that Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti States were clearly ahead of Osun State. But today, with the report of the National Bureau of Statistics released on July 8, last year, the State of Osun has the highest figure of primary school enrollment. And today our pupils are very attentive in class, they grow better and absenteeism has reduced to almost zero as against what we used to have before. Now, they anxiously await their meal. When we started this programme on April 30, 2012, towards the end

of the same month, we recorded an increase in enrollment of about 25 per cent because school enrolment increased by 38,000 pupils. We started with 155,318 pupils and by ending of May we already had 194,258 pupils on enrollment. So, without this programme we would have lost 38,000 pupils who would never have been able to go to school.

But couldn’t the reforms be achieved without the reclassification and merger of schools?

The reclassification is in the best practice of the global standard. That is the way it is done where we copied our education system from. There is a big advantage in putting children in the same age brackets together in the same learning environment and this is the opinion of psychologists. We have 1,738 elementary schools scattered all over the state whereas the population of the state is less than four million. However, most of these schools we have uneven distribution of teachers and facilities. In some schools we have less than 30 pupils with 18 teachers, while in some we have more than 500 pupils with about six teachers. Now, the reclassification programme of the government is meant to address all such issues with the distribution of these model schools across all the local government areas.

The reclassification is in the best practice of the global standard

23

For instance, before we came on board some schools were only collecting N200 per month as grant, but we have increased that to N400 per pupil per month and this runs into several millions of naira instead of about N25 million the previous administration was spending on school allocation. So, as at July, last year we have spent about N856, 800,000 per year as school grants to our schools.

Most of the school uniforms adopted by the government as observed are already fading, while there is controversy surrounding the school merger policy. How is the government resolving all these?

We are already resolving that, and we are happy that our people are actually realising the fact that our efforts are aimed at reforming the ailing education sector. You know it is natural for people to resist change especially changes that have not been experienced in the past and in a society where politicians don’t cultivate the habit of fulfilling political promises and where they are used to policy summersault.

But, I want to assure you that is not going to be the case here.

There has been complaint about the uniformity in the uniforms as critics are insisting that it is difficult to differentiate the pupils from one school to another. What do you think about this?

Like I have mentioned, my prayer is that we progress in life. This state is moving forward and it is the same practice of uniformity in school uniforms that is being practiced abroad. Through the badges and berets we can identify and differentiate the pupils and their schools. Let me say this, when we were young, all the Anglican schools used to have the same school uniforms all over the country and they were called Ionian colleges. We will soon get used to it. In the United Kingdom (UK), it doesn’t matter whether your child is in London or Edinburgh, you can enter a shop and pick up his or her uniform.

But some of the uniforms are already fading, thus suggesting that the quality is poor?

We have noticed some of these things and more importantly especially that of the middle schools. We are working to change it. Meanwhile, what was initially provided was distributed freely but what we have done now is to engage about 10,000 of our youths, through the Omoluabi Garment Factory, which was set up in Abeere, by this administration as part of its employment creation programme.

24 EDUCATION

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Monarch donates N1.9m LASPOTECH is poised for quality delivery, says Rector to Anambra schools Odogwu Mmaduka Akwa

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Olukoga and Mrs Oladunjoye at the ceremony.

Kayode Olanrewaju

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or the first time in the annals of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu, the Rector, Dr. Abdulazeez Lawal, said that the certificates of the 14,920 graduating students are ready for collection immediately after the convocation ceremony.

The Rector broke the news at the 22nd graduation ceremony of the polytechnic, where 9,719 graduated with Higher National Diploma (HND) and 5,201 with National Diploma (ND).

He said the high figure of students graduated at the ceremony was due to the directive by the National Board for Tech-

nical Education (NBTE) that the polytechnic should wind up its School of Part-Time Annexes by 2015.

Lawal, who noted that the polytechnic since its establishment in 1987 has produced 84,920 graduates, who he said are wellequipped and trained to face the challenges of the job market, added that the products of the polytechnic are competing favourably in various sectors of the economy.

The Rector, who expressed delight over the quality of products of the institution, said this would be the first time the graduating students would collect their certificates immediately after their graduation

ceremony.

However, the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola has restated the commitment of his administration to take the state to its enviable heights in technical and technology education, as well as fast track the industrial development of the state.

In his address read on his behalf by the Secretary to the Lagos State Government (SSG), Dr. Aderanti Adegbile, the governor reiterated the importance of technical education in the development of a nation, saying this had fired the passion of the government to invest huge resources in the development of polytechnic education in the state.

Don recommends bi-functional catalyst for fuel efficiency

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s part of efforts to tackle high consumption of petroleum products, a Graduate Fellow at the Department of Chemical Sciences, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Mr. Femi Oloye, has recommended the use of bi-functional catalyst in the nation’s petroleum industry.

Oloye, a Ph.D student at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and an alumnus of Ajasin University, gave the recommendation at the maiden alumni-tutored seminar of the Faculty of Science of the state university.

The don, whose paper was on: “Can Fuel Efficiency Be Improved without Causing Pollution?”, said: “Presently in Aberdeen, Scotland, we have successfully synthesized bi-functional catalyst. We want to provide an alternative catalyst (bi-functional catalyst) that is cheaper and environmental friendly. It will work

Mimiko

for a very long period of time and at the same time work at low temperature. I strongly recommend it for Nigeria as soon as it is ready.”

Oloye noted that the various catalysts being used in oil refineries were prone to sudden and easy deactivation; work at high temperature and with certain environmental effects.

On the impact of his research on AAUA, Oloye said the study would make the University the pioneer of the use of bi-function-

al catalyst for fuel efficiency in Nigeria. He also said AAUA could liaise with the petroleum industry to produce the bi-functional catalyst.

The Dean of the Faculty, Prof.

Victor Olumekun, who was represented by Dr. Alaba Gbadamosi, lauded the lecturer for the high quality of his presentation and for making the university proud.

While advising Oloye to return to the university after the completion of his study, he stressed the need for all members of staff undergoing postgraduate studies at home and abroad to present seminars on their return.

In his remarks, the Chair of the Faculty of Science Lectures and Seminars Committee, Dr. Francis Gbore, said the seminar was part of the resolve of the Faculty Board to ensure that its staff on postgraduate studies at home and abroad present seminars on their programmes.

orried by the poor infrastructure in some schools in Amanuke community in Awka-North Local Government Area of Anambra State, its traditional ruler-elect, Prince Dennis Ezebuilo, has donated N1.9 million to some of the schools in the community.

The schools include Community Secondary School, Central Primary School, and Union Primary School, all in Amanuke community.

The donation is part of the monarch’s efforts to restructure and rebuild the schools.

The money, among other things, is to offset the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) registration fees and school fees of the Senior Secondary School (SS III) pupils in the community; school fees of pupils in the primary schools; as well as assist the management to run their schools.

Speaking on the development, a community leader and a retired Principal of the secondary school, Mr. Uzochukwu Anyanwumelu, noted that such

Prince Ezebuilo

gesture was the first of its kind in the history of the community.

He regretted that the school, which was built through communal efforts, is gradually becoming a shadow of itself due to inadequate staffing and lack of facilities. According to her, the parents’ poor economic status has added to the woes to an extent that the pupils could no longer pay their WAEC fees in order to sit for their examinations.

His words: "Our school is in a pitiable state to the point that there are no candidates for WAEC almost on yearly basis.

The students would prepare for their exams but due to their parents’ economic status they are unable to register for the examinations.

Commission chair seeks education against invalid votes Yekeen Nurudeen

Abuja

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s the nation prepares for the 2015 general elections, Chairman, Governing Board of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adults and Non-formal Education (NMEC), Dr. Esther Uduehi, has stressed the need to increase the literacy level of electorate in order to avoid occurrence of invalid votes.

Dr. Uduehi noted in an interview that high invalid votes recorded in previous elections were due to high illiteracy level in the country.

She lamented that those who could not read and write always have difficulty in interpreting signs and symbols on ballot papers.

The Chairman said: "Election is coming in 2015; if you check the problems of election you would find out that most of the voided votes are from illiterate group of the population.

An illiterate cannot really interpret the signs and symbols

on the ballot paper.

“It is very important that governments at all level - local, state and the federal government - should pay more attention to literacy need of the people."

This was as she urged government at all levels to be more committed to the cause of eradicating illiteracy in the country.

Dr. Uduehi, however, cautioned that all hands must be on deck by the stakeholders to ensure that the high illiteracy level in the country does not hinder the Federal Government's transformation agenda.

According to her, when the transformation agenda is well articulated to benefit every Nigerian, those in the illiterate group will be at the disadvantage position.

Her words: “As at the time the board was inaugurated, we were informed that we have 40 million adult illiterate in the country and we are now talking about out-of-school children who is about 10.1 million.

EDUCATION

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

25

West African varsities to develop curriculum on trade negotiation

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ome four universities in West African sub-region have unfolded plans to develop a curriculum that would help in building the capacity of African nations to embark on international agricultural trade negotiations and agreements.

The universities are the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB); the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana; University of Liberia, Liberia and the Njala University, Sierra Leone.

The project, tagged: “Enhancing Capacity on International Agriculture Trade Agreements for Development of Regional Agriculture and Food Market,” according to a release by FUNAAB, seeks to develop capacities and enhance competences in negotiation platforms for West Africa in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

The Team Leader in Nigeria and former Head of Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, Professor Adewale Dipeolu, hinted that a meeting between the university management and the visiting team revealed that there is a challenge in the agricultural industry on trade agreement.

He noted that from over the

years, African nations had been trading in agricultural commodities in terms of export and import commodities, saying nothing significant had been achieved due to lack of capacity on the part of the countries to negotiate certain trade conditions and agreements effectively.

Dipeolu said the proposed collaboration was to find out how the four countries could develop a quality curriculum that would facilitate the teaching of international trade with emphasis on international negotiation and trade agreements.

On the benefits of the partnership, the don disclosed that when fully operational, FUNAAB would be able to develop a certificate course for officials in the agriculture ministries, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), farmers and others who work closely with trade bodies, with a view to having a better understanding of the nature of trade agreements in the agriculture sector.

He further stated that the countries involved in the curriculum development would have broader perspectives in agriculture trade negotiations by benefiting from the ECOWAS agricultural policies (ECOWAP).

L-R: Public Relations Executive, MultiChoice Nigeria, Timothy Okwu; Director Post-Primary Education, Adamawa State Representing the Commissioner of Education, Mallam Timothy Adamu, and Mrs. Bello at the commissioning of the project.

MultiChoice opens resource centres in Yola Kayode Olanrewaju

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s part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative and contribution to the development of education, MultiChoice, Nigeria, has opened 10 MultiChoice Resource Centres (MRC) in Yola, Adamawa State.

The inauguration ceremony

of the centres held at the General Murtala Mohammed College, Yola, has brought to 294 such resource centres opened in 29 states of the federation.

The beneficiaries of the audio-visual learning aid are Capital Government Day Secondary School, Government Girls’ Secondary School, General Murtala Mohammed Col-

Sterling Bank enriches aspiring entrepreneurs

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training programme organised by Sterling Bank Plc at its Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), aimed at enriching the knowledge of entrepreneurs has continued to yield results.

The bank’s “Meet the Executive” project initiative has produced three winners with the best entries in the competition on management of small businesses and writing of business plans.

They emerged the best among the top 18 contestants who took part in the training programme, where they were given the opportunity upon completion of the training, to fine-tune their business plans and present same to the bank.

Out of these, the best 18 plans were selected for formal presentation, and the executive management of the bank selected the final three for the award.

The winners are Gbemisola Esho; who came first and got N2 million grants; Rufai Oluyemi received N1.5 million for coming second; while Daniel Momma, who came third in the competition got N1 million grant.

Over 1,000 entries were said

L-R: MD, Frontiers International Services, Afolabi; Performing Artist and Winner, ‘Meet The Executive’, an entrepreneurship project, Shey Shay, and Gbemisola Eso, receiving her prize money at the ‘Get Ready for Work’ Concert held in Ibadan.

to have been received by the bank from contestants on different business plans across the country.

But, to ensure that only contestants with the best business plans were selected, a team of seasoned consultants was hired by to carefully scrutinize proposals received from members of the public.

Out of these, 50 best entries were selected based on original-

ity of the plans, their viability and provision of detailed information such as the required capital, cash flow and revenue projections.

According to the bank, owners of the 50 selected business plans took part in a training programme, which aimed at further enriching their knowledge in the management of small businesses and writing of business plans.

However, the bank noted that

out the figure, top 18 contestants participated in the ‘Meet the Executive’ project, an initiative, which marked the turning point for the top three participants who came top in the competition.

The presentation of cheques to the winners was performed by the bank’s Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Shina Atilola on behalf of the Managing Director, Mr. Yemi Adeola.

lege, Doubeli Government Day Secondary School, School for Arabic Islamic Studies, and Government Boys Boarding Secondary School.

Others include Government Day Secondary School, Government Day Secondary School, Government Science Technical College and Aliyu Musdafa College.

According to the Public Relations Manager of DStv, Caroline Oghuma, who stood in for the Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr John Ugbe, “the launch of MultiChoice Resource Centres in Yola came almost 10 years after the inaugural launch of the project in Abuja in 2004 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of MultiChoice resource centre in the country.

“The resource centre initiative is our corporate social responsibility project that has grown from only four centres at inception to 294 schools across 29 states of the federation,” she said.

Oghuma added that MultiChoice strongly believed that the technological, economic, social and political advancement of any country has a direct correlation with its level of educational development, noting that the future of a country is intrinsically linked to the quality of education that the youth are exposed to.

This belief, she explained underpins the company’s roll-out of the audio-visual learning resources across the country.

However, she said that the plan of MultiChoice is to replicate the resource centres in all the states of the federation.

26 EDUCATION

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

T L-R: FUTA VC, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola; representative of FUNAAB VC, Dr. Olusegun Folorunsho, and Prof.

Emmanuel Okoro of UNILORIN at the forum.

AAU scribe makes case for quality assurance in varsities Kayode Olanrewaju

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he need for Quality Assurance mechanism in the universities has been stressed if the institutions are to serve the purpose for which they are established.

The renewed call for the establishment of quality assurance was made

by Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and President of the Association of African Universities Professor Olusola Oyewole.

Oyewole made the call delivering a lecture at the just concluded African Leaders in Education Forum, which took place in Abuja.

The theme was: “Strategic Policies and Structures

for the Achievement of Quality Education.”

Represented by Dr. Olusegun Folorunso, Head, FUNAAB Webometrics Centre, the Vice-Chancellor spoke on “Quality Assurance in African Universities: Challenges and Strategies”, where he traced the emergence of quality assurance in African institutions to the 1980s and 1990s.

“Quality Assurance is for systematic planning, monitoring and evaluation of universities to sustain and improve on the standards of teaching, research and extension mandate, as well as providing confidence in the university outputs (students), services and facilities,” Oyewole noted.

He hinted that the key issues, which necessitated

the emergence of Quality Assurance, were demand for efficiency and competitiveness in higher education, increased mobility, brain drain, globalisation and cross-border recognition of qualifications and involvement of private interests and expansion in student enrolment.

According to the AAU President, when assessing quality there is the need to look at the process of transferring input to output in terms of government policies, governance, leadership, teaching and learning process by giving importance to the review of major elements in the academic curriculum, in order to meet national development needs through the evaluation of teaching and study programmes.

Minister advocates pupil’s participation in sports Flora Onwudiwe

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upervising Minister of Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has admonished students to participate actively in sporting activities, saying sports create veritable platform for them to discover their hidden talents.

The Minister, who gave the advice at the 43rd Inter House Sports competition of the Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC), Yaba, Lagos, held at the college’s Sports Ground, noted that one of the ways of achieving ones laudable objective in life is through sports.

Represented by a Director in the ministry, Mrs. Mobolaji Kehinde Borha,

the minister stressed that sports is no longer a pasttime venture, as it has become a big business all over the world, bringing national and international recognitions to the participants and their nations.

He recalled that the ministry has been supporting government’s transformation agenda through the promotion of all round development of the students at all levels of education, stressing that this is being done in order to produce skilled individuals with sound mind and body.

The minister, therefore, advised the pupils to develop more interest sports by participating actively in various sporting activities as provided in the college’s

curriculum.

The Acting Principal, Mrs. Magdalen Nwankwo, who expressed gratitude to the Minister for attending the sporting fiesta, however listed some of the challenges facing the college to include over enrolment with over 3,470 students, the highest in all other Unity Colleges in the country, which according to her, has resulted in overcrowded classrooms.

“We have the highest number of student population among all the unity colleges in the country, and as a result the college requires additional classrooms and hostels. Another problem is lack of space for the expansion, and to address this we need highrise buildings,” she said.

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has warned student members of its Zero Tolerance for Corruption (ZTC) Clubs against abuse of office.

The Commission's Head of Enlightenment and Re-orientation, Hajia Aisha Larai Musa, who gave the warning while inaugurating the UNILORIN chapter of the club, explained that the club should not be seen as a parallel institution or an investigative body.

According to her, ZTC members are to revert all information with them on corrupt practices to the EFCC for proper follow up.

She said: “Let it be made clear that the ZTC is not a parallel university or student administration nor is it an investigative body. Whatever information you have on corrupt practices anywhere, we expect that you report to us and such reports will be treated in strict confidence and very professionally. As change agents and anticorruption vanguards of the EFCC, you must be above board while integrity and hard work must be your watchwords at all times.”

Hajia Musa called on the youths to shun corruption and join in the fight

EFCC warns ZTC members against abuse of office against economic and financial crimes as a way of creating a better future for themselves, even as she noted that corruption remains the bane of Nigeria's development, challenging the students to take up the gauntlet in the fight against the scourge.

She advised the students to use the internet judiciously and positively and not for negative activities which could attract stiff punishment under the law.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, commended the EFCC for setting up the Club, saying it will complement the activities of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit (ACTU) of the university.

He also said it is in tandem with the university's zero tolerance for indiscipline.

Ambali, who espoused the ideals of an “Omoluabi”, meaning a person of excellent character, noted that as important as learning is, the University places more emphasis on character because learning without character is destructive and counter-productive.

Pupils of Goldvalley School during the Easter celebration as part of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the school

Lawmaker on relevance of sports to pupils Victoria Ewoh

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arents and guardians have been advised to encourage and ensure that their children and wards participate in sporting activities, as it gives them psychological balance and develop their latent potentials.

The Deputy Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs. Lola Akande gave the advice during the maiden inter-house sports competition of De Beautiful Beginning School, Magodo, Lagos. Mrs Akande, who chaired the sports competition, listed some of the benefits of sporting activities, saying sports, is very essential to life as it propels one to win and it gives psychological balance to the body.

“People engage in sporting activities for different reasons, ranging from good health, and development of the spirit, cooperation among people, for energy,

to reduction of stress, cholesterol, chest pain and stroke,” she added.

She admonished the participating pupils in the sports competition to see themselves winners and no one should be considered a failure, even as she described sports as a way of relaxation.

Mrs. Akande presented gift items to pupils who participated in the competition.

Some of the sporting events include relay race, popping the balloon, building the temple, sack race, catching the train, lemon race, filling the bottle, slippers race, march-past, dancing, and picking the balls, among others.

The parents and members of staff were not left out in the competition as they participated in the some of the events such as parents’ race for the mothers and fathers; and staff race for male and female members of staff.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

BRIEFS

Dayo Ojerinde AAUA

Ajasin varsity set April 20 resumption for 2013/2014 session

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he Rotaract Club of The Polytechnic Ibadan in an inter-district exchange programme with the Rotaract Club of Ikoyi, has jointly donated to the Home of destitute, Yaba, Lagos state.

Materials donated to the Home include food items, clothing materials and shoes, among other items.

Receiving the members of the club on behalf of the management of the Home, the Secretary of the Home, who did not want his name in print thanked the club for their kind gesture, even as he said the items would go a long way in making life more meaningful to the inates.

The President, Rotaract Club of The Polytechnic Ibadan, Rotractor Fifekemi Jaiyeola, a HND Microbiology student, said the rationale behind the gesture is to let the destitute children have a sense of belonging and to make life more meaningful to them.

She, however, challenged other well-to-do members of the public not to neglect the needy.

In another development, Rotaract Club of Ikoyi joined CON TINUED F R O M PAGE21

of special centres.”

While allaying stakeholders’ fears about the workability of the CBT examination mode and the determination of JAMB to eliminate examination fraud in its examinations, the Registrar listed various other measures already put in place to address the problem of malpractices and nip it in the bud to include the un-serialization of questions, in which questions are re-arranged so that no two candidates will have same series of examination questions, and that the questions will no longer follow the same pattern of numbering.

On the modus operandi, he said: “Also, only one question is displayed on the screen at a time. This makes it difficult for a candidate to remember questions he had already gone past. These are wonderful measures to check examination malpractices which have become endemic in our nation’s education system.

Our earnest prayer is that it works and with the support of the public and the media, in particular, we will succeed.”

Towards this end, there are evidences that JAMB may make real its talk next year, especially in the cities, where fewer candidates wrote the UTME through the PPT and the DPT modes.

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Some of the Rotaract members during the sanitation exercise

Rotaract donate to charity, participates in environmental sanitation the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in effort to keep Lagos State clean during the March monthly environmental sanitation in Falomo area of Ikoyi.

Its President, Rotaractor Ayobami Sowale, led the team

to the Falomo, Ikoyi roundabout, where she assigned each member to a LAWMA staff to assist them in the cleaning exercise.

At the end of the cleaning exercise, the Rotaract District Representative Elect, Rotarac-

tor Damilare Oduonikosi on behalf of Rotaract Club of Ikoyi and Rotaract District 9110 Nigeria thanked LAWMA for granting the club and providing the enabling environment to assist them in the environmental sanitation exercise.

UTME: Goodbye to paper test mode

Okojie, NUC Secretary

It was observed by New Telegraph last Saturday during its monitoring of the UTME in Lagos that it was a total departure from the usual rowdy scenes, traffic logjams, and even examination malpractices usually associated with the conduct of UTME were simply nonexistent.

In fact, several schools the Joint admissions and Matriculation Board usually used as centres for the UTME were without activities.

Visits by New Telegraph to some popular schools in Agege, Ogba, Ikeja, Ojodu and other areas in Lagos, especially Agidingbi Grammar School, Vetland Senior High School, Dairy Farm Grammar School, and Lagos State Tech-

nical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, among others, which were usually a beehive of activities during UTME were no longer used as centres this year for the examination.

The development, according to the JAMB Registrar, was as a result of the wide reduction in the number of candidates that registered for the PPT mode of the examination, when compared to what was experienced in 2013.

To some candidates, who took the PPT mode, conducted in centres such as the Isolo campus of the Lagos State Polytechnic; Ansar-U-Islam Girls High School, Ahmadiyah in Ijaiye/Ojokoro Local Government Area; Falomo Comprehensive High School, Ikoyi, among others, described their experience and the mode as smooth, hitch-free and worthwhile.

But, despite the low figure of candidates who took PPT mode in Lagos, there were reported cases of mismatch of subjects’ combinations and case of late arrival of materials to the examination venues.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Director, Corporate Support Service of JAMB, who supervised the conduct of the DBT mode at Chams City Centre,

Ikeja, Mr. Babatunde Ifesanmi, described the experience as wonderful “especially with no record of cheating and impersonation whatsoever.”

He said there could have been no case of examination malpractices because the conscripted questions were loaded online at exactly 6:30am on the examination day, while candidates who arrived at about 7am had no difficulty during the screening exercise.

Ifesanmi added that at exactly 9:30am the examination started with all the desktops in good condition, but in the few seconds that there was power surge, the back-ups power systems already put in place by JAMB for the exercise such as the UPS and the power generating sets were immediately restored.

He said: “I think except we want to keep drawing back the hands of the clock, there is no point delaying further the full take-off of the CBT mode by next year, because this year has provided us with good reason for us to do that.

All the 350 candidates at this centre are adequately attended to with no incidence of malpractices or any challenge encountered throughout the process of the examination.

he management of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, has set April 20, for the resumption for 2013/2014 academic session.

According to the academic calendar, which had been approved by the University Senate at its 116th Regular Meeting, fresh students are to complete their pre-registration immediately.

Resumption and on-campus registration for all returning students, screening and registration of fresh students are to be completed between April 20 and May 3.

AAUA alumnus for Denmark tour project

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n Alumnus of the Adekunle Ajasin University and the Best Graduating Student in 2012 at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Mr. Adekunle Akinola, is one of the two Nigerians selected to represent the country at a 60-day Tour De Future Project organised by the ActionAid International in Denmark.

ActionAid International is a non-governmental international organisation working towards ending poverty and hunger in the world.

Its Campaign Officer, Mr. Jonathan Bunch, in a statement said “the purpose of the project is to create awareness, by raising activities about tax justice, sustainable development and hunger among the Danes.”

New director for varsity’s space centre

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new Director has been named by the Vice-Chancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Prof. Femi Mimiko for the Centre for Space and Energy Environmental Research (CSEER).

Dr. M. Z. Mohammed, whose appointment has since taken effect from March 17, this year, is in acting capacity.

A statement, the Principal Assistant Registrar (Personnel Division), Mrs. Ajoke Araoyinbo, said the Acting Director would be responsible to the ViceChancellor for the day-to-day administration of the centre, as well as provide academic leadership for its efficient running.

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EDUCATION | CAMPUS

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

EKSU breaks record, issues certificates to students on graduation

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L-R: Registrar, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Dr (Mrs.) Modupe Ajayi; General Superintendent, Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor W. F Kumuyi; Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Adedayo Fasakin and Mrs. Esther Kumuyi, during a special programme tagged 'Morning of Divine Visitation' held in FUTA.

ICAN president at OAU, says Africa’s economy stable Sikiru Akinola OAU

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he President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Alhaji Kabir Mohammed has revealed that the growth rate of economies in Africa is accelerating progressively, especially since the beginning of the last decade.

Mohammed, who is the 49th President of ICAN, said this at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, where the accountants converged for the second annual international conference on Accounting, Finance and Management.

The President, who praised the university management for the new reforms in the institution’s academic activities, which have position it to be ranked as the best university in the country, recalled that in the past decades, six of the World’s 10 fastest growing countries are in Africa.

“In the past ten years, Africa

has grown faster than East Asia, including Japan. Even allowing for the knock-on effects of the northern hemisphere’s slowdown and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Africa to grow by six per cent in 2012, and over six per cent in 2013,” he added.

Mohammed said that Africa’s poverty rates have continued to decline despite the excruciating impact of the recent food, fuel and financial crises, as well as that of the Euro zone crisis with its attendant fiscal consolidation on low-income African countries, even as he added that the IMF projections had been attained.

He advised financial professionals on collection of savings and efficient channelization of such savings into most desirable and productive investments to stimulate capital formation and accelerate the process of economic growth and development.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Bamitale

Omole, represented by the Chairman of the Committee of Deans, Professor Wasiu, restated the institution's commitment towards tackling issues in accounting.

Omole described the conference “as very timely” especially as it is coming at this auspicious time when issues of accountability, business development and survival are of great concerns to all and sundry.

He added: "A conference such as this would not only bring the sound mind in the academic on common platform, but also facilitates healthy debates on a wide range of contemporary financial issues."

While expressing optimism about the success of the talkshop, the Vice-Chancellor said the conference would provide participants an opportunity to exchange views and experiences, as well as compare notes with renowned scholars, specialists and technocrats within and outside the country on the important academic areas of our national life.

his will be cheering news to owners and students of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti and their parents.

For the first time in the annals of the university all the graduating students for this year’s convocation ceremony collected their certificates before the ceremony.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patrick Oladipo Aina’s disclosure attracted thunderous ovation from thousands of parents and other well-wishers who came to grace the ceremony.

Aina noted that the initiative was in line with the vision of the university to become a world class institution, where things are done in line with global practices.

He said the ceremony formalised the graduation of no fewer than 3,057 full-time students, 695 part-time, 885 affiliate colleges, 664 sandwich students, who successfully completed their programmes.

Giving the breakdown of their results, the Vice-Chancellor hinted that of the full-time students, 11 graduated in First Class; 710 had Second Class Upper Division; 1,808 Second Class Lower; 498 Third Class, while 30 students graduated with Pass degree.

On the list, Badmus Ayodeji Folahan of the Department of French, the best graduating student, scored a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.65 points.

The list also indicated that of the 558 Postgraduate students, 15 obtained their Doctorate degrees, 425 Masters and 118 Postgraduate Diplomas.

The Vice-Chancellor, who recalled that the university had made giant strides in the areas of human and academic development, however noted

Covenant varsity graduates excel in presidential scholarships

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wners and management of Covenant University, a private university owned by the Living Faith Worldwide (aka Winners’ Chapel) and located at Ota, an industrial community in Ogun State, are happy over the performance of their products.

For the second consecutive time, First Class graduates of the university have excelled in the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development (PRESSID).

Of the 200 candidates for the scholarship scheme, the university has 19 candidates.

The cheering news was revealed by the Executive Sec-

retary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, while commenting on the contributions of private universities to the nation’s education sector.

According to Okojie, the outcome of the aptitude test for First Class graduates of Nigerian universities for sponsorship to 25 top rated universities in the world, under the PRESSID project, which enters its second phase this year, has shown that Covenant University, Ota emerged as the overall best institution with 19, out of the 200 candidates that would benefit from the programme this year.

Prof. Ayo, VC

He noted that such feat, which the university also achieved in the maiden edition of the scheme, further indicated that Covenant University is moving on the fast lane in the production of quality graduates in the

Nigerian university system.

The Executive Secretary, however, stressed that the institution’s programmes that are target-driven and extensive use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning process, would have influenced the excellent performance of the candidates in the scheme.

Okojie advised that the Federal Government to give corresponding conditions and expectations that could be derived from the universities any time funds are released to them, as it is the norm in other societies.

the pursuit of the goal led to the execution of several stateof-the-art building structures in the university.

According to Aina, the drive for such goal also led to reinstatement of functional municipal facilities, as well as acquisition of laboratory and workshop equipment, and institution of corporate social responsibility initiative of the university.

He listed some of the new buildings constructed in the past two years to include the medical library, Biochemistry/ Pharmacology building, medical students’ hostel and animal house buildings funded by the state government and through the university’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Nyanya bombing:NANS condemns insurgency, wants lecturers’ strike addressed

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he leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has condemned in strong terms the bombing of Nyanya Park in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, calling on all concerned authorities to direct their energies towards addressing insurgency in the country.

They also called on the government to address the incessant and lingering strike by the polytechnics and colleges of education lecturers and other issues contributing to violent destruction by youths.

NANS said the opposition parties in Nigeria must also dream of how to address the issues of poverty, hunger and diseases affecting the people.

Addressing a press briefing addressed in Lagos, the National President of the association, Mr. Yinka Gbadebo, commiserated with the families of the victims of the bomb blasts.

On the allegation against the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Allison-Madueke, NANS expressed surprise at the manner Nigerians constantly raise spurious allegations against their leaders with a view to forcing them dance to their tunes, or merely to make themselves heard in the society.

Gbadebo, who insisted that the body was not absolving the minister of any wrong doing, but noted that all hands should be on deck to resolve the dangerous consequences of terrorism rather than vilifying public officers only for the sake of criticism.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

lauds management, LAUTECH medical students Governor inaugurates medical library give out mosquito nets E

Prof. Anjorin (2nd right) with other guests and members of the association.

Daramola Adebayo LAUTECH

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tudents of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, under the aegis of Ladoke Akintola University Medical Students Association (LAUMSA) have distributed 200 mosquito nets to some rural community dwellers who took part in their just concluded public lecture and campaign against malaria.

The lecture, which was organised as part of activities marking this year’s World Health Day, was delivered by Dr. Adeleye Adeomi, a consultant on Public Health.

Adeomi, whose lecture was on: “Vector Borne Diseases, Malaria as a Spotlight,” dwelt

on how to address the endemic nature of the malaria, saying the economic implications of malaria scourge could be higher than what average Nigerian could cope with.

The consultant urged stakeholders to rise to the occasion to elimination malaria in our society, even as he advised the government to proffer solutions to the endemic nature of the disease.

While insisting that malaria could be eradicated from the society, Adeomi noted that this could be achieved “if government, donor agencies, private individuals and other stakeholders are committed to champion the fight against the killer disease.”

While welcoming guests and other participants to the lecture,

the President of the association, Ismail Oladimeji explained that the event was aimed at raising deliberations and suggestions on ways to adequately address the endemic nature of the disease and to cushion its effects on the continent.

The event, which took place at the Pathology Seminal Room of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Osogbo, Osun State capital, attracted several dignitaries including the Patron of the association, Prof. Albert Anjorin; Dr. Kamil Ogundipe, Vice-President, Association of Resident Doctors, LAUTECHTH chapter; Dr. Oluwagbemiga Abodunrin, Head of Community Medicine Department; and Dr. Tiamiyu Bello, the Executive Secretary of Ede North Local Government Area of Osun State, among others.

kiti State Governor and Visitor to the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has lauded the management of the state university for its impressive achievements in academic and quality environment.

Fayemi gave the commendation during the commissioning of the medical library of the College of Medicine, as part of activities marking the 19th convocation ceremony of the institution.

The governor, who expressed satisfaction over the magnificent edifice and noted that the university has now been positioned as institution of high repute, was also delight over the ranking of the university from 79th position to 17th by Webometric Ranking.

The Visitor also acknowledged the overall development in the university in terms of provision of municipal infrastructure and human capital development, lauding the ViceChancellor, Professor Oladipo Aina and his management team for the giant stride.

The cost of new medical library complex, which was bankrolled by the state government and which has been described as the best in the country, was estimated at N180 million.

Fayemi assured the management of the university of his administration’s continuous support and lauded the ViceChancellor for providing quality leadership and his ‘efficient

team’ for transforming the institution and positioning it on the path of reckoning as a first class university of the 21st Century.

At the event were the Chancellor of the university, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, former Governor of the old Ondo State; Pro-Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Akinjide Osuntokun; the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, Aladesanmi III and principal officers of the university.

As part of plans to uplift the infrastructural development of the institution, the governor flagged off the construction of the two-kilometre road project, which is being jointly financed by the state government; AdoEkiti and Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Areas of the state.

In a related development, the governor at the 19th convocation ceremony praised the ViceChancellor for repositioning the institution, saying the state university is a beauty to behold in terms of the various state-ofthe-art buildings completed or under construction.

Fayemi

FUNAAB joins fight against corrupt practices Nigeria should be ready to treat corruption and corrupt leaders as social lepers, while proceeds of such sharp practices (corruption) should be seen as loot from crime, if the fight against corruption is to be effective.

This were the views of the President, Women Arise and Campaign for Democracy (CD), Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin at the inauguration ceremony of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) chapter of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission/AntiCorruption Transparency and Monitoring Unit (ICPC/ACTU) held at the institution.

In her lecture entitled: “Eliminating Corruption in the University System,” she said the United States of America Sec-

retary of States’ International Woman of Courage Awardee, defined corruption as an inducement to do wrong by bribery or any unlawful means, adding that this cankerworm had bedeviled every sector of the Nigerian society, without excluding the university system.

According to the human rights activist, the Berlin-based Transparency International, in its 2011 annual Corruption Perception Index Report rated Nigeria 143rd out of 183 nations in the world, showing that the menace of corruption, though a global phenomenon, had assumed an alarming proportion in the country.

Dr. Okei-Odumakin, who therefore described education as a service that significantly contributed to national development, added that the essence of

L-R: Dr. Okei-Odumakin, FUNAAB VC, Prof. Olusola Oyewole and Mr. Olusesan Olukile at the event.

university education is to produce high-level manpower and leaders that would act as a catalyst for national development.

She advocated adequate funding of the university system since underfunding is the precursor to corruption, saying:

“The University must be the change agent in the society to liberate the people. ASUU and other union bodies must be ready to act as checks and balances to the administrators of the ivory towers, and by extension, the leaders of the country.”

“The academic community should design a workable model for the eradication of corruption in its entirety because as scholars, we are and must continue to be change agents for the national development which we so crave for,” she said.

30

EDUCATION

LECTURERS' FORUM

UNIOSUN VC dedicates achievements to members of staff, students

L-R: UNIOSUN Bursar, Mr. Fatai Lasisi; Mr. Olusakin Faniran, Registrar; Okesina and Mr. Maxwell Oyinloye, the university's Librarian at the reception.

Kayode Olanrewaju

"I

want to attribute the achievements of my one-year-old administration to the collective efforts and support of the members of staff and students of the university.

What I achieved has been taken for granted, but the challenges ahead of us should be our utmost concern and how to tackle them should be the way forward. Without you I can’t achieve this feat, and I want to thank you all for what we have been able to collectively achieve in the last one year with the grace of God.” These were the emotional words of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Professor Adekunle Okesina, at a reception organised in his honour to mark his one-year in office.

Encomium flowed freely as his colleagues, members of staff and friends lauded the glowing achievements of his administration in the last one year.

Okesina, who said the Almighty God has designed the success and that was why they could collectively achieve such feat, sought the support and cooperation of the entire university community to take the university to its loftier heights.

“I want to still seek your support so that we could overcome the obstacles and move the institution forward,” he pleaded.

The Vice-Chancellor, who also noted that “we must all have at the back of our mind the need to do good always,” pleaded with them that any one he could have offended in the course of his assignment should forgive him as his actions could not have been deliberate.

To set the tone of the day, Professor Fawole, who described the Vice-Chancellor as a team leader, however urged him to keep up the good work, aimed at transforming the university.

“Your open door policy and good intention will continue to sustain you.

And, I strongly believe that the sky is your limit,” he said.

Tracing the career of Okesina, a Professor of Medicine to University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof. Kayode said those of them who knew him are still proud that he (Okesina) is still what he was, without allowing his new position to change him negatively.

He noted: “We are happy that you have not allowed position to change you like many others. Your passion for development and hard work will put the university in the world map of great university.”

Also, Professor Kayode Alao, who lauded the Vice-Chancellor for his good work and determination to succeed, said: “We are here because of your personality.”

While reminding the Vice-Chancellor that there are oppositions to his administration, urged him on the need to be fair to all, as well as put square pegs in square holes in his appointment of principal officers of the university.

“His words: “You are on the right track as you are making steady progress. I want to say without doubt that UNIOSUN will get to where it is going, as we can all see what you are doing.”

To Professor Adeniran, all that had been said was not to flatter the ViceChancellor, but to thank and appreciate him for his good deeds at the university in the past one year.

Prayers were offered for his good health, long life and success of his administration and the God will continue to sustain him and overall development of the university.

Dressed in white Guinea brocade with a blue native cap to match, the Vice-Chancellor during a chat with journalists listed some of the challenges of his university to include funding, infrastructure, such functional libraries in all the six campuses, students’ hostels, and provision of quality health services, among others.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

EDUPEACE with Mahfouz A. Adedimeji (08066372516, sms only)

Rebased economy, debased graduates

T

here was general euphoria, especially in governmental circles, last week on the manipulative calibration of the figures of the Nigerian economy and the eventual emergence of Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa and the 26th in the world.

We went to bed on Saturday, April 5, normally. But by the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, we were told that the GDP had been revised or rebased from the previous figure of 42.4 trillion naira to 80.2 naira ($509.9 billion). This is a millennial miracle!

But before the cacophony of the oneside excitement could attain a significant din, with some of us saying it is not yet uhuru, the unexpected happened. Nigeria jolted the whole world as a graduate of Ekiti State University gave his alma mater an unenviable reputation. His singular action made people wonder, with open-mouthed amazement, the type of education he received.

In an incident that had all the appurtenances of tragic drama, a young graduate attempted suicide twice. The young man, Sunday Omotayo, last Wednesday jumped out of a moving Toyota Hiace bus, expecting that the oncoming vehicles would crush him to death. Luckily, rather than for the vehicles to crush him, it was the police that came to his rescue, pleading with him not to end his life.

But that was not his first attempt same day. Well-dressed, with a tie to match, he had approached the state prison officials in Akwa Ibom State like a dare-devil. He charged the gun-wielding officers to either kill him or put him in prison to rot and die there because he was tired of life.

The men calmed him down and later got him into a vehicle.

Why did he want to commit suicide?

Hear him: “There is no state that I have not gone to in search of job in the past 10 years, but none for me…. I came to Akwa Ibom State because this is my last hope. I have heard stories of Governor Godswill Akpabio’s uncommon transformation.

But unfortunately, since I came, I discovered that even many people from Akwa Ibom are also crying because of poverty and joblessness.”

It is unfortunate that our graduates are simply debased by those whose idea about development is rebasing the economy. The other day, it was the job-seeking hordes of graduates that were debased by the Government through the Nigeria Immigration Service. At least, 19 of them died in the stampedes generated by our leaders’ greed and thoughtlessness across the Federation.

Though no life was lost in Ilorin, I remember looking lost as I drove to the office that weekend at the University of Ilorin. “Was there an invasion?” I wondered, with the human heads that I saw as vast as the Pacific Ocean. A man was tending to a toddler here; a woman was

There is no state that I have not gone to in search of job in the past 10 years, but none for me yawning in exasperation there. It was a pitiable sight.

I was to learn the applicants had to pay N1,000 each for jobs that might have been allocated to some rascally “executhieves” and “legislooting” honourables. It was a close up with debased graduates in need of rebasing from poverty to prosperity and from unemployment or underemployment to gainful employment.

But come to think of it. What sort of graduate would be searching for a job for 10 years? For God’s sake, this is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering, a professional course. What sort of engineer is he that he could not re-engineer his own life to success all those years? What kind of education did he receive? What skills does he have? If graduates of engineering want to commit suicide, what should the graduates of Humanities do?

The development goes further to prove a point that I have always made to students. Given the bandwagon effect of our debased society, there are just five courses most students want to study. Arts students want to study law; Social Science (i.e. "commercial") students want to read Accounting and Business Administration while Science students want to read Medicine and Engineering. My argument has always been that it is not really the course you study in the University that makes you, it is the uniqueness in you.

The contemporary world of work is interested in excellence, the stuff you can offer, not in your discipline per se.

This is why any education is expected to develop individuals’ three domains of learning: the cognitive, the affective and the psychomotor. In other words, education is the process of developing one’s mental faculty, regulating and improving one’s attitudes and character as well all acquiring doing abilities.

The three domains are otherwise known as 3 h’s: the head, the heart and the hands. Any educated person, apart from having facts in his head and being of good character is expected to be able to use his hands to do things. Every student/graduate should know how to do something with his/her hands - sowing, plaiting, writing, painting, designing, farming, etc. Education actually failed in Omotayo!

To have peace of mind and avoid the Omotayo syndrome, students need to develop their heads, hearts and hands very well before they graduate. They will then not be at the mercy of a debased system that rebases figures and debases its graduates and youths. l Dr Adedimeji is a Senior Lecturer and Acting Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, Unilorin.

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/business

‘TRANSFORMATION AGENDA AIMED AT MAKING NIGERIA INDUSTRIALISED NATION BY 2020' }p-34

AYODELE AMINU, DEPUTY EDITOR, BUSINESS

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014

WHAT'S NEWS N16bn required to offset PHCN staff pensions –FG Despite privatising the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), the Federal Government still needs to cough out about N16 billion to pay pension allowances to the severed staff of the defunct company.

}p-32

Union Bank: Waiting for more rebranding actions After several decades of lull in marketing and marketing communications activities, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, in 2012, began a rebranding process, thus raising the hope of its customers of a more vibrant bank.

}p-36

Customs places manufacturing firms on fast track The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has admitted 114 companies into the fast track concession platform created in the enhanced Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) system. It was part of efforts to ensure the success of the PAAR.

}p-38

Stakeholders accuse FG of omitting shipping in rebased GDP Maritime stakeholders have given a low mark to the Federal Government over the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria, insisting that the sector’s contribution was conspicuously missing.

}p-39

BUSINESS CREW AYODELE AMINU, Deputy Editor (Business) SIMEON OGOEGBULEM, Dep. Business Editor BAYO AKOMOLAFE, Asst. Editor (Maritime) SUNDAY OJEME, Asst. Editor (Insurance) SIAKA MOMOH, Asst. Editor (Industry/Agric) JONAH IBOMA, ICT Editor DAYO ADEYEMI, Property Editor ADEOLA YUSUF, Energy Editor

Businesses standstill as FCT residents mourn blast victims TRAGIC Market men and women close shops as dead bodies litter blast scene Kenneth Tyohemba ABUJA

B

usiness activities at Nyanya Market, located on the outskirt of Abuja, were paralysed on Monday following the early morning bomb blasts at the vehicle park, which officially claimed over 71 lives and injured over 124 people.

The blast, which occurred around 7:05am was said to be mounted in a small car parked under a tree between the extreme of Nyanya bridge and the park.

The park is occupied by SURE–P buses plying Nyanya to different parts of the city. The park is usually a beehive of activities for tricycle operators, truck pushers and hawkers.

According to an eye witness, Chidibere Okereke, who is an assistant driver in one of the ElRufai buses, the blast occurred when about four SURE – P buses were filled with passengers ready to move while other passengers were on queue to board vehicle to their respective places of work.

Chidebere stated that more than three hundred people might have died, although official figure of causalities was yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

He said: “If you had ever been to this park on Mondays early in the morning, you will appreciate what I am saying, each SURE – P bus carries not less than 50 passengers, and

WOLE SHADARE, Aviation Editor

ABDULWAHAB ISA, Finance Editor CHUKS ONUANYIN, Energy NNAMDI AMADI, Reporter

four of them were burnt while fully loaded with passengers; put the figure together and you will have not less than 300 dead bodies, although the buses going to Area One were not filled with passengers when the incident happened, and were also not affected much as compelled to SURE – P buses.”

Another eye witness, who gave his name as Austin Nwachuku, said he was just coming down on a bike close to the park when he heard a shattering noise, which shook the ground

Abdulwahab Isa ABUJA

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has launched independent investigation to unravel any collaboration by member of staff in hawking of currency notes.

The bank affirmed that any staff caught in the nefarious act would be made to face the appropriate recommendations of the law, adding that the en-

where he stood, and before he knew what was happening he saw dead bodies lying on the ground.

“I was on top of the bridge and I saw people queue up in the park to enter motor, but unfortunately before I could get down to joined them on the queue I saw more than fifty of them dead. I cannot tell the number that was inside the buses, but I can attest that about four of the buses were filled and were about to take off. I missed death narrowly.”

Not only the passengers died, but also some officials of the park, beggars, and hawkers.

Meanwhile, tight security has been mounted around the market axis putting restriction to vehicular movement on the Abuja – Keffi road which passes through Nyanya market.

The commercial buses were not operating, and the commuters were left stranded as they could not go out for their businesses.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

CBN under scrutiny over currency hawking forcement agencies whose job it is to arrest and prosecute the culprits were also working on the matter.

The apex bank made these assertions against the backdrops of recent reports evaluating its role of currency management including rampant of unfit notes in circulation.

The CBN said the N12, 000 it charged Deposit Money Banks in the process of sorting out ‘unfit bank notes’ was a legitimate charge for performing the duty on behalf of the banks.

The apex bank also accused the banks of failing to make the CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

Rates Dashboard

DELE ALAO, Brands/Marketing Editor CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor

L-R: Second Vice President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe; First Vice President, Mr. Emmanuel Ohanwusi; President, Mr. Ariyo Olushekun and Group Chief Executive Officer, BGL Plc/Chairman, 2014 Stockbrokers Annual National Conference, Mr. Albert Okumagba, during a press conference on the 2014 Stockbrokers Annual National Conference in Lagos.

PHOTO:SULEIMAN HUSAINI

INFLATION RATE February 2014......................7.70% January 2014 .......................8.00% December 2013....................8.00%

LENDING RATE InterBank Rate . . . . . . . . . 10.50% Prime Lending Rate. . . . . 16.93% Maximum Lending Rate..25.83%

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parellel As at April 11)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N170 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N282 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N235

EXCHANGE RATE

(Official As at April 11)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N155.74 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N260.56 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N216.15 Source: CBN

32

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

N16bn required to offset PHCN staff pensions –FG RETIREMENT Electricity liability managers demand more funds for pension James Nwabueze ABUJA

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espite privatising the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), the Federal Government still needs to cough out about N16 billion

to pay pension allowances to the severed staff of the defunct company.

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO), Dr. Sam Agbogun, disclosed this at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists during a press briefing.

Agbogun said: “On a monthly basis, our average pension is around N1.3 billion. In fact, in February it was N1.29 billion

and at N1.3 billion, what we have yearly is about 16 billion on average.”

He decried the lack of funds to meet the demand, saying that the budget for the current this year was 14bn.

He said: “We are sourcing more for N2bn, and that is to say if we stick by the budget, by the end of November we would have finished it.”

Agbogun also noted that the non-core assets including buildings and landed properties of the privatised PHCN

utilities had been transferred to the agency for liquidation but would have to pass through a complex process of verification before the liquidation would commence.

He, however, dismissed media reports that NELMCO had commenced disposal of inherited PHCN assets.

He also disclosed that the only near semblance of a scales transaction of a noncore asset of NELMCO was the PHCN headquarters in Abuja that was recently transferred to the Federal Ministry of Power for use as office.

He stated that the agency had huge liabilities relating to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), legacy debts, local and foreign loans, other creditors and pensions,

adding that “the quantum of NELMCO’s liabilities as at March 31, 2014, is about N752bn of which N392.2 billion is interagency debts that will be transferred to the Debt Management Office (DMO) and other Ministries for cancellation.

“It might interest you to know that limited due diligence on the non-core assets will soon commence with the updating of the records and perfection of land title documents which have lapsed and which PHCN did not revalidate.

“These are necessary in order to give title to the eventual purchasers of these landed assets. Therefore, NELMCO cannot sell a single property without the prior approval of the board.”

Businesses standstill as FCT residents mourn blast victims C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

This is in addition to businessmen/women in Nyanya L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje; Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Stella Okoli and Market who counted their losses Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Egbert Imomo, during the bank’s 24th Annual General meeting in Lagos.

PHOTO:GODWIN IREKHE as shops were closed because of tension and fear of the unknown.

A boutique operator, Mr. Charles Obiora, said it was a bad day for business in Nyanya as no sale was recorded because of the incident.

Only sachet water hawkers with a few actors in his office. ing, piracy among others. were going on with their norAmadi Nnamdi Awolowo, however, noted Earlier, Onyekuru said that mal business as people who ABUJA that for Nigerian movies to ZAFAA desired to collaborate trooped to witness the scene he Nigerian Export Promo- meet the requisite standards with the NEPC in promoting could not stop cooling their tion Council (NEPC) and in the multi-billion dollar Nigerian movies through road thirst in the scorching weather.

Zulu African Film Acad- global movie industry, with a shows and town hall meetings emy and Awards (ZAFAA) are view to charting export path, particularly in London. working to promote Nigerian there was need to improve on For over five years ZAFfilms in the international mar- the quality of the product.

FA has showcased Nigerian C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1 ket.

Towards this end, he said movies in London as well as The Executive Director and the Council would hold a recognised deserving Nige- needed investments in currenChief Executive Officer (CEO) stakeholders’ forum in Lagos rian actors and actresses who cy sorting hence the continued of NEPC, Mr. Olusgeun Awolo- on April 14, 2014, to discuss the have excelled in the industry recirculation of unfit notes wo, disclosed this in Abuja challenges and potential of the through awards.

According to the apex bank, when he received the repre- Nollywood industry including Onyekuru appealed to the “In a situation where any bank sentatives of ZAFAA led by issues like distribution chan- Council to sponsor the forth- fails to perform this responsiMr. Chinedu Onyekuru along nels, content, access to fund- coming ZAFAA Film Festival bility, however, the CBN plays and Awards, adding that the this critical role on behalf of British Board of Film Classifi- the affected banks by sorting cation, Ben TV, among others, the banknotes, separating the were already partners of ZA- fit notes from the unfit notes. and Accounts, Mr. Bernard FAA in ensuring a successful This service attracts a legitiJames Nwabueze Otti, on behalf of the manage- outing during the festival. mate but paltry charge of N12, ABUJA ment of the corporation said The movie industry in Ni- 000 per box on the bank that anagement of the Nige- that the appointment was geria is currently the largest fails to sort its currency. Thererian National Petroleum with immediate effect. employer after agriculture. after, the fit notes are put back Corporation (NNPC), An alumnus of the Univer- Stakeholders and keen watch- into circulation while the unfit has announced the appoint- sity of Benin, Alegbe comes ers of activities in the creative notes are destroyed and new ment of Mr. Ohi Alegbe as on the job with three decades industry believe that if the sec- notes are reissued to replace Group General Manager, of experience which has seen tor is managed properly it could them. What is happening is Group Public Affairs Divi- him traverse broadcast, print, generate additional one million that banks have failed to make sion. public relations and advertis- jobs along its value chain. Pres- the needed investments in curA statement by the Group ing genres of public commu- ently, the industry generates rency sorting and therefore Executive Director, Finance nication. about $590 million annually. resorting to recirculating unfit

NEPC partners ZAFAA to create export path for Nollywood

T

NNPC appoints Ohi Alegbe new spokesman

M

Commenting on the tight security around the market prior to the disaster, a resident close to Nyanya who gave his name as Ibrahim, said the security operators should not concentrate much on Nyanya market now hence the deed had been done.

Ibrahim stated that the perpetrators’ target may be shifted to another location in the city.

He further charged the security personnel to be on the alert, adding that this might just be one of the planned bombings in Abuja during this Easter period.

CBN under scrutiny over currency hawking notes.”

On hawking of the naira and its general abuse, it said it was aware of pervasive abuse of naira and that efforts had been initiated with law enforcement agencies to curb the menace .

The bank said, “The CBN is aware of the unwholesome act of the hawking of the naira, spraying, squeezing and other abusive treatment of the currency in contravention of the provisions of the CBN Act 2007.

The bank, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, has taken steps to curb these acts.”

The CBN is also investigating to determine if any of its staff is involved in this criminal act and to take appropriate action on such staff.

“Let us once again restate our position that any staff caught in this nefarious act will be punished,” it said.

33

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Residents groan as poor power supply cripple businesses in Abuja James Nwabueze ABUJA

T

he continued shortfall in electricity supply in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, is adversely affecting economic and social activities of residents.

New Telegraph investigations reveal that virtually all types of businesses in the capital city and its environs have been affected as business owners are now contending with the high costs of diesel to power generating sets which are mostly relied upon in the prevailing circumstance.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) attributed the shortfall to the reduction to 150 megawatts from its usual allocation of 500 megawatts previously allocated to it, necessitating rationing of supply among consumers.

However, Head of Public Relations AEDC, Mrs. Patience Toyo, assured that the company was working round the clock to improve the situation.

According to Toys, “the power or load allocation from Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to Abuja is only 150 megawatts which is a significant reduction from the manageable 500 megawatts which was previously allocated to the company.”

Although the Disco did not give reason for the drastic reduction in grid allocation, it, however, said the drop has led to load-shedding of some areas.

The situation is, however, taking a toll on the socio-economic activities as business owners say they spend millions of naira to power their generating sets. It is estimated that businesses in the FCT spend up to N200 million monthly on costs associated with maintaining electricity generating sets.

The manager of a manufacturing company at Idu industrial area, an Indian national who craved anonymity for fear of victimization said he runs generator at least 18 hours daily in order to remain in business.

“The power situation is bad, we run generator for about 18 hours. PHCN is unreliable and it doesn’t come at all nowadays. I can tell you that most of the manufacturing companies located here at the Idu Industrial Layout, now run on generators to meet up with their daily production,” he lamented.

This is even as residents and Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs at Gwagwalada, Abaji and Kwali are also complaining about the worsening power situation in the areas, as it had grounded economic activities.

A food vendor at the popular Area 1 Shopping Complex, Mrs. Joy Nwadinobi, said that the power situation had gone from ‘bad to worse’ in the past few weeks.

Jonathan

Nwadinobi said that the situation was adversely affecting her business and urged the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the problem.

Nwadinobi said: “The power situation has gone very bad in the last few months and we just want to call on government to quickly fix the problem because we are suffering.”

Hajia Binta Garba, a housewife at Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja, said the epileptic power situation had made all the food items she stored in her refrigerator to go bad, leading to wastages.

She appealed to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company to do something urgently, especially with the adverse weather condition which was causing a lot of heat and health hazards to children especially.

A civil servant, Mohammed Isa, who resides at Karu, a suburb of FCT, decried what he called the indifferent attitude of those in authority to the plight of the masses.

He said: “We don’t have light, there is fuel scarcity, even to get potable water is a problem, this is really very pathetic for a country like Nigeria.”

Also, a resident Kuje, another FCT suburb, Mr. Monday Igado, said residents of the area had been suffering untold hardships as a result of the epileptic power situation.

Nebo

Igado said some areas don’t even have electricity for days, while in other areas the supply is like a flash for about 20 minutes.

He complained that most parts of Kuje do not have transformers, thereby posing serious challenge to stable power supply.

“I think the situation is even worse in the suburbs like Kuje, because most of the communities do not have transformers and this is a big problem for us,” he said.

A shop owner in one of the plazas at Wuse Zone 5, Mr. Chukwuma Ike, told our correspondent that doing business in the FCT is increasingly becoming frustrating because of the epileptic power supply.

Ike lamented that “what is much more painful is that the security people will tell us that there was light all throughout the night but before we

As you can hear generators humming all around, that is what we now rely on. You spend all your fortune on diesel and maintenance of the generating plant

come to the office in the morning they would have taken the light. I can assure you that even if the light comes, it does not last longer than 10 minutes before going off again.

“As you can hear generators humming all around, that is what we now rely on. You spend all your fortune on diesel and maintenance of the generating plant,” Ike lamented.

At Adetokunbo Ademola crescent in Wuse II, the story is not different as the banks, shopping malls, and hospitality firms there have to be on generators throughout the working hours of the day because of near absence of power supply to the area during the day.

The minister of power, Professor, Chinedu Nebo, had admitted that there was shortage of electricity supply to some parts of the country, blaming the situation on vandalism of gas pipelines, and on some saboteurs who are determined to frustrate efforts of the Federal Government to ensure the provision of stable power across the country.

He, however, assured that everything necessary was being done to normalise power supply in parts of the country where outages had been experienced, adding that the challenges were “being squarely addressed by the Federal Government.”

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Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

‘Transformation agenda aimed at making Nigeria industrialised nation by 2020' Dr. Umar Buba Bindir is the Director General of National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), an agency set up by government to regulate the transfer of technology to Nigeria. In this interview with SIMEON OGOEGBULEM, he speaks on why the agency was set up and other issues. Excerpts What is NOTAP all about?

NOTAP was established in 1979. As at that time, it was known as the National Office for Industrial Property with an office only in Lagos. Later, the office transformed into NOTAP so that its mandate will be expanded to help Nigeria more meaningfully. The key mandate establishing NOPTAP was drawn from a situation which was that Nigeria, in the late 70s, after the discovery of oil, was in a boom. Nigeria was establishing industries, nice roads, all the good things technology has to offer. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity or the capability to provide those things which we crave by ourselves. Therefore we resulted to going out to foreign countries of Europe, America and Asia to source these technologies so that we can be efficient in our country. Now, this process of transferring technology from these foreign lands to Nigeria has a number of implications.

The people bringing these technologies can bring in old ones and still charge a lot of money, because you are not aware of the legal terminologies, they may put clauses that are disadvantageous to you.

They may, for instance, say that you do not have to supply us with raw materials that they will bring the raw materials from their own country, that we have to bring our people to man these machines, otherwise the technology transfer is not acceptable. This is how some of these technological transfer agreements were packaged to the disadvantage of Nigerians. And therefore NOTAP was supposed to check some of these technological agreements so that these technological transfers must be registered by NOTAP. So this is how NOTAP has come to become a regulatory body for foreign technological transfer.

And how do we do that?

Each technological transfer that was coming to Nigeria was bound by a document or a contract. And for the people to make money in Nigeria and take it out, as a result of the technology they were bringing, they must go to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the CBN must demand their NOTAP certificate. That is how we play a role in determining that amount of money that leaves Nigeria for the technology that we are consuming.

So, on this platform, we check the legal

clauses if it is fair to Nigeria or not. If it is not fair to Nigeria, we look at the clauses and see that if we have the raw materials in Nigeria, you must use them and if we have the people that will man those technologies, you must use them.

Secondly we have the experience to know the prices of technology these people are bringing in. Sometimes people will quote the price of the technology even up to 20 times the actual price of the technology and we will say no to that and insist that they have to pro rata the price internationally. Finally we try to technically engage the companies to say that you carry out the research and development in your country and also perfect the technology in your own country; we are just consuming it we too would want to learn.

So there must be training and research component in the agreements, otherwise, it is not fair to Nigeria. So these are the three major indices that guide NOTAP in the registration of technology transfer agreements.

What has been the impact of NOTAP? Well not many people know it as it is a very complex mandate. Even to explain it to the ordinary man, it is still difficult because we are talking of intellectual property and these are not easily understood. However, I can tell you that in the last 10 years, NOTAP has managed to save the country over N300 billion. This is money that ordinarily would have left the shores of Nigeria unfairly because of over charged technology. Secondly, because NOTAP intervenes, thousands of Nigerians are now being hired by people who are importing these technologies. I may not have the exact figures but what I know is that as a result of our interventions, technicians, engineers and other technically oriented Nigerians are being engaged by the people importing these technologies and these are people who ordinarily without our intervention would not have been engaged. And, again, because we constantly stand on our feet, I am happy to report to you that there are companies today that are emerging even as multinational companies because we put our feet down and say that they must benefit in the learning process of the imported technology. So these are the dynamics and the impact NOTAP has been able to have on the national economy.

Bindir

Is there synergy between NOTAP and other agencies?

Actually most people who will likely read this article may not like what I am saying because we are very sentimental people. The reality is that till today, we are still in the bracket of a developing nation, meaning that our knowledge systems, universities, polytechnics, and even our research institutions have adequately responded to the needs of our people and our economy. That is why as I said before that we are still a consuming nation where we have crude oil and still import kerosene, despite the fact that we have good land and water, we are still importing rice and despite the fact that we have good universities with ICT faculties, every single software that is powering our oil and gas industry and communications are all imported. Every major project we have in the country today, whether road construction, you will see foreigners explaining it to our leaders. Now coming back to your question, NOTAP remains a very critical institution and NOTAP not have the workshops to make machines or laboratories where chemical processes take place. Other people are doing it.

However, I think over the years, by my estimation, our agencies have perfected the act of working in silos, working as islands, we do not like to partner to syn-

For me, transformation is targeting to change this country to become an industrialised nation by the year 2020. I think it is very possible but it cannot be possible if we have not answered the call of Mr. President to change the way we do things

ergise and to grow stronger. And NOTAP has recognised this and one of the policies of this agency under my supervision is to break down the walls of these islands. You have to open your doors and also open the doors of other agencies so that you can have pipes for information to flow. Since 2009 when I became the DG of NOTAP, I have visited over 120 government agencies with the message of what NOTAP does. And today, when you talk of agencies that regulate the economy, CBN regulates remittances, FIRS is regulating taxes from the some companies and CAC is regulating the registration of companies, we at NOTAP is regulating the inflow of technology and I am happy to tell you that we are now talking to each other to make sure that we are able to compare notes and help our leaders to see what is happening in the economy. That synergy is beginning to happen.

NOTAP and Transformation Agenda As I said, the transformation agenda is a mission statement. We have enough land and yet we are importing rice from Vietnam and other Asian countries. I think that it is these types of observations that made Mr. President to say that look, enough is enough, that we need to change the way we do things. So, for me, transformation is targeting to change this country to become an industrialised nation by the year 2020. I think it is very possible but it cannot be possible if we have not answered the call of Mr. President to change the way we do things.

Like Einstein said, it is only a fool who will continue to do the same thing and expecting a different outcome. NOTAP has recognised that Nigeria has transformed from a single country university in the 1940s to now a country with over 129 universities and over 125 Polytechnics. That number is enough knowledge to breed enough critical human capital to do anything and compete with the rest of the world.

BUSINESS | CAPITAL MARKET

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

35

Portfolio diversification via mutual funds Chris Ugwu

I

nvestment portfolio for retail investors require being constructed around a diversified group of securities spread broadly across the market. This will create a low portfolio risk advantage and thus guarantee the level of returns required to transform investments into wealth over the years.

The financial capacity needed to achieve the standard portfolio diversification is clearly not within the reach of the small investors. Recent market developments have also tended to place new hurdles for the small investor desirous in investing directly in the stock market.

The experience of the recent past clearly revealed that most retail investors do not have the capacity for direct investing in the capital market.

Minimum investment The main restrictive factor is the increase in the minimum account opening required by some stock broking firms, which was about N250,000 during the boom days. This has spurred fresh attempts to establish mutual funds to create an alternative investing window for the small investor but with as low as N5,000; one can be a unit holder in mutual fund.

The investing activity requires the involvement of experts in deciding what to buy and when to buy or sell. Mutual funds provide a remedy for limited knowledge about stock market investing and inability to select good investments.

They create investing expertise through the appointment of professional managers and make it available to the general investing public. The fund managers are knowledgeable about the market and are in a better position than individual investors to build a portfolio of stocks and other securities and turn them over to take advantage of market development.

Investment managers professionally manage mutual funds by pooling money from investors and investing them in different financial instruments including stocks, bonds and money market instruments in a diversified manner with the financial aim of generating high rates of returns.

Mutual funds operations in Nigeria came to the limelight for the first time during the early 1990s, as a result of the rapid growth in the financial sector induced by the deregulation policy of the mid-1980s.

They emerged as part of the financial markets innovations that followed the policy of deregulation. Banks engaged in competitive floatation and management of mutual funds then as is happening again presently.

Many of them closed shop during the financial turmoil that followed while others remained relatively insignificant until the recent banking consolidation and the financial meltdown that resulted

Oscar Onyema

in plunge (depreciation in share price) in the equity market - reinforced the investment bankers to start creating new mutual products.

Benefits Some market operators in the Nigerian Capital Market have described investment in mutual fund as a good investing strategy that is giving investors greater access to professional fund management.

According to Managing Director, Crane Securities Limited, Mr. Mike Eze, “investors that do not have in-depth knowledge of the capital market nor the time and expertise to analyse and invest in stocks and bonds, which include affordable access to expensive stocks, risk diversification and mutual funds, invest in a basket of asset.

Eze, who noted that except the investing public begin to access the stock market through investment professionals, equities will continue to record loss in value, which could hinder the growth of the securities market, said investing in mutual fund will give investors opportunity for professional fund management by fund managers charged with the responsibility of providing them with in-depth research inputs from investment analysts.

The Chief Executive Officer, Modus Market Concepts Limited, Mr. Brian Ojukwu, said that the fund enables retail investors to invest in various instruments such that if one is failing, the other holds fit. He explained that instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, it is now spread across many instruments that may not fall at the same time.

“The whole idea is to pull together the resources of small investors and be able to make a pool that would afford such investor the opportunity to invest in choice instrument. It is about creating a portfolio, a meek portfolio,” he said.

Also speaking, the Managing Director, Lamberth Securities, Mr. David Adonri, said mutual fund enables investors who have shallow knowledge of investment to

Aruma Oteh

Investing in mutual fund gives investors opportunity for professional fund managers to provide them with in-depth research inputs from investment analysts still invest wisely.

Aside investing wisely, he said investors who don’t have enough resources could also invest in certain shares of their choice through mutual fund.

“For instance, the question of funds required to invest in certain area may be beyond what an investor can provide at any point in time and such investor can still invest in that area through a mutual fund.

“Mutual funds are important financial mechanism that investors can benefit from because the funds can be very large in terms of financial returns. They are also important in every economy in being able to supply funds massively to some sectors that the funds can invest in,” he said.

Regulator’s efforts The Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Arunma Oteh, at a forum recently, said that the commission was encouraging more institutional market with retail participation principally through Collective Investment Scheme (CIS).

She disclosed that in view of increased interest in mutual funds, the commission has intensified its examination and monitoring of fund managers and trustees of such schemes and encouraging the establishment of an industry trade group for mutual fund managers.

She explained that in 2010 the commis-

sion first drew attention to the fact that a retail investor, “you may consider as an alternative instead of investing directly yourself while you are not so familiar with the company, that you may seek the services of a financial expert and go through collective investment schemes.”

Ms. Oteh explained that “before we did that, we decided to enhance the regulations of fund managers because we do not want a situation where we are encouraging people to go to mutual funds and it turns out that the fund managers will now steal their money.”

The commission, she further explained, have tried to improve the capacity of fund management firms. “We also asked that they come together as a trade group so that we can interact with them much more efficiently. We are very proud with what they have done; they have put together a strategy document, which basically shows what the potentials are for Collective Investment Schemes. There is clearly room for more to be done; we have about $1billion of funds under management that is very small for a country of 167 million people. So, the potential is enormous.”

Ms. Oteh noted that the commission is also working through the Nigerian Capital Market Institute with the Financial Planning Association to ensure that it can train young people to become financial planners.

Given the expansive nature of the Nigerian Capital Market, it is expected that mutual funds will continue to attract numerous investors as many of them are trying to catch-in on retail investors who either do not have the investment savvy or the minimum requirements being demanded by the brokers to open an investment account for them.

The trends so far also showed that the fund managers are becoming more sophisticated in their products design as we are having different brands in recent times tailored to suit their numerous as well as diverse potential investors.

36 BUSINESS | BRANDS & MARKETING

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Union Bank: Waiting for more rebranding actions CURIOSITY Union Bank customers are willing to know the completion of the rebranding project.

Dele Alao

A

fter several decades of lull in marketing and marketing communications activities, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, in 2012, began a rebranding process, thus raising the hope of its customers of a more vibrant bank.

According to the bank then, the rebranding efforts would see to the total overhauling of its process. Though, some old attributes, such as the corporate pay-off ‘Big, Strong and Reliable,’ was retained.

The bank’s logo was refreshed and came out with attractive signages and more appealing blue and white corporate colour. Also, the bank unveiled a multimedia advertising campaign tagged “… and we’ve only just begun.” as part of the first steps towards achieving the set out objectives of being lively and more customer-centric The rebranding exercise was heralded with an ad titled ‘Bringing dreams alive…

Union Bank stated: “For almost a century, we have helped

fulfilled hopes and aspirations.

We have given many Nigerians the needed back-up to sing new songs. Nigerian is born great.

Union Bank is bringing out that greatness in every Nigerian.”

One of the consultants on the rebranding project, Mr. Tayo Bright, noted that a 2010 consumer insight which cited the bank’s old fashion approach to service delivery, old buildings and failure to move with trends, forced the bank to take aggressive steps in rebuilding a new image and more customercentric service delivery.

“The bank is taking new steps to create new identity, new brand, remodeling and new signage, which showcases service offered. The bank’s blue colour, which signifies trust, will come on a white that shows the bank’s sincerity, cleanliness. These will reflect on our branch buildings across the country,” he said.

Besides, he noted: “We are going to upgrade all other branches to world class standard. We are presently working on 100 branches nationwide and hope to cover 400 branches in the next 18 months. We will not put our signage on a building that is not befitting of our new look.”

To some observers, it appears the bank has stepped down on the rebranding project kicked-off by the former managing director, Mrs. Fun-

ke Osibodu.

But, in a telephone interview on the issue, spokesperson for the bank, Francis Barde, said that there was no way the bank could have discontinued with the exercise, noting that the lender did not need any fresh capital but has enough to keep it going.

Union Bank, last year, embarked on a Transformation Programme to upgrade the institution and enhance its performance. It had also invested in technology, upgrade

of infrastructure, strategic recruitment and reviewed its processes to make them more efficient for customers.

The bank said: “Today, given the growth and expansion in the core-banking business itself, and the ability that banks have within that core-banking business to provide diversified and value-added products and services through partnerships and cross-sells, the importance of actually owning the non-core businesses directly has become less strategically critical.”

Union Bank building, Lagos

MultiChoice activates 10 resource centres M ultiChoice has activated10 new resource centres, bringing to 294 the total of all its centres in 29 states across the federation.

The announcement was made during the commemorative commissioning ceremony of 10 new MultiChoice Resource Centres (MRC) in Yola, Adamawa State, held at General Murtala Mohammed College.

According to a statement, beneficiaries of the audiovisual learning aid in Adamawa State are: Capital Government Day Secondary School, Government Girls Secondary School, General Murtala Mohammed College, Doubeli Government Day Secondary School and School for Arabic

Islamic Studies. Others are Government Boys Boarding Secondary School, Government Day Secondary School, Government Day Secondary School, Government Science Technical College and Aliyu Musdafa College.

Public Relations Manager, DStv, Caroline Oghuma, who represented the Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe, at the ceremony, said: “The launch of MultiChoice Resource Centres in Yola is happening almost 10 years after the inaugural launch of the project in Abuja in 2004 to commemorate what was then MultiChoice’s 10th anniversary of the resource center in Nigeria. The resource centre initiative is our

corporate social responsibility project that has grown from only four centres at inception to 294 schools in 29 states of the federation.”

Oghuma added that MultiChoice’s strong conviction that the technological, economic, social and political advancement of any country has a direct correlation with its level of educational development and that the future of a country is intrinsically linked to the quality of education that the youth are exposed to, is the belief that underpins the company’s roll-out of the audio-visual learning aids across the country.

She said that MultiChoice plans to have the resource centres in all the states of the

federation eventually.

Managing Director, Innovative Technology Literacy Services Ltd, the project managers for the MultiChoice Resource Centre, Mrs. Ronke Bello, described Adamawa State as a lucky beneficiary of the MRC project.

She said: “The MultiChoice resource centre is designed to grant beneficiary schools access to the special MultiChoice Education Bouquet with the aim of integrating the programmes into their curriculum to further enhance the teaching and learning processes in the classrooms. The media deployed include: a TV set, a HD PVR decoder, satellite dish, a generator, stabilizer, a set of chairs and desks for the laboratory, among others.”

SO&U young talents win Miami scholarship

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anking tops in the keenly contested 2014 Miami Ad School Scholarship competition, two creative staff of SO&U, an advertising agency, have been offered half tuition scholarships for international students.

According to a statement, the scholarships, which are for use at any Miami Ad school campus worldwide was won at the recently concluded Miami Ad School Scholarship Competition designed to connect with fresh talents and receiving entries from different parts of the world.

Reacting to the news, one of the award recipients, Ms. Adenike Akinbisehin said the organisers have been able to “encourage and reward creative excellence.”

She explained that her decision to participate in the competition was to enable her “imagination roam, without having to consider limitations posed by cultural or production concerns.”

Mr. Ifeanyi Mazi, the second recipient noted that it took him four days of brainstorming beforehe conceived the ideas. For him, “this is just the beginning; the best is yet to come.”

SO&U, Creative Director, Mr. Anthony Ekun, commended the winners.

“I am not surprised by what Ifeanyi and Nike have achieved. Their creativity and passion is consistent and very inspiring. At SO&U, we are confident that we will be seeing more of their achievements in the years to come,” he said.

Recently, Ifeanyi Mazi, one of the winners won the keenly contested MAD Laifer’s category with Sandra Ebulu another staff of the agency at the recent Lagos Advertising and Idea Festival (LAIF) Awards. The duo have been offered the opportunity to visit France for this year’s Cannes Award, which is the world’s biggest annual awards show and festival for professionals in the creative communications industry.”

Applauding the success of the winners, SO&U Group Managing Director, Mr. Udeme Ufot expressed delight. He said: Greatness can only be achieved with passion for excellence and willingness to move out of one's comfort zone. Nike and Ifeanyi are shining examples of the achievements of commitment and hard work.”

BUSINESS | BRANDS & MARKETING 37

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

PREMIUM Popular beer, Heineken, builds equity as it bonds with customers for a unique experience.

Dele Alao

T

oday’s business landscape has never been this competitive. With a plethora of products in the marketplace and discerning consumers, marketers have found it not an easy task to reach out to consumers.

Not so long ago, most business assumed that the keys to success were providing consumers with the highest quality product, the best value for money, and the best customer service. Things have changed rapidly in our fast-paced world such that hitherto effective market strategies have become impracticable or simply irrelevant in today’s business climate.

Today, marketers are beginning to place huge emphasis on providing the best customer experience. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review “The Truth About Customer Experience” defines it as your customer’s end-to-end journey

Heineken boosts brand equity with consumer experience with you, not just the key touch points or critical moments when customers interact with your organization. Customer experience is the cumulative impact of multiple touch points over time, which results in a real relationship feeling, or lack of it.”

Consumer insight is critical in providing customer experience. The first step in being able to demonstrate your value is being willing to find out what your customers want or need.

This will create a connection with them, which demonstrates more value than price or quality.

You create a loyal customer that wants to buy from you, and will recommend you to others. Put succinctly, a brand must know and understand what makes customers tick.

Organisations able to skillfully manage the entire experience reap enormous rewards: enhanced customer satisfaction, reduced churn, increased revenue, and greater employee satisfaction. They also discover

more-effective ways to collaborate across functions and levels, a process that delivers gains throughout the company. Super brands like Apple, Samsung, Coca-Cola and others, have used great customer experiences to propel their brands to great heights.

Another global brand known for giving customers great endto-end experiences is Heineken, the world’s leading international premium lager beer. True to its archetype of bringing wonderful experiences to its customers all over the world, the brand recently brought the prestigious UEFA Champions League Trophy to Lagos, Nigeria.

The brand thus succeeded in giving Nigerians a once-in-a-life time opportunity to experience the UCL Trophy and interact with iconic football players.

With this, Heineken created a live champions league ambience at the prestigious Eko Hotel & suites to the delight of consumers.

L-R: Lanre Ojo, Sola Nasir and Opeloyemi Ojo, all winners at the Heineken trophy tour experience

PARTNERSHIP Airtel Nigeria makes relationship with Sweet Sensation to sell airtime.

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irtel Nigeria, the country’s second largest telecoms services provider, has partnered with one of the leading quick service restaurants, Sweet Sensation, to make electronic airtime recharge available at every outlet of the fast food brand.

The innovative service, which is branded, ‘Refresh and Recharge’ according to

Consumers had a panoramic view of a football museum showcasing live pictures of UCL legends like Zinedine Zedane, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Raul, Ronaldo, Puska, Platini, Buffon and others. The climax of the trophy tour expedition culminated with consumers being photographed alongside the UCL trophy.

Speaking on the relevance of the tour during the consumer experience event, Senior Brand Manager, Heineken, Mrs. Ngozi Nkwoji, said: “The exploit of the Heineken brand in bringing the UCL trophy to Nigeria is a huge deal. This is a great partnership

between the international premium beer and club football’s most prestigious competition.

We are excited to bring this experience to consumers who have been loyal to the beer brand. So, it is really a great feeling having them to come here courtesy of Heineken. This is also a true testament that Heineken encourages people to open their mind and cross their borders and achieve super human feats to earn international recognition.”

Relieving his most intimate experience of the UCL trophy tour, one ecstatic consumer, Ubong Apkabio, said that the initiative is unique.

TruContact kicks off Nigeria CSR Awards T ruContact CSR Nigeria, organisers of the annual SERA’s, Nigeria CSR Awards, have released the entry for the 2014 edition of the awards.

The SERAs is one of Nigeria’s biggest and most credible corporate awards. Over the last eight years, the profile of the project has continued to grow, attracting several local and international endorsements and partners. Besides deepening the state of play of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in Nigeria, it has also positioned itself as a strong tool for not only promoting and driving Nigeria’s national development agenda, but also providing a platform for organisations and brands to leverage their investment in the society and showcase beneficial stakeholder engagements.

According to a statement

from the organisers, the 2014 theme – Creating an Enabling Organisational Culture for Sustainability – seeks to strike a balance between the giant strides that Nigerian businesses are making in CSR and their internal process alongside their openness to public scrutiny especially as it affects social, environmental and governance issues.

The coordinator of the project, Mr. Ken Egbas, said: “The 2013 edition proved a milestone in the annals of the awards as it saw the unveiling of the new statuette designed

by R.S. Owens – The USAbased company that produces the world renowned OSCARS and Golden Globe Awards statuettes. In 2014, we intend to further up the ante and put together a world class spectacle that the whole country would be proud of.”

Airtime top-up: Airtel partners Sweet Sensation a statement, was officially unveiled at the Head Office of Sweet Sensation in Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos.

This is coming just two weeks after the telecoms company unveiled Airtel Premier, which is an exclusive club for elite customers.

Speaking at the launch of the service, the Lagos Regional Operations Director for Airtel, Mr. Adebayo Osinowo, noted that the company conceived the ‘Refresh & Recharge’ package for its teem-

ing customers as an addition to the numerous convenient channels available for access to recharging their lines and purchasing data bundles.

He said: “The service, which is first of its kind in telecommunications products and services in Nigeria, was borne out of the need to give customers of Airtel Nigeria quality service as well as convenience and value. Each time Airtel customers walk into any Sweet Sensation outlet to get their meals, they can also top up their lines with

Airtel Easy Recharge, which is a convenient, time-saving and secure way to get airtime without scratching cards. With Airtel Easy Recharge, customers, while enjoying the cool ambience of Sweet Sensation, can buy airtime in flexible denominations like N67, N105, N999., which otherwise may not be possible with physical recharge cards. They can also purchase data bundles directly in these outlets.”

Also speaking at the occasion, Managing Director,

Sweet Sensation, Mrs. Kehinde Kamson, expressed delight in the partnership, saying the relationship would definitely engender value added services for the two companies.

The partnership between the duo is powered by Interswitch Limited, an integrated payment and transaction processing company that provides technology integration, advisory services, transaction processing and payment infrastructure to government, banks and corporate organisations.

38 BUSINESS

BATTLE Nigeria Customs and banks are encountering hitch with Pre-Arrival Assessment Report Bayo Akomolafe

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Customs places manufacturing firms on fast track 9,000 PAAR documents hang in banks

T

he Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has admitted 114 companies into the fast track concession platform created in the enhanced Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) system.

It was part of efforts to ensure the success of the PAAR. The beneficiaries admitted into the scheme included local manufacturing companies, multinationals, automobile companies, telecom operators and super-market retail outlets.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, explained that the approval was granted in order to encourage beneficiary companies towards enhanced compliance, in the conduct of international trade in Nigeria.

He said: “We have observed over time that these companies have exhibited high level of diligence in their documentations, honesty in their declarations and integrity in dealing with Customs.

“The list would, however, be reviewed periodically, subject to the performance of the importers on the compliance scale.”

Dikko explained that under the fast track scheme, the PAAR system had been configured to accord special recognition to the final documents belonging to the beneficiary companies when they are uploaded by the dealer banks.

“In other words, once the verified documents hit the Customs system, an automatic system check is activated, which on completion generates the PAAR without recourse to the officers of the ruling centre. The declaration is instantly routed to the green lane and the process completed within a few minutes. Such importers could, as a result, take immediate delivery of their cargo, while Customs would later conduct routine Post Clearance Audit of their books, he added.

Dikko posited that beneficiary companies would be published in the national dailies to enable Nigerians know those

Containers stacked at AP Moller terminal, Lagos port

who are doing it right.

The customs boss said: “We believe publishing it will challenge those listed not to engage in acts that will compromise their status, while putting pressure on those that are yet to make the list,” the Comptroller-General stated.

It was learnt that the new initiative might emerge the final answer, towards finally eliminating all the perceived shortcomings of the PAAR system.

Meanwhile, there is pressure on Customs management that it has up to June to get it right with the PAAR under, which goods are expected to be cleared within six hours.

Contrary to declaration made the Customs Comptroller-General that PAAR would be issued within six hours at a town hall meeting to kick-off the scheme last year, it now takes between three weeks and six weeks to clear consignments.

Although, Customs denied responsibility for the crisis, accusing those clamouring for the return of service providers that they have something to hide.

Customs spokesman, Mr Wale Adeniyi, wondered why the importers who have not utilised thousands of PAARs

issued to them between January and March were complaining of not having the documents.

He said that Customs record showed that there was an improvement in the number of PAARs issued daily.

He added: “Statistics doesn’t lie. When we started, we were in the region of 200 and 500 per day. Now, we have done over

1,700 and on March 26, we did 1,900. Our statistics showed that there is an increase in the number of PAARs we are generating.”

The President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said his association was aware of the problems created by PAAR. He said that he knew that the Customs had

come up with a new platform to tackle the issue.

He explained: “I know the Comptroller-General of Customs and the Ministry of Finance are working assiduously to clear all the backlog of PAARs. Customs has introduced a new platform to address the challenges but how effective the new platform would be is what I don’t know.”

Maritime stakeholders receive awards

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or their contributions to the development of the maritime sector, 10 distinguished personalities have been honoured with Evergreen Merit awards at a ceremony in Apapa, Lagos.

At the event, which was the 5th National Evergreen Merit Awards Ceremony, some corporate organisations were also honoured.

President Goodluck Jonathan was also honoured with chief executives of private and public organisations. Others include Sifax Executive Group Vice chairman, Mr Taiwo Afolabi, who clinched the Maritime man of The Year, Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi as the Maritime

Industry CEO of the Year The award for the Legislature of the Year went to Honorable Ifeanyin Ugwuayin and the Ondo/Ekiti NUJ Patron garnered the Freight Forwarder of the Year, Mr. Osuala Emma Nwagbara is the Maritime Lawyer of The Year. Otunba Kunle Folarin is the Maritime Expert of the Year, Comptroller Charles Edike won the Customs Area Controller of the Year, while Sir Mike Jukwe is Freight Forwarding Practioner of the Year.

Also honoured were CSC Steve Okonmah, who clinched Customs PRO of The Year. The award for the Terminal Operator of the Year was won by APM Terminal Apapa and Ships&Ports Communications Company was Maritime Media of the Year.

In his welcome address,

the publisher of the Peoples’ Forum newspaper, Mr Tunde Ojudun, said that the National Evergreen Maritime Merit Awards (NMMA) was instituted in 2008 by the organisation to reward and promote excellence and selfless services to Nigeria with a view to encouraging rapid development of the maritime industry in particular and the national economy as a whole.

He said that the selection process through which winners have emerged has always been painstaking and thorough as decisions on award winners are informed by the feedback received from stakeholders.

Chairman of the occasion, Otunba Kunle Folarin, commended the maritime reporters for their accurate coverage of the industry.

BUSINESS | MARITIME

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

ANGER Operators are angry over omission of shipping in the rebased GDP Stories by Bayo Akomolafe

M

aritime stakeholders have given a low mark to the Federal Government over the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria, insisting that the sector’s contribution was conspicuously missing.

The shipping sector, according to them, had been consistently ignored in Nigeria’s past GDP figures.

According to the Chairman, Port Consultative Council, Otunba Kunle Folarin, the maritime sector is a base for the whole economy.

He explained that every other sector revolves around the maritime sector, adding that the sector services other sectors and provide opportunities for all the sectors of the economy.

Folarin said: “We cannot use the figure of 1990 for 2014,” saying there was an omission.

Also, the Chairman of the Nigerian Ship owners Association (NISA), Chief Isaac Jolapamo, said that government

39

Stakeholders accuse FG of omitting shipping in rebased GDP We didn’t, says government

had failed to show enough commitment to issues concerning the sector.

He faulted President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for ignoring the development and contributions of the maritime industry to national development.

The chairman added that the sector’s contribution should cover activities such as port operation, indigenous shipping and inland water transportation.

A master mariner, Capt.

Omoteso, who believed that the economy should be stronger than ever if the maritime sector had not been neglected, said it was a pity that up till now government still sees the maritime sector only in terms of Custom duty and import rather than from the under angle of freight earnings.

He noted: “The problem is that nobody really knows much about the maritime sector. Some of the political leaders never really understand the true meaning of what they

read each time they visit the Lagos Port Complex in Apapa, and find boldly written, “Welcome to the Gateway to the Nation’s Economy.”

But Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Bright Okogu, insisted that Maritime was covered.

Responding to this allegation at the just concluding Spring meetings of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C., he said that sector may have been grouped under the services sector.

He explained: “When you do GDP rebasing as we have just

done – first time in 24 years, it does not mean that every single sector is covered in details. But I personally have my doubts that they will have left the maritime sector out completely. I am sure they didn’t leave it out. It would be part of the services sector, which includes the maritime sector that is a very big sector in any economy that is a trading nation.

“So, I think before we can confirm that kind of statement as being factual we have to bear in mind that they must have used a different terminology because you will not count

every single area of economic activity. So, I want to assure you that the maritime sector would not have been left out.

You also have to bear in mind that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is still taking details of the sectors.”

In other climes, the contribution of the shipping (or maritime) sector is distinctly captured and stated. For example, in the United Kingdom, the maritime services sector made an estimated £13.8 billion direct value-added contribution to GDP in 2012. This is equivalent to 0.9 per cent of the UK economy.

Stevedoring firms, FCMB partner to grow port sector

T

he stevedoring companies under the auspices of the National Association of Stevedoring Companies (NASC) and First City Monument Bank, have partnered to grow the port industry.

The President of the association, Mr Bolaji Sunmola, said the bank was partnering with the association to tackle the issue of finance, which has remained the major challenge of the industry.

Already, he said the association had opened an account with the bank where check-off dues could be paid.

He urged the Federal Government to appoint people who have passion for the stevedoring in order to move the industry forward.

The president, while reacting to issues at the inauguration of the new executives of the association in Lagos said: “Our advice to government is that they should deal with those who have the interest of the industry at heart.

“The stakeholders in the sector should be the first to be considered because they will ensure that the policy of government is implemented in line economy.

“The cascading of policies, a policy today another one tomorrow, has not help the growth of stevedoring but this is an industry that is over 70 years old.”

He explained that the association had embarked on restructuring and reengineering of the various activities of stevedoring operations both in the ports and jetties.

The president stressed that the issues being fixed include provisions of guidelines, negotiation of dues under security and tally clerks remunerations.

Sunmola added that the association had pursued with determination to be part of the cargo handing, tally clerks and security service in offshore as well as jetties floating platforms in oil and gas sector.

L-R: Authorities Manager of Intels Nigeria Limited, Bamisebi Thompson, delivering a souvenir to the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers' Council, Hassan Bello (right) when the Intels team visited the council’s Head Office in Lagos.

Shippers’ Council flays primitive cargo clearance at ports

P

rimitive cargo clearing procedures in the Nigerian ports must be discouraged, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has said.

The council’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Hassan Bello, stressed the need to encourage the deployment of automation and technology to make the ports modern, comparable to standard ports anywhere in

the world.

He said that all tariffs for port services must be scientifically based and not to be raised at random.

Bello disclosed these while hosting a delegation of the Integrated Logistics Services (INTELS) in his office in Lagos.

He explained that the council was concerned about the cumbersome cargo clearance

Ships expected this week at the Lagos port Terminal

Ship

ENL ENL APMT APMT SFM ENL ENL APMT ABTL ENL APMT

Safmarine E Da Cheng Beethoven MOL Valparai Hoegh Masan CS Azalea Shmana Mistar Nordic Hongkong Vale FGS Harburg Westertal

Tonnage Lagos port 8,982 tons 9, 394 tons 260 units 500 units 410 units 9,000 tons 17,600 tons 530 units 7,800 tons Diplomatic 700 units

cargo General cargo General cargo Containers Containers Used vehicles General cargo Steel Containers Base oil Diplomatic Containers

procedures at the ports, which he described as ‘near primitive.’

Bello added that the council was keen on introducing automated, technologically driven system in the nation’s cargo clearance processes for efficient service delivery.

The executive secretary said: “We are particularly worried about the cumbersome clearing procedures in Nigerian imports, which are near primitive. We have to encourage the deployment of automation and technology, so that our ports are modern, comparable to ports anywhere in the world.

“We as an economic regulator are concerned with the tariffs.

Tariffs operating in Nigerian ports should be scientifically based. The process or the procedure for setting up tariffs must be scientific. We are also concerned with the quality of service delivery."

40 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Ekiti 2014: Fayemi, Fayose, Bamidele The governorship election in Ekiti State has been fixed for June 21 and the main political parties in the state namely, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) are all claiming to be the party to beat in the poll. In this report, ADESINA WAHAB examines their chances in the election.

S

ince the creation of Ekiti State in 1996 and the advent of democratic rule in 1999, the June 21 governorship election in the state promises to be the most keenly contested among political parties going by a number of variables. When the Fourth Republic was ushered in on May 29, 1999, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), one of the forebears of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was dominant in the state as it was in the South-West. The AD dominated the 26-member state House of Assembly by clinching 24 seats, leaving the PDP with two members from Ido/Osi and Ekiti East local government areas.

The tide changed in 2003 with the coming of Ayo Fayose on the banner of the PDP as the Assembly was dominated by the latter with 24 members, while the AD had one from Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government and the National Conscience Party (NCP) had a member from Ekiti South-West Local Government Area.

In the 2007 general elections in which Segun Oni of the PDP was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the strength of the PDP and the then Action Congress (AC) on whose platform Kayode Fayemi contested the poll, was even in the Assembly as the parties had 13 members each. However, the situation changed on October 15, 2010 when the Court of Appeal, Ilorin, Kwara State, finally ruled on the controversy that trailed the election and held that Fayemi was the duly elected governor of the state. This came after a rerun governorship election, as well as supplementary elections in some areas. The subsequent general elections in 2011 which excluded the governorship poll in the state led to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) dominating the House of Assembly and the National Assembly elections in the state. The Ekiti State House of Assembly election produced 24 ACN now APC members, while the PDP has two.

Supremacy battle The coming election is seen as a battle for supremacy especially between the APC and the PDP because in the PDP, it is believed that the APC got into office through the back door. The PDP leaders are quick to say that the judgement that brought APC to power in the state was tainted. They also say that the results of the 2011 elections in the state in which APC dominated the polls were due to the bandwagon effect of a sitting governor the APC has in the state.

With the scenario, both parties are desperate to prove to the world that they are in control of the politics of the state.

Ekiti 2014

On its part, the APC wants to prove that its 2011 victory was not a fluke.

For the third leg in the political drama, the LP, which has as its arrowhead in a former member of the APC, who is also a member of the House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele, wants to assert itself as a force to be reckoned with in the state and even in the South-West.

Previous performances In the 1999 general elections, the then AD won the governorship election in the state with its candidate, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo defeating others, including the PDP candidate, Prof. Tunde Adeniran.

However, the tide changed in 2003 when Fayose of the PDP defeated Adebayo of the AD and six others. Fayose polled 220,906 votes as against his closest rival, Adebayo, who polled 169,191 votes.

In the contentious 2007 general elections, INEC declared Oni of the PDP the winner of the governorship poll with 177,780 votes, defeating 12 others including Fayemi of the then AC who came second with 108,305 votes. It was also the first time the LP would take part in the governorship election in the state and its candidate, Gbenga Aluko polled 5,000 votes.

After re-run and supplementary elections which led to a series of petitions and litigations, Fayemi was eventually declared the duly elected governor of the state by the Court of Appeal, Ilorin, Kwara State.

Irepodun/Ifelodun This is the local government of ex-Governor Fayose of the PDP and Bamidele of the LP. The APC also has some notable personalities such as former Governor Adebayo hailing from the area. Adebayo is from the same town, Iyin-Ekiti, with Bamidele. Some believe that votes here may be divided almost evenly among the three parties.

Ekiti South-West The area boasts of top politicians such as Ambassador Dare Bejide, Senator

Fayemi

Fayose

Bode Olowporoku, Chief Idowu Odeyemi of the PDP and the Chief of Staff to Governor Fayemi, Yemi Adaramodu as well as an activist, Femi Falana (SAN).

Falana contested the governorship poll in 2003 and lost to Fayose, but he was able to deliver the House of Assembly seat in the area to his NCP. Though he claims to be apolitical now, many see him as a sympathiser of the APC. The APC has an edge in the local government, as Adaramodu is a strong mobiliser and a pillar in the government of Fayemi.

Bamidele was born in Ilawe in the local government. He is likely to get much support here.

Oye This is the home of Fayemi, the incumbent governor and his influence cannot be over-looked not only in the council, but in most of the local government areas in Ekiti North Senatorial District.

Though Oye Local Government is also the territory of Senator Ayo Arise of the PDP, the governor’s party, the APC is the party to beat here.

Ikole This the local government of former Acting South-West Vice-Chairman of the PDP, Ishola Filani, the current State Chairman of the PDP, Makanjuola Ogundipe among other PDP top shots.

However, the APC may have an edge here as the people of the area would want to repay Fayemi and his party for his support during the controversy over where to locate the Federal University in the state. Arise, as a serving senator then, wanted the varsity in his hometown of Oye-Ekiti (where the institution was eventually located), Fayemi preferred Ikole-Ekiti which in the end got two faculties located.

Ido/Osi This is traditionally the home of the PDP. Even in 1999, when the AD dominated the political scene of the state, the PDP still produced a member in the House of Assembly in the person of Lanre Fayemi from IfakiEkiti and now, with only two members in the House of Assembly, PDP still has a member from the area (Mrs. Oriniowo Olubunmi Anike) and is the

APC sure of victory –Awe Chief Jide Awe is the Ekiti State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). e are 100 per cent sure that we will win the election.

Our party has performed creditably well in the last three and a half years that we have been on the saddle. The administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi has changed the face of the state. One good term definitely deserves another and the people of the state are willing to give our party the go-ahead to rule the

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state for another four years. We are the party on ground and we have met the expectations of the people of the state.

Where are the opposition parties? They are nowhere to be found. The PDP is in disarray, the Labour Party only exists on the pages of newspapers where their man launches campaign of calumny and blackmail against us.

They have no root at all in the state. If the election is conducted today, we are sure of beating the opposition hands down.

POLITICS 41

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

square up for governorship only PDP senator in the region.

The coming election is seen as a battle for supremacy, especially between the APC and the PDP because in the PDP, it is believed that the APC got into office through the back door ernment, this LG will benefit from the influence of the incumbent governor, Fayemi, hailing from the area. The PDP may find it difficult making a head way here, as the sentiment of the governor being from Ekiti North Senatorial District will play a big role.

Bamidele

home of ex-Governor Oni. The PDP will have an upper hand here.

Ikere This one-town local government is the home of PDP big wigs such as former deputy governors, Abiodun Aluko and Bisi Omoyemi, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Dayo Okondo, and Chief Bisi Aloba.

The APC also has a former governor of old Ondo State, Bamidele Olomilua, as a pillar, but unfortunately, Olumilua and Fayemi are not on good term. One of Olumilua’s wives and even some of his children openly identify with Bamidele of LP. The PDP may have an edge here.

Ise/Orun The local government is the home of PDP leaders such as Prince Dayo Adeyeye, Bimbo Owolabi, Ropo Ogunbolude, former member of the House of Representatives, Titilayo Akindahunsi among others. APC’s presence here is dwarfed by the PDP. This is PDP dominated LG. Ilejemeje Like its neighbour, Oye Local Gov-

Moba This is an APC stronghold since the advent of the current democratic dispensation. It has always voted the party. In the 2007 general elections, it produced Saliu Adeoti, the late deputy speaker of the Ekiti House of House of Assembly and he was a strong backer of Fayemi. There are no indications that the tide has changed and the PDP may find it difficult to excel here. The APC is in charge here.

Efon This is one of the local government areas where the LP is expected to perform creditably well. This is judging by the popularity of Bamidele in Ekiti Central Senatorial District. This is not withstanding the presence of PDP and APC. However, the votes here may be divided among the three main parties.

This is a local government that is up for grabs for any party.

Gbonyin This is the local government of Senator Gbenga Aluko, former Acting Governor Tunji Odeyemi, Chief Ropo Adesanya among others of the PDP. The party is not expected to have difficulties here. Aluko won a seat into the Senate in 1999 when the whole of South-West was dominated by the AD. He was then the

Ekiti people’ll vote out APC –Ogundipe Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe is the Ekit State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). overnor Kayode Fayemi and his party have failed the teachers, the students, artisans and the entire workforce in the state. His allies and goons are responsible for the serial killing of innocent people in the state.

People can attest to the fact that Fayemi has zero tolerance for the opposition having failed to realise the fact that democracy allows for criticism and healthy opposition.

The people of the state will show

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their rejection of Fayemi and the APC when they will vote massively for the PDP in the coming poll. We are winning the election.

Ijero It is an APC stronghold but the LP and the PDP will give the ruling party a big challenge here.

Emure The killing of Foluso Ogundare, a supporter of Bamidele of the LP by people suspected to be members of the APC has negatively affected the fortune of the ruling party here. The contest in the local government is between PDP and LP, with the PDP probably having an edge.

Ekiti East A former deputy governor of the state, Mrs Abiodun Olujimi and a former Speaker of the State Assembly, Femi Bamisile are leaders of the PDP here. Their party may have an edge in this area.

Ekiti West With the acclaimed performance of an in-law of APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, Oyetunde Ojo, who is in the House of Representatives and the party chairman, Jide Awe, the APC is expected to clinch the council.

Ado Ado-Ekiti is the state capital and naturally, it is where most of the capital projects executed by the Fayemi administration are located. Unfortunately, this may not translate to a walk over for his party, the APC in the election.

The cold war between the government and some teachers, local government workers, pensioners and civil servants over some policies, is not helping APC’s cause. Attempts by those in government to allay workers’ fear over areas of disagreement are not yielding expected fruits because of happenings in some nearby states. For instance, some teachers still believe the Teachers Development Needs Assessment ((TDNA) or competency test would still hold if Fayemi gets a second term and that it could be used to sack some of them. They readily point to Edo State where a similar matter is generating trouble.

No doubt, the administration of Fayemi has done some good jobs in Ado which will count in his favour. His depu-

ty, Prof. Adelabu is from the state capital.

The bulk of the votes are from Ado and Fayemi surely have an edge here.

APC For the APC, its chances will be enhanced if its leaders are able to reduce the disconnect between them and their constituents. APC leaders, especially those in government should find a way of embarking on ‘stomach infrastructure’. Their followers are complaining of not having money to meet their daily needs. It is obvious they cannot be throwing money in the air for people to catch, but engaging them in petty contracts will do. Last year, during the Village Meeting embarked upon by the Commissioner for Information, the issue of patronage of local artisans was in the forefront.

Also, being able to win aggrieved state workers to its side is vital for the success of the party.

Though some APC leaders are quick to say winning an election is not a popularity contest, in this part of the world, staying too far from the people could do some harm to one’s electoral fortune.

PDP The major factor that can help the party is how it is able to amicably placate those who feel aggrieved with the outcome of its primary election. There is no doubt that its candidate, Fayose is popular, but a tree does not make a forest.

Those who felt bad over his emergence are the people of Ekiti South and with APC dominating Ekiti North Senatorial District and Ekiti Central being too close to call, Ekiti South is the decider.

PDP will only do well there if it is able to placate the people. Efforts by the party leaders to give the area the state’s ministerial slot for the end of the first tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan and also pick Fayose’s running mate from the zone may help.

LP The ability of the party to poach on the APC and PDP is crucial to its success. The party, for now, has few political heavyweights and it is not yet established like its main rivals. If it gets more established politicians from other parties, it can spring a surprise.

No doubt, the battle line is drawn between the APC and the PDP. Who laughs last would be determined when the people of the state cast their votes on June 21.

LP, best choice for Ekiti electorate –Omole Hon. Akin Omole is the state chairman of the Labour Party in Ekiti. e are the party of workers whether in the private or public sectors. The ruling APC has not done anything tangible. Local government resources are being siphoned and the ruling party has grounded the state financially. APC is a party of killers. We all know what they did in Erijinyan and Emure and their chieftains are standing trial for these killings. What do you want the people to do? They

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will boot them out through the ballot.

The APC is anti-workers. People are tired of their bad policies and our party is the best option for the people of the state and they are ready to give us the chance and they will sure give us.

We are the best option for the electorate and those who feel they can just railroad themselves into office through dubious means would be disappointed.

The LP is the party to beat in Ekiti State.

42 POLITICS The Senate, last Wednesday, went on three-week Easter recess. But before it embarked on the break, it passed the Pension Reform Re-enactment Bill.

CHUKWU DAVID examines the implementability of the legislation when signed into law by Mr. President

M

ost analysts have agreed that the problem hindering Nigeria from attaining meaningful development is not the absence of good laws or policies to guide the actions and programmes of government.

Instead, system analysts unanimously assert that the greatest challenge facing the country, which has also constituted a clog in her wheel of development is lack of implementation of policies and laws in the law books.

Consequently, people continue to argue that, it is not churning out multitude of laws or policies by government officials that would bring about the much expected transformation in the polity. According to the supporters of this view, it is the will power and courage of those in authority to judiciously implement existing laws and policies that will do the magic.

To a very reasonable extent, this position tends to prove irrefutable, because over the years, in the politics and governance of the country, it has become a norm for politicians to promise the electorate that they would do so much to advance their well-being when given the mandate at elections, but immediately they clinch power, the story changes.

They begin to sing discordant tunes from their campaign promises.

Apart from the politicians reneging on their promises to apply the resources of the state to provide the needs of the people when and if given the people’s mandate, the bureaucrats, who are also

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Pension Reform Bill: conferred with the responsibility of directly implementing policies of government and the laws of the land also put some of these things to abeyance by not acting on them.

It is important to stress that, Nigeria is today wallowing in abject poverty, absence of basic social amenities and pathetic underdevelopment, not because, there are no good public policies to tackle these problems, but because policy implementation has become a paradox in the Nigeria state.

An historical excursion into the annals of public policy in Nigeria indicates that, if all the policies formulated in the country over the years were implemented accordingly, Nigeria, no doubt, would have been on a fast lane of socioeconomic and political development. It is however a paradox that, most of these public policies only exist on papers and are never implemented to actualise the objectives of such policies.

The culture of non-implementation of public policies is therefore in a very high degree in the country and accordingly affects all levels of government. For instance, it is unfortunate to note that some projects conceived in the First National Development Plan of the country are still not implemented till date. This non- implementation of public policy has since become the norm or a recurrent decimal in our national life. Public policies are reduced to mere rhetorics with no atom of commitment towards their implantation.

However, an in-depth look at the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which was also reflected in earlier constitutions of the country, shows unrealistic and unrealizable aspirations on the part of public policy goals. For example, Chapter 11 contains the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policies.

Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula arriving the court premises during her trial.

Ekweremadu

Chinelo Anohu Amazu, Acting-DG PENCOM

Essai Dangabar, Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and other suspects

Section 15- which is the political objectives and 15 (5) states that “the state shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of office.

Section 16 contains the economic objectives and 16 (2) states that “the state shall draft its policy towards ensuring that: ... (d) that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum wage, old age care and pension, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens. These have become mere declaration of intent, which the ruling parties in various tiers of government in the country can not respect. Therefore, the implementation of public policy in Nigeria in certain cases becomes a mere fantasy.

Since the enthronement of this democracy in 1999, both chambers of the

National Assembly have passed several bills. Some of the bills have been signed into law; some are still awaiting presidential assent, while others were outrightly vetoed by either President Olusegun Obasanjo or the current President Goodluck Jonathan.

Meanwhile, going through some of the Acts of National Assembly within these 15 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria, it would be noticed that some of the provisions in the various enactments are hardly implementable. It appears that, the lawmakers are sometimes carried away by lofty ambition of legislating to please the agitating masses. They may be sincere, but if laws made cannot be implemented, it is of no use because at the end of the day, the problem targeted to be solved will remain unsolved and even deteriorate.

A look into some of the provisions in the Pension Reform Re-enactment Bill 2014, which the Senate passed last week Tuesday before proceeding on threeweek Easter break will buttress.

In articulating the bill, the legislators prescribed 10-year jail term for defaulting pension administrators and other stiff sanctions as a strategy towards tackling the extant and tendentious infractions in the sector. The motive behind tightening the penalties against infractions was to protect the scheme and its beneficiaries from the activities of fraudulent individuals operating in the sector, especially the officials of the Pension Commission and

We have like buffer stock funds pending in different places. But with the enactment and passage of this bill... all the penalties and all the prescriptions contained in this Act would be followed strictly by the various agencies

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

A legislative fantasy?

By the passage of the bill, it is now possible for every person who has worked in either the public... and private sector, to be entitled to pension benefits at the end of service according to the specifications of the Act

at the court premises during the trial.

the Pension Fund managers.

There is no gainsaying that under the contributory pension scheme arrangement, put in place by the regime of the then Gen. Olusegun (rtd), Nigeria workers, who are the beneficiaries of the scheme have been living in apprehension for the uncertainty of what might happen to their money when they retire from service. This fear is as a result of the prevalent corruption that has eaten deep into the fabrics of every facet of the nation’s national life.

It is no more fascinating news to hear that many pensioners in the country are suffering as a result of non-payment of their pension properly and promptly. In fact, many lost their lives while traveling long distances to come to Abuja or Lagos in pursuit of their pensions. It was in an attempt to alleviate the plight of Nigerians with respect to their pension that Obasanjo’s administration introduced contributory pension scheme, so that certain percentage of the workers’ earnings would form part of their retirement benefits.

However, the act establishing the scheme was not without some loopholes, which made it not to work as smoothly as anticipated by its proponents. This was why the Senate thought it wise and expedient to amend the 2004 Pension Reform Act and re-enact another one that would be more comprehensive in scope and strength to be able to fill the lacuna in the former.

By the passage of the bill, it is now possible for every person who has worked in either the public service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory, states or local governments and private sector, to be entitled to pension benefits at the end of service according to the specifications of the Act. The bill among other punishments, prescribed a 10-year jail term for anyone who misappropriated pension fund.

Such a person also stands to refund the amount so stolen or embezzled three times. It further stipulated that anyone who attempted to misappropriate the fund, on conviction, would be liable to the same punishment as prescribed for the actual commission of the offence.

It also added that all monies received as penalty by the Pension Commission should be paid into the Pension Protection Fund, which would had been established under section 82 of the law, which is waiting for presidential assent.

In addition to payment of fines and serving the prescribed jail terms, the bill also mandated anyone who misappropriated pension fund to forfeit to the Federal Government, any property, asset or fund with accrued interest on the stolen money.

The bill also imposed a fine of N10 million on any pension fund administrator, which failed to meet the obligations of the contributors while each of the directors of the firm would pay N5 million each as fines.

Part of the document reads: “Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the commission may, in addition to the penalties stipulated under this Act, impose additional sanctions on any director, management, manger or officer of a pension fund administrator or pension fund custodian that violates any of the provisions of this Act.” In his remarks after the passage of the bill, Deputy President of the Sebate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the session, stressed that the issue of pension in Nigeria was very critical, expressing optimism that the new law would bring tremendous transformation to the sector by eliminating some subsisting problems in pension administration in the country.

While appreciating his colleagues for their cooperation in passing the bill, Ekweremadu urged President Goodluck Jonathan to sign it into law as soon as possible so that the objective of the legislation would begin to bear fruit in the economy.

Commenting on the qualification for becoming the head of the Pension Commission, that is the Director-General of the agency, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Aloysius Etok, explained that “when the committee report got to the chamber on the first day of presentation of the report, the committee’s recommendation of ‘a fit and proper person’ was rejected and 15 years of post-qualification was adopted. So, the post-qualification experience for the one who would be DG of PENCOM is 15 years.”

He also said: “In Nigeria, professional pension administration would be about 10 years. And that is because we are talking about cognate experience, not post-qualification experience. If you are talking about post-qualification experience, what about somebody who has 30 years post-qualification experience with two years cognate pension experience, is he better than someone with 10 years cognate experience in pension administration?

“So, having realised that we have slightly below 10 years professional pension administration experience possessed by anybody in this country, we decided that if somebody must have had five years somewhere else and then have additional 10 years cognate experience in professional pension management,

POLITICS 43 that would be a fit and proper person to serve as Director-General. So, the current situation as contained and accepted is 15 years post-qualification experience for the post of DG PENCOM. “On penalty for defaulters, the Head of Service and Heads of different departments have now directed all the accounting departments to make sure that whatever is pension deduction should be treated as a sacred one and immediately transmitted to the receiving authority.

The problem which PENCOM has continuously explained to us is that there are people who have failed to provide genuine and credible data on themselves including their Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs. “There are some who have not even appointed PFAs, and therefore, once such funds are deducted, they are kept in accounts pending when they have the data to transfer them. We have like buffer stock funds pending in different places.

But with the enactment and passage of this bill today and if it is assented to by the President, all the penalties and all the prescriptions contained in this Act would be followed strictly by the various agencies. We have penalties ranging from 10 years imprisonment and so on.

“For even failing to give proper information, you have to pay N500,000 daily by any agency. And if you embezzle pension funds now, you will pay not less than three times the amount of funds you embezzled. That is how serious this bill has treated pension funds. If you embezzle N10,000 you are bound to pay a minimum of N30,000 and in some circumstances the presiding judge has the right to make you refund and even go to prison.

“The previous pension law had some clauses and those who have embezzled pension fund before the passage of this new bill would be tried with respect to the old law. But I am sure if this bill is signed

by Mr. President into law and your case is settled; I am sure the presiding judge would want to refer to the current law in passing the sentence. I am sure those people who are still standing trial would be unlucky if their cases are decided after the signing of this bill.”

Now, looking at the provisions in the bill, it is obvious that an offender can easily be convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, but the aspect that requires the same person to refund the stolen or embezzled fund three times is virtually utopian. In as much as this provision is designed to put fear in potential criminals in the sector to stop them from carrying out their intended crime with regards to tampering with Pension funds, it certainly appears unrealistic especially when money involved runs into several billions of naira.

Again, the provision that failure to provide proper information would attract a fine of N500, 000 daily also seems unrealistic, and therefore may not achieve the intended goal in the proposed pension reform law. It is therefore, imperative for the legislators to always thoroughly consider the issue of implementability of individual provisions of any act before it is passed into law; else, the system will be flooded with laws that cannot be implemented.

44 POLITICS

Gbajabiamila C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

ment corporations listed under Section 21 “shall not later than six months from the commencement of this Act, submit the estimates of expenditure for the next three years” to the National Assembly.

Jime had argued that the law required the Minister of Finance to “cause” and attach the estimates of the corporations to the national budget presented to the National Assembly.

He named the listed corporations as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Ports Authority and “21 other agencies of government.”

The lawmaker argued that, having gone through the budget estimates, he found out that the estimates of the corporations were not attached as required by law. Rather, he said the budget merely had “the summary and abridged versions” of the budgets of the corporations. Jime added that, proceeding to debate the budget in view of what he considered a violation of the law would not be in the interest of the country.

The chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. John Enoh (PDP, Cross River) had made attempts to discountenance it but his submission was not convincing enough.

Speaker Aminu Tambuwal was therefore compelled to intervene by setting up a six-man advisory committee to examine the issues raised by Jime and Enoh.

Members of the advisory committee were the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Albert Sam-Tsokwa; Sunday Adepoju; Aminu Shagari; Ali Ahmad; and Chukwuemeka Nwuogbo.

The committee in its report, 24 hours after vindicated Jime submitting that his Point of Order was constitutional but recommended that while debate should continue on the budget, the ministry of finance be mandated to furnish the House with all the necessary details.

APC caucus insistence Despite this, the APC caucus in the House insisted that it would go ahead with the party’s directive on the budget.

Led by the minority leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila had declared that “we will not support a budget that does nothing

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Jime

Adeola-Akande

How Reps passed 2014 budget for the people we represent. We will not rubber stamp a budget that seeks to borrow more money at ridiculous rates and further impoverish the country. Indeed, we refuse to support a budget that comes in with a huge deficit.”

According to him, “we certainly do not agree with a budget that allocates a pitiable 25 per cent for capital expenditure, which capital component will only be implemented 30 per cent, whilst recurrent will be implemented 100 per cent. How in the world do you stimulate an economy the size and population of Nigeria with a 25 per cent allocation to capital projects?

“We cannot in good conscience support a budget that comes with a benchmark and siphons away 30 per cent of the country’s revenue into an illegal excess crude account, in violation of the provisions of Section 162 of the constitution we individually swore to defend, with the resultant effect of shortchanging the states we all individually represent.

“A budget where the economics do not trickle down to the common man; We do not want to be accessories after the fact by passing a budget when the president or Minister of Finance, who publicly admitted to the disappearance of $10 billion has not given explanations, but seeks to borrow more money and continues to blame shortfall in revenue on crude theft by some phantom thieves” The caucus used this tactic just to unruffle the ruling party because the executive had made positive response to the issues that made the APC National Executive Council (NEC) resort to filibuster.

The Rivers state commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu had been redeployed to Abuja, while sundry harassment of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and his supporters had ceased. It however used this method to put the PDP under check.

The final push On the Tuesday preceding the passage of the budget, the House held a closed door meeting to find a common ground.

Before the plenary, the House had met for about two hours at the Conference Room 028. Although it was a stormy session, the lawmakers were able to resolve their differences amicably. Members were said to have particularly expressed concerns about the budget among which was poor implementation of the 2013 budget and constituency projects.

Having settled their differences at the closed-door meeting, it was therefore no longer difficult for the House to pass the budget 24 hours after their Senate counterpart had done so. Hence, attempts

by Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) were repelled by the members and the budget was given an expeditious passage. Curiously, the House again made zero allocation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) even as it approved a harmonised budget of N4.695 trillion. The 12-clause budget stated clearly in Clause 9 that “All revenue however described including all fees received, fines, grants, budgetary provisions and all internally and externally generated revenue shall not be spent by the Securities and Exchange Commission for recurrent or capital purposes or for any other matters, nor liabilities thereon incurred except with

We cannot in good conscience support a budget that comes with a benchmark and siphons away 30 per cent of the country’s revenue into an illegal excess crude account

prior appropriation and approval by the National Assembly”. It will be recalled that the House had in 2012 investigated SEC and adopted a resolution urging President Jonathan to relieve the Director General of SEC; Ms. Arunma Oteh of her appointment for not possessing the requisite qualification for the position.

It had placed a caveat that failure to comply with it would lead to zero allocation.

President Jonathan has since refused to remove Oteh and the House too lived up to its threat by making zero allocation in the 2013 budget. The House is still insisting that Oteh must be sacked before it appropriates funds for the commission.

Other clauses in the bill as passed by the House include clause 8, which makes it compulsory for accounting officers of MDA’s to furnish National Assembly on quarterly basis with detailed information on their internally generated revenue. Similarly, all MDA’s are expected to “furnish the National Assembly on quarterly basis with detailed information on all foreign and or domestic assistance received from any agency, person or organisation in any form whatsoever”. The House also makes it part of the law the prompt disbursement of funds. “The minister of finance shall ensure that funds appropriated under this bill are released to the appropriate agencies and or organs of government as at when due, provided that no funds for any quarter of the fiscal year shall be deferred without prior waiver from the National Assembly” Details show that the House passed a similar budget with the Senate approving N1 billion for damages done to public properties and places of worship during the 2011 election violence and civil disturbances, 77.05 dollars benchmark per barrel of oil, N268.37 billion for Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

From the sum, N408,687,801,891 is for statutory transfers; N712 billion is for debt service; N2,454,887,566,702 is for recurrent while N1,119,614,407 is for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure.

METRO 45

of Truth

April 16, 2014

Police hold two for murder, rape, recover car, ammunition

The recovered vehicle

Taiwo Jimoh

T

wo suspects, John-Paul Chukwuebuka and Ebuka Chimudi, have been arrested for alleged involvement in the killing of one Tosin Ami at Happy Day Hotel, Sari-Iganmmu, Lagos.

The suspects, now being held at Orile Iganmmu Police Station, were also part of a gang that specialises in raping ladies, particular-

eath by hanging

d n u-

o ue n n-

es s t-

d t d e e

Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act Cap R11, Volume 14 Laws of the Federation, 2004.

The court also admitted in evidence how the convict with his gang robbed a filling station in the locality.

According to the presiding judge, the law provides a mandatory sentence on the charges and the court does not have the powers to mitigate the sentence.

“The sentence of the court upon you is that you be hanged on the neck until you be dead. May God have mercy on your soul,” the judge ruled.

tealing handsets

my y nf s

ce 5, p eod d

handset phones and accessories valued at N1.5 million thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 307(19)(2) of Criminal Law of Lagos 2011.

The Magistrate, Mrs Sule Hamsat, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N200,000, a surety with proven address who must be a close relative, with evidence of tax clearance.

She adjourned case till June 2.

ly prostitutes and robbing them around Orile-Iganmmu, Kirikiri, Coker and Ajegunle.

Chukwuebuka and Chimudi, according to a police source, have been identified by two ladies, who were raped by members of the gang.

It was gathered that when the ladies learnt of the arrest,

they went to the station to identify them and made statements on how they operate.

The source said the police would soon arrest the other suspects, Victor and Joshua, still at large.

Meanwhile, detectives at the station yesterday declared a manhunt on some suspected

armed robbers who escaped arrest on Monday morning.

The suspects are said to be members of a gang terrorising traders and the residents of the area.

It was learnt that the operatives, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Dickson Onyeka, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), were on routine patrol of the area when they accosted a Mazda 323 car marked SMK907CM around Orile bus stop about 6:30am.

It was gathered that immediately the four male occupants of the vehicle sighted the police patrol van, they jumped down and fled through different directions.

Their abandoned vehicle was taken to the police station and when it was searched, five mobile handsets, three live carriages and a big bag containing various kinds of clothes were recovered.

A police source said the men were suspected to be armed robbers returning from an operation.

The source said the police were hunting for the fleeing suspects.

President’s visit: Two charged for unlawful assembly Leo Sobechi Enugu

T

wo young men, Zulu Ofolue and Chilos Godsent, were yesterday arraigned before an Enugu Chief Magistrates’ Court for holding an unlawful assembly and conducting themselves in a way likely to cause a breach of the peace during President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit.

According to the police information report, the two men and three others now at large were holding an illegal assembly at a hotel in Enugu purported to be the inauguration of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) leaders contrary to sections 496 (a) and 126 (b) of the Criminal Code of Laws of Enugu State.

They were also alleged to be operating as Ohanaeze Youth Council despite not being affiliated to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the parent body of a rival group, a development the prosecution alleged was likely to cause a breach of public peace on the day Jonathan and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were holding a zonal unity rally in the state.

When the charges were read to them, the accused pleaded not guilty.

We didn’t know we were going for robbery –Twins DENIAL

The twins, arrested for robbery, say though they collected N20,000, they did not know it was for robbery Juliana Francis

T

he 27-year-old twins, Kehinde and Taiye Balogun, 27, arrested for the robbery at Reckitt-Benckiser Pharmaceutical, have denied being part of the robbery gang.

Taiye and Kehinde are not just twins; they are both welders and operate the same shop.

The twins said they did not know that N10,000 given to each of them, for rendering their professional services, was for robbery operation.

According to detectives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos State, the gang

The Balogun twins

attacked the company 15 times and even raped a female resident in the Agbara area where the company was located.

Fielding questions from journalists, both men insisted that they did not know that when they followed the gang leader, Deji Akinwunmi, Okiefa Godspower and others to the warehouse at Agbara, that they were

going for a robbery.

“We and Godspower live in the same area, but we don’t used to speak with him. One day, a friend, Yanki, came to call us. He said I should come to Agbara, that someone wanted to see me. As I was leaving, I called my brother, Taiye. We went together. When we got there, we saw Akinwunmi and Godspower. Deji said he wanted to cut

Three in custody over attack on Fayose’s office Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

P

olice yesterday paraded three persons arrested in connection with last week’s attack on the campaign office of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, in Ado-Ekiti.

Fayose is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in this year’s governorship election in the state.

The police also declared another person wanted in connection with the attack, while the fifth suspect is said to be in the custody of the Depart-

ment of State Security Service (SSS).

Parading the suspects, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Felix Uyanna, gave their names as Apolola Richards aka Sikira, Owoju Ayodele and Adeniyi Adedipe aka Apase.

Uyanna said one Seun, aka Solar, was on the run and had been declared wanted.

The fifth in the SSS custody is Deji Adesokan, aka Jaaru.

The commissioner said following complaints of indiscriminate shooting on April 7, about 5 pm in the office of Fayose, one Olumide Gabriel

was injured in the head and many vehicles on the premises were damaged.

Uyanna added that after thorough investigation, the suspects were arrested for their involvement in the incident.

He said: “They had made useful statements to the police after due interrogation. Effort is already in place to arrest Seun aka Solar who is at large and is hereby declared wanted. An arrest warrant has since been obtained against him from a court of competent jurisdiction.

open a lock to a warehouse. He told us that he lost his key to the warehouse. We cut open the warehouse and they paid us N10,000 each. We saw buses there.

“When they asked us to assist them in loading the bags of chemical into the buses, we assisted them because they promised to pay us. We didn’t know they were on a robbery operation. We didn’t see any of them in uniform or carry gun. It was that first and only time that we went with them to cut the locks,” Kehinde said.

But after listening to them, the gang leader, Akinwunmi, said they were lying.

He said: “They both knew we were going to rob and steal chemical from that company.”

A police source said: “Initially people in the area where the twin brothers reside, felt that it was a policeman living in that area who framed them for robbery. But when their father came to SARS, I explained the situation to him. A member of the gang, Godspower told us that initially they didn’t want to tell Kehinde and Taiye the truth, but they eventually told them and they all took oath before embarking on the operation. They knew they were going for robbery and are liable.

“The chairman of the Welders’ Association came here to see them.

He asked them why they didn’t follow the rules and regulations of the association if they were sure they didn’t know they were going for robbery.

46 BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

15-Apr-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

FGN Bonds Issuer

Rating/Agency

NA

NA

Description

Price

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

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 14-Mar-14 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10

9.20 9.25 4.00 13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00

45.00 100.00 535.00 327.47 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 50.00 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57

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 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30

0.21 0.45 1.02 2.34 3.03 3.28 3.38 4.12 5.21 5.52 7.79 9.91 14.62 15.10 15.60 16.27

11.84 12.54 13.36 13.10 13.24 13.11 13.10 13.06 13.09 13.05 13.26 13.05 13.35 13.38 13.42 13.52

11.11 12.18 13.18 13.03 13.12 12.98 12.98 12.96 13.01 12.96 13.20 13.00 13.30 13.33 13.35 13.47

99.40 98.57 91.33 99.85 104.50 91.49 90.00 92.61 110.70 76.69 114.85 106.25 110.48 94.25 68.17 77.00

99.55 98.72 91.48 100.00 104.80 91.79 90.30 92.91 111.00 76.99 115.15 106.55 110.78 94.55 68.47 77.30

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 14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.00 23-JUL-2030

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,132.04

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

NA

***LCRM

Description

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

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

0.55 1.11 1.59 2.65 3.01 3.23

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

13.73 15.97 15.48 15.12 14.61 14.11

93.06 84.35 102.44 92.29 89.44 88.02

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 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

0.31 0.50 1.38 0.98 1.28 1.28 3.01 1.84 3.71 2.68 4.47 2.69 2.69 3.27 3.33 5.61 3.30 4.01 6.62 6.71 4.02 4.05

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 1.94 1.44 1.95

16.96 18.65 17.71 16.57 17.75 16.77 18.71 20.75 14.87 14.92 14.05 14.12 14.33 14.11 15.56 15.00 15.84 15.81 14.12 15.07 14.51 15.02

99.00 97.87 93.83 97.05 96.02 98.92 80.61 89.84 97.51 98.15 99.84 101.00 109.43 101.03 99.89 98.11 97.38 97.04 97.35 99.66 106.82 106.48

1,304.32

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto A-/GCR

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

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 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

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 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14

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 15.00 14.50 15.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

572.90

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

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

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 5.00

#

UBA *LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

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

NAHCO

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

07-Oct-11 18-Dec-09

11.50 13.50

11.80 13.17

07-Oct-14 18-Dec-14

0.48 0.68

1.00 5.21

13.60 18.12

99.04 97.11

01-Apr-10 17-Aug-10 09-Dec-10

17.00 10.00 12.00

2.00 15.00 37.50

31-Dec-14 17-Aug-15 09-Dec-15

0.71 0.86 0.94

8.71 4.88 1.00

21.67 18.05 14.28

96.96 93.96 98.19

06-Jan-11

14.00

1.50

06-Jan-16

1.02

2.63

15.99

98.54

29-Sep-11 25-Oct-13 30-Sep-10

13.00 14.25 13.00

15.00 5.53 20.00

29-Sep-16 25-Oct-16 30-Sep-17

2.46 2.53 3.46

1.00 1.34 4.52

14.12 14.46 17.62

97.73 99.56 88.39

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.94

30-Nov-17

2.08

1.88

14.99

106.37

09-Apr-11 09-Sep-11 09-Sep-11

16.00 18.00 16.00

8.01 3.63 1.00

09-Apr-18 09-Sep-18 09-Sep-18

2.23 2.40 2.40

3.48 5.20 5.06

16.59 18.32 18.18

99.01 99.64 101.90

22-Sep-11 18-Oct-13 17-Feb-12

14.00 15.75 17.00

35.00 3.00 0.54

22-Sep-18 18-Oct-18 17-Feb-19

4.44 2.26 2.59

3.06 2.29 6.11

16.11 15.40 19.23

93.47 100.69 96.01

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

6.58

2.76

15.88

97.45

11-Feb-18

3.83

1.00

14.08

88.78

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

175.67

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

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 BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

5.36

5.22

107.77

108.61

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

18-Dec-09

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.48

4.30

102.44

103.15

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

01-Apr-10

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

5.81

5.69

103.97

104.84

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

3.87

3.41

112.98

113.84

GTBank PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

5.30

4.53

104.27

105.82

GTBank PLC II

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.12

5.85

99.52

100.60

B+/S&P

Access Bank PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

6.97

6.50

100.78

102.16

B/S&P; B/Fitch

Fidelity Bank PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

8.40

7.89

94.83

96.52

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

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

NA

***LCRM

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

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

Sanctity of Truth

NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI recent high *NASARAWA

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 relevant rule, article 100, does 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 not set forth a pricing method14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 ology for determining the price 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 movement where a new secu15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 rity is priced above N100.00 at 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 the time listing.

14.75 OSUNof 12-DEC-2019 In this circumstance, the 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOSsaid IV 27-NOV-2020 exchange it has decided to 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 take the most reasonable step in 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 the interest of06-JAN-2021 investors and the 15.00 NASARAWA

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 30-Jun-09 15.50 19-Apr-10 10.00 30-Jun-10 13.75 30-Dec-10 14.00 30-Sep-11 14.00 change said it shall seek the 04-Oct-11 14.00 following amendment 09-Dec-11 14.50 to the 12-Dec-13 article 100 of the 14.00 rules and 14-Feb-12 15.50 regulations governing dealing 02-Oct-12 15.50 members: 22-Nov-12 14.50 “For purposes of calculating 12-Dec-12 14.75 price30-Sep-13 movements and14.75 price lim27-Nov-13securities13.50 its, equity traded on 31-Dec-13 15.00 the exchange shall be14.50 classified 31-Dec-13 as Group which shall consist of 06-Jan-14 15.00

17.00 05-Aug-14 0.31 6.00 15-Oct-14 0.50 8.50 31-Aug-15 1.38 16.50 30-Sep-15 0.98 13.00 30-Jun-16 1.28 18.50 30-Jun-16 1.28 nvestors got respite yester57.00 19-Apr-17 3.01 50.00 30-Jun-17 day as bullish sentiments1.84 en25.00 31-Dec-17 3.71 veloped trading activities on 50.00 30-Sep-18 2.68 the floor of the Nigeria Stock 9.00 04-Oct-18 4.47 Exchange.

20.00 09-Dec-18 2.69 12.00The northwards 12-Dec-18 movement 2.69 27.00 14-Feb-19 3.27 was driven by the activities of 20.00 02-Oct-19 3.33 indigenous upstream compa80.00 22-Nov-19 5.61 nies, Seplat12-Dec-19 Petroleum 3.30 and 30.00 11.40 4.01 Oando plc. 30-Sep-20 87.00At the close 27-Nov-20 6.62 of business, 5.00 31-Dec-20 6.71 the principal market indices, 5.00 31-Dec-20 4.02 the and the market 5.00 NSE ASI 06-Jan-21 4.05

Exchange identifies lacuna in pricing methodology Exchange moves to amend article 100 of dealing members rules

Stories by Chris Ugwu

F

netOUTSTANDING worth dual listing of TOTAL VALUE

Seplat Petroluem DevelopCorporate Bonds ment Company Plc, the NiA+/Agusto; AA/GCR LAFARGE WAPCO gerian Stock Exchange has adAa/Agusto GTB µ that there vised its stakeholders NGC Nil Bbb-/Agusto *UPDC was a lacuna in its current rule A-/Agusto *FLOURMILLS on pricing methodology .

BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMS The exchange, in a statement A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO by Manager, Rules and A-/Agusto FSDHInterpreA/GCR Department,UBA tation NSE, OluBBB-/GCR Adenugba said *C & I LEASING watoyin that the BBB+/DataPro†; BB+/GCR A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

13.73 15.97 15.48 15.12 14.61 14.11

93.06 84.35 102.44 92.29 89.44 88.02

*DANA# *TOWER#

capital market.

The step according, to the statement, was to treat the 11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 newly listed Seplat securities 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 NGC 31-DEC-2014 as17.00 “Group B” securities.

10.00 17-AUG-2015B” security, a “AsUPDC a “Group 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 trade of 10,000 units will lead to 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 a change in29-SEP-2016 the published price 13.00 NAHCO of14.25 Seplat.”

FSDH 25-OCT-2016 13.00 30-SEP-2017 To UBA provide for similar in18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 stances in the future, the ex-

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 period under review as against 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

I

capitalisation, gained 59 basis 572.90

equities with a primary market maker that are not classified in Group B; and Group B which 07-Oct-11 11.50 shall18-Dec-09 consist of equities with 13.50 a primary market maker that 01-Apr-10 17.00 17-Aug-10 above N100.00 10.00 are priced per 12.00 share09-Dec-10 for at least four of the 06-Jan-11 14.00 last six months; or new securi29-Sep-11 13.00 ty listings that are priced 25-Oct-13 14.25 above 30-Sep-10 N100.00 at the time of13.00 listing on 30-Nov-12 18.00 the exchange.”

09-Apr-11 09-Sep-11 09-Sep-11

16.00 18.00 16.00

*TOWER#

UBA *LA CASERA # BBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMSof ransnational Corporation A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO

22-Sep-11 18-Oct-13

14.00 15.75

T

Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) has announced its first quarter Supranational Bondwith a 278 per 2014 earnings AAA/S&P cent growth in profitIFCafter tax.

TOTAL VALUE The OUTSTANDING group profit after tax (PAT) grew by 278 per cent Rating/Agency Issuerto from N834 million in Q1 2013 N3.15 billion first quarter ended FGN Eurobonds March 31, 2014.

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P profit before Tax The group’s BB-/Fitch; (PBT) stood at N3.77 billion for FGN TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

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

N1.31 billion achieved for Q1 2013 which represents 187 per cent increase from correspond10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 ing period.

Gross earnings for the group stood at N11.15 billion which repDescription resents 152 per cent growth from Q1 2013 results of N4.42 billion.

Total assets also grew by 16 JAN 28, 2021 per cent from6.75 N149.64 billion for full year 20135.13 toJUL N173.61 12, 2018 billion 6.38 JUL 12, 2023

01-Apr-10

6.38

47

4.88 16.96 99.00 5.99 18.65 97.87 4.44 17.71 93.83 3.23 16.57 97.05 4.46 17.75 96.02 3.48 16.77 98.92 may that 5.59 be the window 18.71 80.61will 7.60 investors’ 20.75 interest.

89.84 ginger 1.79 14.87 97.51 They believe Seplat’s list1.80 14.92 98.15 ing1.00has created a blueprint 14.05 99.84 for1.00 future transactions in the 14.12 101.00 1.21 14.33 region as the African 109.43 equity 1.00 14.11 101.03 capital markets will enjoy a 2.46 15.56 99.89 period of increasing investor 1.94 15.00 98.11 attention, liquidity and capi2.74 15.84 97.38 97.04 tal2.74 inflow. 15.81 1.00 14.12 Similarly, integrated97.35 ener1.94 15.07 99.66 gy1.44 services provider, Oando, 14.51 106.82 shored up by15.02 N0.44 to close 1.95 106.48 at

Stock market closes northwards

points each.

Oil exploration and produc11.80 07-Oct-14 0.48 ing company, Seplat Petro13.17 18-Dec-14 0.68 leum, rose by31-Dec-14 N30.24 to close 2.00 0.71at 15.00 0.86 N635.00 per 17-Aug-15 share as bargain 37.50 09-Dec-15 hunters take position on0.94 the 1.50 06-Jan-16 1.02 back of the new listing.

15.00 29-Sep-16 2.46 had 2.53 pre5.53Market operators 25-Oct-16 20.00 30-Sep-17 dicted that the market will3.46ex0.94 30-Nov-17 2.08 perience boom as the listing 8.01 3.63 current 1.00

Transcorp posts 278% growth in profit A/Agusto; A/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

0.55 1.11 1.59 2.65 3.01 3.23

BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sub-National Bonds

CAVITY

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

1,304.32

Wednesday, April 16, 2014 A/Agusto KWARA A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto ollowing the A-/GCR

978.35 24.56 6.00 112.22 116.70 66.49

09-Apr-18 2.23 09-Sep-18 2.40 profits is attributed 09-Sep-18 2.40 to

improved performance in4.44 our 35.00 22-Sep-18 3.00 18-Oct-18 2.26 power and hospitality business17-Feb-12 0.54 17-Feb-19 2.59 for the first quarter17.00 ended 31 es recorded from the beginning 14-Nov-13 15.25 2.05 14-Nov-20 6.58 March 2014. of the year”.

175.67 Commenting on the results, He added: “For the rest of the the President and Chief Ex- year, we expect to consolidate on 11-Feb-13 10.20 12.00 strong financial 11-Feb-18 3.83by ecutive Officer, Transcorp, Mr. our results Obinna Ufudo said: “Our first 12.00 improving power output from quarter results are in line with our Ughelli Power Plant, develIssue Date (%) Issue Value ($'mm) Date Bid Yield (%) our expectations asCoupon we continue oping new Maturity hotels, diversifying to deliver on key diversification and increasing the scale of our milestones in all our strategic agribusiness and exploiting op07-Oct-11 6.75 500.00 28-Jan-21 businesses. portunities within the oil5.36 and A 18-Dec-09 significant portion of our gas industry”.

5.13 500.00 12-Jul-18 4.48 500.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

12-Jul-23

5.81

N15.74 per share. Manufacturer and sellerof consumer products, PZCussons Nigeria, 1.00 13.60 99.04 gained N1.45 to close at N33.45 5.21 18.12 97.11 per8.71 share while maker of alco21.67 96.96 4.88 and non-alcoholic 18.05 93.96bevholic 1.00 14.28 98.19 erages, Nigerian Breweries, 2.63 15.99 98.54 shored up by14.12 N0.95 to close at 1.00 97.73 N148.99 per share.

1.34 14.46 99.56 4.52 the flip 17.62 side, 88.39 On down1.88 14.99 106.37 stream petroleum marketers, 3.48 16.59 99.01 Mobil Nigeria and Total Nige5.20 18.32 99.64 ria, 5.06moderated 18.18 by N1.50, 101.90and N1.00 at N120.00 3.06 to close 16.11 93.47and 2.29 15.40 100.69 N169.00 respectively.

Major 6.11 19.23 96.01 real estate developer, UACN 2.76 15.88 97.45 Property Development Company, fell by N0.60 to close at N25.00 per share Maker of re1.00 sugar, 14.08 88.78 fined Dangote Sugar, dipped by N0.24 to close at N9.75 while Offer Yield (%) holding Bid Price companies, Offer Price financial FCMB Group and FBNH shed Prices & Yields N0.16 and N0.09 to close at 5.22 and N12.31 107.77 N3.34 per108.61 share respectively .

4.30 102.44 103.15 5.69

103.97

104.84

15-Apr-14

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 1,500.00 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.

Corporate Eurobonds Afren PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

GTBank PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

Rating/Agency B+/S&P

GTBank PLC II Issuer Access Bank PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018 Issue Date 7.25 JUL 25, 2017

B/S&P; B/Fitch

Fidelity Bank PLC

B/Fitch

Afren PLC II

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

First Bank PLC

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

Afren PLC III

B-/S&P; B/Fitch

FGN Bonds B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE **TreasuryNABills

NA

DTM Maturity 9 24-Apr-14 23 8-May-14 30 15-May-14 37 22-May-14 44 29-May-14 51 5-Jun-14 65 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 19-Jun-14 72 26-Jun-14 79 3-Jul-14 86 10-Jul-14 Rating/Agency Issuer 93 17-Jul-14 100 24-Jul-14 Agency Bonds 107 31-Jul-14 AMCON 114 7-Aug-14 121 14-Aug-14 FMBN 128 21-Aug-14 NA 142 4-Sep-14 ***LCRM 177 9-Oct-14 233 4-Dec-14 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 268 8-Jan-15 282 22-Jan-15 Sub-National 296Bonds 5-Feb-15 310 A/Agusto KWARA 19-Feb-15 324 A-/GCR NIGER 5-Mar-15 359 9-Apr-15 A+/Agusto KADUNA

Description

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

9.20 29-JUN-2014 29-Jun-07 9.25 28-SEP-201410.25 APR 08, 2019 28-Sep-07 4.00 23-APR-2015 8.25 AUG 07, 202023-Apr-10 13.05 16-AUG-2016 16-Aug-13 6.63 DEC 09, 2020 15.10 27-APR-2017 27-Apr-12 9.85 27-JUL-2017 27-Jul-07 9.35 31-AUG-2017 31-Aug-07 10.70 30-MAY-2018 30-May-08 16.00 29-JUN-2019 29-Jun-12 Bid Discount (%) Offer Discount (%) 7.00 23-OCT-2019 23-Oct-09 11.80 11.55 16.39 27-JAN-2022 27-Jan-12 10.80 10.55 14.20 14-MAR-2024 14-Mar-14 11.05 10.80 15.00 28-NOV-2028 28-Nov-08 11.70 11.45 12.49 22-MAY-2029 22-May-09 11.90 11.65 8.50 20-NOV-2029 20-Nov-09 12.00 11.75 10.00 23-JUL-2030 23-Jul-10

12.00 11.75 12.15 11.90 11.85 11.60 11.05 10.80 Description 11.50 11.25 11.40 11.15 11.65 11.40 0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1)11.20 11.45 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 11.70 11.45 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 12.10 11.85 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 12.20 11.95 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 11.90 11.65 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 11.30 11.05 12.05 11.80 12.10 11.85 12.30 12.05 12.30 12.05 14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 12.15 11.90 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.15 11.90 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

A/Agusto *EBONYI 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 *from the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated andBENUE not the 30-JUN-2016 duration Nil *BENUE 14.00 # A+/Agusto *IMOof credit risk and liquidity 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 Risk Premium is a combination risk premiums A+/Agusto; LAGOS 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 **ExclusiveA+/GCR of non-trading t.bills A-/Agusto *BAYELSA 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 A/Agusto EDO 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 A+/Agusto; A+/GCR *DELTA 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 A-/Agusto; A-/GCR NIGER 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 A/Agusto; A-/GCR† *EKITI 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 A-/Agusto *NIGER 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 A/Agusto; A-/GCR *ONDO 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 A/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE 15.50Porfolio GOMBEMarket 02-OCT-2019 Modified Duration Total Outstanding Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS Buckets 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 Value(Bn) Volume(Bn) A/Agusto; A-/GCR *OSUN 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 A/Agusto *OSUN 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 <3 800.15 780.27 Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

3.87

3.41

112.98

113.84

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

5.30

4.53

104.27

Price 105.82

6.00 Outstanding Value 7.25 (N'bn)

400.00 Maturity 350.00Date

08-Nov-18 TTM (Yrs) 25-Jul-17

6.12 Bid 6.97 Yield (%)

45.00 10.25 100.00 535.00 8.25 327.47 6.63 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 Tenor 600.00 CALL 50.00 775.00 DAYS 30150.00 DAYS 60200.00 DAYS 90591.57 DAYS

29-Jun-14 300.00 28-Sep-14 23-Apr-15 300.00 16-Aug-16 360.00 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 2,960.00 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 Rate (%) 27-Jan-22 10.8333 14-Mar-24 11.1250 28-Nov-28 11.4167 22-May-29 11.7500 20-Nov-29 12.0833 23-Jul-30

300.00

02-May-18 0.21

8.40 11.84

Bonds

08-Nov-13 Coupon (%) 25-Jul-12 09-May-13 9.20

6.88

08-Apr-12 9.25

4.00 07-Aug-13

13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 Bid Yield 7.00 (%) 11.83 16.39 10.87 14.20 11.15 15.00 11.84 12.49 12.07 8.50 12.20 10.00

09-Dec-13

12.26 12.45 12.16 11.35 Issue Date 11.85 11.77 12.06 28-Dec-11 11.87 24-May-10 12.17 03-Apr-12 12.64 09-Dec-11 12.81 20-Apr-12 12.63 06-Jul-12 12.18 13.22 13.35 13.66 13.73 05-Aug-09 13.62 15-Oct-09 13.80 31-Aug-10

FIXINGS NIBOR

180 DAYS 4,132.04 365 DAYS

Coupon (%) Tenor 1M 0.00 2M 0.00 3M 17.25 6M 0.00/16.00 9M 0.00/16.50 12M 0.00/16.50

12.3750 12.7083

Issue Value (N'bn) NITTY Rate (%) 11.2022 978.35 12.2801 24.56 12.9046 6.00 12.9304 112.22 13.2566 116.70 14.1083 66.49

1,304.32 NIFEX

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 Weighting by 22-Nov-12Vol Outstanding 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 33.59 27-Nov-13

14.00Current Price ($/N)17.00 BID($/N) 14.00 161.7125 6.00 OFFER ($/N) 161.8125 12.50 8.50 13.00 16.50 14.00 13.00 15.50 18.50 10.00 57.00 13.75 50.00 14.00 25.00 14.00 50.00 14.00 9.00 14.50 20.00 14.00 12.00 15.50 27.00 15.50 20.00 Weighting

by Mkt Bucket80.00 Weighting 14.50 Value 14.75 30.00 14.75 11.40 13.50 34.29 87.00 0.34

FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

08-Apr-19 0.45

1.02 07-Aug-20

5.04 12.54

13.36 7.13 2.34 13.10 6.24 3.03 13.24 3.28 13.11 3.38 13.10 4.12 Money Market 13.06 5.21 13.09 Tenor Rate (%) 5.52 13.05 7.79 13.26 OBB 10.25 9.91 13.05 14.62 13.35 O/N 10.50 15.10 13.38 15.60 REPO 13.42 Tenor Rate (%) 16.27 13.52

09-Dec-20

Call 1M 3M 6M Maturity Date

10.25 11.08 12.17 Avg.12.50 Life/TTM (Yrs)

NOTE:

5.85 Offer Yield 6.50 (%) 7.89 11.11

99.52 Bid Price 100.78

13.18 6.67

91.33 104.05

4.64 12.18 13.03

1.28 1.28 3.01 1.84 3.71 2.68 4.47 2.69 2.69 3.27 3.33 Implied Yield 5.61 3.30 4.01 13.19 6.62

94.83 99.40

96.52 99.55

114.26 98.57

115.10 98.72 91.48 105.81

99.85

100.00

5.99 13.12

101.53 104.50

102.54 104.80

2M 3M #6M Risk 1Y Premium (%)

163.96 165.21 168.80 Valuation 175.83 Yield (%)

165.31 167.17 173.05 Indicative 184.90 Price

12.98 91.49 91.79 12.98 90.00 90.30 12.96 92.61 92.91 Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) 13.01 110.70 111.00 12.96 76.69 76.99 13.20 114.85 115.15 Tenor Bid ($/N) Offer ($/N) 13.00 106.25 106.55 Spot 161.65 161.75 13.30 110.48 110.78 7D 161.95 162.22 13.33 94.25 94.55 14D 162.20 162.58 13.35 68.17 68.47 1M 162.78 163.50 13.47 77.00 77.30

31-Oct-14 0.55 1.00 :Benchmarks 24-May-15 1.11 2.63 * :Amortising Bond 03-Apr-17 1.59 2.27 µ :Convertible Bond 09-Dec-16 2.65 2.00 AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 20-Apr-17 1.49 FGN: Federal Government of 3.01 Nigeria 06-Jul-17 3.23 1.00 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria IFC: International Finance Corporation LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company NGC: Nigeria-German Company 05-Aug-14 0.31 4.88 UBA: United Bank for Africa 0.50 15-Oct-14 5.99 UPDC:31-Aug-15 UAC Property Development 1.38 Company 4.44 WAPCO:West Africa Portland 0.98 Cement Company 30-Sep-15 3.23 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 % Exposure_ 22-Nov-19 Mod_Duration 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 17.41 27-Nov-20

100.60 Offer Price 102.16

4.46 3.48 5.59 7.60 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00 1.21 1.00 2.46 Implied 1.94 Portfolio Price 2.74 2.74 110.2947 1.00

93.06 NA :Not13.73 Applicable 15.97Rate Bond 84.35 # :Floating 15.48 coupon bonds 102.44 ***: Deferred 15.12 14.61 14.11

†: Bond rating expired

16.96 18.65 17.71 16.57 17.75 16.77 18.71 20.75 14.87 14.92 14.05 14.12 14.33 14.11 15.56 INDEX 15.00 15.84 15.81 1,047.57 14.12

92.29 89.44 88.02

99.00 97.87 93.83 97.05 96.02 98.92 80.61 89.84 97.51 98.15 99.84 101.00 109.43 101.03 YTD 99.89 Return 98.11 (%) 97.38 97.04 4.7575 97.35

48 BUSINESS | MONEY LINE

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

World Economic Forum: FG pledges adequate protection for visitors

ENCOURAGEMENT World Economic Forum encourages business, government and civil society

African heads of state and business leaders are due to attend the May 7-9 WEF event based on the flagship gatherings in Davos, Switzerland - where Nigeria’s government wants to showcase the top oil producer’s newly acquired status as the largest economy on the continent.

The World Economic Forum encourages businesses, governments and civil society to commit together to improving the state of the world. The Strategic and Industry Partners are instrumental in helping stakeholders meet key challenges such as building sustained economic growth, mitigating global risks, promoting health for all, improving social welfare and fostering environmental sustainability.

Last year’s World Economic Forum on Africa was held in Cape Town, South Africa, which Nigeria overtook as Africa’s largest economy this month through a rebasing exercise that expanded its Gross Domestic Product to nearly $510 billion in 2013.

Angry Abuja residents, have, however, questioned why gov-

Sunday Ojeme

WITH AGENCY REPORT

A

s the May date of the World Economic Forum on Africa approaches, the Federal Government has vowed to ensure adequate security for participants at the summit.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said in Abuja that the security planned for the event was going to be one of the largest ever in the country, adding that security personnel would secure an area of 250 square kms (100 square miles) around the event.

The minister said: “Our security planning for the World Economic Forum on Africa is already well under way and will be the largest security operation ever mounted in this country for an international summit.”

Part of the security measure is to deploy over 6,000 police and soldiers to protect the visitors and other participants during the forum.

ernment should give priority to ensuring no harm came to high-profile visitors while it was failing to guarantee daily security for Nigerians.

“They should protect us first and people will be attracted to come to Nigeria,” Ajayi Ademola, a computer operator in a local business center, told Reuters.

Some of the foreign WEF participants might choose to stay away anyway after Monday’s bombing, Ademola said.

Bayo Akomolafe and Sunady Ojeme

S

kye Bank is targeting retail and business customers this year with a goal to expand loans by 15 per cent, up from 2 per cent growth last year, its incoming Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, said yesterday.

“Liquidity was a major con-

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

Offer 163.38

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

Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Onwughalu

straint to growth in risk assets in 2013,” Oguntayo told an analyst conference call.

Shares in Skye Bank fell 1.4 per cent on Tuesday to N3.50, valuing the mid-tier lender at $287.4 million. The stock has fallen 19.3 per cent this year, underperforming the broader index which is down 5.6 per cent.

Nigeria’s central bank has been hiking cash reserve requirements for lenders to hold deposits in order to tighten liquidity. The move has curbed banks’ ability to earn fees by lending the government back its own money, hurting profits.

According to Reuters, Skye Bank said that 13 per cent of its 2013 deposits of N823.3 billion

were government deposits.

Pre-tax profit rose to N17.13 billion ($104.5 million) in 2013, up 3.8 per cent from N16.51 billion the previous year.

Meanwhile, Oguntuyo, according to a statement by the bank, replaces Mr. Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti who would retire this August as GMD/CEO as he had notified the board of his desire not to seek renewal of his four-year tenure at the expiration of his current term.

The board also announced the appointment of Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu as the Deputy Managing Director for the bank. Both appointments are, however, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals.

T

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX

Oguntayo

DMO appoints Stanbic, Goldman for $100m bond sale

Money Market Offer 11.85 11.85 11.80

programmes that focused on wealth creation rather than poverty alleviation.

According to him, “economic inclusion is very important and we are already taking necessary steps to improve financial inclusion in our country. Transforming our agricultural sector is one way in which we are doing so.

“We are doing all that we can to transform agriculture in Nigeria into a much more productive and job creating sector."

Skye Bank targets 15% loan growth, more capital

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

At the January edition of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Goodluck Jonathan challenged African leaders to give priority to the promotion of inclusive economic growth on the continent to avoid problems associated with poverty and financial equality.

He said his administration was already doing a lot to enhance inclusive growth in Nigeria through policies and

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

he Debt Management Office (DMO) has appointed Stanbic IBTC Bank and Goldman Sachs as advisers for its maiden $100 million diaspora bond issue.

The debt office, which also appointed legal advisers for the issue, explained that it was also looking to appoint book runners for the sale of the bond.

In a statement yesterday, the DMO announced the appointment of Mr Olaniwun Ajayi LP and Arnold& Porter LLP as legal advisers.

The debt office has also advertised a request for proposal for prospective Book runners for the Diaspora Bond, saying that names of the successful Book runners would be announced soon.

Sanctity of Truth

Daily SummaryApril as of 15/04/2014 Wednesday, 16, 2014

Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014 Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

BUSINESS | CAPITAL MARKET 49

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at April 15, 2014 Daily Summary (Bonds)

Daily Summary (Equities)

No Debt Trading Activity

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Daily Summary (Equities)

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals

Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 4 39 43

Current Price 42.00 42.00

Quantity Traded 10,890 224,150 235,040

Value Traded 434,511.00 9,436,568.18 9,871,079.18

Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. Fishing/Hunting/Trapping Totals

Symbol ELLAHLAKES

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 4.26

Quantity Traded 1,000 1,000

Value Traded 4,050.00 4,050.00

Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 13 13

Current Price 3.01

Quantity Traded 342,098 342,098

Value Traded 1,073,488.32 1,073,488.32

578,138

10,948,617.50

Quantity Traded 14,717 49,470,617 1,406,586 50,891,920

Value Traded 21,802.67 199,327,520.78 83,190,269.05 282,539,592.50

AGRICULTURE Totals Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014 Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

57 Symbol No. of Deals AGLEVENT 6 TRANSCORP 290 Daily Summary (Equities) UACN 73 369

CONGLOMERATES CONGLOMERATES Totals

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals

Current Price 1.44 3.89 59.21

Page

369

50,891,920

1

of

Symbol COSTAIN

No. of Deals 13 13

Current Price 1.25

Quantity Traded 120,008 120,008

Value Traded 148,237.52 148,237.52

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 69.90

Quantity Traded 57,115 57,115

Value Traded 4,020,673.17 4,020,673.17

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 47 47

Current Price 25.00

Quantity Traded 609,779 609,779

Value Traded 15,303,153.15 15,303,153.15

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Symbol UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) UHOMREIT Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Totals

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 47.59

Quantity Traded 20 20

Value Traded 904.40 904.40

786,922

19,472,968.24

Current Price 13.79 0.68 190.00 26.30

Quantity Traded 510 864 86,824 135,360

Value Traded 6,686.10 613.44 16,375,996.38 3,554,721.45

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals Daily Summary as ofGOODS 15/04/2014 CONSUMER Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers

CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC.

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

73 Symbol No. of Deals CHAMPION 2 GOLDBREW 1 Daily Summary (Equities) GUINNESS 44 INTBREW 25

Page

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. PREMIER BREWERIES PLC Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals

2

No. of Deals 114 1 187

Current Price 148.99 0.77

Quantity Traded 5,027,479 5,666 5,256,703

Value Traded 748,922,410.52 4,532.80 768,864,960.69

Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 11 11

Current Price 90.00

Quantity Traded 10,555 10,555

Value Traded 902,590.00 902,590.00

Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC UNION DICON SALT PLC. U T C NIG. PLC. Food Products Totals

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON UNIONDICON UTC

No. of Deals 57 70 35 27 17 1 7 214

Current Price 8.20 9.75 68.49 3.78 11.89 13.44 0.53

Quantity Traded 418,624 924,057 70,402 681,318 183,651 10 260,476 2,538,538

Value Traded 3,434,385.45 8,984,709.07 4,776,089.92 2,563,330.45 2,164,464.76 134.20 138,018.05 22,061,131.90

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

No. of Deals 51 55 106

Current Price 79.00 1,185.00

Quantity Traded 336,507 43,617 380,124

Value Traded 25,936,406.51 50,254,121.30 76,190,527.81

Symbol VITAFOAM

No. of Deals 11

Current Price 4.01

Quantity Traded 200,003

Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE PLC. Daily Summary as of NIGERIA 15/04/2014 Food Products--Diversified Totals

Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Daily Summary (Equities)

Page

ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC Computer Based Systems Totals

of

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014 STERLING BANK PLC. Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC

13

Quantity Traded 200,003

Value Traded 801,285.37 Value Traded 19,377,885.67 4,939,206.22 24,317,091.89

9,089,022

893,137,587.66

Symbol ACCESS DIAMONDBNK ETI FIDELITYBK GUARANTY SKYEBANK STERLNBANK UBA UBN UNITYBNK

No. of Deals 157 63 88 104 442 120 55 200 54 1

Current Price 7.83 6.20 13.00 2.00 27.80 3.50 2.34 7.00 10.00 0.50

Quantity Traded 3,661,749 5,471,600 11,351,373 12,853,597 16,247,872 4,465,708 2,714,569 13,421,690 400,272 130,000

Value Traded 28,156,514.84 34,054,506.59 147,560,926.05 25,570,100.03 443,285,526.26 15,612,415.17 6,206,513.32 94,580,328.60 4,015,496.74 65,000.00

Page

4

of

Value Traded 1,282,602.32 494,258,405.66 1,294,648,335.58

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. OASIS INSURANCE PLC PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Symbol AIICO CONTINSURE CORNERST INTENEGINS MANSARD MBENEFIT NEM NIGERINS OASISINS PRESTIGE UNITYKAP WAPIC

No. of Deals 47 3 6 3 9 1 39 1 1 5 2 63 180

Current Price 0.78 0.95 0.50 0.65 2.25 0.50 0.73 0.50 0.59 0.58 0.50 0.72

Quantity Traded 1,276,719 50,200 143,290 420 1,710,000 200 4,020,984 1,800 600 72,052 7,200 3,974,076 11,257,541

Value Traded 997,077.54 48,190.00 71,645.40 260.40 3,848,000.00 100.00 2,986,929.32 900.00 342.00 41,970.16 3,600.00 2,823,786.18 10,822,801.00

Micro-Finance Banks

Symbol FORTISMFB NPFMCRFBK

No. of Deals 3 5 8

Current Price 6.27 0.88

Quantity Traded 310 375,000 375,310

Value Traded 1,847.60 332,550.00 334,397.60

Daily Summary (Equities)

No. of Deals 10 10

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 1,738,800 1,738,800

Value Traded 869,400.00 869,400.00

Telecommunications Services Symbol No. of Deals MASS TELECOMMUNICATION INNOVATIONS NIGERIA MTI 1 PLC Telecommunications Services Totals 1 Daily Summary (Equities)

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 20

Value Traded 10.00

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014 Building Materials Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

Page

5

of

38

Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN Daily Summary DANGCEM DNMEYER FIRSTALUM

No. of Deals 36 11 20 23 (Equities) 42 4 2

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 5 1 6

Current Price 1.64 0.50

No. of Deals 66 43 528 89 30 169 925

Current Price 3.00 2.20 12.31 3.34 20.45 2.62

2,790

Quantity Traded 360 116,875 117,235

Value Traded 561.60 58,437.50 58,999.10

Quantity Traded 2,750,862 4,138,449 17,142,109 49,138,137 109,312 11,588,581 84,867,450

Value Traded 8,235,350.70 9,094,375.23 212,358,245.16 171,358,455.42 2,220,146.08 30,037,730.99 433,304,303.58

191,237,505

1,739,168,836.86

Symbol FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

No. of Deals 11 11 15 1

Current Price 2.90 70.00 1.64 1.32

Quantity Traded 1,000 1,000

Value Traded 500.00 500.00

Quantity Traded 336,381 13,181 135,100 50,000

Value Traded 977,733.95 920,795.12 222,441.72 66,000.00

Page

6

of

10.00 1,944,154.30

Quantity Traded 237,214 40,550 Page 29,758 487,674 481,396 20,858 10,000

Value Traded 3,928,682.11

7 364,287.61 of 13

1,166,740.50 4,415,898.95 113,068,910.26 23,287.08 5,000.00

No. of Deals 4 34 176

Current Price 4.10 106.00

Quantity Traded 36,545 144,018 1,488,013

Value Traded 150,187.00 15,686,502.15 138,809,495.66

Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

Symbol CUTIX

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 1.90

Quantity Traded 2,006,000 2,006,000

Value Traded 3,811,880.00 3,811,880.00

Packaging/Containers AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS Packaging/Containers Totals

Symbol AVONCROWN

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 1.41

Quantity Traded 240 240

Value Traded 355.20 355.20

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals Published

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

180

3,494,253Page

142,621,730.86 8 of 13

Symbol BOCGAS

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 6.47

Quantity Traded 6,000 6,000

Value Traded 40,202.61 40,202.61

Symbol MULTIVERSE

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 5,000 5,000

Value Traded 2,500.00 2,500.00

11,000

42,702.61

Daily Summary (Equities)

3

Page

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 37,380 37,380

Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 219 219

Current Price 15.74

Quantity Traded 3,427,379 3,427,379

Value Traded 52,913,827.59 52,913,827.59

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 51 4 79 22 7 26 189

Current Price 49.31 3.80 148.99 120.50 54.44 169.00

Quantity Traded 97,329 16,100 252,572 64,566 1,150 44,984 476,701

Value Traded 4,560,297.13 58,121.00 36,272,748.57 7,782,646.40 59,478.00 7,621,655.93 56,354,947.03

Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 70 70

Current Price 635.04

Quantity Traded 425,265 425,265

Value Traded 270,060,285.60 270,060,285.60

4,366,725

379,347,750.22

Quantity Traded 165,197

Value Traded 183,377.74

SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC.

483 Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 9

Current Price 1.10

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Page

Value Traded 18,690.00 18,690.00

10

of

Symbol

No. of Deals 9

Current Price

Quantity Traded 165,197

Value Traded 183,377.74

Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

Symbol REDSTAREX

No. of Deals 9 9

Current Price 4.40

Quantity Traded 280,920 280,920

Value Traded 1,235,222.40 1,235,222.40

Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 175,000 175,000

Value Traded 87,500.00 87,500.00

Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 0.57

Quantity Traded 5,150 5,150

Value Traded 2,941.60 2,941.60

Symbol ACADEMY LEARNAFRCA STUDPRESS UPL

No. of Deals 2 7 2 27 38

Current Price 1.80 1.77 2.40 4.05

Quantity Traded 2,000 28,000 100 1,980,040 2,010,140

Value Traded 3,420.00 47,620.00 228.00 7,914,190.40 7,965,458.40

Symbol No. of Deals Daily Summary (Equities)

Current Price 0.89

Quantity Traded 150,765 150,765

Value Traded 132,623.20 132,623.20

Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. Daily Summary as ofAFRICA 15/04/2014 LEARN PLC Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals

ABCTRANS

9 9

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

SERVICES Specialty Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC Specialty Totals

13

of

No. of Deals 5 5

OIL AND GAS Totals

13

9

Symbol JAPAULOIL

Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals

Symbol NSLTECH

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded Page 10,000,100 10,000,100

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 2 48 50

Current Price 2.46 5.00

Quantity Traded 15,000 585,448 600,448

EQTY Board Totals

Daily Summary (Equities)

13

13

Value Traded 11 of 13 5,000,050.00 5,000,050.00 Value Traded 36,300.00 2,914,709.49 2,951,009.49

125

13,387,720

17,558,182.83

4,792

277,686,547

3,488,969,594.37

Quantity Traded 2,000 2,000

Value Traded 1,000.00 1,000.00

1

2,000

1,000.00

1

2,000

Activity Summary on Board ASeM OIL AND GAS Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CAPITAL OIL PLC Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Symbol CAPOIL

No. of Deals 1 1

OIL AND GAS Totals Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014 Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

ASeM Board Totals

Published

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Equity Activity Totals

Symbol UNIONDAC

Current Price 16.50 8.90 37.75 9.00 234.90 1.16 0.50

20 3,307,680

Symbol PORTPAINT WAPCO

SERVICES Totals

Symbol INFINITY UNHOMES

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Symbol CHAMS

Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014 Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals

SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

Quantity Traded 1,398,552 22,502,987 94,619,969

HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Healthcare Providers Totals

Value Traded 1,719.25 1,719.25

OIL GAS Published byAND The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals

Quantity Traded 596,373 106,726 703,099

Current Price 0.92 22.10

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

Quantity Traded 325 325

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Current Price

No. of Deals 26 361 1,671

FINANCIAL SERVICES Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Current Price 5.56

NATURAL RESOURCES Totals

Current Price 33.45 44.75

Symbol WEMABANK ZENITHBANK

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

No. of Deals 9 9

Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051 Mining Services MULTIVERSE PLC Mining Services Totals

No. of Deals 11

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

FORTIS BANK PLC Daily Summary as of MICROFINANCE 15/04/2014 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051 Micro-Finance Banks Totals

Symbol CWG

NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. Chemicals Totals Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014

Daily Summary (Equities)

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals

IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC IT Services Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. Building Materials Totals

No. of Deals 55 51 106

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

2,187,470.79 Value Traded 1,073,025.05 1,073,025.05

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol

635

535,662 Quantity Traded 1,568,535 1,568,535

CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC DN MEYER PLC. FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

CONSUMER GOODS Totals

Value Traded 2,186,970.79

Current Price 0.71

ASHAKA CEM PLC

Activity Summary on Board EQTY CONSUMER GOODS Household Durables Household Durables Totals

Quantity Traded 534,662

No. of Deals 18 18

ICT Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Value Traded 801,285.37 3

39

Daily Summary as of 15/04/2014 Printed 15/04/2014 18:09:51.051

13

Current Price

Symbol COURTVILLE

BERGER PAINTS Published by The Nigerian StockPLC Exchange ©

of

Symbol NB PREMBREW

No. of Deals 38

HEALTHCARE Totals

13

282,539,592.50

Symbol

Current Price 0.50

Page

4,793

277,688,547

1,000.00 12

of

3,488,970,594.37

13

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Symbol NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

No. of Deals 1 2 3

Current Price 2,041.00 17.66

Quantity Traded 25 1,018 1,043

Value Traded 51,025.00 17,977.88 69,002.88

ETF Board Totals

3

1,043

69,002.88

ETP Activity Totals

3

1,043

69,002.88

13

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Page

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50 WORLD | NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Egypt court bans Brotherhood members from polls

A

court yesterday banned members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement listed as a “terrorist group”, from running in Egypt’s upcoming elections, a lawyer and state media said.

Egypt’s military-installed authorities are engaged in a deadly crackdown against the Islamist movement, which swept all elections in Egypt since the fall of former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

A court in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria ordered authorities to bar any candidacies from Brotherhood members or former members in presidential and parlia-

mentary elections.The ruling came after an anti-Brotherhood group filed a petition calling for the ban.

“It is illogical to receive such candidacies after the government designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation,” Tareq Mahmoud, a lawyer from the group told AFP. “We submitted videos, photos and documents showing terrorist acts carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is why it is illogical that they lead the country or represent its people in elections.

“In December, the authorities blacklisted the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist group” after

blaming it for a deadly bombing north of Cairo.Egypt is to hold a May 26-27 presidential election, widely expected to be won by exarmy chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to be followed by parliamentary polls.

Sisi is riding a wave of popularity after he ousted Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July. Morsi belongs to the Brotherhood. Since his overthrow, the authorities have cracked down brutally on the movement and its members.

Amnesty International says more than 1,400 people have been killed in the crackdown, mostly Islamists. More than 15,000 Islamists, mainly Brotherhood

members, have been jailed, while hundreds have been sentenced to death following often speedy trials.

Under Mubarak’s rule, the Brotherhood was an illegal organisation but had candidates run as independents in polls and won a sizeable number of seats.

The 85-year-old Brotherhood, Egypt’s most organised opposition

group during decades of dictatorship despite being banned, stepped out of the shadows after the 2011 uprising.

Yesterday’s court ruling against the Brotherhood came hours after a bomb attack in an upmarket central Cairo district wounded two policemen and a passer-by.

Polio in Cameroon worrisome - WHO expert

T

he Canadian official who heads the WHO’s polio eradication effort says of the many challenges facing the quarter-century-old programme, evidence of polio in Cameroon — which borders on the troubled Central African Republic — is currently one of the most concerning.

The polio eradication campaign has faced a number of significant setbacks in the past year or so, with outbreaks in the Horn of Africa — Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia — as well as war-torn Syria.

But of the ongoing outbreaks, Dr. Bruce Aylward said the situation in Cameroon is the one which worries him the most at the moment, listing a number of reasons.

Analysis of polio viruses from Cameroon suggests they have been circulating unchecked and undetected for, at least ,a couple of years. Several recent nationwide vaccination campaigns have not

appeared to halt the spread. And viruses from Cameroon have spread to neighbouring Equatorial Guinea. That highlights the risk of further spread to another neighbour, the Central African Republic, where ethic-inspired killing is raising the spectre of another Rwanda.

This week, the United Nations agreed to send a nearly 12,000-person-strong peacekeeping force to the country.

“You sure as hell don’t want (the Central African Republic) to get reinfected, “ said Aylward, a native of Newfoundland who is the World Health Organization’s assistant director general for polio, emergencies and country collaboration.

Aylward was in Ottawa this week, bringing Canadian officials up to speed on the shape of the ongoing eradication effort. A longtime donor to the effort, last year Canada pledged $250 million for the 2013-18 period.

People enjoying the sunshine by the banks of the River Thames in Richmond upon Thames in west London

Prosecutor wraps up Pistorius grilling in murder trial

T

he prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius ended his fiveday cross-examination of the double amputee track athlete yesterday with a stark summary of how he shot his girlfriend, insisting he killed her deliberately after an argument. “You fired four shots through the door whilst knowing that she was standing behind the door,” said prosecutor Gerrie Nel, known in South Africa as “The Pitbull” for his hectoring style of questioning. “She was locked into the bathroom and you armed yourself with the sole purpose of shooting and killing her.” “That is not true,” said 27-year-old Pistorius, who faces life in prison if convicted of murder.

Pistorius has broken down in tears on many occasions during the questioning, and at

one point, retched into a bucket on the witness stand after being shown grisly pictures of Reeva Steenkamp after the shooting on Valentine’s Day last year.

He insists he killed the 29-yearold law graduate and model accidentally after mistaking her for an intruder hiding behind a closed toilet door. Yesterday, he told the court he had pulled the trigger without thinking after hearing a noise behind the door, out of terror and fear that his and Steenkamp’s lives were in danger.

“I was extremely fearful, overcome with a sense of terror and vulnerability,” said Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby. “I didn’t think about pulling the trigger, as soon as I heard the noise, before I could think about it, I pulled the trigger.

“The athlete’s voice quivered as he recounted how he was “overcome with terror and de-

spair” on finding her bloodied body slumped against the toilet after he broke down the door with a cricket bat.

“I was broken, I was overcome, filled with sadness,” he told judge Thokozile Masipa, adding he urged Steenkamp to hold on while he sought help from neighbours at his high security Pretoria residence.

Pistorius insists he and Steenkamp were in a loving, if fledgling, relationship, despite phone text messages read in court which pointed to some arguments. Yesterday he read a Valentine’s Day card his girlfriend got for him before her death. “Roses are red, violets are blue,” the card begins. “I think today is a good day to tell you that I love you,” the message concludes, the last part in Steenkamp’s own words. The trial has drawn wide interest both in South Africa and abroad.

Utah mom admits to killing her six babies

H

untsman, 39, told police she either strangled or suffocated them immediately after they were born. She wrapped their bodies in a towel or a shirt, put them in plastic bags and then packed them inside boxes in the garage of her home south of Salt Lake City.

What’s not clear is why. A day after her arrest on charges of killing her six babies, investigators and her neighbors puzzled over the grisly discovery, including how she could have concealed half-dozen pregnancies over a 10-year period. “How can you have a baby and not have evidence and other people know?” asked neighbor SanDee Wall.

“You can’t plan when a baby is going to come. Just the thought of somebody putting a baby into a box is a heartbreaker.”

She was arrested Sunday on six counts of murder, was ordered held on $6 million bail — $1 million for each baby. The remains of a seventh

baby police found appears to have been stillborn, authorities said. According to a probable cause statement released by police Monday, Huntsman said she gave birth to at least seven babies between 1996 and 2006 at her former home in Pleasant Grove, a leafy, sleepy town about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City. All but one of the babies was born alive, she said. During the interview with police, she was unemotional and matter of fact, according to Pleasant Grove police Lt. Britt Smith.

Her estranged husband, Darren West, made the discovery Saturday with fellow family members while cleaning out the garage of the house, which is owned by his parents. He called Huntsman, who admitted to him it was her baby, according to court documents. Investigators believe Huntsman is the mother of them all based on what she has told them but have ordered DNA tests to make sure that’s the case. They don’t know who the babies’ fathers are.

Abuja stadium ready in two months -nsc Jude Opara Abuja

T

he National Sports Commission has assured that the pitch of the Abuja National Stadium

will be ready for sporting activities latest in the next two months, after it suffered some setback resulting from its use for the centenary celebrations in February.

Director of Facilities of

the NSC, Ibrahim Shehu, told New Telegraph in an exclusive interview that the moment it was known that the stadium was to host the activities of the centenary celebrations, the manage-

SPORT

ment swung into action to find out how best to use the facility that had just been regrassed without causing much damage.

Shehu said, “As we all

CONTINUED ON PAGE 54

Mikel

Mercy Jacob

WEDNESday,APRIL 16, 2014

Did you know?

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

51

kunle.salami@newtelegraphonline.com adekunles@yahoo.com

That English referee, Graham Poll, mistakenly showed Croatian defender, Josip Simunic, three yellow cards during a first-round game against Australia in 2006

Fashanu okays Mikel, Moses despite bench roles

Moses

N

igerian football ambassador, John Fashanu, has said that the bench warming role of some key Super Eagles players in their various clubs, may turn out to be blessing in disguise for the national team at the World Cup. The former Wimbledon and Aston Villa player, in an interview with New Telegraph, said that there was no cause for alarm as being on the bench does not suggest a loss of form, insisting that the Stephen Keshi-led Eagles are

Fashanu

…says it can be blessing in disguise

CONTINUED ON PAGE 54

Ronaldo out of Copa del Rey final

Nigeria’s Ogwumike tops WNBA draft pick

}p.53

}p.54

Eagles must surpass previous World Cup record -Green

}p.52

52 SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

C’Wealth: AFN defends Greene’s appointment Charles Ogundiya

T

he technical director of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, has defended the appointment of former US athlete, Maurice Greene, as the Team Nigeria relay coordinator ahead the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He described it as a way of improving Nigeria’s prospect of winning medals in relays.

Nesiama said despite having array of stars, Nigeria continues to

Obinna Metu, one of Nigeria’s relay team members

Police Batons coach, player get five-match bans Ifeanyi Ibeh

T

he Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, has handed out five-game bans to Police Batons coach, Dominic Dike, and forward, Malu Williams, for their conduct in their game against Kwara Falcons in Ilorin.

According to a press statement from the NBBF, coach Dike and Williams are each suspended for five league matches with immediate effect and with a warning that they use the suspension period to improve upon their behaviour.

The NBBF also fined Police Batons N50.000, part of which will be used to replace the damaged plastic chairs in the Ilorin Sports Hall, venue of the game. The body also advised the DStv Premier League side to learn to channel its grievances through

the available appropriate structures.

“Although your team won the game, be on notice that the intimidation of game officials and opponents, use of abusive language and damage to property (plastic chairs in the hall) without recourse to available channels of protesting any observed or perceived shortcomings on the side of any game official(s), are actions capable of damaging the image of our game and league and taken together, are a bad example especially coming from a team of law enforcement officers,” read the statement from the NBBF. It added that the “uncontrollable outburst by your coach Dike Dominic and player, Malu Williams (both under observation for similar conduct in previous games), is totally unacceptable,” resulting in the sanctions meted out to them in order to remedy the situation.

IOC condemns Abuja killings, condoles NOC Vincent Eboigbe

I

nternational Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach has condemned the senseless bomb blast that killed hundreds of people and left many more hundreds injured at the busy Nyanya Mass Transit Park, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria on Monday.

In a condolence letter addressed to the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee(NOC), Engr Sani M. Ndanusa and signed by Sarah Friberg (Executive Assistant to the President), President Bach extended his heartfelt sympathy to all Nigerians describing the bombings as a cowardly

attack.

Part of the letter reads; “On behalf of the Olympic Movement, please accept my deepest condolences for the loss of so many innocent lives in the tragic and senseless bombing in Abuja yester-

day (Monday).

“As you know, the Olympic Movement works on daily basis to promote peace and unify peoples of all backgrounds through sport. We therefore strongly condemn this cowardly attack.”

falter in relays necessitating the appointment of a proven relay man, Greene.

“The for mer US sprinter has achieved some great feats in relay and if you recall, relay event is supposed to be a traditional event for Nigeria. We have relatively good athletes, but we have not really achieved much in relay in recent time, we have some people that are experienced in relay like Greene, and we agreed to appoint him.

“We are going to give Greene three months to

Brazil: Beat Iran, Bosnia, Eguavoen charges Eagles Adekunle Salami

A

former coach of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen, has charged the team to win its first two games at the forthcoming World Cup holding in Brazil between June 12 and July 13.

Eguavoen speaking to Brila FM on Tuesday stressed that qualification to the next round could depend largely on the game against Iran on June 16 and the game against Bosnia Herzegovina on June 20.

He said he was confident of the ability of the

team and the knowledge of Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, to achieve victory in the first two games of the mundial.

Eguavoen said, “There will be no easy games at the World Cup but I believe with the right approach and determination we can get the maximum points from Iran and Bosnia. I am not underrating the two teams but I am just looking at the situation objectively.

“Argentina game is dicey but also winnable.

However, it is an advantage that we are playing such game last when the players must be getting

T

he Nigeria cadet team, Golden Eaglets on Tuesday whitewashed Pepsi Academy Under 17 team 9-0 in a friendly match played inside the Agege stadium, Lagos.

Eaglets confirmed their superiority in the first half, scoring six unreplied goals to set the tone for the total wallop-

ing of the Lagos side.

The Emmanuel Amuneke-led team continued the onslaught in second half, scoring another three goals to end the match 9-0.

Orji Okonkwo scored four goals while Ayinde Kehinde added a brace with Auta Joshua, Abdulganiu Dauda and Kingsley Michael scoring the other goals.

better after two games. “ On the final list expected to be released by Keshi, Eguavoen said it was normal for the coach to be developing various ideas on players, tactics, and selection on a daily basis.

“Keshi knows what to do at a time like this.

It is obvious that there would be pressure but I am sure he will deal with it to make Nigerians happy. If there is any issue, it could be an error but overall I expect the team to do well at the World Cup simply because the boys have shown signs of better understanding and maturity,” Eguavoen said.

Moses set to land N62.5m bonus with Reds

Eaglets whitewash Pepsi Academy Charles Ogundiya

see what he can do, and we are hoping and that our move pays off at the end of the day. We are also attaching our coaches to him, so that they can learn one or two tricks from him,” revealed Nesiama.

Speaking further he said; “Some of our athletes are in the US currently to allow for bonding. We observed that we do a lot of training, but not competitive training, sometimes when we go to competitions, we don’t have enough time to really blend, that is why we moved our team early.

Moses

Chimaobi Uchendu

V

ictor Moses and his Liverpool team mates are on bumper individual

bonuses to win the Premier League title.

English tabloid, The Daily Star, reported that the prospects of the Anfield outfit landing a first EPL title was thought so unlikely that no attempts were made to demand mega payments.

One top international at the club agreed the N62.5m (£250,000) bonus, which kicks in as long as he has played more than 50 per cent of games.

And that is understood to be the going rate at Brendan Rodgers’ club, which will benefit to the tune of around £100m if they lift the title.

Moses, who is on loan at the Anfield outfit, has played 17 of the 34 matches so far this season, and will be eligible for both the bonus and a winners medal, should Liverpool go on to win the Premier League title.

Nigerian League Rendezvous

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Ronaldo out of Copa del Rey final Ronaldo

R

eal Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona.

The Portugal forward has not featured for Real since their 3-0 UEFA Champions League quarter-final firstleg win over Borussia Dortmund on April 2 because of a knee complaint.

The former Manchester United man was unavailable for Saturday’s 4-0 La Liga win over Almeria, and will

again be on the sidelines as Real look to repeat what they achieved in 2011 by beating arch rivals Barca in the Copa final.

“Ronaldo will not be there, we know that since this morning (Tuesday),” Ancelotti said. “But the team has always reacted well to absences and will again tomorrow.”

However, the Italian insisted that Real will not alter their approach to compensate for Ronaldo’s absence.

with charles Ogundiya

53

charlesog2001@yahoo.com,

Foreign players invade Glo NPL

Stories: Charles Ogundiya

G

lo Nigeria Premier League has started experiencing g influx of players from the neighbouring West African countries like Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo etc.

In the past, it was Nigerian players seeking greener pasture outside the country, some of them ending in obscure leagues across the world all in the name of becoming foreign professional; however, the reverse is the case now with the coming of the League Management Company. Local players now feel more secure.

Also, their exploit since be-

08098042287

ing given the chance to be part of the national team by the Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has given the players more confidence that they can be recognised whether playing locally or abroad so long as they possess the talent.

For the foreign players, the standard of play, facilities and organisation they enjoy in the league at the moment encourage them to come to Nigeria to ply their trade.

Three foreign players have already featured for Sunshine Stars in the new season, namely Tamen Mendrano from Cameroon, Ibrahim Quttra and Angola

Guyrowland from Cote d’ Ivoire. Another one is waiting to make his debut.

Senegalese duo of Pierre Coly and Ousmane Sane are holding forth in Rangers while Enyimba have their own bunch of foreign legion especially in the attack.

Speaking with New Telegraph, Sunshine Stars midfielder, Mendrano said the exploit of Nigeria home based players in the last two years encouraged some of the foreign players to flock into the country.

“Nigeria home-based players have been doing well for the national team in the past two years; sure there is something special going on in the league and we are here to be part of it, and maybe we can get to our various national teams too,” he said.

Enterprise Bank named official bank of Okpekpe Race

A

watershed in terms of securing corporate sponsorship for the second Okpekpe 10 kilometres road race was achieved on Monday in Lagos, when the organisers, Pamodzi Sports Marketing unveiled Enterprise Bank as the official bank of the annual event.

Disclosing this to the media on Tuesday, Director of Organisation Zak Amodu stated that; “The bank sealed a deal with Pamodzi with a view to help develop and identify with the grassroots and rural connection objective of the

road race.

“The bank will in addition drive the CSR objective of the race as the organisers are desirous of using the race to fight malaria surge in the communities within and around the host town.

Registration forms will be available for interested runners in the bank branches across the country.

“Pamodzi also plans to unveil its full merchandising programme next week in Benin as a legacy to sustain the future of the race financially,” Amodu said.

Peak Milk boosts Eagles World Cup campaign Emmanuel Tobi

A

s part of its commitment in drawing support for the Super Eagles at the 2014 World Cup Brazil, Peak Milk on Tuesday in Lagos launched a campaign tagged “World Class Nutrition, World Class Team.”

Managing Director of Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria PLC, Peter Eshikena, said that Peak Milk launched the campaign because of it believes that the Super Eagles require super nutrition to support their performance during the 2014 World Cup, “Peak milk believed so much in the ability of the Super Eagles as a team and also in Coach Stephen Keshi who is the brand ambassador for the campaign.

“As the official milk of the Super Eagles, we believe the campaign will galvanise a huge support for the team as well as inspiring them to achieve success in Brazil,” he added.

According Ore Famurewa, Public and Regulatory Affairs Manager; “Peak shows its continuous support to enhancing the body and mind performance of Nigerians; encouraging them to believe in themselves. Peak is positioned as the provider of super nutrition required for consumers to reach their ‘Peak’ in whatever they do.”

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi was the guest of the occasion.

Warri Wolves defender Azubuike Egwuekwe during his traditional wedding

Internal wranglings, bane of 3SC – Pascal

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ormer Shooting Stars of Ibadan player, Patrick Pascal, has said that his former club must decide to do things the right way and sort out the internal wrangling affecting the team so that they can move forward.

Shooting Stars are currently playing in the lower division after the team got relegated at the end of last

season.

Speaking to New Telegraph, Pascal said; “Shooting Stars are my club, but there is need to handle things professionally. You can’t mix politics with football which has been the problem of Shooting Stars.

“They have to put the right people in place to handle the team not minding where the person

comes from. In a situation where there is the thinking that it is only an indigene that can develop the club whether the person has the knowledge or not, then there is a problem “I really want 3SC to regain their lost glory, but it will be difficult with the way they are handling things at the moment,” he said.

Weather will favour Eagles in Brazil – McManaman Ifeanyi Ibeh

F

ormer Liverpool and Real Madrid star, Steve McManaman, believes the humid weather in Brazil by the time the World Cup gets underway in June, will work in Nigeria’s favour.

With the World Cup taking place at a time when most of Brazil will be experiencing high levels of humidity, teams from low humid areas are likely to find the going tough expected to suffer on the

pitch as, the moment the players step out of an air-conditioned environment, they begin to sweat profusely.

The former England international feels that the weather should give an edge to the Super Eagles over Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the race for who joins Argentina in the knockout rounds from Group F. “Iran has a difficult task to qualify for the second round,” said McManaman, when asked by the Iranian news agency, ISNA, on the Asian nation’s chances of

qualifying for the round of 16.

“Nigeria is a more experienced team than Iran. Also, humid weather in Brazil will be a privilege for the African team.

Without a doubt, Argentina will advance to the next stage as the first team. Three other teams will have to compete for the second place,” added McManaman, who expects Argentina to give Brazil a run for the title.

“Argentina is a favourite to win the World Cup. The team could be a serious rival for host Brazil,” he added.

54

Sanctity of Truth

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Fashanu okays Mikel, Moses despite bench roles C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

capable of causing upsets in Brazil.

“Football that I know is all about teamwork, not a one man’s show, and it is impossible to feature all the players at the same time. Some must be on the bench, especially in a situation where a club has too many good players,” said Fashanu.

“What some of our players in Europe are experiencing is not new, and for me it does not suggest loss of form.

These players we are talking about train with their contemporaries week in, week out. That they are unable to make the first team at their various clubs does not totally rule them out.

“The Super Eagles will spring surprises in Brazil and, probably, this bench warming role of key players may even turn out to be a blessing in disguise because coming to the World Cup, they would want to prove everyone who has written them off wrong through the performance they would put up.”

In Brazil, the Super Eagles will be up against Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Argentina in Group F, and while Fashanu is optimistic of Nigeria’s chances against the Iranians and Bosnians, he refused to be drawn into who is likely

to come out on top when they take on Argentina in their final group game.

“Keshi and his team have been doing very well, and I have confidence that the Super Eagles will shine in Brazil. I believe Nigeria will qualify from their group but what I cannot be able to tell you is how the NigeriaArgentina match will end because it can go either way. All they need to do is to play with determination and believe in one another,” he added.

Nigeria’s Ogwumike tops WNBA draft pick

Ogwumike

IfeanyiIbeh

S

tanford University star, Chiney Ogwumike, was in the early hours of Tuesday selected by the Connecticut Sun of the Women’s Na-

Abuja stadium ready in two months -nsc C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

know, the centenary celebration was a very important one and when the government decided that the activities were to take place at the stadium, we swung into action to find a way of doing it with minimal damage. You know that the stadium had just taken us over one year to re-grass before that event.

“There were a lot of options including one where you can use the pitch with the use of synthetic terra-floor to cover it and then erect your stage without damaging the grass; it is new technology we could have considered but for the constraint of time because we had to do shipping and all that, but

at the end we decided to localise the area by suspending most part of the stage and only a few places were on the grass which made it easy for the grass to recover as quickly as you have seen”.

On when the pitch can host a grade A football match or any other sporting activity for that matter, Shehu said “Give and take at most I will say in another one and half months we should be ready to start playing on the pitch but in the worst case scenario, I will say two months because we do not want to rush it, we want to have the pitch to its original standard; we are really close to that stage and we will not do it in a hurry and that is why I say at most in two months’ time.”

Granada win over Barca excites Ighalo

Newcastle will bounce back- Ameobi

Emmanuel Tobi

G

ranada of Spain striker, Odion Ighalo, has expressed excitement with his team’s 1-0 victory Spanish La Liga champion, Barcelona, at the weekend.

Barcelona’s poor run hit a new low when they followed up their Champions League exit with a shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at Granada on Saturday that left their bid for a fifth title in six years in serious jeopardy.

The Spanish champions again looked lethargic and short of ideas, however, against a club with a fraction of their resources and were undone when Alex Song surrendered possession in midfield in the 16th minute and Yacine Brahimi raced clear and fired past Jose Manuel Pinto.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with New Telegraph from his base in Spain, Ighalo, who was on the bench throughout the match said, “It was a great match and getting a win against Barcelona is a great motivation for us.”

The former Flying Eagles captain who just returned from an injury spell maintained that the win have boosted their fight against relegation.

“We have always fought hard to maintain our status in the La liga since we got promoted about three seasons ago, this win against Barcelona has reiterated our belief in the fight against relegation.”

It will be recalled that Ighalo and former Golden Eaglets star striker, Isaac Success, were on the substitutes’ bench as Granada ran out with a 1-0 win over Barcelona.

tional Basketball Association as the number one pick in the 2014 WNBA draft.

Her selection came two years after her older sister, Nneka Ogwumike, who also attended Stanford University, was selected as the top pick in the 2012 WNBA draft by Los Angeles Sparks, and they are the only siblings in the history of the foremost women’s basketball league in the world, to be chosen first in the WNBA. “To be picked number one in front of those Connecticut fans with my family and sister, it’s unreal,” Ogwumike said, at the end of the ceremony, which took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena, where Connecticut Sun play their home games.

American football stars, Peyton and Eli Manning, are the only other siblings to be taken number one in the history of the four major American professional sports: American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.

“When someone told me that I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s pretty cool,’ “ Ogwumike said.

“We fell into the sport and found our passion in it and now it’s life.

“To share that moment with my sister, she’s the reason I play, and to be called a number one draft pick is inconceivable,” added Ogwumike, who finished her stellar career at Stanford as the top scorer and rebounder in Pac-12 Conference history.

Her selection with the top draft pick drew loud cheers from the crowd at the draft venue.

The 2014 draft was the first time fans were allowed to attend the ceremony since it was held in Tampa in 2008.

Ajibade Olusesan

S Lagos Islanders’ Chiwendu Nwaigbo (right) trying to dribble Kwara Falcon’s Seyi Ajileye during the 2014 Nigeria DStv Premier Basketball League at the National Stadium, Surulere at the weekend. Lagos Islanders won by 73-55 points

Eagles must surpass previous World Cup record -Green

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igeria Football Federation executive committee member, Chris Green, says Nigeria’s target is to surpass previous World Cup record.

The country’s best efforts have been second round placing in 1994 and 1998, but Green says that is no longer good enough.

“We don’t want to take anything for granted. Our target in Brazil is to surpass our previous records at the World Cup,” he said.

Green said the NFF is doing everything to help coach Stephen Keshi in his preparations.

“We have the team to achieve our objective, and we are committed to giving the coach all the support he needs to help

him succeed.

“As a federation, we have worked hard to improve the position and status of Nigerian football from the days when everything that could go wrong always seemed to do so.

“Now, there are no more cases of friendlies on the pages of newspapers, or cancelled friendlies, or picking players from the streets to play matches in obscure places.

“We have also secured a very good, world-class base for the team in Brazil that everyone is happy about, and we are working even harder behind the scenes to make sure this team does well at the World Cup.”

uper Eagles striker, Shola Ameobi, has urged the fans of his Premier League club, Newcastle, to stay calm despite facing turbulent period.

Newcastle’s fortune has taken a bad turn in recent times. The Magpies have lost four games in a row and are now sitting 9th on the table with 46 points. But Ameobi said the club would end the bad run soon.

“The fans are obviously frustrated, and that’s understandable. When you lose four in a row, it’s going to be very frustrating and no one’s enjoying the position we’re in.

“As players, we find ourselves in a tough situation at the moment and it’s no use disguising that. It’s not for a lack of trying though. I think we showed against Stoke that we desperately wanted to get something out of the game. We just have to keep on plugging away.

“I’ve been at Newcastle for long enough now to know that things can go from very bad to very good in a short space of time.

It’s not the first time we’ve had a tough situation at Newcastle, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. We just have to keep on working hard, and hopefully it’ll turn.”

NEWS 55

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Insecurity: Confab wants Nigeria's northern borders closed Onwuka Nzeshi and Lateef Ibrahim ABUJA

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elegates to the ongoing national conference yesterday asked the Federal Government to shut down Nigeria's borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroun as a way of stemming the tide of insurgency and acts of terrorism in the North East geo-political zone of the country.

The demand came during the plenary session of the conference as delegates reacted to news reports that about a hundred young school girls had been abducted from

a school dormitory in Chibok, Borno State. The news of the kidnap of the school girls came a day after about seventy persons died in a bomb blast that occurred at the Nyanya Mass Transit Park on the outskirts of Abuja.

Former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba said the level of insecurity had reached a critical level that the federal government should take some drastic steps to halt the terrorists and insurgents before they overran the entire country. He suggested that in order to safeguard the country, Nigeria 's borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger should be

sealed immediately.

"Nigeria is in a state of war. I see that gradually the economy of the North is being destroyed. How can we invite any foreign investor to come and invest in any part of the North with the current level of insecurity. Gradually the educational system is being destroyed. These 100 school girls have not committed any offence. Our government should consider closing these borders to safeguard our country.

We must do all we can do to safeguard lives and property of Nigerians. The death of one Nigerian is the death all of us, " Osoba said.

The ex-governor also suggested that the secretariat of the conference should lead a delegation to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan to convey the concern of the conference delegates over the worsening insecurity in the country. He said that the conference must demonstrate that it is deeply disturbed by the insecurity not only in the North East but in other parts of the country.

In his own contribution, former Minister of Communications, General Tanko Ayuba, a delegate of the North West zone condemned the wave of insecurity and blamed it

L-R: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State; the representative, Department of Petroleum Resources, O. A. Adeleke and Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ade Abolurin during the Delta State Annual Oil and Gas Conference in Warri…yesterday

Bakare, other delegates want confab halted Lateef Ibrahim and Onwuka Nzeshi Abuja

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ISTURBED by unending bomb blasts, abduction and increasing wave of insecurity in the country generally, some delegates to the on-going national conference in Abuja yesterday pushed for the temporary halting of the assembly pending when the situation would normalize.

The delegates, who were visibly worried during deliberation at the plenary session of the conference yesterday, equally harped on the need to urgently seek an audience with President Goodluck Jonathan for proper briefing on the steps being taken by him to address the se-

curity challenges confronting Nigeria.

The proposal to bring the conference, which is a month old, to temporary halt, came following the bomb blast in Nyanya, Abuja on Monday which led to the deaths of over one hundred innocent people as well another report that over 100 female students of Federal Government Girls College, Chibok in Borno State, were on Monday night abducted by people suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram and taken to an unknown location.

The information about the abduction of the 100 female students was brought to the notice of the delegates by the Deputy Chairman of the Conference, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi

shortly after the release of committees list.

While contributing to discussion on the issue of insecurity in the country, particularly the Abuja bomb blast and the abduction of the female students, Pastor Tunde Bakare, South-West delegate, Alhaji Mumuni Abubakar, retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Mosunmola Umoru, a youth delegate, among others, specifically made case for the conference to be suspended, while solution is found to the insecurity in the nation.

But Iyom Josephine Anenih, Elder Statesman delegate, sharply disagreed with the suggestion that the conference be suspended; pointing out that such would

amount to self defeatist approach.

Pastor Bakare, in leading debate for the halting of the one-month old conference, pointed out that it was very imperative to send a strong signal to Nigerians that the delegates are equally as concerned as the people, particularly when all efforts at curtailing the insecurity in the nation seem not to be working out.

In the words of Bakare, “Let us send a very strong signal from this conference to the government on the need to bring the conference to a halt. All our efforts seem not to be working. Let us take a stand that this conference is about Nigeria and Nigerians. A death to one is a death to all”.

on systemic failure of the security and intelligence agencies in the country.

Ayuba lamented that a lot of damage has been done to innocent Nigerians and expressed concern that the security agencies appeared not to have responded adequately to the crisis.

"To me, it would appear as if there is a total system failure on the part of the government; system

failure on the part of the Armed Forces and system failure on the part of the intelligence agencies.

There is apparently no coordination. If you haven't got communication; if you haven't got intelligence, then you haven't got nothing. No battle, no war can be fought without timely intelligence and information and these are apparently lacking," he said.

Shun religious rivalry, Catholic secretariat tells delegates Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

T

he Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has described the acrimony at the on-going National Conference among Muslim and Christian delegates as a misplacement of priorities and an anomaly.

The Secretariat maintained that religion has always been a contentious issue in the Nigerian nation, and would always be as long as the country exists, warning that it can never break up the country.

The National Coordinator of the CSN Nigeria for Life Campaign Team, Dr. Bernard Mbah who made the observations in a statement issued in Abuja yes-

terday appealed to both the Muslim and Christian delegates at the conference to let go of religious differences and unite to protect life and integrity of human beings.

He noted that the tenets and teachings of the two religions promote peace, love, life and integrity of the human being as a creature of God His words: “We members of the Nigeria For Life Campaign Team therefore appeal to our Christian and Muslim delegates to shed the toga of religion and unite to protect life and the integrity of the human person, so as to write their names in gold on the sands of time in the annals of the country's history.”

Insist on unity in diversity, Ohanaeze urges South East delegates Jude Opara Abuja

S

outh East delegates to the on-going National conference in Abuja have been told to be focused on issues that promote national integration rather than dissipate energies on issues that undermine the unity and peaceful coexistence of Nigeria.

Giving the advice, Ohanaeze Nd ‘Igbo, the pan-Igbo socio-cultural group also said the Nd’Igbo would be better off with the continuous existence of corporate Nigeria which must be a product of a frantic discussion that will produce the terms of living together within the com-

mon space for a prosperous country.

The advice was given through its president, Chief Emeka Mbagha, when the Ohanaeze Nd ‘Igbo hosted delegates from the South-East in Abuja to present the position of the region as a guide as they engage other delegates on the floor of the conference.

“The criticism or threats to the corporate existence of Nigeria notwithstanding, we the Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo in FCT Abuja have resolved that Nd’Igbo are better off and will continue to be better off in Nigeria.

However, it’s imperative that we discuss and agree on how to live together as one people".

World Record

On Marble To live is the rarest thing in the world.

Most people exist, that is all.

– Oscar Wilde

Sanctity of Truth w w w. new tel eg rap ho nl i ne. co m

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth – Buddha WEDNESday, APRIL 16, 2014

N150

Of farmers and herdsmen T IvoryGlory he now incessant and intensifying violent struggles between Farmers and Herdsmen in many parts of Northern Nigeria have widened the theatres of conflict in Nigeria stretching the capacity of national security apparatus. To be sure, the transition from hunters and gatherers societies to the agricultural and pastoral societies some twenty thousand years ago opened the fault lines culminating in inter-communal mutual suspicious among the then disparate primitive non-literate societies.

In the years of yore, these were seen as mere misunderstandings, which were quickly resolved. While the Country is at sea, trying to fathom what to do with the dreaded Boko Haram, another monster is on the ascendancy, which if not properly handled, will tear further the lines of unity in Nigeria, destroying the basis of national cohesion and integration. There may yet be a sinister coincidence with the rise of Boko Haram and the internecine violent merchandising of the Fulani Herdsmen. It calls for further introspection and security studies. With the blood chilling scenes, maiming, killing and sacking of whole communities, villages and hamlets, this new national malaise needs not be treated with kid’s gloves.

Several Nigerians were gobsmacked that Governor Gabriel Suswan, of Benue State, could face for 30 minutes the brazen attack by these herdsmen, or band of marauders. Hitherto, the usual struggle between these groups, only had limited use of bows, arrows, swords, and possibly dane guns.

Recently, the media was awash with stores of suspected use of biological or chemical weapons by the Fulani Herdsmen. Several persons, running into hundreds have been killed, yet the situation is not abating but only promising dangerously to envelop the whole nation. From Adamawa to Sokoto, Taraba, Benue, Zamfara, Kogi to the Plateau, the story is the same. Indeed, no State in the entire Northern Nigeria is safe. The possibility that it will, if left unchecked get to Enugu, Anambra, Rivers, Imo, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Bayelsa and other parts of Western Nigeria makes it compelling that we seek a proper diagnosis and solution to the problem. Therefore, we need to undertake a contextual, though dialectical interrogation of this social problem, the reasons underlying its varying manifestations, the dynamics of the problem, and possible remedies. A thorough and proper dissection of the material dialectics and supporting values that have fuelled this new reign of violence will be very useful.

Nkemdili Nnonyelu

aunnonyelu@yahoo.co.uk - 08122801926 (sms only)

Herdsmen by nature are itinerant pastoralists, moving from place to place grazing their cattle. Not given to sedentary habitation, they live in the wild, acquiring little or no property. Also given their nomadic lifestyles, the Herdsmen acquire elementary tools of warfare for self-defence, and protection of their cattle from preying wild animals and other intruders. Individual and societal progress, to these Herders, is premised on tending of domesticated animals for their subsistence. For reasons associated with topography and climate change, the Herdsmen migrate from place to place, occasionally coming into contact with settled Communities. This contact may be peaceful or harmonious, but most times, it usually becomes conflict prone. To the Herdsmen their life is their Cattle.

On the other hand, Agrarian societies are typically small rural communities. Whose livelihood depends almost exclusively on subsistence agriculture? Using primitive tools, hoes and cutlasses, and presently other modern farming methods and implements, are able to cultivate large expanse of land. Given their sedentary character, they acquire and build permanent material possessions.

It seems to me that the resurgence and widening nature of the violent contestations between the farmers and Herders should be located squarely in a matrix of factors, chief of which is the political ecology. There is no doubt that it is one of the livelihood conflicts that are beginning to tear asunder the fragile nature of the emerging under-developed States in Africa. Precipitated by some push and pull factors, mainly through climate change, the Fulani pastoralists have had to wander away from severe zones in Central and West Africa to parts of Nigeria in search of the green pasture for their flock. Desertification and other ecological factors have put pressure on them, made their old places of grazing no longer conducive. With a world view and perverted logic, the Herders carry on their occupational duties oblivious of the rights of others. Indeed the claims that the cattle rearers had for centuries moved from the futajallon mountains, to the Cameroons, Chad and Niger, down to the forest grasslands of the country does not justify the current malicious plot to bring to extinction

March 6, 1922: Babe Ruth signs a threeyear deal with the Yankees. The contract is worth $52,000, making him the highest paid player in history.

settled peaceful farming communities. After all, when the cattle rearers tend their Cattle, they sell them, make millions of naira. How this turns to be altruistic superior reason that will warrant the continued assault by the Herdsmen of these hapless agrarian communities, is inexplicable. Who are the targets of attack of these Fulani Herdsmen? Do they also attack fellow Fulanis? I doubt. The evidence on ground suggests that treating the violent confrontation between the Herders and farmers as a mere inter-communal strife may be flawed, and a complete misdiagnosis of the problem. The attacks have shown a consistent, well planned and executed assault. Are these assaults, disguised ethnic cleansings for pecuniary motives? There is no reason whatsoever, why in today’s day and age, Herders would be encouraged to have unhindered, destructive access into peoples farmland, as if the entire country is configured in a skewed manner to advance and sustain unbridled mercantilism of the Herdsmen. It is this same type of warped thinking and world view that may have informed Dr. Usman Bugaje’s submission that the entire country belongs to his own classification of the North, whatever that means. If the North were to be one monolithic whole, the intense bloodshed and near extinction of some northern communities by their supposed neighbours would not have been contemplated. The supporting conduct norms and values built on the supposed borderless rights of the Fulani Herdsmen have emboldened them, and predisposed the Herders to carry out their nefarious attacks on these farming Communities.

With population explosion, environmental scarcity and degradation, the pressure for survival will take its toll on the different groups.

Like several other problems in Nigeria, the neo-patrimonial and pre-bendal character of the Nigerian State is also a major factor as poor governance, corruption, unemployment, lack of social security mechanisms and widening inequality create the conditions for these types of conflict to flourish.

Besides, the land tenure system, the absence of a streamlined property and land rights may be recipe for chaos. In the midst of poor governance, further accentuated by shrinking nature of God’s gift – environmental re-

source, it is not difficult to see that this ugly problem has come to stay, if we fail to act, and promptly too. The way to go is to first, carry out a comprehensive review of the Nation’s intelligence and security infrastructure in a way to elicit prompt security signals, and secondly, to hold periodic discussions or inter-communal dialogue between the Herders representatives – Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association and the different host communities housing the grazing routes. Massive enlightenment is a necessary starting point. National Orientation Agency should consider building bridges as a priority. This would reduce the propensity to fight between the Herdsmen and the aggrieved farmers.

Thirdly, it is an indictment of national planning to still see these Nomads roaming the streets, airports, roads, forest as they move from place to place. More perceptive leaders would have created ranches over some designated areas where these herders would tend their Cattle. These ranches would be unencumbered grazing fields, and provided through modern technology enough critical pasture all year round. This would ensure the security of grazing fields that are not encroached by farmers which is usually seen as an invitation to war by these Herdsmen. Fourthly, youth employment, modern agricultural revolution, education would enhance the capacity and livelihood potentials of a great many of these youngsters who would then put their immense creative energy to productive use. It is thus clear to the discerning observer that the protracted and internecine violent conflicts between farmers and Herdsmen have so much to do with environmental scarcity, climate change and politico economic cum social factors.

OmoBaba

WE ‘LL OVERCOME BOKO HARAM SOON - Jonathan

- Soon, soon. How soon?

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