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Thursday, March 6, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 16

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Nigeria’s most authoritative newspaper in politics and business

I don’t know my real age, says Obasanjo Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

F

or mer President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday admitted

publicly that he does not know his real age.

The official record states that Obasanjo was born on March 5, 1937.

Officially, he was 77 yes-

terday.

Speaking at an African Regional Summit organised as part of activities marking his “77th birthday” in Abeokuta,

Obasanjo took a retrospective look at his life and submitted that he had indeed been very lucky for many things.

The event, held at the

Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State was organised by the Centre for Human SecuCONTINUED ON PAGE 3

US freezes $458m Abacha assets Page } 4

How Jonathan’s visit to Kwara cost minister his job

lThe Bukola Saraki connection lSports Minister on way to Poland when sacked SACK Loyalty to Senator Bukola Saraki may have led to Bolaji Abdullahi’s ouster

Biodun Oyeleye and Anule Emmanuel

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, succumbed to pressures by sacking the

Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, over his relationship with Senator Bukola Saraki.

Abdullahi was airborne to Poland for the world athletics indoor

The new ministers being sworn-in at the Presidential Villa, Abuja...yesterday

RESTRICTION EFCC may probe sacked aviation chiefs as security agencies seize their travelling documents

championship when the President sacked him.

His sack was announced during the swearing-in of 11 new ministers at the Council Chamber of the Presiden-

tial Villa yesterday.

“As I am talking to you, I am not sure he (Abdullahi) has even got the message of his sack, because he is air borne on his way to Poland for the world

athletics indoor championship,” Julius Ogunro, the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Abdullahi, said, lamenting the removal of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Photo: Timothy Ikuomenisan

Sacked aviation chiefs’ passports seized Wole Shadare

A

day after they were removed from office

by President Goodluck Jonathan, some of the sacked aviation chiefs had their travelling docu-

AT A GLANCE

ments seized by security operatives yesterday.

The latest action fuelled speculations that

the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions (EFCC) may swoop on them with a view to

INSIDE

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BUSINESS

LAW

Shell to sell N480 billion Nigerian assets Page 4

Braithwaite: There won’t be elections in 2015 unless…

Page 15

Ships divert N54. 81bn rice to Benin port Page 29

Only lawyers without footprints seek abolition of SAN – Fagbemi Page 23

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Opinions. . . . . . . . . . .

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Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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ascertaining alleged financial impropriety that a source said arose from CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Lagos

Partially Cloudy O O

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How Jonathan’s visit to Kwara cost Abdullahi his job CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

now former minister by Jonathan.

Jonathan had on February 12 sacked four ministers. They included Stella Oduah (Aviation), Godswill Orubebe (Niger Delta), Caleb Olubolade (Police Affairs) and Yerima Ngama (State for Finance).

Again, on Tuesday he sacked all the heads of the aviation agencies.

Abdullahi’s inability to openly side with the president against Saraki in the crisis that rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was part of his undoing.

Saraki is the arrowhead of the splinter group in the Peoples Democratic

Party (PDP), the New PDP that has fused into the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Kwara PDP had accused the sacked minister of not showing enough commitment to the Jonathan re-election bid, insisting that he refused to mobilise crowd during the President’s visit to Ilorin, the state capital, on Monday.

New Telegraph reliably learnt that the Chairman, PDP Caretaker Committee in Kwara State, Solomon Edoga, told Jonathan many times to sack Abdullahi because he is still romancing the Saraki family.

Bukola Saraki is his mentor and nominated

NEW MINISTERS

• General Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara) – Defence • Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos) - Defence (State) • Aminu Wali (Kano) - Foreign Affairs • Boni Haruna (Adamawa ) - Youth Development.

• Mrs. Lawrencia Laraba Mallam (Kaduna) - Environment • Mrs. Akon Etim Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom) - Lands, Housing and • • • • •

Urban Development.

Mohammed Wakil (Borno) - Power (State) Oyewale Adesiyan (Osun) - Police Affairs Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto) – Health (State) Mrs. Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger) – Agriculture (State) Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers) - Sports

him as a minister.

During President’s visit on Monday, the sacked minister got up with the president but he was not acknowledged by the master of ceremony at all.

It was learnt that the leadership of the PDP in Kwara State had on several occasions appealed to

Jonathan to sack Abdullahi over his alleged relationship with the opposition, particularly the APC. He was accused of using his office as minister to fund the APC elements in the state who were his colleagues when he was commissioner.

L-R: Mrs. Bolanle Obasanjo; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Olowu of Owu, Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu during the 77th birthday celebration of Obasanjo at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Complex, Abeokuta… yesterday.

774,000

14

8.140bn

The total number of bit coins lost by Mt. Gox (who declared bankruptcy) due to technical problems for months.

Source: Factmonster.com

The number of countries in the Australia/Oceania.

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

The projected total population of the world by 2030.

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

Stakeholders particularly cited his relationship with the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Razak Atunwa.

During the swearingin of the ministers, Jonathan did not make mention of the fate of Abdullahi.

At the brief ceremony, Jonathan challenged the new ministers to bring creativity to bear in their new assignment in ensuring the government succeeds in delivering dividends of democracy to the people.

The President disclosed that another set of ministers will come in by Thursday next week.

“Public office is public trust and you owe the people a public good. We must listen to the people.

I want you to see yourselves as servants. If by the time you are leaving, you cannot say that you have brought some innovations with your creativity, then you have failed.

“Your duty is to ensure that you bring positive changes. You have to relate well with your colleagues. Because of the conflict between the ministers and ministers of state, we will make sure we review the schedules to curtail such conflicts,” the President said.

The ministers and their new portfolios include Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara), Minister of Defence; Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Minister of State for Defence; Alhaji Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Minister of State for Power; Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan (Osun), Minister of Police

Sacked aviation chiefs’ passports seized CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

avalanche of petitions against some of them.

A source, who is very close to one of the sacked chief executives, told New Telegraph that securitymen had seized their passports and other travel documents.

According to the source: “Panic has gripped virtually all of them. I was just informed that security operatives

collected their travel documents. Nobody knows the reason for this action, but it shows that they might be asked to give account of their stewardship. Let us hope it is just a routine for them to clarify some grey areas in application of funds on some projects”.

Jonathan had on Tuesday sacked the Managing Directors of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr.

Nnamdi Udoh, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), George Uriesi and the DirectorGeneral of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Folayele Akinkuotu.

Others were the Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Capt. Chinyere Kalu.

The Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Captain

Muktar Usman, replaces Akinkuotu.

The Director-General of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Dr. Anthony Anuforom retains his position.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE), an umbrella body of aircraft engineers, has commended Jonathan for demonstrating continuity of the ongoing transforma-

tion agenda of the government by appointing a seasoned engineer as the managing director of NAMA. A statement signed by NAAE Secretary, Ojar Opah, stated that the appointment of Ibrahim Abdusalam, a highly-rated air traffic safety electronics personnel, would consolidate on the gains of the on-going process and continue the transformation.

Affairs and Alhaji Aminu Wali (Kano), Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Others are Mrs Akon Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom), Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development; Mrs Lawrencia Laraba-Mallam (Kaduna), Minister of Environment; Dr Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers), Minister of Sports and Hajia Asabe Ahmed (Niger), Minister of State, Agriculture.

The rest are Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Minister of Youth Development and Dr. Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto), Minister of State, Health.

However, the Kwara State chapter of the APC yesterday denied insinuations that the former Sports Minister was a member of the party.

APC, in a statement by its interim publicity secretary in the state, Alhaji Buhari Sulyman, lamented that the sack of Abdullahi as Sports Minister, three months to the World Cup, gives a wrong impression of the quality of advice available to the Presidency and is evidence of “the triumph of CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST PORT HARCOURT

33o 23o Thunder Storm

ABUJA

38o 25o Partial Cloudy

KANO

37o 16o Sunny

ENUGU

36o 24o Thunder Storm

IBADAN

13o 7o Partially Cloudy

CALABAR

32o 23o Storm

MAIDUGURI

39o 19o Sunny

ONITSHA

34o 24o Thunder Storm

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

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I was born on Ifo Market day, says Obasanjo CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

rity in conjunction with the UNESCO Institute for African Culture and International Understanding.

Dignitaries in attendance included Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Segun Oni, former Minister of Education, Professor Babalola Borishade, former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, immediate past chairman of SUREP, Dr Christopher Kolade, and Sierra Leone’s Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Dr Minkailu Bah. Others were former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, state Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye, former Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Prof.

Oye Ibidapo-Obe, Prof.

Akin Mabogunje and the Olowu of Owu, Oba Olusanya Dosunmu.

While responding to remarks by Oba Dosunmu, who had earlier stated that Obasanjo was more than 77 years, the ex-president said he was “born on Ifo market day.”

He, however, noted that the only indicator to

his actual birthday could be deduced from the age of his long-time friend and Olubara of Ibara, Oba Jacob Omolade.

Obasanjo said: “There are those of us like me who have no real record of birth like me. I want to thank God once again for what He has done in my life. Whether I know the exact date of my birth or not, I think God has made my path glorious.

“I was actually born on Ifo market day because, according to my mother in our village, she had prepared to go to Ifo market and Ifo market is every five days. And then she was under labour. Before those who went to Ifo market had come back, I was born. I know and she knew I was born on Ifo market day. Don’t ask me what year or month.”

The ex-president’s comments drew laughter and thunderous applause from the audience.

Obasanjo also expressed appreciation to President Goodluck Jonathan for “congratulating me on this day of my official birthday.”

He further added: “I have been very lucky for many things. At one occasion, I said God has never disappointed me and a

journalist, who thinks that he knows too much, asked if I had disappointed God. I said, of course.

As long as I am living on flesh and blood, I am liable to be unworthy in what I have strive to meet the standard of what God expects of me.

“God has never taken my shortcomings, my

failures and all that. He hasn’t counted them against me because if He had, I would have been consumed. So, God has really sustained me with His grace, mercy, goodness and compassion.”

Obasanjo, who thanked well-meaning individuals and students who came to felicitate with him, said

there was still hope for Nigeria.

When you listen to these younger ones, you cannot but agree that there is hope for this country. When you hear them, listen to them and you feel proud”.

Earlier in his goodwill message, Dosunmu described Obasanjo as

“humane,” adding that the former president’s commitment to Nigeria’s unity was not accidental.

“When you speak against the unity of Nigeria, you would see the red of Obasanjo’s eye. It is not by accident, it is in-built.

He fears God and honours all human beings,” the traditional ruler added.

L-R: First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan; wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Helen Mark; wife of Delta State Governor, Mrs. Roli Uduaghan and others, during a visit by Delta State women leaders on the First Lady at the Aso Villa, Abuja…yesterday PHOTO:TIMOTHY IKUOMEISAN

0.4

$360m

$2,700m

The purchasing power of Zimbabwe per cent of the United States (the world’s lowest).

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

The total military expenditures of Nigeria (dollar figure) (2000 est.).

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (2012 est.).

Source: Theodera.com

Abdullahi, not our member, says APC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

politics over excellence.”

The party said although the former minister is not known to them as a party, APC was still proud of his great achievements, as an indigene of the state, in the Ministry of Sports.

Sulyman said: “We concede the fact that Mr. President reserves the powers to hire and fire.

In the exercise of such powers, however, international best practices demand that excellence and competence should not be traded on the altar of politics.

“That a President could sack a performing Sports Minister three months to the World Cup speaks volume of the quality of Nigerian Presidency. This nature of politics is anti-people

and anti-development.

“It bears repeating that the achievements of Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi are known to Nigerians and can hardly ever be captured by any book. As the Minister of Sports, he steered the ministry’s ship to stardom and catapulted the nation’s sports sector to world class standard.

“Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi is the most successful Sports Minister in recent times and arguably the best Minister in Federal Executive Council (FEC).

By this sack, the President Jonathan administration has lost what is remaining of its credibility.”

Also, mixed reactions on Wednesday trailed the dropping of Abdullahi.

Some Abuja-based sports stakeholders said Abdullahi’s removal would not stop the coun-

try’s sports development.

However, some other stakeholders said his exit could have a detrimental effect on growth in the sports sector.

In his reaction, Victor Orji, President of the Federation of Public Service Games (FEPSGA), said the development would not have any negative impact on sports development in the country.

“Government is a continuum. So, the new minister will just have to continue with the development programmes on ground.

Since the Director-General of the National Sports Commission and the other directors are still on ground, they will not want to disrupt the good things the former minister has put in place,” he said.

Orji, however, commended Abdullahi for

transforming the sports sector and bringing Nigeria back to winning ways.

Coach Erasmus Onuh, a former coach of Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) Football Club of Ilorin, said Abdullahi’s replacement would give him an opportunity to seek higher political office.

“There is nothing wrong in his removal, because it is a routine thing to be appointed and dropped in the Presidency.

“Abdullahi has done well within the period he occupied the office. So, he has no cause to regret his removal. His works have spoken for him,” Onuh said.

National beach volleyball coach, Chakuma Ismail, said Abdullahi’s removal at the time Nigeria was witnessing positive changes in sports could

be a disservice.

“He has contributed very well, even though we don’t know the reasons for his removal,” he said.

Coach Zulu Usman of FCT volleyball team expressed fears that Abdullahi’s programmes might be halted by the new minister, and said this could affect the progress on ground.

“I was not happy when I heard that he has been removed in his absence while on national assignment in Poland. Now, his outlined plans and programmes may be altered by the new person coming and this is not good for us, especially now that we are witnessing good times in most of our sports.

“Abdullahi has a good record because we recorded more successes during his stay, more than some

other sports ministers, and I feel he should have been left to continue,” he said.

Ogunro enumerated the achievements of Abdullahi to include the convening of the Presidential Retreat on Sports and the peace deal struck between warring parties in the Nigerian football circle.

Ogunro further listed Abdullahi’s achievements to include the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) won by Nigeria after 19 years and the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. “Other achievements include the establishment of the League Management Company (LMC) to reposition the elite domestic league and the introduction of the National Youth Games (NYG), among others,” he said.

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Ekiti: PDP will defeat APC, says Olubolade Onyekachi Eze Abuja

A

former Minister of Police Affairs who is also an aspirant to the Ekiti State governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd), has

assured that he would not leave the party even if he fails to pick the PDP ticket for the election.

Olubolade, who was at the PDP National Secretariat yesterday to submit his nomination form, however, expressed confidence that he would emerge the PDP candidate for the

June 21 governorship election.

“I am a strong member of the Peoples Democratic Party. I will never decamp from the party”, he assured.

He was confident that PDP will win Ekiti State “because the government in the state lacks the ca-

pacity to develop the state.

There is no infrastructure except the few roads they are parading. The people were promised free health care; there is no free health care. The schools are not equipped. So, it makes it easy for PDP to win”, he added.

Olubolade disclosed

that the aspirants are meeting with a view to arriving at a consensus candidate, adding that what was going well for the PDP is the unity among the aspirants, majority of whom, he said were disposed to consensus candidacy.

The aspirant, a former military administrator of Bayelsa State, said he would bring joy to the people of Ekiti State if he wins the governorship, adding: “Governorship is not about giving lectures; it is about hard work. I will carry the people along and

bring transparency in governance”.

Flaunting his credentials, Olubolade said there is nothing wrong if he reaps from his past services both as a military administrator, Naval officer and as minister, disclosing that his sojourn to the Police Affairs Ministry was a blessing “because I have done a few things there. The Police Academy in Wudil (Kano State) is now a degree awarding.

Funding of police has improved; the image of the police has improved”.

Protect our democracy from further disasters, Amaechi urges Reps Joe Ezuma

Port Harcourt

G L-R: Head, European Union (EU) in Nigeria, Ambassador Michel Arrion; Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and First Secretary, Massimo de Luca, during a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House, Minna...yesterday.

657.2bn

$9.12m

19

The total natural gas consumption of United States (in cubic metres).

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

The total aid received by Iraq in 2007 (the largest aid recipient).

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

The age (in years) a citizen of Belgium is admitted into the military.

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

Shell to sell N480bn Nigerian assets Adeola Yusuf

R

oyal Dutch Shell has placed another batch of assets in Nigeria worth N480 billion ($3 billion) for sale, New Telegraph learnt yesterday.

The assets include the stakes in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 18 where Shell’s subsidiary in Nigeria, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) operates the gas plant at Alakiri Creek as well as the troubled 97-kilometres Nembe Creek oil pipeline.

“The oil giant is selling its 30 per cent stake in four oil blocs, owned jointly with France’s Total and Italy’s Agip,” a source close to the deal told New Telegraph.

Shell spokesperson, Precious Okolobo, confirmed the process but declined to give details of the divestment plan.

“The process for any potential divestment is fair and transparent and doesn’t confer preferential status on any party.

“We do not wish to go into details as divestment processes are ongoing and confidential,” he said.

Sources, however, said that Shell has already short listed Glencore and six other members of consortium to submit final bids for its assets worth around $3 billion.

The OML 18 assets, where Shell operates the gas plant at Alakiri Creek, produces 80 mmscf/da.

The gas production is slated to increase to 120 mmscf/d, and Nembe Creek pipeline which transport 150,000 oil barrels per day.

It would be recalled that Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude exporter, has lost about $76 million to the eight days’ shutdown

of Nembe Creek pipeline

by Shell.

Shell, which said it spent $1.1billion in 2010 to replace the 95,000 barrels per day capacity facility, announced its shutdown penultimate Sunday.

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), a Nigerian subsidiary for the Anglo- Dutch firm, confirmed the shutdown of NCTL. Okolobo, however, disclosed to New Telegraph at the weekend that the facility is yet to be restored.

Although he declined to comment on the stage of completion of the repair work, Okolobo maintained that his company was still on removal of crude theft points on the facility.

“What I can tell you is that the removal of crude theft point is still continuing. The removal of crude theft point is the same thing as repair work and

this is what we are doing at the moment,” he said.

The SPDC spokesperson had earlier said: “We closed the NCTL on Sunday for the removal of crude theft points. We plan to complete the exercise and reopen the line as soon as possible.”

over nor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has called on the National Assembly to apply political and parliamentary activism as part of their oversight functions to protect the nation’s democracy from further disasters.

He noted that the National Assembly lawmakers were voted into power to help the citizens when the need arises.

Amaechi spoke yesterday when the Chairman, House Committee on Emergency and Disaster in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, led other members of the Committee to pay a courtesy call on the governor at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

According to him

“When you see the citizens not able to react, we must see how, we will appraise them through some level of parliamentary and political activism. You seat in the parliament to think of ways to help the citizens, because, if the citizens are helpless, the parliament must be the avenue that the helpless can be redeemed, because that is the reason they were voted into power. The judiciary became judicial activism in 2007 when I got the Supreme Court Judgement. You can also be progressives in PDP. If the parliamentarians don’t do that, then one day, the citizens will wake up and start running for their lives. That is why you (Reps) and I (Amaechi) have the responsibility to repair the damage.

We need to protect our democracy”.

US freezes $458m Abacha assets

T

he United States (U.S.) yesterday ordered a freeze on $458 million in assets hidden in European accounts by former Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha and his conspirators.

The Justice Department said the corruption proceeds -- stashed away in bank accounts in Britain, France and Jersey -- were frozen at Washington’s request with the help of local authorities.

“This is the largest

civil forfeiture action to recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption ever brought by the department,” said Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general.

According to a civil forfeiture complaint unsealed in the US District Court in Washington, the department seeks the recovery of more than $550 million in connection with the action.

The Justice Department said the corruption

proceeds arose during and after the military regime of Abacha.

The complaint alleges that Abacha, his son Mohammed, their associate Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and others “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria and others, then laundered their criminal proceeds through the purchase of bonds backed by the United States using US financial institutions.”

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

DISTRIBUTION Fuel scarcity may ease very soon as marketers commence distribution

S

ome major oil marketers have commenced loading petrol at Mosinmi and Ejigbo depots in Lagos.

At the Ejigbo and Mosinmi depots yesterday, long queues of trucks were seen, awaiting their turns at the depots.

Some of the marketers claimed that only major marketers were given consideration to load products.

They expressed concern over the low pace of

5

Marketers commence loading of petrol at Mosinmi, Ejigbo depots loading at the depots and appealed to the management of Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) to ensure even distribution of products amongst marketers.

An independent oil marketer said the loading of petrol at Mosinmi depot was being done on the basis of 70 per to major marketers and 30 per cent to independent marketers.

Some major marketers, however, assured that normalcy would return soon

to filling stations when all marketers would have taken their turns to load.

“The worsening scarcity of petrol is a result of the initial delay in the release of fuel import allocations.

Some independent marketers at Ejigbo depot, however, complained of not loading since Monday.

They said that loading was skeletal due to nonavailability of petrol, adding that only eight trucks were loaded on Wednesday to few major marketers.

The independent marketers said that loading had also commenced at NIPCO, Capital oil and other private depots in Apapa, adding that only

major marketers were given priority to load first.

Some of the truck drivers said that they came from the Northern part of the country and had been on the queue to take their turn.

Some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), PPMC and the

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had commenced monitoring of filling stations to avoid hoarding of petrol by marketers.

Hawking of petrol in jerry cans has been rampant along the highways in Lagos, while some stations are still selling petrol at N120 per litre.

N2.4trl wage bill worries FG Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

T

he Federal Government yesterday expressed worry on the continuous rise in wage bill arising from personnel working in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

In 2014, N2.430.66 trillion is budgetted for recurrent expenditure while N1.100.61 trillion is for capital expenditure.

It said that devoting over 70 per cent of the budget to service recurrent expenditure, which is basically salaries and personnel cost, portend danger to the economy.

And to reverse the trend, it said the Steve Oronsaye Committee report, which recommended pruning and merging of some MDAs with overlapping functions, may be revisited.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, conveyed government’s worry in Abuja at an interactive session with Nigerian youths on the 2014 Budget.

The Minister said the only way out to reverse the trend is the implementation of the Orasanye report, which recommended the scrapping of some agencies that are irrelevant to the economy.

“My strong belief is

that the easiest way out is the merging of certain agencies and closing of some. There is no point having agencies that duplicate duties instead of saving monies. We are seeing MDAs in this country where people have done no work for 6, 7 and 8 years and they are still being paid. There are places that produced nothing but they have thousand workers and if you suggest the closing down because there is no production activities, you get an outcry.

The people from that part of the county will say no and all sorts of sentiments are brought in,” she said.

The minister also identified the repeal of the legislation setting up affected MDAs as another legal hurdle.

“We have to work with the National Assembly to really convince them of the need to repeal some of these laws. Let us phase out these agencies, those who are not producing anything, there is no point paying them month after month for doing nothing,” she said.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala revealed that the government was in the process of engaging experts to help fashion acceptable benchmark for the budget to avoid recurring heated debate that usually trail adopting acceptable benchmark.

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State (right) presenting a souvenir, the Crest of Lagos State, to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jubrin, during a courtesy call on the governor at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos

39

174.5m

The world’s position of Nigeria’s (in sq. km) The total population of Brazil (South America’s highest nation). total area (including land and water).

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

10.85m The daily oil production (in barrels) of Saudi Arabia (the world’s highest).

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

With 24.5% growth in Nigeria, MTN generated $12.71bn in 2013

S

outh African mobile giant MTN on Wednesday said revenues grew 12 per cent last year, driven by increasing subscribers and helped by a weak rand.

Revenues reached 136.50 billion rand ($12.71 billion) for the year and total subscribers were up 9.8 per cent at 207.8 million, led by strong growth of 20 per cent in Nigeria.

Uganda, Ghana and Cameroon also reported healthy revenue growth.

The group, which operates in 22 countries, said revenues in Nigeria rose 24.5 per cent even as the South African rand weak-

ened in value against the Nigerian naira during the period.

“For the year as a whole, the rand declined by 18.3 per cent on average against the U.S. dollar,” the company said in its annual results statement.

As a result, the earnings reported in rand were boosted by currency effects.

The Johannesburglisted firm said data services were the key driver of revenue growth, with South Africa and Nigeria the largest contributors.

The two countries accounted for 77.9 per cent of data revenue growth.

“This is a significant factor, as data replaces voice,” said chief executive, Sifiso Dabengwa.

The number of data users increased by 37.3 per cent to 80.6 million, boosted by increased smartphone ownership.

“At the end of December, we had 34.8 million smartphones on our network, an increase of 59.0 per cent on the previous year,” said a statement.

The company said it expects the launch of its own affordable smartphone to boost the figure.

However, MTN’s domestic operations proved to be the weakest link, as

revenue declined 6.1 per cent to 39.71 billion rand.

“South Africa performance was disappointing but showed improvement in the latter part of the year,” said Zunaid Bulbulia, chief executive of MTN South Africa.

South African prepaid subscribers declined by 1.1 per cent, putting customer base at 20.7 million, behind the company’s main competitor, Vodacom.

MTN was founded in 1994, and mainly operates in Africa but also in Iran, Syria and Sudan where it is suffering the effects of the U.S. and EU imposed sanctions on those countries.

6

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

photo news

Budget Office not aware of N1.7trn kerosene subsidy Philip Nyam Abuja

T A member of Saint Matthew Catholic Church, Amukoko, Lagos receiving ashes on her forehead as a mark of Ash wednesday…yesterday.

PHOTO:TONY EGUAYE

he Director-General of the Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu yesterday claimed that his office was unaware of any approval or directive from any authority mandating the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to import kerosene on behalf of the nation and subsequently collect subsidy.

Okogu who made this denial while testifying before the Hon. Dakuku

Peterside-led committee on petroleum resources (downstream), clarified that provision was made for subsidy on petrol alone and not for kerosene.

“We do not have such request (kerosene subsidy), and we do not make such payments. There are no other importers apart from the NNPC that we are aware of ” He said the Budget Office did not defy the presidential order to discontinue the subsidy payments on kerosene since it did not make any provi-

sion for that.

“We are not aware of such a directive anywhere. The NNPC does not make budget, we do.

And we did not make any budget for subsidy on kerosene within the period under review,” he submitted.

The Director-General explained that, if the NNPC buys at $1 per litre at the international market, it has to pay for the shortfalls since the product is not sold at the same price to the final consumers within the country.

9 killed, 24 houses razed as gunmen raid Plateau communities

G L-R: Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole; Chief Charles Edosomwan, SAN; Professor Eddy Erhagbe and Professor Sylvanus Oboh, during a meeting to sort-out the Edo Agenda for the National Conference in Benin City,…yesterday

L-R: Consultant Cardiologist, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)/Member, IGNITE Scientific Committee, Dr. Akinsanya Olusegun-Joseph; Nutritionist/ Research Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR)/Member, IGNITE Scientific Committee, Dr Bartholomew Brai and Public Health Physician, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)/Member, IGNITE Scientific Committee, Dr. Kemi Odukoya during the 2014 IGNITE Stakeholders' parley in Lagos …yesterday. PHOTO:SULEIMAN HUSAINI

unmen yesterday killed at least nine people and set fire to dozens of houses in Angwan-Waran, Riyom Local Government of the State, the army and police said.

The early morning raid happened in four mostly Christian communities in the local government area, which has seen a spate of sectarian attacks over recent years.

Large numbers of attackers "succeeded in killing nine people and burnt 24 houses", military special task force

Special Task Force (STF) maintaining the peace in Plateau, had stepped in and restored normalcy to the area. ``To check against recurrence, the police and the STF have deployed a team of security personnel to the village, while efforts are on to apprehend the attackers’’, he added.

The commissioner advised members of the public to help security agencies with any piece of information that could lead to the arrest of the attackers.

FCTA signs $2.7b deal for Abuja city center development Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

I

L-R:Director General/CEO, Institute of Directors (IOD), Dr. Tony Fadaka; First Vice President, Mr. Yeni Akeju and Head of Legal Division, NAFDAC, Mr. Kingsley Ejiofor, during IOD members' luncheon in Lagos.

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKE

spokesman, Captain Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha told reporters.

Plateau state police spokeswoman, Felicia Anslem also confirmed that nine people were killed in the attack, although local people put the death toll at 16.

Mr Chris Olakpe, the Commissioner of Police in Plateau, told News Agency of Nigeria that the attackers had fled the area before the arrival of security agents.

He said the police and other personnel of the

n its bid to give life to the dormant ‘heart’ of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the FCT Administration yesterday signed a $2.7billion Abuja City Center Development deal with a Nigerian investor, Chikason Group.

The administration had, two years, ago signed a similar deal with the Balkan Group of the United States of America but exited the agreement due to lack of capacity of the investor.

The project, which was

first conceived under Abuja Boulevard project under Dr. Aliyu Moddibo Umar's administration, is expected to define Abuja sky line with high rising structures of about 20 floors.

While signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the investor, FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, who disclosed that the project would be a mixed use of structures for leisure, recreation and official purposes, said it would have a ten years timeline.

He said that the project would provide the heart for the city, noting that the in-

vestor, Chikason Group, in collaboration with foreign investors from South Africa, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates has the capacity and resources to deliver the project.

The Minister explained that the project is purely a private investor's project as against Public Private Partnership.

Giving the breakdown of the project, the Coordinator, Abuja Infrastructure Investment Company, Faruk Sani explained that the investor is developing a mall for the FCT which is estimated at $40million.

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

DEADLINE

Holders of expired number plates to be arrested and prosecuted Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

T

he Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) will begin enforcement of the new vehicle registration docu-

Old number plates, drivers' licence illegal from July 1 – FRSC ments on July 1, 2014.

Corps Secretary of the FRSC, Kayode Fanola, who made this disclosure yesterday in Ilorin, Kwara State, said offenders will be arrested and prosecuted. The docu-

Court dismisses suit over Attah of Ayede stool Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

A

n Ikole-Ekiti High Court has dismissed the suit filed by Mr. Ore Omotoso and six others challenging the selection of Prince Adebayo Mumuni as the Attah of Ayede-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

The state government had earlier approved the selection of Mumuni as the Oba-elect of the town.

The Attah is among the first-class monarchs in the

7

state.

While the government presented a Certificate of Recognition to Mumuni and was about presenting him a Staff of Office, Omotoso and six others went to court.

Delivering judgement on the case filed on October 19, 2011 on Tuesday, Justice Abiodun Adesodun refused all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs, describing them as frivolous and lacking in legal validity.

ments include vehicle number plates and drivers’ licence. Anyone holding either fake or expired ones will be considered guilty from that date, he said.

Fanola told newsmen during a chat that old vehicle number plates and driver's licence would expire by June 30, 2014, and that the Joint Tax Board had approved July 1, 2014 for FRSC to implement the enforcement. From that date, the FRSC boss warned, anyone caught with fake driver's licence or fake vehicle number plates would be treated as though he or she were caught with fake naira notes or fake international passport because

they are also security documents that are needed for personal official documentation.

He lamented that several Nigerians innocently go about with fake vehicle registration documents which are often procured from touts, adding that many people only realised their folly when they are stopped on the road by law enforcement agents.

He also warned those applying for any of the documents not pay cash to anyone to process it or do it by proxy, directing that they should rather pay into designated banks where a code is generated to process driver's licence, while the holder's picture

1,749m

The total energy production (in barrels of oil) of China (the world’s biggest).

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

and finger prints are captured at the FRSC office.

He appealed to those applying for the documents to be patient enough to cope with internet challenges associated with the process, saying that such delays or challenges should not lead anyone to patronise touts that even charge more to process fake documents.

His words: "There is no shortcut to getting driver's licence or number plates because the process is digitalized and uploaded into FRSC website and national data bank where no fraudster can manipulate it. It will also make it difficult for a traffic

2,321

The total energy consumption (in barrels of oil) of the United States (the world’s biggest).

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

offenders to hide even if he or she decides to run from being prosecuted.

"Also, stolen vehicles with fake number plates will be difficult to retrieve because FRSC will have no records of the vehicle.

Patronizing touts also denies government revenue accruable from vehicle registration, otherwise called road tax."

The FRSC also warned state gover nments' boards of internal revenue to stop treating driver's licence and number plates as revenue matter, saying it has gone beyond that and is now a serious security issue given the prevailing security issues in the country.

N45.16bn

The total export value of tanned or crust hides and skins from Nigeria in the second quarter of 2013.

Source: National bureau of statistics

N500m suit: Ajimobi, others seek out-of-court settlement

A

n out-of-court settlement has been sought in a N500 million suit instituted against Governor Ajibola Ajimobi of Oyo State and others by a lawyer, Mr Fatai Adeosun.

Counsel to the respondents, Mrs Olumide Ojo, told the court that the Attorney-General of the state, Mr Adebayo Ojo, had informed her that the process of settling the matter out of court was ongoing.

Ojo told the court that she had been directed to inform the court about the latest development, adding that the hearing of the matter could not commence because of this development.

The claimant’s counsel, Mr Toba Olorunfemi, confirmed Ojo’s submission, saying the attorney –general had intervened in the matter and advised for out-of-court settlement.

Adamu Attah (left), receiving a trophy from Chairman, Chapel Hill Denham, Mr. Olawale Edun, during the Lagos Open Cup sponsored by Chapel Hill Denham at the Lagos International Polo Tournament 2014.With them is Managing Director, Chapel Hill Denham Securities, Mr. Sunny Anene

GTHomes Limited becomes Jonathan deserves another term–Ogundimu Imperial Homes Mortgage bank gun Ogundimu, has scored administration, Jonathan the forthcoming presidential

G

THomes Limited, one of the subsidiaries of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) has been renamed Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited.

The name reflects the subsidiary’s desire to continue to provide its customers the best internationally bench-marked services in mortgage

banking and identify with the vision of housing for all.

In compliance with CBN regulations and circulars in 2010 revoking universal banking practice in Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) divested from its subsidiaries, including GTHomes Limited.

THUMBS UP

Ex-presidential aspirant scores Jonathan's administration high Sylva Okereke

F

ormer presidential aspirant in the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), Dr Se-

the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan very high, saying he deserves another term to consolidate his achievements.

Ogundimu, who described Jonathan as one of the best Presidents Nigeria has ever produced, said contrary to allegations of incompetence against his

has achieved so much in too little time and so deserves commendation, instead of condemnation.

A medical practitioner and governorship hopeful in Lagos state, Ogundimu, in an interview with journalists in Lagos, said having been satisfied with the President’s achievements, he would queue behind him in

election in the country.

According to him, “Based on my conviction that he has done very well, more than some past leaders in the country, coupled with the fact that the presidential position remains in South-south to serve for the second term, I will be ready to vote for him in 2015,” he stated.

8

ACROSS THE NATION

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

LAGOS

Ogun

IKEJA

Sagamu

Fashola accuses military of land grabbing Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) yesterday accused some military officers in Lagos State of land grabbing, saying they occupy state government land without approval.

Fashola also alleged that most military zones in some parts of the state are erected on forcefully acquired lands.

Speaking while receiving the newly appointed

Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Jibrin Usman who paid him a courtesy visit at Lagos House, Ikeja, Lagos, Fashola said military officers are not above the law of the state.

Fashola said: “Though I don’t have any naval experience, but they sometimes cut across the servicemen. We have some local challenges; as I said they are not navy. Military officers get unto our lands, go and put military zones there.

nasarawa lafia

Assembly frowns at Gov. AlMakura's 3-year budget The Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Security and Special Duties yesterday frowned at the three years budget sent to the assembly for approval

by Gov.Tanko Al-makura.

The committee made its position known during the budget defence of the

state Ministry of Information and Re-orientation in Lafia.

Mr. Mohammed BabaIbaku, the committee Chairman, said that the house could only consider and approve one year budget as stated in the constitution in the interest of peace and development of the state and the country at large.

Hausa community leader lauds Ogun govt.

Alhaji Garuba Inuwa, the leader of the Hausa Community in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun, has commended Gov. Ibikunle Amosun for transforming the state into an investors' hub.

He gave the commendation yesterday in Sagamu in an interview with

the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Inuwa said the administration had done well in transforming the state into a `unique habitable environment for all’ through its economic policies.

He said that the various development projects being embarked upon by the government would boost the socio-economic development of the state.

Oyo Ibadan

Oyo House begins debate on bills to create additional ministries The Oyo State House of Assembly yesterday commenced debate on three bills aimed at creating three additional ministries to the existing 20.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ministries are

Transportation, Natural Resources as well as Integrated and InterGovernmental Relations.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Monsurat Sunmonu, approved the commencement of the debate on the bills at an emergency session.

"I hereby approve the bills for the first reading before the whole house," she said.

KANO

kano

KANO

kano

Factionalisation of NGF has affected comradeship amongst governors -- Okauru The factionalisation of the Nigeria Governors` Forum (NGF), has affected the comradeship among the 36 governors of the federation, Mr Asishana Okauru, Director-General NGF, has said.

The Director-General made the remark yesterday in Kano at the inaugural meeting of the NGF State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM) with members of the state executive council.

Okauru, who was commenting for the first time on the crisis rocking the governors’ forum, appealed to Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso and his colleagues to resolve their differences.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the NGF split into two factions on May 24, 2013 when Gov. Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers emerged as chairman of the forum in a disputed election.

oyo ibadan

Engage in sober reflection, cleric urges Christians at Lent

L-R: Partner, Alkebulan Group, United Kingdom, Mr. Nick Chambers; Executive Director, Corporate/Investment Banking, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo and Partner, Alkebulan Group, Mr. Leigh Hall, during a visit to Skye Bank Head Office in Lagos …yesterday.

zamfara

lagos

gusau

ikeja

Zakkat board disbursed N609m to 14,500 people in 2013 - Director The Zamfara Zakkat and Endowment Board, yesterday, said the board disbursed more than N609 million to 14,500 people in the state in 2013.

The Director of the board, Malam Dalhatu Jauri, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau that the gesture was aimed at poverty reduction in the state.

Jauri said that the beneficiaries of the gesture were orphans, widows, people in need of medical assistance, Islamic scholars and the less privileged.

He added that of the N609 million disbursed, N564 million was given to 5,640 people in the 17 emirates of the state.

He pointed out that the remaining N45 million was given to 1,500 persons to meet their needs.

FAAN gets new Managing Director A new Managing Director has been appointed for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). He is Engr. Saleh Dunoma.

A statement issued yesterday by Yakubu Dati, Coordinating General Manager (Communications) for Aviation Parastatals, which announced this, added that Engr. Dunoma ob-

tained a BSc (Hons) degree in Building Engineering in 1979 from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

According to the statement, Dunomahad a brief stint in the public and private sectors, respectively before joining the Civil Engineering Department of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (then known as Nigeria Airports Authority) in 1980.

A Christian cleric, Johnson Olabisi, has urged Christians to use the Lent period to engage in sober reflection while shunning acts capable of tarnishing the nation’s image.

Olabisi, who is the Oyo State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria( CAN), made the call as Christians marked Ash Wednesday signaling the commencement of the 40-day fasting period observed by some denominations.

He said: “We should run away from ugly things that could be of blemish to Christianity and to the nation as a whole.

“People should also be reminded that it is useless to fast without being able to pray.“When we stay off things that are not ordained for us by God, then our prayers would be meaningful before God.’’

Kano targets 80% water coverage in 2014 The Kano State Government says it is targeting 80 per cent pipe borne water coverage by the end of 2014.

Mr Abdullahi Nashe, the General Manager (Water Production), Kano State Water Board, made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria yesterday.

Nashe said the state government was currently paying more attention to changing service distribution pipelines.

He added that the government was also channelling more funds to the state water board, to ensure the achievement of the target.

"As far as water supply is concerned, Kano State is doing very well; the government is changing distribution service pipes.

edo benin

Over 60 per cent of drivers’ licences in Edo are fake --- FRSC The Edo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Luka Ikpi, yesterday said that over 60 per cent of drivers licences used in the state were counterfeited copies.

Ikpi said this in Benin during a sensitisation meeting on the proposed enforcement of the use of the New Vehicle Number Plates across the country, with effect from July 2014.

The sensitisation meeting was held with the Edo State Board of Internal Revenue in Benin.

The commander said that the high rate of the use of fake drivers’ licences and vehicles plate numbers in the state was alarming.

He, however, stated that stricter measures were being put in place to curtail the trend.

"During our road patrols and vehicles checks, we discovered that most drivers’ licences and plate numbers used in the state are fake ones.

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

LAUNDERING

Ex-governor begs court to discontinue his trial Joseph Jibueze

F

ormer Governor of Enugu state, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani yesterday opposed the bid by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to resume his trial for alleged money laundering and other financial crimes.

The anti-graft agency re-arraigned Nnamani before Justice Mohammed Yinusa of the Federal High Court, Lagos on 105-count charges of money laundering and other economic crimes,

Nnamani opposes EFCC's bid to resume his trial involving state funds of amounting to N4.5billion.

Nnamani and his former aide, Sunday Anyao gu, were arraigned along with his companies, including Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Hillgate Nigeria Limited and Cosmos FM. Others include, Capital City Automobile Nig eria Limited, Renaissance University Teaching Hospital and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School.

Part of the alleged stolen funds was said to be money meant for some local government areas,

allegedly transfered into Nnamani's bank account in the United States of America.

The fraud was allegedly committed while Nnamani was the governor of the state between 1999 and 2007. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Trial is yet to begin in the case, which has been tranfered to four different judges as a results of retirements of some judges among other reasons.

The trial was billed to start yesterday, but Nnamani's lawyer, Mr.

Abubakar Shamshudeen, objected to the commencement of the trial, insisting that the matter be adjourned for mention and not trial.

When the case came up last December, Nnamani’s lawyer agreed with the prosecuting counsel that the matter be adjourned for mention.

But the Council to EFCC, Mr. Kevin Uzozie pleaded with the court to allow the prosecution open trial, saying criminal cases are never adjourned for mention.

"With my little un-

L-R: Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Governor Kayode Fayemi; and a beneficiary, Mrs. Veronica Ayodele, during the distribution of Cheques for Car Loans and Laptops to best Primary School Teachers in the Ekiti State, in Ado-Ekiti... yesterday

601.7bn 37.68m

The total natural gas production of Russia The total labour force in the agricultural sector of Nigeria (2009 est.). (in cubic metres) in 2008 (the world’s Source: Theodera.com highest).

47

The number of countries in the Asian continent.

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Stop playing politics with terrorism, says Dabiri-Erewa Flora Onwudiwe

C

hairman, House Committee on Diaspora, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa has condemned the gruesome murder of students of one of the unity colleges in Yobe, state.

Dabiri-Erewa, who

9

represents Ikorodu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, expressed sadness at the weekend during a dinner organized by the Italian Embassy on the arrival of Italian Navy aircraft carrier (Cavour) at Apapa Port.

Coming on the heels of 29 students killed by Boko Haram insurgents last week,

she said: “It was the saddest news for anybody, especially for the parents of these chidren. We need to redefine our strategy on Boko Haram.

“If whatever strategy we are using is not working, we should change it. It saddens anybody that students could be slaughtered that way”, she noted while saying that we need to put

aside our pride and be hopeful that we would certainly get rid of the situation. Let us forget about pride and arrogance and be determined that we have to solve the problem,” she averred.

While admitting that the situation is difficult, she said, “I am not saying it is an easy problem to solve, but we must solve the problem.”

derstanding of the law, criminal cases are never adjourned for mention," he said.

Justice Yinusa adjourned the case till June 17.

It would be recalled that on April 17, 2013, the judge granted Nnamani permission to trav-

el to the United States of America on health grounds.

It was the fifth time Nnamani, who was first arraigned in 2007, would be allowed to travel. On May 16 last year, Nnamani was absent from court despite expiration of his leave to travel.

Kwara APC picks holes on Jonathan’s comments Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

K

wara state chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has picked holes on the statements credited to President Goodluck Jonathan, saying he visited the state to liberate the people of the state from political and socio-economic oppressions.

The publicity secretary of the party in the state, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, who berated the comments, also stated that despite delivering the state to Jonathan in 2011, there is no single federal government presence in the state.

Jonathan had, during his visit to the state on Monday, described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the only party that could liberate people of the state.

According to his state-

ment, “Kwara truly believes in PDP because for now, it is only the party that can bring liberation to the people”.

The APC said the President should have visited the stat to commission federal projects, three years after his electoral victory and not to celebrate what the party described as zero service delivery.

The party also denied claims by Jonathan that he is neutral in running the affairs of his state, Bayelsa, accusing him of imposing his own man as the state governor.

“It is hypocritical for a President, who coordinated the disqualification of an incumbent governor from participating in the state primaries for the governorship elections in Bayelsa state to now pride himself as 'championing the freedom of Kwara people”, he stated.

Two sex workers jailed for loitering

T

wo sex workers were sentenced to three months imprisonment by a Magistrate's Court in Lagos State for loitering and disorderly conducts.

They are Blessing Esu, 28 and Rita Ume, 36.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the women had pleaded guilty to the charges of loitering and behaving in a disorderly or indecent manner in public places.

The Magistrate, Tokunbo Omoyele, who

did not give the sex workers an option of fine, said the court had no option than to sentence them since they had admitted committing the offences.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Daniel Ighodalo told the court that the two women committed the offences on March 1, 2013 at 2.30a.m. on Victoria Island, Lagos.

He said the offences contravenes Sections 166 (a) (i) and (ii) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

10 NEWS

SUIT

Okwu, four others tackle Umeh, Shinkafi over alleged request to vacate offices Leo Sobechi

N

ational Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Maxi Okwu, has filed contempt charges against the party’s erstwhile chairman and secretary, Chief Victor Umeh and Alahaji Sani Shinkafi respectively for allegedly disobeying the order of court ousting them from office.

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Okwu files contempt charges against Umeh, Shinkafi In the form 48 (notice of contempt) filed by Okwu and 4 others, in suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/563/13 at the Federal High Court, Abuja, Umeh and Shinkafi were reminded to “take notice that unless you obey the directions contained in this order, you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be committed to prison.”

The other plaintiffs in the suit are Comrade Ibrahim Carefor, Chief

Dickson Ogu, Dr. Gbenga Afeni, Alhaji Abubakar Adamu, suing for themselves and on behalf of all the other national officers elected at the national convention of APGA held at WDC, Awka on April 8, 2013.

The contempt charge is sequel to the orders granted by Justice Abubakar Abdul-Kafarati directing the duo to vacate their respective offices having been improperly elected

according to Section 18 (4) of the APGA Constitution.

Part of the judgment attached to the form 48 read: “That an order is granted directing the 1st and 2nd defendants to vacate their respective offices of National Chairman and national Secretary pending the determination of their suit challenging their expulsion from the party and in their favour.

“That an order is granted directing the 2nd defendant to vacate office as National Secretary of the party having been first elected into office on January 10, 2003 and was re-elected for a second term which expired on January 9, 2010.

“That in any event an order is granted directing the 1st and 2nd defendants and all the other officers they represent to vacate their various

offices forthwith not having been elected in accordance with Article 18 (4) of the Constitution of the party which prescribes mandatorily that elections into the offices shall be by secret ballot or at all “That an order is granted directing the 3rd defendant (INEC) to deal with the plaintiffs and all those they represent as the duly elected national officers of APGA”.

Ogun to issue 1,500 C-of-Os monthly Dayo Ayeyemi

A

s the inspection on Homeowners’ Charter programme continues in order to give approval for those who applied for Certificate of Occupancy and building plan approval under the programme, Ogun State Government has concluded plans to issue 1,500 Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os) in a month .

Besides, it would also launch a website that will provide comprehensive information and procedures on land matters, including industrial, ag-

ricultural and residential locations and acquisitions as well as title documents processing.

The state government said it was planning to step up the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy to speed up property development across the state The state government, had in December last year, launched Homeowners’ Charter to allow homeowners to regularize the legal status and documentation of their properties at a huge discount on what they would normally be required to pay.

Adamawa lawmakers outlaw ogogoro, snuff, burkutu, others

By Ibrahim Abdul Yola

D

isturbed by the indiscriminate consumption of ogogoro, snuff, burkutu, herbs and other substances and their adverse health implications, lawmakers in the Adamawa State House of Assembly are set to enact a law banning the substances.

The bill, sponsored by the Speaker of the Assembly, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, was meant to check the manufacture and consumption of the local substances that are not under the jurisdiction of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Speaking to newsmen on the bill which has

passed first reading, the House Standing Committee Chairman on Information, Mr Adamu Kamale, said the bill was to check the growing incidence of youths engaging in consumption of such psychotropic substances and chemicals to get high.

Kamale, who did not give the list of the other substances compiled by the house to be banned said any substance that proved scientifically harmful to humans would be banned in the state.

He explained that the public hearing to be organized would enable stakeholders, including religious bodies and professionals, to make inputs in the bill.

Lucky at last: A man with a 25-litre jerry can of fuel along Agidingbi, Ikeja Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

1919

2.84%

148,940,000

The year (August 19) the Afghanistan had independence from United Kingdom.

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

The contribution rate of Finance & Insurance to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2013.

Source: Nigerianstat.gov.ng

The total land area (in sq. km) of the world.

Source: worldfactsandfigures.com

ALLEGATION Group, PDP trade words over number of party’s guber aspirants Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

A

pressure group in Ekiti State, Ekiti Good Governance Group (EGGG), has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of buying nomination forms for 18 governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to create the impression that the party is popular in the state.

A statement in AdoEkiti yesterday signed by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Taiwo Ojo, alleged that the

Ekiti group accuses Jonathan of buying forms for PDP aspirants l It is laughable-PDP large turnout of contenders for the PDP governorship flag bearer was to perfect the party’s rigging tactics, having created the impression that there are many contenders on the party’s platform.

Describing the efforts as an exercise in futility, the group said that the PDP could not produce any credible candidate that could dislodge Governor Kayode Fayemi among the scores of aspirants parading themselves on the platform of the party.

However, responding to the allegation through the

state publicity secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, PDP said it was “laughable, fallacious and ridiculous” for the group to have wrongly assumed that President Jonathan had funded the exercise.

It described the collection of forms by aspirants as purely a party affair and accused the EGGG of needless interference.

Oluwawole said, “The fact that 18 out of 33 that showed interests had procured the forms shows that the PDP is vibrant and popular in Ekiti.

“In fact, we are the

government in waiting.

But this is an affront to the President that he had a hand in what should be expected to be a party issue”.

EGGG warned the PDP against violence during the election, noting that “Ekiti people are prepared, just like they did in 2007 and 2011, to reject the PDP at the June 21governorship poll.”

The group urged Ekiti people to be vigilant as the election approaches, alleging that the PDP’s watchwords were violence, rigging and stolen funds.

NEWS

Thursday, March 6, 2014

11

Sacked judge sues Jonathan, CJN, others ...seeks review of NJC's decision ...court fixes March 19 for hearing Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

O

ne of the judges sacked by the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Gladys Olotu, yesterday dragged President Goodluck Jonathan, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the National Judicial Council and two others before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

The NJC had, last Thursday, directed the immediate suspension of Olotu and Justice UfotInyang of the Abuja High Court and recommended their compulsory retirement by President Jonathan over "gross misconduct."

In her suit, Olotu is challenging the decision and recommendation of the NJC. Immediately the suit was filed late yesterday, it was assigned to Justice Adeniyi Ademola who heard in chambers, a motion ex parte

by Olotu seeking leave

to apply for an order of certiorari for judicial review of her suspension and recommendation for retirement by the NJC. Also joined in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

Counsel to Olotu, Sunday Ameh (SAN), confirmed the proceedings in chambers yesterday.

He stated that Justice Ademola granted his client's motion and adjourned hearing to March 19.

He added that the judge ordered that all parties in the case be served with his client's motion.

Ameh said the suit was intended by his client to protect her fundamental rights. He refused to give further details.

When told that the President has acted on the NJC's recommendation and retired his client, Ameh denied knowledge of such development.

Atiku, on Facebook, canvasses options to tackle Boko Haram

W

orried by the unceasing carnage by the Boko Haram sect, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has advocated greater collaboration between the military and civilian miltia groups.

In comments posted on his Facebook page, the Turakin Adamawa declared: “My suggestion is for the military to more actively engage with the civilian JTF, and train and support them to be its eyes and ears in the battle against Boko Haram. No doubt, the military is operating in very unfamiliar terrain and needs all the local support it can get.

There’s a lot that both parties – the military and the civilian JTF – can gain from collaborating.”

While acknowledging

that his suggestion may be controversial, he nevertheless advised that it “should not stop us from debating and seriously considering the matter, including it in our list of possible measures, especially as we’ve seen it work in flushing the militants out of Maiduguri.”

Atiku also suggested a peace council which “assembles a wide range of stakeholders, from government (law enforcement agencies, including the Police and SSS), civil society, religious organisations, and market associations, to collaborate on activities aimed at maintaining an atmosphere of law and order…” as he said, was once done in Adamawa State.

L-R: Former Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Leke Pitan; Managing Director of Edumark Consult and the convener of event, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde; with officials from Sterling Bank Plc's Retail Loans Group, Ayodeji Fisher and Eyi Tope Owolabi at the 8th edition of "We are the Future of the Nation," a voice of the Nigerian youth programme, held in Lagos...yesterday.

EU pledges to help Nigeria conquer terrorism PROMISE

European to back Nigerian government against terrorists Dan Atori Minna

W

ith the incessant killings and security challenges in the Northern part of the country, the European Union (EU) yesterday promised to openly support Nigeria in the fight against terrorism and put an end to the incessant Boko Haram attacks.

Head of the EU in Nigeria, Ambassador

CLOSURE

Five government schools shut to prevent attacks on students

Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

A

PPARENTLY due to last week's attack on the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State, where over 40 school pupils were killed by members of the Boko Haram sect, the Federal

Michel Arrion, who is also permanent representative in the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), gave assurance during a courtesy visit on Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu in Minna, that the EU is in Nigeria to take sides with the government.

According to him, “We have special emphasis on counter-terrorism; we will take sides with Nigeria by helping it fight terrorism and put an end to Boko Haram.

“I don’t believe in neutrality, I have to be frank, we are defending an interest and protecting our values. Those who are telling you they are neu-

tral, they are not. It is better to have a clear agenda, a political agenda with you (Nigeria) than you don’t know what we want to talk about.

“So we are not the United Nations (UN); in other words, we are not the UN of Europe, we are not here to be neutral.

We are here to take sides with you; we want to fight terrorism so we are taking sides. We believe in improving governance, fighting corruptions.

Defending human rights will improve the global society, wealth and the growth of this country and the well-being of the population in Nigeria.”

Arrion assured that he was speaking on behalf

of the other 19 members of European Union.

He added: “We will fight against small arms trafficking with a special emphasis on counterterrorism because we believe that, if you have terrorism in a state, you can’t start thinking of developing the state.”

Speaking earlier, Aliyu urged the EU to help the security agencies in Nigeria in the area of terrorism.

“We want you to support us; you are our natural ally; please help our security agency to tackle terrorism because if Boko Haram and terrorism continue it might spread to other West African Countries.”

Boko Haram: FG shuts 5 Unity Schools in North East Government has ordered the temporary closure of five unity schools in the North East.

The affected unity colleges are: Federal Government Girls College, Munguno, Borno state; Federal Government College, Potiskum, Yobe state; Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe state; Federal Science and Technical College, Lassa, Borno state and Federal Science

and Technical College, Michika, Adamawa state.

It was reliably learnt that the areas where the affected schools are located are considered to be some of the hotspots in the crises which has troubled the three states under emergency rule.

The Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, announced the closure in Abuja yesterday.

According to a statement issued by Wike's Special Assistant (Media) Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, candidates who registered for the 2014 WASSCE, NECO SSCE and BECE in FGGC Potiskum would have their examination centres relocated to FGGC Bauchi, while those from FGGC Munguno and FGC Buni Yadi would also be relocated to other schools.

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THURSday, MARCH 6, 2014

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Obesere: Medical report shows rape –Police LEWD ASSAULT A 29-year-old businesswoman has accused Obesere of raping her after luring her to his house

zz We had a consensual sex, says Akande

Juliana Francis, Bayo Adeoye and Taiwo Jimoh

C

ontroversy has continued to dog the allegation of rape against popular Fuji musician, Abass Akande, fondly called Obesere by his fans.

The police in Lagos yesterday said that report of medical examination showed that the woman who leveled the allegation was actually raped.

The state Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Damasus Ozoani, told NT Metro that the incident was reported at Isolo divisional police station on February 12 by a businesswoman, Miss Olanike Olaiya.

According to him, the police arrested the musician, but released him on an administrative bail.

Ozoani said Obesere spurned police invitation after the examination showed that the 29-year-old lady was actually raped.

He said: “He (Obesere) was re-arrested after the police got a warrant of arrest and transferred the case to the

Obesere

State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.”

Ozoani added that the police were still investigating the incident.

But investigation shows that Obesere has been released again.

The musician told one of our correspondents yesterday that he was framed up.

Although, Obesere admitted

sleeping with Olaiya, who he said was his friend, he said it was consensual.

He, however, said he realised that the woman was sent to blackmail him by some unnamed adversaries when she demanded N10 million after they slept together.

Earlier, Olaiya had accused Obesere of forcefully having carnal

knowledge of her in his Okota residence, Lagos when she went there for assistance.

The victim, who deals in office equipment, told the police she contacted Obesere, who asked her to meet him in his family house at Okota.

In her complaint at the police station, Olaiya alleged that after she introduced her line of business to the musician, he promised to connect her to some of his friends in Dubai who would sell goods to her on credit.

“After the discussion, he started demanding sex and I refused and when I wanted to leave, he insisted I should sleep over in his house because it was late, claiming that it was dangerous to go out late in the night in his area.

“I thought he was a responsible man and I decided to sleep over, but at the dead of the night, he came into the room where I slept and pounced on me.

“He raped me and afterwards inserted a ring he wore into my private part and I started bleeding. He hurriedly left me in the room, saying he had an appointment to keep,” she reportedly said in her complaint.

Housewife abducts co-tenant’s baby Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

A

21-year-old woman has been arraigned before an Ilorin Magistrates’ Court for allegedly kidnapping a 30-dayold-baby.

The accused, Ronke Odelabi, of Ile-Onisa, Kolara area of Ogbomoso in Oyo State, allegedly committed the crime in Ilorin on February 2.

The baby, according to police First Information Report (FIR) on the case, belonged to the accused co-tenant.

The accused was said to have

absconded with the baby and headed to Ogbomoso where she allegedly informed her parentsin-law that she had given birth to a baby.

She was arraigned before the court on a one-count of kidnapping, contrary to Section 273 of the Penal Code Law. The FIR indicated that it was the mother of the child, identified as Funke Olowokere, who raised the alar m when she lodged a complaint at ‘C’ Divisional Police Headquarters, OjaOba, Ilorin.

Olowokere told the police that on the said date while she was

busy washing clothes, she gave her baby to the accused, being a co-tenant.

According to her, when she finished washing, she discovered that the accused had disappeared with the child.

She added that efforts to contact her through her phone failed.

However, investigation by the police later showed that the accused kept the baby with her friend in Ogbomoso, where the police arrested her.

During the hearing, the police prosecutor, Sergeant Nasiru Yusuf, objected to bail for the ac-

cused on the grounds that investigation into the matter was yet to be completed.

He made an oral application, urging the court to remand the accused in prison custody pending the determination of the case.

However, the court refused the application and granted the accused bail in the sum of N200, 000 and two sureties in like sum.

One of the sureties must be a Grade Level 10 officer in the Kwara State Civil Service.

The case was adjourned to March 18 for further mention.

12

Thursday, M

Woman male pa

FATAL ENJOYMENT

Two lovers went into hot but the man ran away w body of his female comp discovered in the room Taiwo Jimoh

A

n attempt to have fun ner in a hotel room en death of a 45-year-old fied as Omolara Ashiru, i Policemen attached to Police Station are still try circumstances surround death.

The woman was found s bed of the hotel room.

A source in the hotel to the victim and the yet-to-b companion visited the hot But after a few hours, the man he was going to withd an ATM to book the room fo but did not return.

CP, Umar Manko

Tenant sue assault, for

A

45-year-old landlord phen Ogunyade, yes appeared before a S Magistrates’ Court in La allegedly assaulting his and vandalising his prop Ogunyade, who resi No. 30, Olowu Street, Lad is facing a three-count c of assault and unlawfu tion.

The prosecutor, ASP labi Adegoke, submitte the landlord illegally e Mr. George Ezekwem o cember 18, 2013.

Adegoke said the lan ejected the tenant after b him up, following a dis ment.

He said: “Ogunyade, cember 18, 2013, beat u

PDP lacks moral right to question senators’ defection –Adamu / PAGE 14

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Braithwaite: There won’t be elections in 2015 unless…

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THURSday, March 6, 2014

Obasanjo and I share a common friend –Amaechi Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Rivers State helmsman, Rotimi Amaechi, surprised many when he hosted former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Port Harcourt, who commissioned some of his administration’s projects. In this interview with AYODELE OJO, the governor speaks on Obasanjo’s choice, denying insinuation that the action was to spite President Goodluck Jonathan. Excerpts: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in Rivers penultimate week to commission your projects. What informed his choice?

He is one of the foremost Heads of State and Government that we have had in the country. So, what is wrong in asking him to commission the projects? I felt it was important that he came to have a look at what we have done. Couple with the fact that, like I told him publicly, we share a common friend and anytime the common friend tries to say ‘have you seen what Amaechi is doing,’ he will say ‘no I have no idea and I have not seen it. Therefore, I cannot assess him.’ So, it was important to bring him so that he can assess things for himself, so that next time that question is put forward, he will give a proper answer.

So, who is the common friend?

Between me and Obasanjo?

Even he doesn’t know the person. I won’t tell him. I won’t mention it in the public. Just that the person knows that I know he is Obasanjo’s friend.

Don’t you think the choice of Obasanjo was to spite the President? Won’t the president be annoyed with you?

Why would he? Today, some governors commission for themselves. Would he (Jonathan) take offence when they commission their projects by themselves? I saw [Babatunde] Fashola recently as he was commissioning projects. I saw [Godswill] Akpabio as he was commissioning a General Hospital.

Why will the President take offence about that? It depends

tainly get some benefits by identifying with him. He is a man with heavy international clout.

I was surprised by the kind of reception he got among the people that came out to receive him. There were those that were brought by the organisers.

There were those that came on their own hailing him, shouting baba, calling him all sorts of names, Baba Iyabo, Olusegun.

I can share this with you.

He told us how he acquired the name, Mathew. He said that his parents said that he should have a Christian name and he was given Mathew. When he got to the secondary school, they looked at how long his names were and one has to be dropped and that he decided to drop Mathew and the reason he dropped Mathew was that Mathew was a tax collector. I think you can’t ignore the fact that identifying with such an important character will rub off on you, and I think positively.

Amaechi

on the choice that the governor makes. I can ask the President or governor to commission projects. My colleagues have invited me to commission projects before in Jigawa. I had an invitation from Yobe. Adamawa has invited me. I don’t think that

the President will take offence with that.

Was the invitation extended to Obasanjo meant to enhance your profile?

Oh please! Well, looking at Obasanjo’s status, you will cer-

Are you contemplating returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), against the background that Rivers is predominantly PDP? You should be careful with

CROSSFIRE It was an act of injustice that took government from us in Ekiti and Osun states.

Now, we are ready to take what rightly belongs to us. The people are now ready.

They have seen the difference between light and darkness - Chief Bode George

I tell people that the only way the PDP can win is to kill a lot of people. They have to march on the blood of the people to displace us. God is a God of justice not injustice -Governor Rauf Aregbesola

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

POLITICAL NOTES

Confab: Jonathan goes North

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan is indeed weighing options, as the nation awaits his words on the 2015 elections.

Deft moves, body language, shuttle campaigns. All these are beginning to add up.

The appointment of Idris Legbo Kutigi, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria [CJN] as Chairman of the National Conference means more than meets the eye. Jonathan needs the North now more than ever, to realise his ambition of being the first civilian to be sworn in thrice consecutively as president.

Understandably, most of those jostling for the plum job in 2015 are from that part of the divide. The heightened campaign in the South-West cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. At the same time, Jonathan is not at sea in terms of Lagos-Ibadan politics. His 2011 experience is as fresh as red rose flower sweetly tuned in June. The old beat could always be replayed.

Kutigi hails from Niger, the state of two former military leaders, and den of ubiquitous Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu. The former CJN may be apolitical but his appointment could earn some political scores. General Ibrahim Babangida’s voice is not as loud anymore. At least, since his pal General Mohammed Gusau rejoined the Goodluck train.

This is the first time a Northerner would lead the Conference. The last two conferences were chaired by Jonathan’s Niger Delta kinsmen, Justices Adolphus Karibi Whyte and Niki Tobi respectively. The change in baton is for effect.

It is also important that this is the very first time a retired CJN will be saddled with the responsibility of paddling the nation out of the murky waters of dis-integration. A lot of considerations must have taken place, especially, because of initial opposition.

14

POLITICS | THURSDAY INTERVIEW

Thursday, March 6, 2014

PDP lacks moral right to question senators’ defection –Adamu Senator Abdullahi Adamu, former governor of Nasarawa State and one-time secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was one of the 11 senators at the centre of controversy over their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with SULEIMAN BISALLA and LOUIS ACHI, he speaks on the politics surrounding the saga and sundry national issues.

You were a founding father of the PDP; you became governor on its platform and later the secretary of the Board of Trustees. But you recently quit alongside others; how painful did you find your exit?

It’s very unfortunate in the sense that as a person who is interested in public affairs and who came to be identified with partisan politics over time, any person who is close to me and who knows me would ask the same question because he would be surprise that the Abdullahi Adamu we know has left the PDP; a party which he nurtured in Nasarawa State and had the opportunity of being elected as governor twice, and like you observed, was also elected as secretary of the BoT, and later voted as senator. So, why leave such a party after all these. The simple thing that struck is that I have gone through PDP and discovered painfully that the party has a knack for not keeping to its promises. We go round; we campaign and tell people what we will do that the other parties will not be able to do in our opinion.

And we convince people to support us. But once we win the elections, we find people at the top not being responsive to the yearnings of the people.

Those of us who operate at the grassroots bear the brunt. Those who the party threw up at the national level abandon their bases in terms of the promises that were made to the electorate; in terms of living up to the social contract with the people as a result of the manifesto that we presented. After some time it becomes difficult for a person who has some honour; a person who believes in the sanctity of promise, and sanctity of contract to just sit back and watch things keep going this way. So, those of us who share those kinds of worries started getting together to see how best we could cause a change, how best we could correct things. So, we started first by talking to people whom we believed were at the topmost level of the party but they wouldn’t listen.

We wrote letters; we put these things in papers, but

Adamu

PDP is tired of victory; it is mismanaging the opportunity given to it. PDP has failed to manage victory over time. There is fatigue setting in already among the people they wouldn’t respond. We sat with them, and they told us they would do this, they would do that. They promised they would make amends, but these things were not coming, the same way they made promises that they would carry out reforms and nothing seems to be coming.

So, we cannot continue to sit down and wait; we can’t fold our arms or just quit politics. We won’t do that as long as we are able, and we will talk to people and they would listen to us. So, we had to find a way.

And we have many parties in Nigeria, just in case one feels so betrayed, abandoned, or feels there are breaches and he cannot stop them.

It would appear that PDP is tired of victory; it is mismanaging the opportunity given to it. The PDP has failed to man- age victory over time. There is fatigue setting in already among the people and we hear this, and that is what we wanted to correct. Democracy as we understand it is better than the interest of anybody or a few individuals.

After your defection to the APC, you failed to get the letter on your defection to be read on the floor of the

Senate. What is the game there or are they talking to you behind the curtains to reconsider your stand?

For me, am not talking with anybody in the Senate on the screen or behind any door. All I know is that I have two ways of doing it; either to have the opportunity on the floor of the Senate, under the relevant rules, to make a declaration –nobody who is sensible enough does not know that I am in APC now. So for you to create problems for me to make a declaration in the Senate, you are only creating problems for the image of the Senate. All Nigerians who are interested in what is going on are following the developments in the Senate. We have two chambers in this country; the House of Representatives has done it; in our case we signed the letter and presented it formally but just to read it out and allow us to take our place individually and collectively is not being allowed. And what’s happening? They are taking us to court again!

We are aware that there are efforts at the highest level of this country to declare our seats vacant. It was discussed at the (PDP) Board of Trustees level.

We know who is doing what there. We saw this thing coming and we decided to go to court to stop it.

In fairness, however, one or two members of the BoT advised that they should be careful. These are people who had been in the Senate before and they know the procedure so they said be careful, don’t do this don’t do that. In spite they went to court. When we made this declaration they said ‘to hell, good riddance’. We read that in the papers but the same guy who said that is now going to court to stop us. What sort of thing is this? We are playing with the destiny of this country; we are playing with what we told the world; that we are practising, democracy.

If you are practising democracy, why should you stop anybody? I registered with the APC in my home state and everybody saw me. I am not doing it in hiding. But state I want to believe that all these things will come to pass. What we are trying to avoid is to create a situation that will give the Senate a bad image. We are trying to find a way of solving it so that the Senate leadership will have a soft landing on the issue of our decamping. And you can be rest assured that we are more than 11. The 11 of us that decamped are just testing the waters.

How many are you?

I won’t tell you this but the 11 of us are what the Hausa man would call ‘Zakarun gwjin dafi’ (Laboratory birds).

Is there any possibility that that the APC will take the majority in the Senate?

You can be rest assured; it’s a matter of time because there are senators who will have difficulty even being at home. We weighed the opinion of the people who elected us and the pulse of the nation before we took this decision. I am not crazy, I am 67 years old and I will be stupid not to weigh my options before taking the decision. Anybody who knows me from my days in students’ union politics up to today –I have been secretary of a party at the state level; I have been chairman at the state level; I have been member of the executive committee at various levels; I have been a minister in this country; I have been governor for eight CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

POLITICS | THURSDAY INTERVIEW 15

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Braithwaite: There won’t be elections in 2015 unless…

Do you think the national conference would be an exercise in futility if a referendum is not adopted at its end?

The national conference has taken off. With the national conference, a new dawn has come over Nigeria. First and foremost, nobody can stop the national conference, it’s simply unstoppable and thank God because progressive patriots of Nigeria have been struggling to bring about this conference. This conference is necessary to save the soul of Nigeria. If the conference decides that there would be a referendum, there has to be one because no one can override the conference decision on that.

Dr. Tunji Braithwaite is a renowned legal practitioner who has participated actively in the nation’s politics. Twice he had contested for the presidency. In this interview with WALE ELEGBEDE, he throws his weight behind the national conference, but condemns the centenary celebration. He also shares his thoughts on the 2015 elections and the suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as governor, Central Bank of Nigeria. Excerpts:

But some of the delegates at the conference would also be interested in the election?

Like I said, anything about 2015, I am not interested to discuss it because it is waste of my time. It is the conference that is the issue for well-informed and enlightened people, not the 2015 elections.

Many people kept asking why a fulfilled legal practitioner like you ventured into the murky waters of politics. Having contested twice and losing the presidential election; are you satisfied with your political performance?

The fact that I have been a successful and an accomplished lawyer makes it more compelling for me to employ my talents for the people of this country.

Politics is not the only vocation which you can help the people. There are other vocations which I am involved to see to the upliftment of the people.

But in our country particularly, you cannot leave politics to the type of people that have been governing us in this country. Except, perhaps, for the First Republic, there has been no any responsible, worthwhile political leadership. It would have been utterly selfish and irresponsible for me to just sit back and say to myself that it doesn’t concern me.

There will be no future for the coming generation if faithful, honest, altruistic persons do not enter the political fray, if only for sanitization.

On how far I have succeeded in politics, I think that is for history to determine. But for me, I feel fulfilled. You don’t judge success in politics by the public office you hold. Success in politics is how much have you done towards the upliftment of the generality of people one way or the other. I am still in politics and my legal profession till the Lord takes me home. I have had many fine moments confronting corruption in the court.

There is one I am fighting now, the corruption in the town planning system in this country that makes people to build anywhere, inconveniencing others, disturbing flow of rain waters and others.

I hope the judiciary would give a good account of itself on this.

Are you satisfied that the current drama of unremitted funds between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is a product of the fuel subsidy protest which Nigerians fought for in 2012?

Of course, these are the consequences and it is just the beginning. There is no going back. The people of this country would henceforth consistently assert the sovereign power of the people to confront corruption, injustice and treasury looting. We are going to see more of that with tangible results. The young generation must take their destiny into their hands and refuse to be donkey by any government. The government must be accountable to the people for the sake of the country.

The recent carnage in the North-East drew widespread condemnation from all over the world. Don’t you think it is time to seek foreign assistance on the issue of Boko Haram?

I don’t know what sort of elite we have in this country. I was so devastated and sad by the last brutality and bloodshed this Boko Haram inflicted on children in schools who were slaughtered like rams in their sleep. In any other nation, there would have been street protests against the failure of government to do something. It is only in this nation that people can shrugged such off. In any other clime, there would have been protests all over the country. In all that, the government is engaged in worthless, shameful centenary celebration. I am sure something will happen soon.

But critics of the confab believe the exercise will be a mere jamboree?

Those who think like that are in serious error. This conference is not going to confer any advantage on anybody.

The conference is for the rescue of the country. The conference is for the people of this country to consider the basis for their continued union in what is called Nigeria. The basis for the continued co-existence in what is called Nigeria, so how can that confer a particular advantage on anybody. The people of this country are going to be the beneficiaries of the advantage that conference would produce.

Is the centenary anniversary worth celebrating?

We have said it long before they embarked on the worthless and uninformed so-called centenary celebration that it is a shame. I am excited that the people of this country simply ignored the centenary celebrations. It is meaningless among all our people; it is not a question of some people. The people of this country collectively ignored the celebration. Those celebrating it must have been people who have no sense of history. You don’t celebrate bad history. When I looked at the list of invitees, both national and international, it merely confirms that they don’t have sense of history, except for countries like Great Britain. They are happy that you are celebrating your colonisation by them. It is unfortunate that Jonathan embarked on this display of low perception of history.

Could this sense of history be the reason why some families including the Anikulapo Kuti family that you once served as their counsel rejected the award?

Of course. I don’t except the Anikulapo Kuti family accepting such rubbish. It is a badge of shame when you go and accept such honour that will celebrate the enslavement of your ancestors. That is a shame on you. So, I am not surprised that the Kuti family rejected such rubbish.

You defied all odds and threats from the military government to defend the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti during the Kalakuta republic saga in the 70s. What informed that sense

Braithwaite

of audacious courage?

Well, I don’t consider myself a special hero. Most Nigerians in my position would have reacted the way I did.

How could impostors, people who were not voted for, people who shot and stole their way into government come and speak to someone like me who is better enlightened and informed than them. So, just because they hold a gun, I should not do what is right? They came to this my house and I simply told them to get lost and that I will defend Fela, one of them is Ibrahim Babangida. Unfortunately at that time, the judiciary performed below standard. They didn’t have the courage to put the military junta where they belong. But I am happy that what I stand for over the years is beginning to bear fruit in the lives of the young generation. We know what we have done with the young generation in recent times and such courageous stand will be on the ascendancy in this country.

INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said Nigerians should not expect a perfect elections in 2015. What is your take on this?

Why are you wasting your time with 2015? We believe that there will be no 2015 elections unless and until Nigerians have given ourselves a brand new, acceptable constitution which could go either way. It could mean a new federal constitution, or a confederal constitution. So, those who

What is your take on the suspension of the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi?

The handling of the CBN Governor issue, to my mind, is poor. I personally admired the performance of Sanusi as the Governor of Central Bank. I think of all previous governors, Sanusi has excelled above any previous governor of the Bank. All the talk about civil servants being seen and not heard is in the mind of the reactionary, harsh conservatives.

The young man has performed his duties as Central Bank Governor better than any of his predecessors.

are talking and planning about 2015 are wasting their time. The priority for this nation right now is the reconfiguration of the union called Nigeria. So, don’t ask me about what Jega or anybody may be saying about 2015 because it may not arise in the first place.

16

POLITICS | THURSDAY INTERVIEW

Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele is the Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Research and Legislative Budget.

He is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in the June 21 election in Ekiti State. In this interview with ADESINA WAHAB, he speaks on his chances in the poll and other issues.

People see you as playing a spoiler’s role in the June 21 governorship poll?

My answer to that is no. The issues involved are much more fundamental than such mundane and puerile reasons.

To begin with, I see myself as a change agent. The record would show that in the last 11 months that I have been actively involved in the governorship race a lot has changed in respect of governance in the state. Please go round and see party leaders, you will learn that the same governor, who for two and a half years did not know that they exist or contact them for anything concerning governance, is today going round, sometimes driving himself all alone to visit leaders and other stakeholders to apologise and in an unusual manners offering them largesse.

Following my own criticisms, he is now going about cultivating labour unions and their leaders, students unions and their leaders. This is the same governor who had proscribed all students’ unions in the state except that of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti because it belongs to the Federal Government. And today because Opeyemi Bamidele is in the race and because of my own critique of the state of the state, he is now going about doing damage control.

As a change agent, I see this as an achievement. Beyond all these, the race is not about individuals, pecuniary or personal interests, it is about Ekiti people. Yes, we may have our personal relationships, political ideologies and differences, it is about Ekiti first, so if as a stakeholder who feels passionate about the growth of the state, and I disagree with style and manner of government, I should throw my hat into the ring and join the race and offer myself for service.

And events are beginning to show that I am not a gambler and by the grace of God I am in a serious contest to win the race for Ekiti people. To win an election for growth and development which have become the desire of Ekiti people.

So, playing a spoiler’s role cannot be an item on my agenda. If at the age of 50, I feel strongly about something and I had asked as a democrat that we should go through the path of internal democracy and they made it impossible and I chose to seek another platform to run a race, I cannot see any justification for anybody to describe my move the move of a spoiler. It is an attempt to give my dog a bad name in order to hang it. I believe June 21 will soon be here and it will be obvious to everyone that Opeyemi Bamidele is not a spoiler because by the grace of God, I am

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Ekiti guber: I’m not a gambler –Bamidele

to galvanise various groups and people together. Many people who were in various groups and were warring before are now working together as one.

Bamidele

the next governor of the state.

Governor Kayode Fayemi claimed he was instrumental to your election into the House of Representatives.

Well, that is the difference between the governor and I. Some reporters had asked him in an interview some months ago that they knew the two of us together and they knew the role I played in encouraging Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to support him for the governorship race.

Rather than say yes or no, the governor simply said I need psychiatric help even though down the line in the interview, he conceded the fact that I played some role.

But today I can say that it doesn’t even matter what anybody says, it is God who purposed that he becomes the governor and God used everyone of us to realise the purpose.

So, if today Governor Fayemi is saying God used him to put me where I am I will say yes. You know because he had done everything he could to frustrate the purpose of God for my life. I was running for election to go to the Senate and I won the primaries and Governor Fayemi took my popular mandate and gave it to Babafemi Ojudu to go to the Senate. And Governor Fayemi went round to party leaders to appeal to me to go to the House of Representatives and I ended up in the House because I did not want to rock the boat. So, if Governor Fayemi now said God used him to put me where I am, I will say yes. But the question he needs to answer because God will ask him, if he believes in God, is why I ended up in the House of Representatives instead of the Senate that the people freely and willingly gave me their mandate and the ticket. But God is using my being a Rep to prepare me for the position of the gov-

I was a hero yesterday but today they want to make me a villain because I didn’t want to belong to the same boat with them ernor. If I were in the Senate I wouldn’t be running in the governorship race.

The House of Representatives has now become a veritable ground to prepare me for the governorship challenge. I have time to play my politics, to consult and at the end of the day have the chance to realise my ambition.

How do you intend confronting both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election?

Winning election is about what the party stands for, and the characters in that party, and the Labour Party (LP) is blessed with good people and quality programmes that have endeared it to the people.

This contest is not about the parties but about the people, it is about God Almighty. All the people in these political parties put together are not up to 10 per cent of the population of the state. So, if the general voting public say this is the direction they want to go, as a credible politician, all you need is a credible platform. If you have a party that within three months can boast of having not less than 500 members in any polling unit, definitely that is the party to beat, that is the party of the future. I am very interested in building a very strong political party that will change the political landscape of the state. We want

Your critics accuse you of poor performance as a lawmaker. What is your take on that?

Those saying that are people who few months ago were the ones telling the whole world that I was a blessing to the state. Fayemi said it publicly and on tape that I was a great asset to the state, that I was a blessing to the party and state. That I was the best that they ever sent to the National Assembly. Today, I am his opponent and would be surprised if he said such nice things about me. For them to now change tune shows the level of banality and insincerity our politics is. I was a hero yesterday but today they want to make me a villain because I didn’t want to belong to the same boat with them. Also because I demanded governorship primaries against Fayemi. They want to give my dog a bad name in other to hang it.

The issues are there and I want to know if they are familiar with the motions and bills I have sponsored in the National Assembly. The quality of debate I have participated in. I chair one of the most sensitive committees in the House and through that we have carried out a lot of reforms in the budgeting process in the country.

I have attracted more constituency projects than anybody that had represented the constituency even though I concede that they tried their best. I have attracted over 60 projects to the state. As we speak, I am on the necks of various ministers to complete projects that are pending.

Let those who are criticising me tell me that as a lawmaker that if you measure what I have done in the two local governments that I represent, if you juxtapose it with what they have done across the state, they will stand anywhere near me and at what cost? I didn’t have one naira to do that, all I have done is to use my own influence to attract these things and follow up on them.

Over N400 billion has accrued to the administration of Governor Fayemi, what has he done with the funds. These are people criticising me. The issues are obvious and I will not join issues with them. The people of my constituency know my worth. The people of my constituency know I have been a blessing to them. Let them show the people of the state and the whole world where a single water tap is running and that was one of their cardinal promises to Ekiti people and three and half years down the line, nothing has been done and water is one of the basic needs of man. Agriculture that is supposed to be the main stay of the economy of the state has been neglected. Pensioners are dying as their entitlements are not paid.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

POLITICS | THURSDAY INTERVIEW 17

Why I parted ways with Ajimobi –Ladoja 7 Questions Former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, talks about his fallout with Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his quest for a return to the Agodi Government House.

AYODELE OJO reports

The perception in Oyo State is that Governor Abiola Ajimobi is performing. As someone who has held forth in the office and still aspiring for same, what is your assessment of his administration?

The only problem with my cousin – Governor Ajimobi – is that he has not chosen his priority right. I told him that the issue between two governors is just the choice of priorities. If I say I want to build a 60-storey building so that they can put my name on it that it was built by me or if I want to solve the problem of the people and I want my name written on it, that is what I will try.

If you are the governor and you could not be able to take decisions, then it is not worth being a governor.

I also told my cousin to make sure that his administrative cost can be covered by his Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), so that he won’t run into difficulty. Your recurrent expenditure must be covered by your IGR, else there would be problem. For instance, if you cannot pay salaries, officials would throw stones at you; the workers would be throwing stones at you and everybody would be disgruntled. Then you are looking for chaos.

With the reality on the ground, what would likely happen in the 2015 polls?

It means Oyo State is there for pick. It appears as if it is God’s wish that my cousin there now is not working to the best of people’s expectations. We gave him all the support he could get; all what he should learn, we taught him. The first lesson I gave him was that there are three constituencies that you are to satisfy as a governor: the general public, the public servants and the politicians.

I said the first one is very easy to satisfy. I said the third one is the most difficult because every position you have for politicians, 10 people would want it.

So, whoever has it becomes your friend. You will now have one friend and nine enemies. So, you can never win. If you win in the other two, politicians will always go to where people will vote. I said even if you want to go for three terms, you can go ahead as long as you take care of those two – general public and public servants.

In the event that your cousin, Governor Ajimobi, approach you to support him for his second term ambition; would you turn him down?

Unfortunately, public service is not a family affair.

When that was within my power, I gave it. When he won the 2011 election, I was the first person to congratulate him. Then I advised former Governor Adebayo AlaoAkala also to congratulate him. And when he called me that he wanted us to work together, I agreed. All he said was “Egbon (brother), now that the parliament is like this, can you allow your people to work with me?” And I said: “Of course, if it is in the interest of the state.”

Ajimobi asked what I wanted and I said nothing. That he was the one that needed something. So, we worked with him.

So, at what point did you part ways with him?

We parted ways because of administrative style. To us, we have a choice between two governors: One wants to build edifices so that his name would be written on them and one wants to put the people in his heart. And

I feel that the people have the right to their existence.

When he started his programme, especially the cleaning up of the streets, I told him he should not go that way. I explained that these people that are petty traders were the ones that sent us to school with the proceeds from their petty wares. But he said, he wants to turn Ibadan to London. I said no; you cannot do that because in London, if a roadside vendor is not permitted to sell, tomorrow, he is going to queue up for government allowance. I asked where is the allowance in Nigeria?

Though people would be telling you Ibadan is dirty, you have to do your own survey because these are the people that voted for you.

That was where we parted ways.

And I believe if we didn’t part at that time, and just decide to part now, people would think we want to part because he could not meet our demands.

Politicians are always known to be generous. But people see you as being stingy. Why is it difficult for you to dispense money so easily?

Yes, I agree with you that I am stingy. You see, I have a choice. What I ask those who accuse me of being stingy is: if I want to distribute money, to how many people? If a teacher says during our time, he had 30 pupils in his class and all of them were able to sit down, and that a lot of the teachers became principals and vice principals.

Yes, that is the kind of money I can dole out.

If being stingy is having a cause to serve the generality of the people and not to serve a few, then I am stingy. I know that a lot of people believe that a governor must be overgenerous. But I can assure you, when it is necessary to spend, we spend. What am I even buying? In fact, that was one of the reasons I left PDP. There was a time after all our problems, the Alex Ekwueme Committee, Shuaib Oyedokun Committee, and Ike Nwachukwu Committee were to submit their reports; people would come to us and say, “Akala has brought N50 million, if you don’t have N50 million, bring N20 million. Then we started issuing out cheques. Later on I started asking myself, what am I buying? They would take from left and right.

As such, when they got to the committee meeting, they would not take any decision, so that next time again, you would bring money.

Somebody even told us that we did not stand any chance because the governors had given President Goodluck Jonathan a condition that “it is either all of us or none of us.” And since Akala was one of them, we had to back out.

It means Oyo State is there for pick. It appears as if it is God’s wish that my cousin there now is not working to the best of people’s expectations. We gave him all the support he could get; all what he should learn, we taught him

Ladoja

Then, I ask, stingy to what extent? It was my predecessor that used to say “awo ko kaju ilu” (the skin is insufficient to cover the drum). And I said we have to stretch the available skin to be able to cover the drum.

However, stingy or not stingy, what we set out to achieve, we achieve it. In government, there are lots of challenges. Let me give you an example. We wanted to distribute half a million exercise books. So, there was a particular quotation from a contractor that has gone through all the stages waiting for my final approval.

When they brought the file, it was double the price of what they were buying it in the market. So, I called my driver and asked him to go to Agbeni where market women were selling to get me exercise books – 40 leaves and 60 leaves – with the instruction to get receipts for the purchase. I also asked my driver to buy at a particular bookshop. I then attached the receipts and send the file back to them, querying the rationale of the quoted cost for 500,000 copies more than the unit cost at the open market. Yet the contractor was asking for 60 per cent contract mobilisation. If that is being stingy, yes, I am stingy.

At your age, one had expected you to leave the stage for the younger ones. Why are you so keen in seeking a return to the Government House?

The reason is that I am considering listening to the voice of my people. And in a party like ours, where we don’t have big purse to dispense so much money, you need a personality that is known and can be trusted. It is on the basis of that trust that I am staking myself. It is not convenient for me either. But, I have already engaged myself in this public service.

Violence, rigging and propaganda have become part of electoral process in Nigeria. How do you want to confront this challenge ahead of 2015?

We plan for straight election, not for rigging. May be that is where we also lost the other time. But the question of violence, it is only when you are in the majority that you can easily be violent.

So, we don’t really expect violence. But rigging, we feel that you can rig easily where the margins are close. After all, the other time, we won in Ibadan because the chance of rigging in Ibadan is lower than in any other places.

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POLITICS | THURSDAY INTERVIEW

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Obasanjo and I share a common friend –Amaechi CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

your choice of words. How do you know that the PDP is the predominant party in Rivers?

It has always been since 1999?

So, why can’t you wait and see whether it is true or not? You have to be careful. What you assume to be the predominance of the PDP may be the predominance of the manipulation by the elite. It is now that we will source the votes from the downtrodden and then, you can say whether it is a predominantly PDP state or not. I think we should be careful in the choice of such words.

Are you returning?

To where?

To the party, PDP, that brought you to limelight?

To go and dance.

As the nation inches close to 2015, what is the fate of the APC in Rivers?

I am not God. Don’t give me such powers.

What is your succession plan?

I leave that to God. Don’t forget the way I was anointed as the governor. Even, the greatest of all Christians never thought that it would happen. There were occa-

Honestly, the tension in PDP over the sharing of the loot in Nigeria alone is enough to put you into crisis. But here now there is nothing to share, so all of us are at peace with one another sions where I had sat down in Ghana and asked: how did it happen? I started thinking about these prophets who prophesised that you will be governor and I asked, how will it happen? We don’t know. We just watch and see how God does His things. You must take that into consideration. So, there is God’s element.

Then, you do your human planning. But, I am not focusing on human planning. I am focusing on building a party called the APC because there was none some few months ago. That is why we say, if the PDP says that they are the biggest or largest party in Africa, I will say APC is the fastest growing party in Africa.

No party has grown at the rapid rate the APC is growing. Some few months ago, there was no opposition party in Sokoto.

But, PDP is now struggling to retain its status as the opposition party in Sokoto.

It is the same in Kano. It is the same in

CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 4

years....

What is the legality of your continuous stay in the Senate after defecting from the PDP? The PDP has no moral right to question the defection of any senator from the PDP to APC or any other party for that matter. Reason is because PDP’s hands are not clean before the temple of justice on this issue.

You go to equity with clean hands. PDP’s hands on this matter are not clean. How many senators from 1999 to date left their parties and decamped to PDP? Were they thrown out? Were their seats declared vacant?

Their parties even went to court and lost at various times. If by the same rules of engagement PDP loses its own to another party, then what is the problem. The PDP has been the ruling party in Nigeria and I have always insisted that we are not doing this thing right; we should do this or do that. I have always insisted everywhere I have the opportunity that we are the ruling party, therefore we should set standards and lead by example so that other parties will learn from us.

We have allowed other parties to lose their senators and members of the House to PDP, now it is time for PDP to lose its members to other parties and they are crying. The only time that there should be by-election here is when the persons dies.

What is your position on the national conference?

When the idea of the conference was first muted, I saw nothing wrong with it. Yes it is true that there are lots of issues that are yearning for debate in this country. I remember sometime around 2010; I said in an interview: ‘who is afraid of a national conference?’

There is nothing anybody can tell me, given the divide in Nigerian politics, and I will not have something to tell you about yourself.

So, let’s go to a conference, it’s no big deal. I said this around 2010 but somehow, over time, people just threw away the issue of the conference. Then last year the is-

Kaduna where the Vice President comes from. And the APC is rearing its head in Bayelsa. So, we continue to say we are the fastest growing party.

Do you feel more relief being in APC than in PDP? Honestly, the tension in PDP over the sharing of the loot in Nigeria alone is enough to put you into crisis. But here now, there is nothing to share, so all of us are at peace with one another.

How do you see the revelation on the missing $20 billion at the NNPC? You heard Asiwaju Bola Tinubu saying that the NNPC is the ATM of Jonathan. We are not involved. We are not talking about it. We will allow the country to decide.

What does the revelation about the missing oil money portends?

Nigerians should react. The Nigerian Governors’ Forum has taken a position that the dwindling revenue at the state level is not because of oil theft, but because of financial diversion.

A few of your projects are not close to completion and there is the fear that you may abandon them, especially the monorail?

Were you there when I was interviewing the contractor? Everything about that monorail is inside the city

Amaechi

of Port Harcourt. They say they will complete the terminus in October, after which we will put the train on the rails.

We will start the power project very soon so that the train will have power to use. The train is built in such a way that, if there is no power, automatically, it will use diesel. You can see the cost.

If it were to be a country with power, we would not have this problem. You have power and diesel; if it is going and the power goes off, it will automatically switch over to diesel. That is why it is called monorail.

More senators’ll soon defect to APC –Adamu

Adamu

sue came back to the table and the idea was to see if we can introduce one term of six years. That was the main issue. All this talk is just to do with the Presidency, no more, no less. And that the current administration, even governors will have the opportunity to benefit and the president will fall in. That was the ploy. They went to Lagos for the ad hoc committee on constitution amend-

ment. When that didn’t fly, the idea died down. Then towards the end of the year, they set up this committee.

Now why I am against it today is because from all indications, the government that gave birth to the idea is not prepared for it.

Government is going from pillar to post. Today, they will do this, tomorrow it’s not the case. Today, they will do election and tomorrow it’s not the case. And they are aware that there is a National Assembly in place; how are you going to relate this programme or project to the properly constituted National Assembly? When the heat was on, they said when it is completed, we will go to the National Assembly. What is all this going up and down; right turn, left turn, about turn, dismiss, turn back, stand as you were. What is all these?

Now the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has come up with a programme; elections will be held in February 2015; so primaries will be held in October. From now till then we are talking about eight months. When will this conference take place? Even if you behave like an old headmaster, and say you, you and you go and do this, knowing the Nigerian environment, what are you going to do? For me, it is just diversionary, no more no less. Let us concentrate and make a good job of the forthcoming elections. All these diversionary things, I think the president should have a rethink. So much damage has already been done to the project, the conception, planning has been very very hazy. I believe we should not waste natural resources and endanger the democratic project on the ground. My advice is, let’s have a retreat. It’s honourable. They say those who fight and run away live to fight another day. If you say come rain, come sunshine you must have it, well that is good.

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EDITORIAL

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 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

THURSday, MARCH 6, 2014

Nigeria’s deplorable roads a scourge

he Head, Policy, Research and Statistics Department of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr. Kayode Olagunju, has expressed concern over the high rate of deaths through auto- accidents on Nigerian roads. Between 1960 and 2012, some 1,060,507 crashes were recorded in Nigeria, with 322,427 deaths and 1,016,299 injuries. In 2012 alone, there was a report of a total of 4,260 deaths on Nigerian roads; an average of 12 persons died daily and with 20,752 injured. Hence, on the average, 69 persons were either injured or killed on our roads daily; 48,114 persons were involved in 6,269 documented cases.

This means, on the average of one hour one crash occurs on the road with six persons as victims.

In other words Nigeria has five deaths per 10,000 vehicles and four deaths per 100,000 persons.

The foregoing statistics ensure that Nigeria has the second highest road traffic accident fatalities among 193 countries according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). These road fatalities affect men, women, boys and girls impacting negatively on the country’s ability to achieve the MDGs. Road transportation is by far the commonest means of transportation in Nigeria. However, the Rural Road Access and Mobil-

ity Project (RAMP), has revealed that 85 per cent of Nigeria’s roads are in a deplorable state.

RAMP’s national coordinator, Ubandoma Ularamu, observed that out of over 160,000 kilometre of secondary and tertiary roads, with an average registered network of 4,000 kilometres per state, only about 10 to 15 per cent is macadamised. While a large proportion of this network remains in very poor condition, with only 15 per cent of federal roads in good condition, it is sad to note that rural roads that are statutorily referred to as local government roads which constitute about 132,000 kilometres (67.7 per cent) of the entire road network in Nigeria are even in a worse condition.

There are ways to curb incessant road accidents in the country but it starts with durable roads. Bad roads are the principal cause of road accidents and several are poorly constructed, rarely managed and easily fall into disrepair. It is not until when election is at hand that political leaders would start patching and constructing of roads just to deceive the people for selfish political gains.

It is an indictment that roads in Nigeria are worse than in war torn countries like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan among others, while

smaller neighbouring countries like Ghana, Benin and Togo have better motorable roads Ironically, each year several billions are budgeted for road construction, maintenance and rehabilitation, but the impact of the huge investments are not felt. Even President Goodluck Jonathan, in a recent meeting with leaders from the South-South who bemoaned the state of roads in that part of the country, made reference to the fact that between 1999 and 2003 over N340 billion was budgeted for roads, but up till now most of the roads have been abandoned or not completed.

The Minister for Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, has explained this is as a result of inadequate funding, but no amount will ever be enough. What should be done is to prioritize road projects while deploying the much needed political will. Bad roads have negative consequences on various aspects of the national economy, especially tourism and agriculture. For instance, farmers in the country face challenges of high transport cost, long travel time, huge postharvest losses and high rate of auto accidents. The point must be made that goods roads also serve as a development indicator, and obviously Nigeria still has a very long way to go.

Put differently, Nigerian roads have become killing fields and

this national scourge is not acceptable. At least we should value the lives of our citizens. A holistic remedial approach has become necessary. The time-honoured idea of road camps should be revived so that deteriorating sections can be quickly repaired.

Awarding emergency contracts near Christmas time which also happens to coincide with the end of the financial year, does not seem to be a sustainable way of managing our bad roads. Contracts that are awarded at the end of a year are often abandoned in the New Year with no one bothering to ask questions. Nigerians roads are very expensive and yet poorly constructed, hence, quality control must be improved upon and all cases of abandoned road projects must be revisited pronto.

The lack of maintenance of roads in Nigeria has become a public issue as Nigerians are daily lamenting this failure of leadership. Good roads are a basic component of good governance.

Nigerians are routinely being put at risk everyday as a result of the failure of the state to provide adequate amenities for its citizens.

All the authorities involved in road construction and maintenance should buckle down and do something to remove this blot on Nigeria’s image.

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

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Sanctity of Truth

OPINION The self-righteousness in Senator Uzamere’s defection

Thursday, March 6, 2014

No evil can happen to a good man either in life or after death. – Socrates

Sufuyan Ojeifo

I

have read some reactions by the All Progressives Congress (APC) elements in Edo State to the defection

by Senator Edobor Ehigie Uzamere to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and I could not but laugh at their gobbledygook. I can understand their disappointment and pains. But they should have known, long before now, that Uzamere who exercised his right to jump out of the PDP in 2007 and berthed in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) could exercise the same right to jump into another party any time he wishes.

So, I am surprised that they were taken aback by his movement.

It shows the fluidity of the political space and the inconsistency in the character of many politicians dominating the space. Most politicians are propelled by the ideology of the stomach, the politics of enlightened self-interest.

They seek to strategically position themselves for maximum benefits. And when they do this, they most times go to the extremes, spurning decency. They

always behave like the prodigal child in the Christians’ Holy Bible. That was how Uzamere left the PDP bag and baggage in the build-up to the 2011 general elections to pitch his tent in the ACN camp.

But, there was a tinge of self-righteousness in his defection to the ACN. He saw the writing on the wall: that the PDP was not going to give him its ticket for re-election. He made his moves; proved to Governor Adams Oshiomhole that he was dependable by frustrating the attempt by the other two Edo PDP senators (Odion Ugbesia and Yisa Braimoh) to stop the governor’s nominee for the position of the state’s representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), Mr Donald Igiede Omorodion. And because Uzamere was favoured by the Senate leadership, he got the necessary support to push through Oshiomhole’s nominee.

Ordinarily, it would have been a difficult task for Uzamere to dislodge the influential and rich Senator Daisy Ehanire Danjuma and were it not for the opposition by Olusegun Obasanjo,

who was then in the saddle as president, to Daisy Danjuma’s re-election bid. And Obasanjo’s opposition was in spite of Daisy’s husband, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, with whom he had an axe to grind. The quarrel between the two generals, as learnt, had to do with Obasanjo’s rather unholy interest, as sitting president, in OPL 246 (Block 246) belonging to Danjuma’s company, South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) Limited. But he failed to cause the Federal Government to annex the block. He could not also achieve whatever it was that propelled him to covet the treasure

Most politicians are propelled by the ideology of the stomach, the politics of enlightened selfinterest

well of the Jukun general. The court had come to the defence of Danjuma.

Uzamere’s second term in the Senate is due in 2015. But, suddenly, the swanky politician decided, this time round, to dance “Tskelewu” back to the PDP. To save his Senate seat in 2011, he had moved to the ACN. What does he want to save in 2015 that has made him to return to the PDP? Good question! And where does the answer lie? Indeed the answer can be located in the circumference of Edo politics sharing a critical nexus with the 2015 presidential politics. This is an auspicious time for Uzamere, I believe, to demonstrate loyalty to his friendship with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a friendship he struck through his long standing association and alliance with Jonathan’s one-time boss in Bayelsa government, DSP Alamieyeseigha.

To solidify the support for the president, he had to return to the president’s party: so, enter Uzamere into Edo PDP. • Ojeifo, journalist and publisher, sent this piece from Abuja via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

Sanusi and the FRCN report: Beyond impunity Johnson Momodu

W

hen I read the following headline: “Sanusi May Go To Jail”, in the Nigeria Pilot of February 24, 2013, I was curious and wanted to see the contents of the report submitted in June 2013, by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), which investigated the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). When, eventually, I had access to the report, I was amazed by the sheer number of infractions, commissions and omissions, all packed into one report.

The 13-page FRCN report, is a compilation of alleged assorted financial infractions, from the mildest to the most serious – financial indiscretion, misapplication, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, fraud and plain financial theft – committed with impunity and utter recklessness by the leadership of the CBN. While some of these infractions may be treated as excusable human lapses, they are enough, under normal circumstances, to cause a public officer his job or in some cases a reduction in rank.

The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (formerly the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board) was established as a private body in 1982. It became a government agency in 1992 under the Federal Ministry of Trade and Commerce. In July 2011, a Bill for the FRCN Act was passed through the Senate and

signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The primary functions of the FRCN are to develop, publish and update statements of Accounting Standards and to promote and enforce compliance with the standards. Essentially, therefore, the FRCN is generally accepted as a unified independent regulatory body for accounting, auditing, actuarial valuation and corporate governance. Its members, which include the CBN, are mainly government and private institutions.

The reason for going into the origin, status and functions of the FRCN is to show, not only that it is professionally endorsed by all accounting institutions but also that it has the backing of the law.

The FRCN report of June 7th 2013 was a follow-up of the 2012 Audited Account of the CBN, in which some 22 infractions were discovered. The issue of recklessness was raised in connection with certain huge financial expenses incurred under the special access item in the CBN Account. These were the subjects of the query issued by President Jonathan to the CBN Governor on 6th May, to which the Governor responded on 21st May (2012). Unfortunately, the FRCN was not satisfied with the explanation given by the Governor, which it described as “a clear display of incompetence, nonchalance, fraud, wastefulness, abuse of due process and deliberate efforts to misrepresent facts on the part of the leadership

of the CBN.” The FRCN report allegedly found Sanusi to be guilty of wastefulness and financial recklessness in various items of its internal administration of government funds. This was compounded by the allegation of incompetence by the Governor in a number of areas. The report specifically mentioned CBN’s poor handling of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which led to a loss of over N2.37 trillion; unauthorized overpayment to External Auditors and the write-off of “loans to the tune of N3.856 billion in 2012.”

The Report also listed areas in which the CBN Governor abused due process.

They include: the failure to set up a Board of Trustees (BoT) as required by the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the CBN and other Deposit Money Banks on Banking Resolution Sinking Fund; allowing some parastatals to have debit or overdrawn accounts with the CBN; non-implementation of the personal Income Tax (Amendment Act 2011; noncompliance with the provisions of Section 6(1) of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Act Cap 19, LFN 2004), etc.

By far, the more damaging parts of the FRCN report are those dealing with fraudulent activities. Here, there are allegedstartling revelations of falsified figures involving such cases as the amount expended on the printing of banknotes;

fraudulent claims for air charter flights, including payment of Emirate Airline, for local flights in Nigeria, which the Airline does not operate, acquisition and disposal of nonexistent fixed assets, etc.

It is almost certain that the FRCN report contains the highest number of financial infractions ever committed by a single government official in the history of Nigeria. That is why its conclusion was unequivocal: “Your Excellency may wish to exercise the Powers conferred on Mr. President by Section II(2) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 or invoke Section II(2) of the said Act and cause the Governor and the Deputy Governor to cease from holding office in the CBN.” The report also sought permission for the FRCN to conduct a fuller investigation, the outcome of which “should lead to prosecution of those found to be involved in the misappropriation and/or misapplication or otherwise of the funds of the CBN.” For the war on corruption to be meaningful in Nigeria, the recommendations of the FRCN report must be enforced to the letter. The rule of law must apply and there should be no sacred cows. Unless those found guilty in the CBN case are prosecuted, the Government has no justification holding other Nigerians to account when they violate the laws of the land.

• Momodu sent this piece via momodujohnson@gmail.com

LAW THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/law

FOLUSO OGUNMODEDE JUDICIARY Editor

foluso.ogunmodede@newtelegraphonline.com bunfolchester@yahoo.com

Only lawyers without footprints seek SANship abolition – Fagbemi

21

}p-28 & 29

Lawyers to NASS: You can’t order COAS’ relocation

Awomolo, SAN

The government must show more concerns about the lives of her citizenry, this dastardly killing must stop

Onoja, SAN

National Assembly could advise the President on any issue bordering on the peace and security of the nation

Ali, SAN

Mr. President has the power to move the Army Headquarters for convenience sake with a view to restoring peace and order

Who has the power to relocate the army? Lawyers believe that only the President has absolute powers to redeploy the military. TUNDE OYESINA writes.

A

LTHOUGH they were shocked by the latest massacre of over 40 students in Yobe by the Boko Haram sect on February 25, lawyers at the weekend, reviewed a “directive” by the National Assembly that the Chief of Army Staff should relocate to the North-East to rid the zone of the Islamic fundamentalists.

They concluded that the National Assembly had no such powers to order the redeployment of the

military to the troubled region.

The sect, who laid siege at Buni Yadi community in Yobe state, attacked the Federal Government College and massacred over 40 students last week.

However, a more heart-rending disclosure came about 48 hours after the massacre that the death toll had risen to 59.

Prominent Nigerians including the leadership of the Senate condemned the insurgents’ dastardly

act.

Besides, the killing of the students also drew the ire of some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), calling on the Jonathan administration to wake up to its responsibility and provide adequate security for Nigerians.

The NGOs’ spoke person, Victoria IbezinmOhaeri said: “We are deeply saddened by the failure CONTINUED ON PAGE22

22 LAW CO NT INU ED F R O M PAGE21

of the military to protect harmless civilians from these escalating attacks happening at a time the Federal Government has budgeted trillions of naira for security and declared a state of emergency in Yobe and other states in the North-east Nigeria.

“Despite the regularity of violent attacks on schools and churches for more than four years, it is quite bewildering that government-owned educational institutions are not adequately secured in trying times like this’.

They particularly tasked the Jonathan led government to take every step necessary to intensify the search for these blood sucking elements and bring them to book.

Apparently upset, the Senate Committee on Defence and Army, ordered the relocation of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen. Kenneth Minimah to the troubled North-East zone with a view to ridding the region of any insurgencies.

Its chairman, Senator Thompson Sekibo, had shortly after the massacre of the students, urged the COAS to temporarily relocate to Maiduguri so as to put an abrupt end to the dastardly act of the Boko Haram’ activities.

Besides, Sekibo urged President Goodluck Jonathan to make available, all needed resources and logistics to the armed forces to ensure an end to the violence just as he reiterated the committee’s resolve to undertake a tour of the zone, once the Senate, which is currently on a three-week break, resumes on March 11.

He said: “That the Senate Committee on Defence and Army condemns the atrocity being unleashed by the Boko Haram elements on innocent citizens of the country, especially in the north eastern part of the country. We regret what happened in the killing of innocent students in cold blood.”

The Committee directed the army chief to take the following actions: a. Re-strategise on possible new ways of curbing these excesses b. Mobilise all available military resources and face the insurgencies c. We heard of your planned relocation to Maiduguri, we hereby as a committee overseeing your activities, direct that your office relocate temporarily to the 7the Division in Maiduguri and that you take urgent and appropriate steps to quell the situation. d. From today all schools and health institutions should be provided with special security, as we do not want a repeat of these killings of our innocent citizens.

“Because of the situation, the committee will receive your budget proposal without going through the lives as no one goes to the town square to dance when there is fire in his house.

For us, the quelling of this insurgency and giving confidence of safety to Nigerians is of utmost priority.

“The Committee on Defence and

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Why senate can’t order COAS’ relocation, by lawyers

Obla, SAN

Senate President, David Mark

Minimah

Army hereby invites the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to mobilise needed resources for the armed forces to face this national challenge, as this battle must be won to sustain our nation’s stability and unity as it is only in the atmosphere of peace and tranquility that development can be carried out.

“The Senate Committee on Defence and Army will take a tour of the three affected states when the Senate resumes for plenary.”

“This is to enable you take urgent and appropriate steps to quell the situation. The COAS should also restrategise on possible new ways of curbing these excesses and mobilise all military resources and face the insurgents”.

However, Sekibo’s statement sparked controversy among lawyers as to who, indeed, is constitutionally empowered to redeploy the military.

Is it the National Assembly or Mr. President?

Lawyers say the power lies absolutely in the president. To them, the senate’s directive was illegal as it lacks powers to so do.

According to them, the senate had no power whatsoever to initiate orders, compelling the COAS to relocate to the troubled zone. Although the lawyers acknowledged that the National Assembly could play an advisory role in the circumstance, it lacked the constitutional powers to invoke any order, compelling the military to relocate. The powers to so do, they said, lies in the President.

Four Senior Advocates of Nigeria told New Telegraph the sole power to relocate the military under whatever guise lies in President Jonathan as Commander-in-Chief.

Chief Adegboyega Awomolo said the call by the National Assembly on the relocation of the Army headquarters to Maiduguri would only remain an advice and would not be binding on the President.

Specifically, Awomolo said that apart from an order of court of a competent jurisdiction, no other organs of government had the requisite powers to redeploy the military.

He said: "The National Assembly can advise, only the President can order. The National Assembly are acting as a responsible arm of government by making such a call.

They are acting to save the lives of the innocent people who are being killed every day by the Boko Haram insurgents.

"The government must show more concerns about the lives of her citizenry, this dastardly killing must stop".

Awomolo was supported by his brother silk, Mallam Yusuf Ali, who said Mr. President, being the Commander-in-Chief had the power to move the Army Headquarters for convenience sake with a view to restoring peace and order in a particular area.

To Ogwu Onoja, another ‘silk’, Mr. President who remains the Commander-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer has the full power over

We hereby as a committee overseeing your activities, direct that your office relocate temporarily to the 7the Division in Maiduguri

Only the President has the power to create army division or relocate a division to a particular area for the purpose of security

the deployment of the Army Headquarters, although the National Assembly through its oversight function and as representatives of the people could advise the President on any issue bordering on the peace and security of the nation.

Onoja however, described the senate’s order on the military as an affront, which must be condemned in its entirety.

Chris Nwaiwu, SAN, simply said while toeing the line of arguments by his colleagues only the President, as the Commander-in-Chief, had the power to create army division or relocate a division to a particular area for the purpose of security in the interest of the nation.

Besides, Nwaiwu believed that the National Assembly with its oversight functions could not give any order as the purported order was a mere demonstration of its concerns on the dastardly act by the Islamic fundamentalists in Maiduguri.

In his view, Godwin Obla, said that the National Assembly has no power to make such an order for the Army Headquarters to relocate to Maiduguri.

He said the best the lawmakers could do in the circumstance is to pass a resolution and forward same to the President who had the power to make such order.

He said: "But before the National Assembly will make such resolution, the leadership of the house should first visit Maiduguri to access the level of damage done to properties and human lives.

"They are representing the people, they must live by example. The solution to the movement of army has been given by the Adamawa state Governor, Murtala Nyako when he said that you need not move the army Chief to Maiduguri before you deploy soldiers there.

"By implication, you need not move the army headquarters to Maiduguri before you move soldiers to the zone to restore peace and order".

LAW | INTERVIEW 23

Thursday, March 6, 2014

We have indolent judges in our courts - Okutepa Jibrin Okutepa is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. In this interview with TUNDE OYESINA, he speaks on why corruption on the Bench has defied solution and its implications for 2015 general elections.

Okutepa

What is your view on the election timetable released by INEC on the 2015 general elections?

I think the time table of INEC is good, apart from the staggered election. As far as I am concerned, the time-table of INEC is good for litigations to be decided and the right persons are known before the swearing in. Either the President, governors or the legislators, because if we don't have this kind of sufficient number of time, then people who are illegitimately elected may be in office and use state resources to fight their electoral battle. And we would be at a disadvantaged position as the other person who is not in power will have to look for money here and there.

I think, the time-table has put every contestant on a level playing field in terms of how to contest election and also contest the results of election, how to campaign and so on and so forth. Let me say, I am not an advocate of 90 days to election, because politicians need to tell us what and what they will do for us, in education, economics, and social infrastructure and so on. We don't even have a serious political campaign. All that people do is to mount the rostrum, invite musicians, dance and shout without telling us what their manifestos and programmes are. What is the social security plans? How will they tackle the economic problems, unemployment, and the aged; and how will the hospitals not remain mere consulting clinics? I think there is a need to give politicians the opportunity to sell themselves. To make it 90 days to election before campaign can start will encourage thuggery as far as am concerned, because if you don't have sufficient time, you will use force to achieve power. Rather than Nigerians to condem INEC for its time-table, the commission should be commended for giving us sufficient opportunity to know who are to be our elected leaders. INEC should also fight for the amendment of the Electoral Act to give enough rooms for politicians to sell themselves and for Nigerians to know them and for political

parties to campaign, for political education to be given to Nigerians. I am very comfortable with the time-table.

Would you say the judiciary will rise to its responsibility in 2015 in view of a series of corruption allegations bedeviling it?

Well, I cannot say whether they are ready or not, but judging from my appearances before some of the judges, I can say that some of them are not ready, some of them have compromised their stand, some of them are corrupt, some of them are in the pocket of politicians.

So, that is where the National Judicial Council, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, whoever the person may be, will be on the watch out and that is why those who have persistently handled political matters should be reshuffled or if not, they should be carefully monitored so that they will not give political judgments.

There are so many litigations that are not supposed to be in court. When a political party fails to manage its affairs, it rushes to court and the court will issue injunction. Such judges should be dealt with. A judge should be able to sit down in his chambers, read the processes filed, appreciate it vis-a vis the law as it has been established by decided authorities and be the master of his court, not to come and be giving unnecessary adjournments or issue unnecessary orders that would hinder political growth or development. What should be exclusively the preserve of political parties should not found its way to the court and a judge who have read all manner of cases, dealing with political issues should be able to sit on the Bench and give a decision that a particular matter ought to be in court or not, how to proceed and give direction. But most of

our judges are very lazy, they don't read, they just come to court without knowing the processes that have been filed. Even the processes that have been filed are not read. So, they don't know what has been filed, so they are very confused. Under this circumstance, there should be close monitoring by the NJC, CJN and all the heads of court so that they should do what they are expected to do. Some judges are more political than the politicians themselves; they show more open sympathy, sentiments, and so much affinity with some politicians and the reason is very simple: they are in the pocket of these politicians. When they want to travel, they buy them flight ticket, pay for their hotel bills; when they are having birthday, these politicians go there and give them gifts. We need to insulate our judicial officers from the murky water of politics and that is to say that government must also ensure that the judiciary is insulated. Give them good accommodation, facilities, give them good working tools, make their working conditions so attractive, seclude them, because gone were the days when judges live in a place called Government Reservation Area, they don't attend social function, they don't attend any party.

But these days, you will see some judges attending parties, social functions, naming ceremony, birthday parties, call it obituary and so on and so forth. They even advertise themselves, so there is a need for proper discipline on the need of the judicial officers if they must be prepared to meet the litigations that will come up after 2015 elections.

Many lawyers are of the view that there is need to separate the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria from the chairman, National Judicial Council for optimum performance. What is your view?

Well, the call for this may have its genesis in the face-off between the former CJN, Justice Katsina-Alu and the former President Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami. I am an advocate of the separation because the good olden days appeared to have gone, otherwise, if a judge that was sworn-in to uphold the law without fear or favour, ill-will or

most of our judges are very lazy, they don't read, they just come to court without knowing the processes that have been filed. Even the processes that have been filed are not read

affection, is the CJN and Chairman of NJC, in the application of issues before him, he should be guided by his oath of office and not political consideration or ethnic coloration or where he comes from.

But these days, things appear to have become more than what it ought to be. So, it may not be out of place to support that call that the office should be separated.

But if it is separated, who are those to head the bodies, will they be Nigerians?

Of what ethnic colorations? I think, the problem is not whether it is concentration of power in one person, but how nationalistic and patriotic the holder of the office is to separate his personal, community, and tribalistic interest from that of Nigeria as a whole. So, we need to think more of how to re-orientate ourselves, our innermost heart – that is where the issue is because how many Nigerians are prepared to do the right thing? The judiciary appears to be the most marginalised arm of government.

For instance, there are only 17 Justices at the Supreme Court that hear appeals from all the 36 states and the FCT, appeals from all the Court of Appeals from all the states. Why should we have only 17 Justices of the Supreme Court, when indeed the National Assembly with its two arms, have 109 senators, three representing each senatorial district?

Why can’t we appoint a justice of the Supreme Court from each of the senatorial zone and have at least 109 Justices of the Supreme Court, so that all this backlog of appeals should be handled by these eminently qualified Nigerian jurists who abound everywhere?

In the House of Representatives, they are well over 400 members, why should the legislature be more populated than the judiciary? Then, if you go to the executive, the constitution provides that there must be at least a minister from each state of the Federation, then you talk about Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, Statutory Board Members. They are all part of the executive, the Commissioner of Police, IGP, other armed forces and so on and so forth who are all part of the executive arm of government, while the judiciary that settles disputes arising between government and individual, individual and individual, is over worked, underpaid and under-staffed. They are not well nourished, quartered, and catered for. That brings me to the point whether or not the judiciary will be able to cope CONTINUED ON PAGE28

24 JURIST

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Only lawyers

seek SANship He is a prince from Kwara state. Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is based in Ibadan. He speaks on choice of career, challenges, the contentious SAN rank, corruption, law, morality and sundry issues. SOLA ADEYEMO met him.

Fagbemi

Background Prince Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate, was born in Ijagbo, Kwara State, to a royal family.

Of a humble background, Fagbemi went through a tortuous life of ordinary pupil in both the primary and the secondary schools till he bagged a Second Class Upper Division in Law from the University of Jos. In the record time of ten years, he was conferred with the title of ‘SAN’ as a result of the ingenuity and dexterity he displayed under the tutelage of some of his mentors and senior colleagues, including Aare Afe Babalola (SAN).

Upon graduating from the University of Jos, Lateef encountered some problems, which but for divine intervention, would have negatively impacted on his Law career and the year of attainment of his SANship.

Life in Law school Fagbemi nearly missed graduating from the Law School. “Shortly after we were admitted and resumed, I took ill and on the 19th of October, I had to be operated upon at the Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

“Things really took a serious dimension and it had a serious distortion on my studies. I remember those who helped me including Kola Olalere, now a Justice of the National Industrial Court, and Mr Sikiru Sanni, who would bring handouts to me at the LUTH. “The advice at that time was that I should not sit for the examination because I was not strong enough to do it. But I felt that if I did not do it, I might lose my seniority and you know, seniority counts most in the legal profession, just like it does in the military.

“But I felt if I didn’t do it at that time, an opportunity once lost might never be recovered as I seriously believed I would recover from my ill-health. And it worked out in that when I got the SAN, I had barely clocked 10 at the Bar. If I had not taken the risk to do the Nigerian Law School examination in spite of the illness, I would not have been considered for the award of SAN, that year, and only God knows what would have happened subsequently if “I had missed that opportunity. So, I thank God and those who assisted me. In this regard like I said, I remember Justice Fustina Iyabo Kola Ola-

lere, and Mr. S.O. Sanni who assisted me greatly. This is because even after the operation, for about two months, I could not sit properly.

I had to use pillow as support in the car and in the lecture hall even when I felt I had enough strength.

“For a long time, I would only go to school to satisfy the attendance requirement.

I would sign, write my name and then go and sit down. I was so much in pain but I got over it, thank God. Sikiru Sanni would read the hand out to me while I lay on the bed because the strength was not there to sit and hold any object or document. Faustina also did. I thank them”.

Choice of career Before he decided to go for Law course, the young Lateef and some friends had been inspired right from the secondary school. He later pursued it with staunch interest, focus and determination, which paid off at last.

According to him, "the inspiration to read Law came right from the time we were in Offa Grammar School. I attended Offa Grammar School and Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo. In Offa Grammar School, I didn’t quite make it. I had three credits and two passes. So, naturally, I had to take the exams again. But in Offa Grammar School, I remember that I with Folorunsho Awotunde used to leave for Magistrate’s Court to listen to proceedings there, and that was where we got the inspiration.

“But before then, I had always nursed the idea of becoming a lawyer. And little did it occur to me that I had to read first before becoming a lawyer. I was in a way, a truant when I was in Offa Grammar School, but I picked up when I got to the HSC level, to the extent that I got admission to the Warrick University.

“My lecturer then, who was taking us in a particular course in British Government and Constitution, Ms Susan Price , liked me so much that when I got the admission, she offered to give me some help in England as according to her, Warrick University was located in her place and that she would not mind talking to her parents to give me accommodation.

“But I was afraid that some other things might crop

If you want to become a Judge, you must show how many cases you have handled to conclusion like a Senior Advocate

up, and for that reason I couldn’t take that offer. Instead I chose to go to one of these Nigerian Universities. I still maintained relationship with the woman, until 1984.

“When I was in the University, I recall there were about 1, 2, 3, 4 times we got in touch. We exchanged some correspondences, except after a while I didn’t hear from her again. So, that was the situation”.

Experience Fagbemi gathered experiences from many senior legal practitioners, who mentored him. One of them is Aare Afe Babalola, who has produced several SANs in the country.

Talking about his encounter with the legal luminary, Fagbemi said, “Chief Afe Babalola is number one on the list of those who mentored me. And to the glory of God, there is hardly anyone in the legal profession that I have not met, even before I became SAN. If you wish to know them, they are in the record. One of them is Chief Ladner, SAN of blessed memory, Chief G.O.K. Ajayi, SAN, Kehinde Sofola, SAN and those big shots in the profession.

“They actually gave me the impetus, and what I did was to pick something from each of them. For instance, among other things, you can’t beat Chief Williams when it comes to reading the records, however voluminous.

He was a disciplined man. No matter how far the court was, he was never late. And he displayed exceptional learning and courtesy to the judges. Others I admire so much include Chief Makanjuola Esan (SAN), Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), among others. I made sure I gained one thing or the other from everyone of them.”

SAN rank Asked to express his view on the controversial issue of SANship conferment, which some lawyers, led by Pa Tunji Gomez, considered as having been politicized, Fagbemi has this to say: “In our profession, there are parameters: How many cases have you done in the High Court? How many in the Court of Appeal? How many in the Supreme Court, all of which must have impacted on development of law?

“Aside from this, just take a look at the certificate given to you in the university. That is not all. I don’t know if you have ever attended any convocation in the university. When the Vice-Chancellor is to present his candidates, he prefixes his speech with the following words: ‘I am presenting the following candidates who have been found worthy both in character and learning.” So, character comes in also. And in the certificate given to any SAN, it is said, “having satisfied the loyalty, integrity……’. So, it is not enough that you have done so many cases; if you don’t have the loyalty to the profession and you don’t have the integrity, of course you will not have it.

“In my own case, and in my time, you were required to have recorded contested cases in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and in the High Court in important areas of law within the last three years. If it was more than three years, you were out! You were (and still are) required to qualify in any of the three categories

JURIST 25

Thursday, March 6, 2014

without footprints

abolition – Fagbemi of A, B and C. I was qualified in all the categories. As for these critics, my advice to them is that they should strive to become Senior Advocates of Nigeria instead of indulging in vaunting ego.

On the clamour for the abolition of the rank, Fagbemi opined that “people clamouring for the abolition of this rank, are people who are not well to do. They are the people who don’t have anything to show.

“For instance, I know one or two of them. If you ask them how many cases they have done to conclusion, they can’t point to any, aside from basking in the euphoria of addressing the gathering, misinforming them; taking front page of newspapers to articulate views which do not hold water. But unless these views are tested in court, they cannot be accepted. It is not a matter of noise making, or how much you have made but your constructive contribution to the development of legal profession, and the development of law. So, people have been crying that the title should be abolished, but other than mere sophistry, they don’t have any other reason.

“But that does not mean that you don’t have one or two hiccups in the award of the rank. But of recent, you will observe that some other measures have been put in place.

“For instance, before the conferment of the rank, names are published in the dailies for those who might want to object and I have observed on one or two occasions that the Privileges Committee have found it necessary to revoke or stop processing of certain names.

Even, in 1987, I can recall that somebody ran into this problem and was recalled. The then Chief Justice of Nigeria, I think the late Justice Mohammed Bello, or so, had to stop the swearing in of a notable Senior Advocate because of complaints against him.

“So, to come back to the question of some people clamouring for the abolition of SANship, ask them, what are their qualifications? I think they will have this argument that they don’t have their cases mentioned or heard in court. Cases are mentioned or dealt with according to their ages. You cannot go to Supreme Court and have your case heard out of turn except in very serious and exceptional situation. A 2009 case cannot be heard before 2007 or 2006 case, baring political or criminal cases, because these are cases that are given accelerated or special attention over land matters or other civil matters. Criminal matters from the point of view of public policy have to be quickly dealt with more expeditiously than civil matters. So, except in these two cases, there is no other matter mentioned like that. And if the case of a Senior Advocate is mentioned first, that is one of the privileges he enjoys. You cannot run away from it and that is why others are also clamouring to be honoured and have their cases mentioned first like that.

If ten cases are mentioned in a day, they find out that the fact that the case of a SAN is treated first, does not mean that they will not attend to other people’s cases.

Corruption in judiciary Fagbemi’s take on allegation of corrupt practices against some Judges, leading to justice not being seen to have been dispensed as expected was that the issue was a difficult one. To him, judges are not super human beings.

He said: “A number of factors play out to crystallize in a situation whereby judgments are given even against the expectation of the public. But let us get it right, it is

People clamouring for the abolition of this rank are people who are not well to do. They are the people who don’t have anything to show not always that the judgment of the court would comply or satisfy the requirement of public opinion. Public opinion has no role when it comes to interpreting what the law says. At the very best, if the public feels that a particular judgment has not satisfied their yearnings, the answer is in moving the Assembly, the national or the state House of Assembly to amend the law in this regard to suit their taste, feeling or aspiration. Again, having said this, a number of other factors also play out.

“One, until recently, the way some Judges were appointed left much to be desired. Even though the law says you could be appointed a Judge if you have attained the ten year post-call practice experience, in what and which field, is not spelt out.

“It was Honourable Justice Uwais, a former CJN, who came out to give flesh to our laws. If you want to become a judge, you must show how many cases you have handled to conclusion like a Senior Advocate. If an appeal has been filed, let us see it. If you have been in practice, let us see how you have fared in practice.

So, that way, some sanity was able to be injected into it.

Before Justice Uwais’ intervention, the practice was for appointment to the Bench to be based only on attainment of just 10 years post-call qualification.

“But even at that, some people still abuse that aspect.

Some people present motions they have argued as if it is a substantive matter, and in some cases, they were counted. This should not be. But I think, the practice in which the names of would-be Senior Advocates are screened before being appointed should be extended to the appointment of Judges. Those proposed to be appointed and their qualifications should also be announced or advertised so that people can study and if need be, object. If they are meant to serve us, then their qualifications and the way they are appointed should not be shrouded in secrecy. Their appointment is not to be objected to unnecessarily. And, if there is an objection taken, the appointment authority is at liberty to say, ‘well we have gone into your objection, but we cannot find any merit, but do not block us where we feel strongly that objection should be raised’.

“But having said that again, it takes me to the next point: At times, when judgments are given, it may not be the disease of the heart. You can accuse judges of having taken bribe, but in some cases, it is the disease of the head. What I mean by disease of the head is that many people don’t have enough learning. They don’t know anything in that area of the law. “Some people have not practised at all. They just bring them to the Bench. So, what do you expect? What you should expect will be what you have put there. So, if you appoint an incompetent Judge, you cannot say you are expecting any perfect decision or judgment.

“So, what I am trying to say is that the accusation that judges are taking bribe may not necessarily be correct.

But that does not mean that we do not have one or two cases or situations of underhand deals, but the NJC has been sanctioning the erring Judges in this regard.

Morality and the law Issue of morality and the Law has become so controversial among some practitioners that some say that both should be divorced, while others say the two could work together.

Fagbemi has this to say when it comes to handling a case against one’s relation: “The concept of justice does not necessarily have moral or sentimental connotation.

In other words, when you want to interpret the law, morality has no role except in very serious case of public policy. You just have to see the law the way it is, although you may advise that you are not satisfied with the position of the law and so let the National Assembly or the state House of Assembly have a look at that law again.

“What dictates my taking a case is not a question of ‘oh! the public is so much against it’. The question is: what is the legality of the matter? But, I cannot as a lawyer, handle a case against my relation, for obvious reasons. This is because if I do it and I succeed, they will say you have done it well. But if you do it and you lose, they will say it is because of the involvement of the relation. So, it is always better to stay clear of this. It is just like in the medical profession where it is part of their ethics that a surgeon does not perform operation on his own son. It is better to leave it to your colleague to do. But like I said, what dictates my taking a case, apart from being my relation, is the legality of the matter. If it is legal and I feel persuaded by it, I go for it.”

Fagbemi

26 NEWS

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Two Supreme Court Justices, Agbakoba, Obi, others honoured AN umbrella body of Igbo lawyers in Lagos ,the Otu Oka-Iwu, has honoured two Supreme Court Justices and other jurists for their contributions to the development of law. JOSEPH JIBUEZE was there.

T Senator Obi and Justice Iyizoba

Justice Okeke (rtd) and Justice Sybil Nwaka of the Lagos State High Court

From left: Mr Mike Igbokwe (SAN), Deacon Dele Adesina (SAN) and Taiwo O. Taiwo

he Otu Oka-Iwu, umbrella body of Igbo lawyers in Lagos, has held its 2014 annual award dinner, where it honoured two Supreme Court justices and others who distinguished themselves in the development of law in the country.

Also honoured was the outgoing Anambra Governor and Chairman of Southeast Governors Forum (SGF), Mr. Peter Obi. The group’s former president, Senator Onyeabo Obi, who chaired the occasion described the Otu Oka-Iwu as a tool employed to fight all kinds of descriminations and social injustices as they affect Ndigbo with a view to promoting social harmony amongst the various ethnic nationalities in the country through the promotion of the rule of law.

Although no occasion involving Ndigbo seems to complete without the breaking of kolanuts, not even one organised by lawyers, it reared its

head at the 2014 Annual Dinner and Award Night of the Otu Oka-Iwu lawyers living and practicing in Lagos.

The colourful event held at the City Hall in Lagos, saw lawyers dressed in traditional attires, women in wrappers and head gears, men in various native clothing.

After an opening prayer by a former Federal High Court judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke, Senator Obi, however declared the event open with kolanut while passing it round among those on ‘high table’, including guests who were not Igbos.

Sixteen persons were honoured in recognition of their contributions to the development of law including those who were elevated to higher offices.

Those honoured include two Justices of the Supreme Court, Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta and Mary Peter-Odili, and a judge of the Internation-

Anambra Attorney-General and Justice Commissioner Peter Afuba (left) and his Abia counterpart Umeh Kalu

Dero Daniels (left) and NBA Lagos branch chairman, Alex Muoka

From left: Chief Uwazuruike, Louis Mbanefo (SAN) and Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN)

Obi II and his wife, Obiageli.

al Criminal Court at The Hague, Chile Eboe-Osuji, a Justices of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, Amina Augie, Chinwe Iyizoba, Justice Samuel Oseji, and Justice Kenneth Amadi of the National Industrial Court, Lagos, for their distinguished and selfless service to the judiciary and the legal profession.

Others were the Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, as Chairman, Southeast Governors Forum and ‘for his contribution to the development of election and governance, laws and jurisprudence in Nigeria.”

Also, President, Nigerian Maritime Law Association Louis Mbanefo (SAN); a member of the National Judicial Council (NJC) Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN); Mr Etigwe Uwa (SAN), Elder Paul Ananaba (SAN) and President of Aka Ikenga (an Igbo Tink-tank) Chief Anayo Uwazurike were among the awardees.

PHOTOS: Joseph jibueze

NEWS 27

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Court rejects torture claim by robbery suspect ROBBERY Claims by an alleged armed robber that he was tortured by the Police collapses in court Joseph Jibueze

A

Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, has rejected the claim by a middle-aged man, accused of armed robbery, Seun Omolade that he was tortured by officers of the police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and forced to make a confessional statement.

The accused person had said

that he was forced to make the statement after he was allegedly beaten in a “theater” at SARS’ office in Lagos.

He alongside Gbenga Kayode , are standing trial before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye for an alleged criminal conspiracy to commit robbery.

In an evidence –in-chief, a police officer attached to SARS ,Mr Garuba Usman said the two accused persons were referred to his team on November 10, 2011 for further investigation after they were arrested in Ikorodu area of Lagos.

A Suzuki motorcycle, a locally-made cut-to-size single barrel gun, one live cartridge and one expended cartridge

were recovered from them, Usman said.

According to the officer, the suspects said they could not write their statements, so he wrote it for them based on their confessions.

“I recorded their statement.

They said it verbally and I put it in writing. They went through it themselves and signed it. Both of them made a confessional statement to the allegation of conspiracy and robbery,” the witness said.

But defence lawyer Mr Olanrewaju Ajanaku objected to the tendering of the confessional statement, saying it was not made voluntarily.

The judge then directed that

a trial-within-trial be conducted to determine the validity of the statement.

Omolade said when he got to SARS office after his arrest, he was taken to the back of the main building called theatre.

“When I entered the theatre I saw blood on the ground. It was Mr Usman who took me to the theatre.

“He asked me to look to my left and I saw things that look like a man and a woman.

The ‘woman’ had blood on her mouth. He said I should go and kiss the woman with blood on her mouth.

“Then he said I should move to the other side and stand in the blood. He took a big iron

and wood and began to hit me and said I should say something. One man came in and said they should hang me,” he said.

According to the suspect, he became so weak that other suspects were called from a cell to carry him out.

When he was shown the confessional statement to confirm if it was his signature that was on it, the defendant said he signed it, but that it was not the day Usman claimed he did.

“I did not sign the statement on the 10th of November 2011 as Usman said. I was given a paper to sign on 20th December 2011 before I was taken to court,” he said.

Court awards N10m to civil servant over forceful ejection VICTORY Civil servant in wiled jubilation as court reprimands government over forceful ejection Joseph Jibueze

T

he Federal High Court in Lagos, has awarded N10million in damages to a civil servant, Mrs Olamide Ogungbe for her forceful ejection from a property by the Federal Government.

Justice Okon Abang declared the sale of the property, located at 5A Sasegbon Street, GRA, Ikeja, null and void.

"An order is hereby made restoring or reinstating the plaintiff to the property," the judge ruled.

He said if the original structure has been demolished, "the plaintiff is restored to possession of what's on the land."

The judge added: "An order is hereby made ejecting anybody found on the land."

He directed the respondents to comply with the housing guideline by offering the plaintiff the right of first refusal.

Respondents in the suit are the Minister of Works and Housing, Implementation Committee on Alienation of Federal Government Landed Property, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The plaintiff, an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Hous-

ing, had sued the defendants over her ejection from her staff quarters at 5A Sasegbon Street, GRA, Ikeja.

She said in April 2010, over 30 armed soldiers working for the second defendant invaded the house, held her and her children hostage for 12hours, and forcefully ejected them.

According to her, the defendants subsequently demolished the building, during which she lost N1million which kept in the house, and other valuables.

Ogungbe said she was ejected without adequate notice, and was not given right of first refusal over the property before the Federal Government sold it to a third party.

The plaintiff was first allocated a three-bedroom apartment at 18B Ladoke Akintola Street, GRA, but later applied for a change of official quarters which was approved in January 2005.

The government had claimed that anyone whose allocation letter dated after April 1, 2004 is no entitled to being given right of first refusal.

Augustine Alegeh, SAN and Mike Igbokwe, SAN at the Otu Oka-Iwu 2014 awards in Lagos.

Court grants group leave to obtain purchase documents for Oduah bullet proof cars Joseph Jibueze

T

he Federal High Court in Lagos has granted a nongovernmental organisation, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, a leave to file an application compelling the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to disclose the information on the purchase of two bullet-proof cars for a former Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah.

The group sought to obtain the information from FAAN but was allegedly refused, hence its recourse to the court.

Besides, EiE wants information on the cars' purchase from First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) and Coscharis Motors Limited.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa granted EiE the leave to pursue three separate suits filed on their behalf by Media Rights Agenda’s legal officer,

Ms Omolola Adeoya.

In the first suit against the NCAA, EiE is seeking a declaration that the failure and/ or refusal of NCAA to grant access to or make available to EiE the information it requested by its letter dated October 30, last year violates its right of access to information established and guaranteed by Section 1(1) and Section 4(a) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

Cynthia: Court admits defendants' confessional statements Joseph Jibueze

A

Lagos High Court, Igbosere, has admitted confessional statements made by alleged killers of a post-graduate student, Cynthia Okusogu, in evidence.

The deceased was the only daughter of retired Major Frank Osokogu.

She was a post-graduate student and owner of a fashion store in Nassarawa State before she met her tragic end in the hands of the alleged

killers.

The accused persons, charged with her murder are Okumo Nwabufor (33), Ezike Olisaeloka (23), Orji Osita (32) and Maduakor Chukwunonso (25).

The defendants allegedly

lured her to Lagos from her base in Nassarawa State under the pretext that they were also into clothing business.

After receiving her at the Murtala Muhammed airport in Lagos, they took her to a hotel in Festac Town.

28

LAW | INTERVIEW

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Young Lawyers’ Forum NBA should concentrate more on itself than to dabble into issues of larger political interest in the country

For young lawyers, especially ‘new wigs,’ appearing before a judge for the first time can be daunting. A shaky voice; clenched fists; pounding heart; dry mouth – these are some signs of the anxiety that can throw a new lawyer offbalance, and possibly lead to awkward or embarrassing moments in court.

My embarrassing day in court - Adefarati

“I Okutepa

‘We have indolent judges in our courts' CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 3

with the volumes of litigation that will arise from the 2015 elections because the executive is emasculating the judiciary only to its advantage. And if the judiciary cannot cope with the volumes of work, the loser will remain in power, the winner will be kept out of power and so on and so forth. My thinking is that the government must adequately fund the judiciary. The provisions of our constitution need to be amended, it does not matter who is the head of the National Judicial Council, what matters is whether the head has that patriotic zeal, interest of Nigerians at heart, interest of justice at heart and be able to dispense justice without fear or favour, affection or ill will. That is why I don't think that mere separation will bring the much desired remedies that we need.

Come July, NBA will inaugurate its new officers, is the Bar election different from Nigeria’s electoral process in view of alleged moneybags, who have infiltrated the Bar? Is NBA presidency for the highest bidder?

Well, NBA is an association within the Nigerian society and it is sad to agree with the fellow that the painted position is the truth. Money changes hand and some of us have been intimidated out of running for the office because we don't have that stamina to bribe in order to serve an association that one is not being paid. So, I cannot deny as a participant on the field that money does not play a significant role in the NBA elections. And that worries me because we are supposed to be gentlemen, we are supposed to be learned gentlemen, men of proven integrity, men of competence, ideologies, men and women that their words should be their bonds. But even as an aspirant, you are not ready to offer any money, the followership will request for it. Just like the Nigeria electoral

processes, you will see the demands on the leadership: they are overwhelmed.

Somebody will lose his father or mother or spouse, he rushes to his political office-holder to beg for money.

So, just like we have executive beggars within the Nigerian society, there are also executive legal beggars in NBA and that worries me. NBA is not an island, it is part and parcel of the Nigerian society and the corruption inherent in Nigerian society has also crept into the association. That is why the current leadership of the Bar is doing all that it could to ensure that it instill discipline into the legal profession and lawyers who have abused the privilege that God have given to them, NBA had arraigned them before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee and they have been dealt with and more people will still be dealt with. This is because if we want to stamp out corruption from Nigeria, the NBA must stand up to the challenge.

But mind you, members of the NBA are also members of the society, breathing the same air, drinking the same water and living in the same society.

It is very obvious and something need to be done about it. And the only way to go about it is perhaps for us to go digital but even at that, people will still find a way round it. Because past leaders of the Bar tried to curb this monetary politics at the Bar by saying nobody should tour the branches for campaign, nobody should visit the branches, nobody should make donations, but even the branches them-

selves take advantage of those who are contesting election to write letters to them for purposes of wooing them to donate to their branches. That is also the dilemma the contestants to the office found themselves. Those that are not willing to give them money are not voted for. We must therefore agree and articulate whether or not we need a kind of monetary induced politics in NBA. Just the same way as we are criticising the larger politics of Nigerian society, that is why I think that the NBA should concentrate more on itself than to dabble into issues of larger political interest in the country. Because, if we get it right, our members, judges, association, then the political class will be afraid to go to give bribe to judge.

Because if a judge has integrity, if a lawyer has integrity and not a compromiser and he is always ready to do the right thing which he ought to do, we will arrive at a just and egalitarian society . But because we are not getting things right even in the process of our election, we are not able to put our house in order and build a solid foundation that will be a mirror for the society to look at and follow. That is why, I have no doubt in me that the leaders of the Bar, both the Senior Advocates and the senior members of the Bar, the Benchers, the senior judges, senior judicial officers should come together and chat a way forward on how to eliminate from our own electoral process and from the appointing processes to the judiciary.

NBA is not an island, it is part and parcel of the Nigerian society and the corruption inherent in Nigerian society has also crept into the association

started my practice in a litigation firm in Adamawa state, where I found my passion. All the while, as a corps member, I used to appear with my boss in court.

“On a certain day, I got a call from my principal, who told me he was on his way to the Court of Appeal, Jos, and that there was an application I should argue on his behalf in court.

I was totally unprepared.

“It was the first time I’d be appearing alone and the first time I would be taking an application. The application was to be filed that very morning! So, my case was peculiar.

"Where you file is different from venue of the court. Everything had to be done before 9 a.m when the court would sit. " “Before I finished filing, it was about 9 a.m, and when I got to the court, my matter was just being called.

I announced my appearance and told the court that I had an application.

“I told the court that my principal was supposed to argue the application.

But the judge said it was the business of our chambers, and he ordered that I should go on with the application.

“I was caught in a web. I said I was willing to go on, but to be honest with you, I was sweating all over profusely.

But as God would have it, I summoned the courage and argued the application and it was granted.

“As we were taught in Law School , a lawyer is expected to think on his feet on the spot; he is like a soldier that is ready for a battle all the time.

“So, young lawyer should get familiar with all the cases in their chambers. Tomorrow you could be asked to handle any case.

“Diligence matters, because if a lawyer prepares well, others notice.

But once a good judge has an impression of you as bad lawyer, that impression could last for a long time.

So, a lawyer has to be on top of his game.”

l FREDERICK ADEFARATI

BUSINESS Thursday, March 6, 2014

What's news Nigeria shareholders disrupt Ecobank meeting A group of Nigerian shareholders have disrupted the Ecobank Group Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at its headquarters in Lome, the Togolese capital, demanding reforms in the administration of the bank.

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/business

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ayodele aminu, Deputy Editor, business

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

Ships divert N54. 81bn rice to Benin port

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Ukraine crisis may affect wheat price in Nigeria The ongoing Ukraine crisis may mean higher prices of wheat in Nigeria and other wheat consuming nations.

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Broadening local content through SIM card production Local content has always been an issue in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, especially since the advent of the licensing of digital mobile operators in 2001.

L-R : Senior Manager, Treasury, Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited, Mr. Kazeem Owolabi; Managing Director, Mr. Ben Akaneme; General Secretary, Ms. Linda Tobi; Deputy General Manager, Mr. Bola Aruna , during the unveiling of former GTHOMES Limited to Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited in Lagos.

SABOTAGE Smugglers are circumventing policies of the Federal Government.

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Bayo Akomolafe

Poor countries scored low on NGO social entrepreneurship

F

NGO-related social entrepreneurship activity is lowest in developing countries, a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report has revealed.

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BUSINESS CREW AYODELE AMINU, Deputy Editor (Business) Simeon Ogoegbulem, Dep. Business Editor BAYO AKOMOLAFE, Asst. Editor (Maritime) SUNDAY OJEME, Asst. Editor (Insurance) JONAH IBOMA, ICT Editor DAYO ADEYEMI, Property Editor ADEOLA YUSUF, Energy Editor

ourteen vessels expected at the Lagos Port Complex in Apapa have diverted 273,097 metric tons of rice worth N54.61billion, to Cotonou Port in Benin Repub-

M

TN and Etisalat are ahead of other rival mobile network operators in the adoption of network outsourcing services in Nigeria, with both firms adopting managed services

WOLE SHADARE, Aviation Editor

Abdulwahab Isa, Finance Editor Chuks Onuanyin, Energy Nnamdi Amadi, Reporter

last month (February) and this month (March).

The vessels, it was learnt, were diverted due to the harsh import policy of 100 per cent duty and 10 per cent levy introduced by the federal government last year.

The ships include: MV Haci Ali sari with (11,700 metric tons); MV Hector (29,145 metric tons); MV Star Capella (30,000 metric tons); MV Aqua Runner (32,959 metric tons);

model.

Managed services are the practice of outsourcing day-today management responsibilities and functions as a strategic method for improving operations and cutting expenses Just last month, MTN signed a contract with Ericsson to manage 75 per cet of its (MTN)

network infrastructure in Nigeria, a move that stakeholders say would allow the operator focus on its core services of meeting customers’ expectations.

Almost since its operations in Nigeria, Etisalat has been operating a multi-vendor manCONTINUED ON PAGE 30

Star Capella (30,000 metric tons) and MV Silvreila ( 24,000 metric tons). Others are MV Ques (20,000 metric tons); MV Aeolos (25,000 metric tons); MV Lake Hakowe (22,000 metric tons); MV Mareki (20,000 metric tons); MV Atlantic Trade (14,000 metric tons); MV Eternity C (13,483 metric tons) and MV Aqua Runner (20,800 metric tons).

According to information, the three bulk cargo terminals at the Lagos Port did not handle any vessel laden with rice since the beginning of the year.

Also, the Apapa Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has not generated any duty from the commodity this year.

Its spokesman, Mr. Emmanuel Ekpa, a superintendent, said the command had not generated any revenue on rice since last month.

Also, the Executive Vice Chairman of ENL, Mrs Vicky Haastrup, who explained that rice were being smuggled to Nigeria from Cameroon and Benin daily, noted that the two countries were exploiting the policy of the Federal Government.

Haastrup said: “Some of the ships expected in Nigeria are being diverted to Cotonou Port because no importer can afford to pay 110 per cent levies on rice.

“Some ships have been on Nigerian waters since November last year but they could not come to the ports because of the high levy. So, they have to divert their vessels to neighbouring ports “We have not received any ship laden with rice in our terminal since last year. This year, 12 ships were declared for the terminal but none is willing to come to the port because of the levies. They will eventually go to Benin to discharge and the commodity will find its way to the country through the borders.”

Rates Dashboard

DELE ALAO, Brands/Marketing Editor CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor

lic.

A bag of rice is sold at N10, 000 in Nigerian markets and a ton contains 20 bags of 50 kilogrammes.

According to the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA) shipping position, the ships were scheduled to berth at ENL Consortium terminal, Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) and Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL) terminal between

MTN, Etisalat lead outsourcing services in Nigeria Jonah Iboma

Investing in toilet rolls, serviette production plant

INFLATION RATE January 2014 ...........................8.00% December 2013.......................8.00% November 2013..........................7.90%

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

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parellel As at Feb. 28)

USD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N172 Pounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N286 Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N236

EXCHANGE RATE

(Official As at Feb. 28)

USD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N156.75 Pounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N261.96 Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N234

30 BUSINESS | NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Nigeria shareholders disrupt Ecobank meeting in Lome MISAPPROPRIATION Shareholders the Ecobank Group have accused the chair of their EGM André Siaka, of being responsible for embezzlement.

A

group of Nigerian shareholders have disrupted the Ecobank Group Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at its headquarters in Lome, the Togolese capital, demanding reforms in the administration of the bank.

According to PANA reports, about 100 Nigerian shareholders in the conference room, carried placards referring to the departure of the Group's general manager, Ivorian Thierry Tanoh, who assumed duty in June 2013, following the departure of his predecessor, Arnold Ekpe, and the President of the Board of Directors, Kolapo Lawson from Nigeria.

Ecobank Group, created on the initiative of Nigerian and Togolese businessmen, was rocked by a scandal in 2013, which claimed Mrs. Laurence do Rego, a former finance director of the bank.

The protesting group succeeded in disrupting the extraordinary general meeting, accusing the Chairman of the meeting, André Siaka, of being responsible for embezzlement within the banking group.

The bank's main shareholder, the Public Investment Corporation of South Africa, said in a letter last Saturday that

Tanoh should be dismissed immediately. They accused him of management breaches and of failing to raise capital.

The extraordinary general meeting of the Bank was convened to discuss, among other things, improved management of the Bank, bank reforms, which should see a reduction in the number of managers and the reconstitution of the Board of Directors.

But a statement by the group, said its shareholders meeting at an EGM on Monnday, “passed the Governance Action Plan proposed by the Board of Directors in compliance with the recommendations of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria and contained in a joint report by SEC and the international firm, KPMG.” It said the implementation of

the detailed 51 point plan will commence immediately.

According to the statement, at their meeting, which was attended by institutional shareholders as well as minority shareholders, “the current 12 person Board of Directors of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated was retained following the decision by the institutional shareholders of the PIC, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) to withdraw a motion which they had proposed to create a smaller Interim Board.

This would have run the Bank until immediately after the presentation of the 2013 results, expected to take place in June.”

The EGM, the statement explained, also passed three resolutions to amend the Compa-

ny’s Articles of Association. It noted: “Under the new Articles of Association ETI shall not undertake any acquisition, merger or disposal of the Company’s assets whose value is equal to or above 20% of the book value of the Company without the approval of a simple majority of the shareholders present in General Meeting.

“Shareholders voted to limit the maximum size of the Board to fifteen (15) members and to ensure that no Directors could serve more than nine years in total.

“A resolution to authorise the Board of Directors to raise additional capital, as the Company may require of up to twenty percent (20%) of the current issued capital of the Company, without reference to the General Meeting, was not passed.”

L-R : General Secretary, Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited, Ms. Linda Tobi; Chairman of the occasion, Admiral Albert Macaulay (rtd); Managing Director, Mr. Ben Akaneme and Director, Mrs Salamatu Aderinokun, during the unveiling of former GTHOMES Limited to Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited, in Lagos.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Ukraine crisis may affect wheat price in Nigeria higher prices Wheat consuming nations, including Nigeria are to pay more.

Siaka Momoh

T

he ongoing Ukraine crisis may mean higher prices of wheat in Nigeria and other wheat consuming nations.

Jaime Nolan-Miralles, a commodity risk analyst at INTL FCStone Inc. in Dublin, said the crisis “is already firming up cash-market prices in Europe and raises notable questions for grains-flow potential out of the

Black Sea. If this is case, there will be pressure on supplies from Brazil, U.S. and Argentina the first, second and third largest supplier of wheat in the world. Nigeria buys most of its wheat from the U.S. and Brazil. And that will mean higher wheat prices for Nigeria and other wheat consuming nations across the globe. Europe is said to be feeling the pinch already, according to Bloomberg, which said wheat climbed the most in 17 months and corn rose to the highest since September as tensions escalated in Ukraine, a leading exporter of both grains.

“Mounting unrest between

Ukraine and Russia is supporting global grain prices,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a report. “The Black Sea region’s importance to global grain production and exports has surged in recent years.”

Wheat for May delivery jumped as much as 5.9 percent to $6.38 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the biggest intraday gain for a most active contract since Sept. 28, 2012, and the highest level since Dec. 12. It traded recently at $6.2925. Corn for delivery the same month climbed as much as 4.2 percent

to $4.8275 a bushel, the highest since Sept. 3, before trading at $4.74.

Ukraine, set to be the thirdlargest corn shipper this year, mobilized its army reserves as Russia seized control of the eastern European country’s Black Sea region of Crimea, intensifying one of the most serious standoffs with the U.S. since the end of the Cold War. Ukraine will probably export 9.5 million metric tons of wheat this season from 7.1 million tons in 2012-13, making it the sixth-biggest supplier, according to the International Grains Council.

MTN, Etisalat lead outsourcing services in Nigeria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

aged services arrangement.

The projects have primarily been led by Alcatel, and this has significantly helped reduce Etisalat’s operational expenses, while improving service quality for its subscribers. The firm first signed a two year contract in 2009 and renewed it in 2011.

Also in 2013, MTN signed a contract with Ericsson and Huawei that allows the take over of the management, optimisation and field maintenance of MTN’s network infrastructure in all its operational regions in the country, thus allowing MTN to focus on providing a superior customer experience across all its network offerings.

Despite signing the managed services, operators continue to retain ownership and full control of their network assets and continue to have responsibility for strategic design and planning, as well as equipment purchasing decisions.

Mr. Michael Ikpoki, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, stated that outsourcing network operations under a managed services model is a necessary step that would be taken by mobile networks as their services become more sophisticated.

He said, "This engagement with Ericsson and Huawei is a logical step forward in the course of the steady evolution of the telecommunications industry.”

“It is a deal that speaks to our desire to add tangible value to the overall customer experience on our network, as we yield the routine management and maintenance of our infrastructure to these global players, to enable us focus on meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers.”

He concluded by saying, “The managed services decision is consistent with our commitment to delivering a bold new digital world to our esteemed customers across Nigeria.”

Both MTN and Etisalat appeared to have fared better than other operators as they have recorded impressive growth figures in recent times

BUSINESS | ICT

Recently, the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, said government will ban importation of subscriber identity module cards into the country as a means of promoting local production. JONAH IBOMA reports that the initiative is a timely step.

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ocal content has always been an issue in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, especially since the advent of the licensing of digital mobile operators in 2001.

Ownership of the major networks has been predominantly foreign, just as many important positions have also been held by non-Nigerians over time. For instance, the position of chief executive of MTN has always been held by a foreigner until the appointment of Mike Ikpoki into the post in 2013.

Aside these, the telecommunications networks run on infrastructure that are all almost made in Europe, North America, or Asia. Even marketing communication positions in some of the telecommunications companies including software and hardware vendors are often held by people from Middle East, South Africa or Europe.

Probably the most surprising was the printing of top-up (recharge) cards outside the country at the advent of GSM services in 2001 until 2003, when government’s strong objection, coupled with massive media campaign, led to a ban on offshore printing of such cards.

The implication of all these is that much of the benefits that have arisen from the massive growth of Nigeria’s telecommunications and Information technology sector has not benefitted Nigerians. The profit made by operators, handset makers and other service providers often leaves the shores of Nigeria to some other countries.

So, when, recently, the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, said government will be banning importation of SIM cards into Nigeria as from 2015, the news was received by many people as a step in the right direction that will further deepen local content in the sector.

Speaking at an interactive session with journalists, she said: “Yes, we gave telecoms operators operating in the country ultimatum to stop im-

Mrs. Johnson

portation of SIM cards because government is aware that the SIM cards could be produced locally in Nigeria if the operators are willing to boost local content.

“So we gave them the timeframe of two years from the day the campaign was launched, which was in December last year (2013). So by December 2015, we expect all telecom operators to begin local SIM card.”

Johnson further said that the two year period was arrived at after due consultation with industry stakeholders.

“In the course of our consultation with the operators, government was made to understand that operators do place orders for SIM cards on a long term basis and government decided to allow them receive the last batch of orders placed before they stop further importation,” she said.

It will be recalled that when the first three digital mobile networks, Econet Wireless,

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga

MTN and M-tel were licensed in 2001, they started their businesses by printing top-up recharge cards abroad. However, the idea of printing recharges cards today, especially the lower denominations, has moved almost entirely from operators into private hands.

It is something that people do at their homes and small offices once they have purchased the codes.

The same thing is expected by government to happen, although, manufacture of recharge cards would not be everybody’s affairs, but a job to be limited to only some capable firms.

But the idea of increasing local content in the telecoms sectors has received praises of experts. According to Olaniyi Adeniyi-Obabiyi, CEO Total Information and Telecom, the idea of SIM card production is something that can be handled easily locally and should be encouraged. He said this would

Our local industry needs to prepare very well and put in place all that is needed for local SIM card production in the country. This is so because they must be able to produce the same quality of SIM cards that were being ordered by operators.

certainly create jobs for Nigerians and thereby keep some of the value generated in the sector within the country.

A point that has also been made by industry watchers is that the government’s decision will ensure that many international cards companies such as Visa and Mastercard also put a notable percentage of their income into developing the local economy.

However, the National Coordinating Consultant, Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Simon Aderinola, noted that while it is a good idea to commence local manufacture of SIM cards, care must be taken to ensure that quality is not compromised.

“Local manufacture of SIM cards is good and given that the pronouncement by the Minister of Communications Technology is that the new policy will start in 2015, that gives those who want to be involved some time to prepare properly.

But care must be taken to ensure that locally manufactured cards meet international standards and have necessary security features. This is important so that we will not have to regret why we started the manufacturing in the first place and so that we will not encourage smuggling.”

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Broadening local content through SIM card production

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Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Jonah Iboma 08050498516

Towards effective national ICT strategy J

ust about a fortnight ago, the social media week was observed in Lagos as in many cities globally. Social Media Week is a worldwide biannual event (held February and September) exploring the social, cultural and economic impact of social media.

Expectedly, the Lagos event drew a huge attendance from many young people that use the Internet for their business and social activities, as well others in the public service such as the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson.

While it is good that Nigerians held such an event in the country, in what could be looked at as a move with contemporary global culture, it must be stated that there is far more that Nigeria must be concerned with about the use of social media, especially to ensure a better society for all.

A recent event that readily comes to mind on this issues is the matter of Reno Omokri, the Special Assistant on Social Media to President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been at the centre of controversies on an article that sought to link the recent hike in Boko Haram attacks to the recent suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN).

Omokri had been accused by various online publications to have posed as one Wendell Simlin, to author and circulate a Microsoft Word document that sought to blame Sanusi’s sympathisers for the rise in violence in the North-East in recent weeks.

The claims by people who laid accusations against Omokri was that a simple check on the properties of the document revealed his name while the IP address of the source document turned out to be around Kubwa, a town in the outskirts of Abuja.

It is clear to me that while Omokri might be holding an impressive position in government, his IT skills leave much to be desired. Some people CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

How to achieve low right of way charges, by experts DEVELOPMENT ICT industry watchers canvass cost reduction to aid infrastructure development Stories: Jonah Iboma

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reduction of the high cost of procurement of Right of Way (RoW) has been identified as an important step that needs to be taken towards achieving quicker broadband penetration in Nigeria, according to experts in the telecommunications industry.

Speaking against the backdrop of the recent agreement reached between the Ministry of Communications Technology and Lagos State Government for the reduction of Right of Way charges from N3000 to N500 per metre, they noted that the development was a very positive one for Nigeria’s telecommunication infrastructure growth.

President, Association of Telecommunications subscribers, Mr. Deolu Ogunbanjo is one of those who support the reduction, noting that it will impact the development of the sector positively.

It will be recalled that many telecommunication firms had consistently been complaining about the high charges paid to state and local governments for Right of Way before they build their infrastructure, claiming that it had been slow-

ing down development aside being additional taxation.

On this basis, the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, in September 2013, promised to engage the relevant authorities as an expedient means of bringing down these costs and also addressing the issue of multiple taxation in the telecommunications sector. An important focal point of the minister’s engagement so far is the creation of a standardized Right of Way (ROW) charge across states.

The Chief Executive Officer, Cane Digital Systems, Mr. Austin Egbunike, stated that although there is a reduction said the reduction of Right of Way charges, it would have been better o drop such

charges completely. He hinged his position on the fact that Nigeria is pursuing a policy of promoting broadband penetration.

“I believe that government should focus on providing specifications for operators so that whosoever is interested in building either power or telecoms infrastructure will know what is required. Infrastructure companies already spend a lot of money on labour and there should be no need to put additional burden of payment of right of way charges.

He however commended the reduction noting that it will help in reducing access charges to en-users. He stated that lack of harmonized regulations coupled with multiple taxation in a technical business community such as the

telecommunication sector, hinders licensing commitments encumber competition and limits consumer user experience.

The Chief Executive Officer, MetroSculpters, Mr. Tunde Odusola, however said the Federal government should reduce the burden that states bear so that they will have to resort to placing extra charges on telecom operators.

According to him, “Fibre optic cable deployment is being held up in several states particularly over Right of Way (ROW) payments which have already been made to the Federal Government and this pushes the additional cost on the end users and makes the basic telecom services seem beyond the reach of the common man.”

L-R: Dr. Mrs. Rachael Adebayo, Acting Registrar, Landmark University; Professor Yemi Nathaniel,Pro Chancellor; Mr. Tim Akano, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, New Horizons Nigeria and Professor Mathew Ajayi, Vice-Chancellor, Landmark University, after the commissioning of the New Horizons-Landmark University International IT Resource Centre, at Omu-Aran, Ilorin, Kwara State, recently.

Telecoms: MTN to test Ericsson’s new indoor system

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ricsson, one of the world’s leading telecommunications infrastructure companies has signed an agreement with MTN for a trial for the new Ericsson Radio Dot System in public venues and enterprise buildings across South Africa, and later across MTN operations.

This means that 21 other countries in Africa and the Middle East where MTN operates will have the same system in the near future.

Ericsson Radio Dot System is a cellular radio that is small enough to fit a person's hand, but provides quality indoor coverage that previously re-

quired complex in-building installment. The disk-shaped, breakthrough solution addresses a broad range of scenarios for providing high-quality access to mobile broadband indoors.

The solution has been designed to address the challenges presented by in-building environment for mobile operators, concerning complexity, scalability and service continuity. Current indoor solutions are built mainly for voice coverage and do not meet the growing capacity demands of applications.

The Ericsson Radio Dot System was introduced to the Afri-

can market at AfricaCom conference in November, 2013 and MTN South Africa, pioneers of LTE deployment in the region, will be the first operator in Africa to put the Ericsson Radio Dot System on trial.

Fredrik Jejdling, Head, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa said, “Our research predicts mobile data traffic will grow 17 times over the next five years driven by app culture and video. As such leading operators like MTN are focused on improving indoor network performance and coverage.

The Radio Dot System is a game changer, designed to empower mobile and converged

operators to seamlessly deliver integrated cloud and mobile broadband services to their customers.”

The Ericsson Radio Dot System introduces a revolutionary antenna element, or “dot,” which delivers mobile broadband access to users.

Because of its convenient size, scalability, and compelling evolution path, the Radio Dot System caters to both business and consumer users in a broad range of enterprise buildings and public venues. The Ericsson Radio Dot System is fully integrated with the operators’ network.

Etisalat opens 200 centres in Nigeria A

bout 200 experience centres have been opened across the country by Etisalat Nigeria. The centres are special customer service locations designed by the firm to attend to customer needs and provide them access to all the various services the firm offers.

One of the latest centress called ‘Gold Series’ experience centre was opend at Victoria Island, Lagos, last week.

Etisalat the new state-ofthe-art centres are targeted at esteemed customers and will provide an environment that encourages them to explore and immerse themselves in the essence of the Etisalat brand.

The Director, Brands and Communication, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. EnitanDenloye, said that the centres were designed to enable customers explore and experience the products and services offered by the brand in a highly interactive and exciting environment. He added that the centres' design stimulate the senses and educate the customer on what’s possible with the brand’s technology.

Denloye said, “The new gold series centres encapsulates the essence of our brand and brings it to life for our customers. The retail touch point is a very important “momentof-truth” area in the telecoms industry. This is a physical centre where our customers come in contact with our innovative services and get to experience what we mean when we say we are not just a network but an attitude."

He stated further that the firm was taking shopper experience to the next level.

"Every consumer that walks into any Etisalat experience centre would be enmeshed in our world of innovation, quality of service and customerfriendly environment. This is the 0809ja way of life which is better experienced than explained”.

The Director, retail sales at Etisalat Nigeria, Charles Ogunwuyi stated that, “In putting together this concept, we wanted to focus on creating a world class experiential environment that makes technology more approachable, fun and interactive for our customers."

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

KNOWLEDGE New centre to boost ICT education at tertiary level

Stories: Jonah Iboma

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ew Horizons Nigeria has opened an international IT resource centre valued at over N100 million at Landmark University, Omu-Aran, near Ilorin, Kwara State. The centre will empower students of the institution with the most sought-after IT skills and pro-

New Horizons opens N100m IT centre in varsity fessional certifications.

New Horizons is a leading IT training institution globally with 300 world-class IT training and education centres in 80 countries on six continents.

New Horizons courses are based on leading IT technologies and are tailored to position graduates for global competitiveness. The IT resource centre which comprise two

Institute to honour Obasanjo, others

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s part of activities to commemorate its maiden Induction/Investiture ceremony slated for March 15, 2014, at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, the Institute of Information Management (IIM) has announced plan to honour different stakeholders in Nigeria and other parts of the world including state governors, past and present public office holders, captains of industries including leaders across the various sectors of the economy.

The Institute of Information Management (IIM) is a professional membership, driven Institute, developed to serve the growing community of data, information, records, document and archives management professionals who are tasked with managing the dynamic information life cycle within the enterprise.

Dignitaries expected at the event and to be honoured include former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Oba (Dr) Olu-

sanya Adegboyega Dosunmu, the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Minister for Information, Labaran Maku and Chris Onyemenam - DG National Identity Management Commission.

Others are Babatunde Raji Fashola, Lagos State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosu, Ogun Sate Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, State of Osun Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, Edo State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, Akwa Ibom Governor, Dr. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso Kano State Governor, as well as other state governors.

Also on the list of the dignitaries are Mrs. Beatrice Obiageli Ubeku, President - West African Women Association, Mrs. Florence Seriki, Austin Okere, Dr. D.K. Olukoya - General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, as well as many other MDs and CEOs of major institutions, information management and technology firms.

lecture halls at the varsity contains 150 state-of-the-art compact desktop computers, projectors, software for laboratories practice, over 5,000 textbooks covering several IT and e- businesses courses, among others.

The Pro Chancellor of Landmark University, Professor Yemi Nathaniel, who commissioned the IT resource centre alongside the vice chancellor, Professor Mathew Ajayi; the acting registrar, Dr. Mrs. Rachael Adebayo and many other prefessors, academic and nonacademic staff and students, enjoined the students to avail themselves of the opportunities that New Horizons brings to their future.

The vice chancellor who welcomed the New Horizons team led by Mr. Tim Akano, its managing director, said the journey to actualise the

project began four years ago.

“I want to specially commend the New Horizons team for their tenacity and for not giving up even when things seems not to be going the way they were expecting. I know the impact New Horizons is making on Covenant University has been wonderful. “That is why when I resumed here I stated that certified IT professional courses must be part of our curriculum.

“I want our students to take maximum advantage of the opportunities available at the IT resource centre. I believe even if you are studying History with the skills and certification programmes offered by the New Horizons/Landmark University you can work anywhere in the world including the oil industry.” He said the role IT plays higher institutions like Landmark Universi-

ty cannot be overemphasized.

Prof Ajayi said right from inception, the school invested millions of naira in ICT connecting the school’s classrooms, lecture halls, halls of residence and offices with fibre optic cables to provide high speed internet to aid instructions. “Every organisation is seeking competitive advantage; I believe with this partnership with New Horizons, we are in for a good time. We are blessed to have New Horizons.

Tim Akano, in his brief speech spoke on how the ICT world is being controlled by young innovators who have founded companies like Google, Facebook andWhatsApp among others. He urged the students to empower themselves with IT professional certifications to be relevant in today’s world.

S1 Group Deputy General Manager, Sharp Corporation Japan, Mitsuo Nakashima, Managing Director Dajcom Limited, David Safa and the Managing Director Sharp Middle East FZE Dubai, Fumio Yamaguchi at the partnership announcement between Sharp and Dajcom in Lagos.

Towards effective national ICT strategy CONTINUED from PAGE 31

can easily allege that the said document could have been circulated by enemies of government who used Omokri’s name to send out such malicious information in order to discredit President Goodluck Jonathan’s government. This sort of improbable scenario should have been thought of earlier by those using technology tools to offer government service and adequately addressed.

The poor use of technology in governance and by those in position of authority can be seen in many government

establishments. The case of many fraudulent persons putting up fake websites of many important government establishments such as the CBN and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that are used to defraud unsuspecting public, comes to mind.

There is still a lot that government must do concerning IT usage and deploying social media to boost governance. It is a lesson to countries like Nigeria on the need to properly develop sustainable and visionary strategies on ICT use going forward.

One must also add that it seems government was taken

aback by the amount of sophistication and expertise that Nigerians have on the use of IT tools.

It is clear that if government had an effective monitoring system, it would have probably intercepted some messages that Boko Haram people had been using both the internet and mobile networks to send out.

Nigeria cannot behave as if it is different from the rest of the world. The IT space, especially the Internet, is one that people everywhere are using to better their lot socially, economically and even militarily An IT expert recently pointed out the need to start develop-

ing Nigeria’s own local cyber warriors who would rise up and defend our sovereignty when the need arises because, according to him, the wars of the future will be fought electronically rather than physically. If there is cyber wars today, where will Nigeria be?

There are grave implications for people, businesses as more Nigerians are coming online Today, the National Information Technology Development Agency must work hard with other government agencies at different levels towards understanding how the global IT industry is developing and how

to use it best for Nigeria.

What happened with Edward Snowden, the American computer specialist, former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and former contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) is a huge lesson.

Similarly, the activities of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks and how his expertise has enabled him to gain access to classified document sent over the internet globally also suggest that nations that want to be powerful in the future must take ICT very seriously. Nigeria must not be an exception.

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Obsolete train

Excerpts of an overview of the Nigerian industrial sector by Oxford Business Group (OBG). We begin the publication of this vital piece this week and will continue through the next couple of weeks.

Stories: Siaka Momoh

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he Nigerian industrial sector has challenges, infrastructural challenges, to be precise. The Oxford Business Group (OBG), in its 2013 report on Nigeria, believes that despite these challenges, there are reasons to be optimistic about the future.

The group argues, as manufacturers scour the globe for new growth opportunities, a few markets offer greater long term potential than Nigeria which boasts of an enormous domestic population, plentiful feedstock and limited market penetration. It says current business conditions, however, including sky-high operation costs and cheap unregulated imports, make it difficult for industry to survive, much less thrive.

It says as a result of this, the manufacturing firms that have already laid the strong foundations in Nigeria are in it for the long run. “Indeed, the growth that it has seen to date, despite limited electricity, minimal infrastructure and weak human capital – should mean they can expect to see significant rise in returns as conditions gradually improves.

This is cheering news for Nigerian

Nigerian industrial sector

‘Hope not lost despite challenges’ industry stakeholders, but government should rise up to its responsibilities because the burden of costs of independently generated electricity, constructed roads and water boreholes is unpalatable to business owners and consumers.

Recent success OBG cites the total value of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector which increased by 7.55 per cent in 2012, reaching N761 billion ($4.8 billion at the current base prices, up from N634 billion ($3.9 billion) in 2011. Citing reports from the CBN, it says key drivers of growth were the cement industry, non-metallic segments and the food and beverage industry, which saw increases in production of 17 per cent, 9.1 per cent, and 8.8 per cent respectively.

Manufacturing companies experience slumps in 2012, but slumps are no anomaly in Nigeria, it states. It adds that government is now allocating more resources to manufacturing but is quick to add that the country remains dependent on hydrocarbons profits and has traditionally invested little in industrial production beyond the oil and gas industry. Agriculturerelated manufacturing is calling for

attention. Government’s budgetary allocation to this sector remains abysmally poor ranging between 1.7 and 2 per cent! This is far short of the 10 per cent global recommendation.

OBG recounts manufacturing reached a peak in 1981, contributing about 10 per cent of GDP, but has since fallen noticeably. It notes: “In 2012,

manufacturing comprised just 4.6 per cent of total GDP. For the last two years, capacity utilisation has hovered around 1990 levels and companies have been closing. The group is right. We have witnessed the closure of Dunlop and Michelin, Nigeria’s two frontline CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

FBN Purchasing Managers’ Index improves in February Siaka Momoh The FBN Purchasing Managers’ Index for February 2014 just released, according to a recent report from the company, is a sweet healthy improvement for the month, showing a 61.6 per cent comfortable headline, all five subindices in positive territory, highest for new orders and low for delivery times.

The five variables in the PMI are output, employment, new orders, delivery times from suppliers and stocks of purchases. They have equal weightings in the index, and respondents are asked to adjust their replies for seasonal fac-

tors. The sample population covers a good cross-section of the sector with large, medium-sized and small firms.

The FBN research report states: “Our latest headline reading shows a strong pick-up from the 53.6 posted in January. Our take on the marked improvement in the sub-indices for output and new orders is that consumers are recovering from the heavy expenditure associated with the festive period.

“In frontier markets such as Nigeria, we are not surprised by large movements in the monthly readings because CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

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Poor countries scored low on NGO social entrepreneurship scale CHALLENGE Need for poor countries to up game in NGO-related social entrepreneurship.

Siaka Momoh

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GO-related social entrepreneurship activity is lowest in developing countries, a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report has revealed.

The report says when looking at different types of social entrepreneurs, those involved in NGOs form the lowest proportion of total social entrepreneurship activity (less than

30 per cent) in developing countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America as opposed to more developed economies like the U.S. and European countries where NGOs are more prevalent.

It says the relatively high proportion of NGOs in the U.S. concurs with recent studies on social entrepreneurship in that country, which have cited nonprofit social enterprise as the most common form of social enterprise despite the rapid growth of commercial forms of this type of organisation.

“Entrepreneurship ventures may also vary in the extent of focus on social and commercial goals,” it says.

The report examined four categories: Pure social entrepreneurial activity (where the individual launches or runs a social organisation that has no commercial activities); Pure commercial entrepreneurial activity (where the individual launches or runs a commercial organisation that has no particular social goals); Overlapping social and commercial entrepreneurial activity (where the individual launches or runs one and the same organisation that is both commercial and social in nature); and Simultaneous social and commercial entrepreneurial activity (where the individual launches or runs both a social and commercial organisation

which are different entities).

It adds that overall, regions with higher pure commercial activity (such the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America) also exhibit comparatively higher rates of pure social entrepreneurial activity. “In other words, the higher the level of a region’s pure commercial entrepreneurship, the more significant is the level of overlap between social and commercial entrepreneurship, supporting the notion that entrepreneurial economies tend to offer a more favourable setting for undertaking socially innovative initiatives that depart from the traditional third sector.

The report examines in detail, the characteristics of social entrepreneurs. It notes there are several interesting findings about the relatively high prevalence of women, the young age of social entrepreneurs, and the diverse educa-

tional and work. It says males are generally more likely to start a social venture than are females, but says the social entrepreneurship gender gap is not as high as with traditional commercial entrepreneurship; that the male/female social entrepreneurship activity (SAE) ratio varies tremendously across countries.

It cites the examples of Malaysia, Lebanon, Russia, Israel, Iceland and Argentina whose women are more likely to start a social venture than men. The ratio is about equal in Latvia, the U.S., Finland and China, the report notes.

It says males outnumber females the most in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip; that the gender gap is also apparent across regions, with the greatest male/female SEA ratio CONTINUED ON PAGE 37

‘Hope not lost despite challenges’ CONTINUED from PAGE 34

tyre manufacturers. We have also witnessed the death of a good number of textile plants.

FBN Purchasing Managers’ Index improves...

CONTINUED from PAGE 34

of the challenging operating environment. The current preoccupation of manufacturers is the extended delay in the clearance of goods at the ports following the introduction of new procedures by the customs service.”

FBN Research findings is corroborated by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry(LCCI) which recently noted with concern the persistent challenges in the trade facilitation processes at the nation’s ports and its implication for the cost of doing business in Nigeria.

According to LCCI, “most often, importers are compelled to pay huge demurrage for delays which are not their own making. There have been reports of delays arising from shipping companies, terminal operators and the Nigerian Customs service. Invariably, importers are compelled to pay for these shortcomings.”

FBN manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Nigeria takes the temperature of the sector.

It surveys business and consumer confidence and expectations. It is developing into a core forward economic indica-

tor for analysts, policymakers and financial market players.

A PMI is a simple exercise.

A selection of companies is asked their view each month on core variables in their business. The respondent, who is characteristically the purchasing manager in a larger firm, has three choices of reply: better, unchanged or worse than the previous month.

According to the most used methodology, 50 marks a neutral reading and anything higher suggests that the manufacturing economy is expanding.

Readings are released at the start of the new month.

Stability It says existing producers have managed to establish strong presence in the rapidly growing market that has tariff-free ties to a sub-region of around 300 million people despite the challenges facing the sector. It states that the last few years of stable macro-economic policy has been a boon to producers borrowing on international markets. It adds that currency risk has been reduced with inflation holding steady at around 10 per cent after years of fluctuating.

Government policies The newest is the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP). This was launched in 2012 to increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP from 4 per cent to 10 per cent in the next four years.

This, according to OBG’s report, is one of the initiatives meant to boost job creation, improve per capita income, slow import growth and reduce

exposure to commodity volatility. OBG says the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), the agency responsible for developing policy programmes, is working with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to reduce substandard imports from about 80 per cent of the market to 30 per cent and is forming a committee of industrial representatives to enact a new tariff regime. The 12-member committee is tasked with the responsibility of proposing duties to raise capacities in agribusiness, solid minerals and petrochemical sectors.

Re-invigoration The Nigerian ExportImport Bank is doing this, according to OBG. It states that the bank has stepped up financing to support manufacturing in four specific subsectors viz food and beverage, wood and wood products, steel and processed alloy and plastic and rubber. It states, quoting local media, that the bank has budgeted N42 billion ($265 million) to support an estimated 6 per cent of manufacturing sector’s financing needs until 2015.

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Siaka Momoh

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lthough Africa accounts for about 15 per cent of the global population and possesses very rich agricultural and mineral endowments, its contribution to global trade has remained poor.

According to Robert Orya of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), who spoke at the Borderless Conference 2014 which held in Lagos last week, Africa accounts for only about 3.5 per cent in 2012 as against Europe’s 35.6 per cent, 31.5 per cent by Asia and 13.2 per cent

by North America.

“Intra-regional trade is also low and has stagnated at about 10 per cent and 12 per cent respectively for Africa and ECOWAS, in sharp contrast to the European Union’s 50 per cent, 40 per cent in the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and 25 per cent among the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).”

He said this low trade performance bears some correla-

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

African contribution to global trade low, says NEXIM CEO

tion with the African development challenges and therefore deserves concerted efforts of the public and private sectors to remove some of the impediments to free trade and regional

integration, towards creating a freer, bigger market and attracting investment capital.

He said empirical evidence has shown that unlike the other developed regions of the world,

Africa has continued to underperform its growth and development potentials, partly due to its low trade volumes, amongst other factors.

“Some of these impediments to trade, particularly in the ECOWAS region include tariff and non-tariff barriers and removing such trade barriers largely require the cooperation and strong political will among member countries to bring about the needed redress. It is in the light of these that the Borderless Initiative, which has been formed as a regional advocacy platform under a public private partnership, has become very important and relevant to foster cross-country col-

laboration in concert with the ECOWAS and NEPAD objectives of promoting regional integration and economic development within Africa,” he said.

As the export development finance institution and the trade policy bank of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, NEXIM has been in the vanguard of supporting initiatives that are targeted at removing trade barriers and enhancing trade flows across the borders in line with its strategic objectives.

In his opening remarks at the conference, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, James F. Entwistle, said: “Facilitating trade is not merely a development objective - it’s a development imperative.

Since 2011, the Borderless Alliance has been the focal point for identifying barriers to trade and bringing together trade and investment professionals to work on common solutions. With freer trade comes increased economic growth and prosperity throughout the region. The United States is here to lend our assistance to reach these goals.”

Five steps to escape low-risk innovation trap CREATIVITY Keeping innovations alive is the new fad today.

F

ocusing on product renovations over disruptive innovations can help secure the bottom line, but may cost you your competitive advantage.

Over 90 per cent of companies are maintaining or increasing their already massive R&D budgets to help guarantee their long-term success, but only 18 per cent of those companies believe their innovation strategies will deliver any kind of competitive advantage. And that’s a big problem.

The business of innovation is booming like never before, sort of.

Report after report, study after study, all says the same thing: manufacturers are investing more in innovation every year and they are dedicating more talent and more capital to R&D than ever.

Accenture’s latest contribution to that pile of evidence suggests that an incomprehensible majority of companies – about 93 per cent – are maintaining or increasing their already massive R&D budgets to help guarantee their longterm success.

And that’s no surprise.

What is surprising is that only 18 per cent of those companies believe their innovation strategies will deliver any kind of competitive advantage.

That is a wide – and widening – gap that has Adi Alon worried.

“I’m concerned,” Alon, managing director of Operations, Innovation and Product Development at Accenture, said. “I’m concerned that despite all of the commitment to innovation, there is some element of disappointment that the companies feel from the returns they are getting.”

That disappointment is creating what he considers to be a kind of impending disaster looming over the industry. As he explained it, “the big risk is that we’ll see retrenchment by the market from companies in their commitment to innovation, which would be very, very dangerous for the whole market.”

The danger, he explains in a report he co-authored for Accenture, is that companies will shy away from big investments in big breakthroughs to focus more on improving current offerings – falling into what he calls “the renovation trap.”

To avoid that fate, he identified five steps that highly effective companies follow to keep their innovations alive and their products disruptive.

Low-risk escape plan Step one: Don’t be late As Blackberry taught the world this year, missed opportunities in a changing market can destroy your company. To survive today, above all, companies must be fast and flexible.

“As product lifecycles shrink and consumer preferences become more volatile, speed becomes absolutely critical to successful innovations,” Accenture’s report says.

Successful companies, Alon added, are those that treat innovation as an end-to-end value chain driven by speed and flexibility.

Step two: Get personal

The n ewe s t thing with

the newest features is no longer enough to win the market.

Successful companies design their innovations around customer experience.

According to the report, “an innovation needs to be accompanied by a business model that builds up the product to provide a unique, personalised consumer experience and a service element that maintains connection with the customer and supports an ongoing revenue stream.”

Step three: Apply your Risk Management Skills Risk management tools are no longer just for risk management. They can now be applied to design and manage your innovation portfolio while also helping to iden-

tify the d i rection you should take

with your innovation strategy.

As Alon writes, “innovation-centric risk management identifies future opportunities and evaluates the value of entire portfolios informed by the different categories of initiatives. By applying these mature refinements of risk, companies can be better able to avoid the renovation trap and to enhance the future value of their portfolios.”

Step four: Leverage big data and social media This one is easy – the more you know about your customers, the better you can drive your innovations toward building the personalised experiences that will keep them relevant. Online retailers have been perfecting this craft for years, Alon noted, but now it’s a must for all industries.

Step five: Be frugal Pursuing frugal innovations that drastically reduce the complexity and/or cost of your products can help capture both middle-class consumers in emerging economies and also disrupt markets in developed countries, the report claims.

“Frugality is a matter of necessity in emerging countries,” Alon said. “But here, it’s an opportunity for disruption.”

Source: Industry Week.

BUSINESS | INDUSTRY

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

INCENTIVES Investors in locally manufactured products to be rewarded.

Godwin Uba

L

ooking carefully into the 2014 budget presented by the Federal Government, much attention was paid to encouraging local manufacturers, local industrial developments and agriculture.

Anyone investing in any of these sectors will benefit from various government incentives. Any type of manufacturing engaged in by an individual, group or corporate organisations, will go a long way in contributing towards the growth of the nation’s economy. It will generate employment opportunities and add to GDP. This write-up aims at educating and encouraging potential investors on the commercial viability and profitability of tissue paper/serviettes production.

Most Nigerians consume toilet roll. Its demand is influenced by population explosion, rapid urbanisation and social awareness. It is generally used for cleaning and sanitary purposes in households, restaurants, hotels, canteens, social gatherings, parties, maternity homes, clinics, hospitals, educational institutions, churches, night clubs, shops, fast food centres and offices.

Research findings indicate that Nigeria alone now needs over 950 million tons of tissue papers per-annum. While the country’s total local production is less than 150 million tones, the supply gap offers a tremendous opportunity for Nigeria investors.

Nigerian investors can now go into this lucrative business

37

Investing in toilet rolls, serviette production plant using locally made machines.

Though there are imported machines as well, local investors do not need to waste their scarce foreign exchange on importation. The attractiveness of this project is that both the raw materials and equipment are locally available and the technology involved is very easy to understand and master.

The essential equipment are: (1) Core making machine (2) Rewinding System (3) Band Saw cutter (4) Embossing Unit (5) Perforating Unit These equipment are portable, simple to operate and durable. The machines will be procured from highly experienced local producers of such machines.

The machinery being introduced here is rugged, reliable and high performing with a capacity of 5,000 kg per day.

Operating on a single shift for a minimum of 250 days per annum, a total of 1,250,000 metric tons of tissue paper will be procured and processed into quality tissue products (toilet rolls and serviettes).

Raw materials include jumbo reels and glue. Packaging materials include printed labels and nylon rolls. All are 100 per cent available locally.

Since the machine will process 1,250,000 metric tons per annum, the total sales revenue is N437.5 million from which total inputs of N315. 5 million is deducted and thus realising a gross profit before tax of N122.5 million in the first year.

On the whole, toilet roll project is a very good small-scale industry, which can launch a

small investor into the world of millionaires within one year.

A three-bedroom flat, garage or warehouse may serve as accommodation while staff strength of eight is required for effective production, mar-

keting and administration.

Bigger or smaller plants are also available at competitive prices.

Estimated Cost (N’000) Preliminary Expenses 250 Machinery &

Equipment 5,000 Working (variable) 3,500 Accommodation (rented) (variable) 500 Contingencies 750 Total 10,000 Uba Godwin can be reached via ubagodwin@yahoo.com

Toiletries machine

Ways your employees are stealing from you

Y

ou don’t know it, but one of your employees may be stealing from you. But why would anyone want to steal from you? Don’t people think you’re a nice person?

Not him. He doesn’t show it, but he thinks you’re kind of a jerk. He thinks you’re too demanding and that you don’t treat him with the respect that he deserves. He thinks he’s underpaid and overworked. He thinks you’re clearly making the big bucks, driving around in that new, expensive car and mysteriously disappearing for

“business meetings.” He’s got a family and expenses to consider too.

Yeah, he thinks he has every right to steal from you.

And you will probably not even notice. He’s got some tricks up his sleeve to put a few extra bucks in his pocket.

He may collude with a fellow employee If he’s frustrated, then maybe someone else is too. He’s going to try and find someone a little higher up on the food chain, someone who has authority to approve expenses.

He may make nice with a vendor If he’s got buying privileges, then he may offer to steer more purchases to a certain vendor -in exchange for some prizes. Maybe a cash kickback, gift cards or special “thankyou’s” such as paid-for trips or furniture. The vendor can charge a little more (who’s going to know?) and then share the additional amount with him. No harm, no foul.

He may selflessly undertake more “duties.”

Source: Entrpreneur

Poor countries scored low on NGO social entrepreneurship CONTINUED from PAGE 35

gaps in MENA and the lowest in the United States.

The report gives more details: “Around the world, people aged 25-34 and 35-44 have the highest propensity of being involved in SEA- with averages of 2.21 per cent and 2.18 per cent. The next most involved population is 18-24 (1.95 per cent), followed by 45-54 (1.87 per cent). Only 1.33 per cent of adults aged 55-64 are involved in SEA. These results suggest that across countries, indi-

viduals who have established themselves but are still quite young are most likely to start a social venture. The closer an individual is to ‘retirement age,’ the less likely he/she is to start a social venture. The data also suggest differences across economic types and regions.

In factor-driven economies, young people aged 18-24 are the least likely to be involved in social entrepreneurship; while in innovation economies (especially the U.S. and Switzerland), this youngest group is the most likely to be involved

in social entrepreneurship.

“In examining social entrepreneurs’ education levels, we find the highest prevalence rate among those with some postsecondary education (2.55 per cent), followed by 2.07 per cent for graduates, 1.95 per cent for secondary, and 1.15 per cent for some secondary. It is clear that the propensity to engage in social entrepreneurial activity is related to education levels. Despite the fact that a minority of any country’s population have completed post-secondary and graduate education, these

individuals are the most likely to be involved in SEA. This is especially true for lower levels of economic development (e.g. factor driven and efficiency driven economies).”

The report says the differences are also apparent at the regional level, as 3.98 per cent and 3.95 per cent of the Caribbean and Latin American social entrepreneurs have graduate experience.

The results, it says, suggest that individuals with higher levels of education are more likely to engage in social entre-

preneurial activity.

“The most common work status of social entrepreneurs across countries is self-employed, followed by part-time only, full or part time, student, and not working/other.”

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)’s Social Entrepreneurship Activity research is based on interviews with 150,000 adults in 49 countries during 2009 and documents the prevalence of social entrepreneurship in a population by means of a standardised survey in each of the countries.

38 NEWS

Monday, February 17 - Friday, February 2014 Thursday, March21, 6, 2014

FEATURES

39

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/entrepreneur

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES EDITOR

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014

A 22-year-old man attempted to rape 57-year-old pastor’s wife, killed her, wounded the husband and fled, writes BABATOPE OKEOWO

Murder at noon

T

he day opened like any other day for Mrs Eunice Ajayi, the headmistress of Saint Peter Anglican Primary School Ijare in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State.

She was, as usual, lively and the day went on smoothly until closing hour when she returned home at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) area of the state capital.

Mrs Ajayi was oblivious of what awaited her at home; she literally walked into the hands of death.

The woman returned about 3pm on the fateful day but an hour later she was dead.

Mrs Ajayi was allegedly killed by a suspected cult member and rapist simply identified as Jerry, who is still on the run.

Apart from that, Jerry reportedly inflicted grievous harms on the husband of the deceased, Pastor Omoniyi Ajayi.

Earlier in the day, the mother of two held a series of meetings with her staff before she left office.

As the headmistress, she quarrelled with some staff but commended others.

The residents of the state capital, particularly those of Peaceland Road, along Ilesa-Akure Expressway, are yet to understand why the 22-year-old jerry attempted to rape the 57-year-old woman, murdered her and left her husband in a pool of blood.

The people are still trying to know what Jerry’s excuse for killing Mrs Ajayi, either genuine or otherwise, would be when the police, who are still on his trail, eventually nab him.

He would also probably explain why he had to kill the woman and also attempted to snuff out life of the about 76-year-old man of God. Though the pastor is recuperating at the Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife after he was referred from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Akure, for further treatment, it was gathered that he is yet to be informed of his wife’s death.

Narrating the incident, as he was told by Pastor Ajayi, the cousin of the deceased, who identified himself as Komolafe, told our correspondent that Jerry came to the house about 3pm and met the pastor where he was reading his Bible in the front of the house.

He said: “Jerry met the pastor and asked after his wife and due to the fact that Jerry was not a stranger to the house he told her she was at the back of the house and he went inside.

Pastor Ajayi . Inset: Ajayi’s injured head

The late Mrs. Ajayi

“About 15 minutes later, the suspect came to call Pastor Ajayi that his wife was calling him and he followed him. But Jerry attacked him with digger and shovel which he had earlier used on his wife.”

Komolafe said when Jerry left the house, he broke into the apartment of a FUTA student and removed his blood stained clothes.

According to him, the suspect also changed into the student’s clothes.

Unfortunately the house-owner met Jerry outside and discovered that he was wearing his own shoes.

The student, Komolafe added, went in-

side to verify if it was actually his shoes.

On getting home, he noticed blood stains on the door, which had been forcefully opened and saw blood stained clothes.

With this, the student raised the alarm.

But before they could raise a search party, Jerry had disappeared.

The residents rushed to his mother’s house where he resided, he was nowhere to be found.

That prompted the people to start to trace where Jerry had earlier gone to and discovered he had been to the Ajayis’ house where they met the cleric in a pool of blood.

That was when Ajayi urged the people to rescue his wife, but the woman was already dead.

The pastor was rushed to the Specialist Hospital in Akure for treatment from the head injuries inflicted on him.

Jerry was said to have been expelled at one time or the other from FUTA and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, for being a member of a secret cult

It was gathered that all efforts to apprehend the perpetrator by FUTA students, who live in that area, proved abortive.

Meanwhile, further investigation showed that the suspect is notorious in the area.

Jerry was said to have been expelled at one time or the other from FUTA and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, for being a member of a secret cult.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Wole Ogodo, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect had not been arrested but the police were on his trail.

He said: “We discovered that the suspect attempted to rape the deceased because her pant was half-removed by the suspect.

“Our men had visited the house of Jerry but he has fled as he was not found there. So we are yet to make any arrest over the matter.”

Ogodo disclosed that the police had commenced investigation into the matter, adding that efforts were on to apprehend him and bring him to justice.

The police spokesperson added that the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the mortuary of the State Specialist Hospital, Akure while her husband who sustained serious injuries from the attack was still in the hospital in OAUTH, Ile-Ife.

40 FEATURES Communities in Adamawa State are groaning over the impact of the closure of Nigeria-Cameroon border, writes IBRAHIM ABDUL

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Adamawa communities and challenges of border closure

T

he closure of the border between Nigeria and the Republic of Cameroon has continued to generate controversies, particularly among communities directly affected in Adamawa State.

But the residents of communities in Adamawa State bordering Cameroon are feeling the impact of the closure, which was announced as part of measures to check violent killings.

The borders were closed to curtail attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants on innocent citizens.

But the people in these communities have appealed to the Federal Government to rescind its decision on the closure of borders in the area, as it continued to affect their means of livelihood.

The communities include Farang, Konkol, Belel, Gurin, Gujubda and Kwancal and others.

Nigeria’s borders with Cameroon in Adamawa State were closed as part of efforts to forestall the influx of miscreants into the country as well as the total implementation of the emergency rule imposed by President Goodluck Jonathan on three north-eastern states of Adamawa Borno and Yobe.

Nigeria Army fears that using porous borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroon in the desolate scrubland around Lake Chad, insurgents could smuggle in bigger weapons, stage crossborder raids, kill and kidnap people.

In the wake of the emergency rule, the borders were partially closed with skeletal cross-border transactions, but disturbed by the increasing attacks by the insurgents in some parts of Borno and Adamawa states, the Nigerian Army announced total closure.

“It was imperative to completely sealed-up the borders against illegal movement in and out of the country,’’ said the Commander of the 23rd Armour Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Yola, Brigadier General Rogers Iben Nicholas.

He added: “What I did was to completely seal up the borders; no going in, no going out.

The authority is on the strength of the state of emer-

Jonathan

Governor Murtala Nyako

Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh

The road leading to Toungo, one of the border communities

gency declared by the President.

“We decided to make the closure effective and with that, we have been able to curtail the influx of miscreants, terror elements and other bad eggs moving in from the other country into Nigeria.

“We have passed adequate information to traditional rulers and the stations along the border areas. Other security agencies like the Customs, Immigration Service have been told. Our soldiers and police are also there working together to ensure that nothing crosses into Nigeria through the borders.”

However, during a visit to some of the border communities, the residents told our correspondent that despite the total closure, there were still minimal cross-border movement and transactions.

But it was observed that instead of the usual major roads, the border communities have now resorted to plying illegal routes which are rough and risky.

Sometimes vehicles do get stuck in the sandy terrain.

In Adamawa State there are many legal and illegal border routes between Nigeria and Cameroun, particularly in Ganye, Fufore, Mubi, Madagali, Toungo as well as Maiha and other crossing points. Large stretches of that porous border are generally left unpatrolled.

Though, the villagers declined to disclose their illegal routes and whether they do tip security operatives to cross, sources say that in most cases members of the gun-wielding border patrol team do make brisk business.

“Sometimes, they do collect something (bribe) before they allow us to go to the neighbouring villages in Cameroon, particularly on markets day,” said a villager who did not want his name in print.

Also, a commercial driver plying Nigeria - Cameroon routes, who identified himself as Mahmoud Dauda, said though there was official closure of the border, there were still movements and

cross-border transactions but restricted.

According to Dauda, many drivers risk their lives plying illegal routes.

He said: “I don’t think they can completely close all the borders.

Remember, there are cross-border activities and events, including marriage. We have our relations there, they do come to us, and we also visit them.

“This closure, will temporarily affect serious business, like yan Kaskadir (motorcycle merchants) and other big men.”

Our correspondent was told in Mubi, one of the commercial border towns in the north-eastern region, that security agents charge money before allowing travellers to cross.

“They demand money from us, between N5,000 and N8,000...

“To me, it is difficult to stop trans-border movement between us and our Cameroonian neighbours; no way,” a cattle merchant, Danjauro Musa, said.

The merchants in the area are using Sahuda - Publa routes, while

others ply Duhu - Kwaja and Ujulu roads.

Similarly, there are some border communities in the state which have farms inside Cameroonian territory likewise there are also Cameroonian communities that do their major activities in Nigeria.

“So it is difficult to stop us,” said Bapetel Abdullahi, a farmer at border village of Publa.

But of the resident of the border communities said the closure had brought untold hardship upon them.

They said the closure had affected their means of livelihood.

Malam Manu Bello, a 65-yearold man, explained that the closure had crippled his business.

He said: “I have lived in this town for more than 20 years as a businessman. I buy goods from Nigeria and take them to Cameroon where I sell them and make small profit. But since the closure of the border I have been forced to remain at home doing nothing.”

Another resident of Publa, Habila Gyandum, said his businesses had stopped with the closure of the border.

He said: “My wife is expecting a baby anytime from now and the closest equipped hospital to us is in Cameroon. She has been attending ante-natal at the hospital before the sudden closure.”

But at Konkol, a border town with Cameroon, the Wakilin Konkol, Alhaji Ibrahim Mumini Yuguda, commended the conduct of the troops deployed in the community. He said the troops had been operating in peace with the members of the community.

Yuguda said since the arrival of the military, people of his community had been going about their normal activities unhindered.

Affirming the traditional ruler’s statement, the councillor of Konkol, Mohammed Maji, also implored the Army to ensure that if there was going to be any rotation of personnel, troops of the same traits should be deployed.

He pledged that the community would continue to assist the troops to ensure peace and security.

At Gurin, Fufore Local Government Area, another border town, the Hakimin Gurin, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Yero, commended the troops deployed there, noting that they had conducted their operations professionally as expected of a well-trained and disciplined force.

HEALTH THURSday, March 6, 2014

Cancer is not a death sentence if detected early - Prof. Ifeoma Okoye

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/health

}p-42 appolonia adeyemi appolonia.adeyemi@newtelegraphonline.com appoloniaadeyemi@gmail.com 0803-329-4462

RISING CANCER BURDEN

‘Go back to natural foods, debunk myths’ Appolonia Adeyemi

T

he Five-Day Free Health Screening for breast, cervical and prostate cancers being conducted by the Lagos State Government recently and was still ongoing when Mrs Titilayo Famakinwa (not real name) informed her 53-year-old neighbour, Madam Omolabake Grange about the screening. "This is a wonderful opportunity for you to do a free mammography screening. You can save between N12,000 to N15,000. I paid N14,000 for mammography test at a private clinic two years ago.

She had expected Madam Grange, a chartered accountant of 12 years practice to jump at the offer, but the opposite was the case. "I reject it. Cancer is not my portion," she said without giving further attention to mrs Famakinwa, who was rather taken aback at the negative attitude over an advice that could save a life.

"This is a mere medical check up, said Famakinwa, adding, "Even if the result detects cancer, then early treatment can be initiated. Please key into the screening, it is free and will benefit you health wise."

Not surprisingly, Grange refused to be drawn into further discussion on that subject despite continued lecture from Famakinwa who now chose to address other residents who may want to take advantage of the screening.

Mammography is the process of using low-energy X-rays to examine the human breast and is used as a diagnostic and a screening tool. The goal of mammography is the early detection of breast cancer.

Cancer is a broad group of diseases involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumuors, and invading nearby parts of the body. There are over 200 different known cancers that affect humans.

The attitude of Grange over cancer and cancer screening is a new trend playing out among some Nigerians. For those who fall into the category of Grange, mere saying yes to participate cancer screening is enough to pave the way for cancer attack.

Similar, for people in this group, they cannot discuss cancer because it is a

Yams

Beans

Fruits

death sentence as far as they are concerned and the best thing to do to keep this illness at bay is to keep everything

concerning it at arm's length. This explains why some Nigerians reject cancer verbally and refuse to do any form of medical check to determine their status.

Sadly, the negative attitude highlighted above are some of the damaging myths and misconceptions contributing to increase in the incidence of cancer globally.

A new global cancer report by United Nations agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) shows that cancer is the biggest cause of mortality worldwide. “There were an estimated 8.2 million deaths from cancer in 2012.”

While global cancer incidence over four years increased by 11 percent to an esti-

Tips to reduce cancer risk • Reduce consumption of alcohol • Avoid unhealthy diet, especially processed foods and foods with additives • Be physically active • Reduce exposure to tobacco smoke and all other forms of smoke • Curtail environmental pollution • Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables

mated 14.1 million cases in 2012, cancer cases are forecast to rise by 75 percent and reach close to 25million over the next two decades.

According to the report, which was issued from Geneva, Switzerland on February 4 to mark the 2014 World Cancer Day, “By 2025, almost 80 percent of the increase in the number of all cancer deaths will occur in less developed regions” including Nigeria.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan, whose agency oversees the IARC, said the overall impact from cancer would "unquestionably" hit developing countries the hardest. These nations are already grappling with poverty-associated cancers caused by infection or disease, she said.

The rise of cancer is a major obstacle to human development and well-being, said Dr. Christopher Wild, director of IARC. “These new figures and projections send a strong signal that immediate action is needed to confront this human disaster, which touches every community worldwide, without exception, stresses Dr. Wild.

To reduce the cancer burden therefore, he said the focus should be on prevention.

Back home in Nigeria, the cancer scourge has reached epidemic level. A Professor of Oncology and Head, Oncology and Radiotherapy Department, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idiaraba, Aderemi Ajekigbe puts it succinctly: “There is nobody in this country who does not know somebody who has either died from cancer or one that is suffering from cancer. It is becoming an epidemic. What we are looking towards now is that soon the question you may be asking your neighbour is: “Which type of cancer is yours?”

To reduce the cancer burden worldwide, all UN member states at the World Health Assembly in May 2013 identified a set of immediate actions for all stakeholders, in particular governments, to advance progress towards the nine World Cancer Declaration Targets, aimed to make government leaders and health policy makers to significantly reduce the global cancer burden, promote greater CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

42 HEALTH

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

‘Go back to natural foods’ C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 1

equity and integrate cancer control into the world health and development agenda.

According to Target 05 of that Declaration, “Stigma associated with cancer will be reduced and damaging myths and misconceptions about the disease will be dispelled.”

What are these myths about cancer in Nigeria? Is cancer really a death sentence as alleged in some quarters?

“Cancer is not a death sentence if detected early,” said Ifeoma Okoye, a professor of radiology at the College of Medicine University of Nigeria, Nsukka and president of Breast Without Spot, a non government organisation.

Speaking during the 2014 World Cancer Day with the theme, ‘Debunk the Myths’, Okoye said, “I really would like to dwell on the myths that we have in Nigeria. Our myth is that we don’t like talking about cancer.

“We think that by talking about cancer in Nigeria, we are inviting it. We think even sitting to listen to a talk on cancer, we are inviting it. We think even by coming for cancer screening, we are inviting it also.

“In fact people will start blaming you for going for cancer screening if anything was found.”

Besides, procrastination, denial, stigma, fear, it is not my portion syndrome, I

The truth is that while cancer can be a difficult issue to address, particularly in some cultures and settings, dealing with the disease openly can improve outcomes on the individual, community and policy level

Eye cancer patients

Prof. Okoye

bind and cast it, it cannot happen to me even if it happens to other people, are the problems we have in Nigeria. All these form part of the syndrome, attitude and practices of our people.

“The truth is that “while cancer can be a difficult issue to address, particularly in some cultures and settings, dealing with the disease openly can improve outcomes on the individual, community and policy level,” said Okoye, adding, some people even think that when somebody examines their breast, the breast might disappear.

Disputing another myth that Cancer has no signs and symptoms, Okoye said,

“For every cancer, there are warning signs, symptoms and the benefits of early detection are indisputable.”

Speaking further on the third myth, which states, ‘There is nothing I can do about cancer’, the professor of radiology said, “There is a lot that can be done at the individual, community and policy level and with the right strategies such as reducing harmful alcohol, avoiding unhealthy diet, especially processed foods and foods with additives, being physically active and reducing exposure to tobacco smoke and all other forms of smoke and curtailing environmental pollution, one third of most cancers can be prevented.”

A critical look at the attitude of some Nigerians shows that they have become overwhelmed by the fourth myth, which states: ‘I don’t have the right to cancer care’.

On the contrary, prof. Okoye said all people have the right to access proven and effective cancer treatments and services on equal terms and without suffering hardship as a consequence, adding that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should be addressing this aspect soon.

On why the incidence of cancer is on the increase globally, she said worldwide, cancer issue has not been made a global priority. “We need to make cancer issue a global priority, especially in the context of the IARC Declaration to the effect that cancer has become the biggest killer.

Explaining reasons for the increase, she said apart from smoke, others factors are putrefaction from environmental waste. The way we dispose our environmental waste is barely acceptable.

“Fumes from vehicles and fumes from generators contribute to rising cancer. If you go to a complex flat in Nigeria for instance, each one of them, has a generator and because they are not all on ground, some are kept on the corridor and the fume that is being generated is being inhaled by everybody around the flat.

“Then, you have the animal husbandry and our food processing practices, the preproduction practices, the fertiliser used, the insecticides and chemicals that are being used in our foods and those given to our poultry, fish among others, all these are contributors to the global cancer burden.

“Also, inactivity resulting in obesity and so much stress in the society such as emotional stress are all contributing to rising incidence of cancer.

“Then western lifestyle including the eating of junk food also contributes. There are a lot of foods that are laden with preservatives and additive and over processed food that we load in the body. In fact, one of the things that the WHO called on developing nations to do is, ‘Go back to your local foods’.”

Citing examples of local foods, Prof.

Okoye said lentils are very good for the body, but we don’t eat them. “We use to eat a lot of lentils in the past and Nigeria has a lot of lentils. We should go back to lentils and stop this intake of highly processed foods.”

Similarly, Okoye urged Nigerians to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. “Let us stop the intake of all these sugar-laden drinks and alcohol.

“Go for water, reduce fat and salt intake. Use palm oil and boil your food rather than fry it.”

On the role of leaders, the Chief Executive Officer of Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Cary Adams urged government to stop millions of predicted, needless and premature deaths caused by cancer by developing and implementing a national plan which includes proven preventive and early detection measures.

HEALTH 43

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Egg freezing in delayed motherhood, a success-Gynaecologist Oluwatosin Omoniyi

F

or women seeking to delay motherhood till later date or until their careers are well established or perhaps wait till they meet the “Mr Right” without expressing fear of late age, the opportunity to still produce children thereafter is limitless. Egg freezing is a new and experimental technique used to store eggs during reproductive age.

Women experiencing fertility challenges due to medical or social reasons have the option of freezing their eggs for later use.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, HFEA a fertility treatments centre in Britain, explained that egg Freezing offers women planning to have children even after the age of 35 the opportunity to effectively slow down their biological clocks.

According to Christy Jones, founder of America- based Extend Fertility Centre, “Egg freezing services give women the chance to store their eggs during their reproductive prime for use when they wish to start or expand their families, adding, “It is becoming more relevant and in demand as many women are facing the real challenge of having successful, healthy pregnancies later in life.”

Jones further explained that the ability to postpone motherhood through egg freezing was made possible by the discovery that the age of a woman's eggs is more important than her biological age.

The Extend Fertility Centre research shows that in the last two decades, even post-menopausal women have become pregnant and delivered babies by using donor eggs from much younger women, a development that created the incentive to preserve a woman's own eggs through egg freezing facilities while the women are still young.

According to the research,“Female fertility peaks at age 27 and by age 40, the chance of getting pregnant is less than 10 per cent.”

Furthermore, studies disclose that egg freezing and egg harvesting enable

women to break free from the stressful drumbeat of their biological clock and it is expected to have an effect on egg donation by allowing one do,nor to store eggs that could be used by several recipients.

According to the studies, there are lots of benefits for women who wish to preserve their fertility through Egg freezing.

They include gains for women who want or need to delay childbearing in order to pursue educational, career or other personal goals because fertility is known to decline with age, freezing the eggs at an early reproductive age will best insure the chance for a future pregnancy. Unlike the ovary and oocytes (eggs), the uterus does not age and can carry a pregnancy well in to the 40s and 50s. Frozen (cryopreserved) eggs are stored at 196 degrees, so that there will be no deterioration in egg quality with time.

For women diagnosed with cancer.

Egg freezing offers a chance to preserve eggs prior to chemotherapy, surgery or radiation. Most of these treatments destroy the eggs and lead to infertility. In some cases, viable eggs may be present after cancer treatment. Fertility preserving options vary depending on age, type of cancer, and cancer-treatment plan.

Similarly, this procedure is beneficial for women with family history of early menopause. Some forms of early meno-

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, HFEA a fertility treatments centre in Britain, explained that egg Freezing offers women planning to have children even after the age of 35 the opportunity to effectively slow down their biological clocks

pause (premature ovarian failure) are genetically-linked. Egg freezing offers a chance to preserve eggs before they are all depleted.

According to HFEA, the fertility treatments centre in Britain, the egg freezing process includes using either a slowfreeze method or a flash-freezing process known as vitrification. Their high recorded success rates were initially achieved utilising the slow-freeze method since it is the most studied method and most similar to current embryo freezing techniques.“The slow-freeze method may also be safer than the vitrification used by

other practices, which requires the eggs to be plunged directly into tanks of liquid nitrogen that may harbour viruses.”

However, fertility experts disagree over the chances of a baby being born out of egg freezing. Some experts suggest there is up to a one in three chance of having a baby. Others claim success rates are as high as 50 per cent.

Kolawole Adejumo, a gynecologist with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) said success depends on the woman's age, the number of eggs removed from the ovary and how successfully the eggs are fertilised.

Same herb may be prescribed for many ailments

T

ake a private commercial bus or a ferry, both of which are meeting points for traders hawking herbal medications, it is normal to hear of a herbal product that cures many medical conditions. Although, proponents of traditional medicine accept this position as it has worked for them over the years, their orthodox counterparts have often raised hell over the same issue, telling whoever cares to listen that one medication cannot tackle many conditions. “Medicines don’t not work that way,” a GP told his patient, warning him to keep off herbs.

According to the Director of Pax Herbals Clinic and Research Laboratories, Fr. Anselm Adodo, a monk of the Benedict Monastry in Ewu, Esan, Edo State, it is technically difficult if not impossible to

Pawpaw fruits

identify with precision hundreds of chemical constituents that are in a herb.

It is a fact that fruits, vegetables and herbs contain hundreds of active con-

stituents that are beneficial to health.

"When taken in their natural state, herbs benefit the body in various ways and different people can derive different benefits from the same herb, depending on their state of needs," Adodo stated in his book, Herbal Medicine And The Revival of African Civilisation.

This explains why the same herb may be prescribed for different ailments. However, to the chemicallyminded observer, this may sound 'unscientific'. What is needed, Adodo reasoned, is probably some degree of humility to acknowledge that the orthodox, conventional method of healing is not the only valid health system, and that there are other ways of attaining health that are equally valid.

44 HEALTH

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Late presentation fuels cancer deaths lFoundation donates N6.7m equipment to LUTH

M

edical experts the Lagos University Teaching Hospital have blamed increasing cancer deaths among children in Nigeria on late presentation, which in majority of the cases result in death.

A Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at the Department of Paediatrics, LUTH, Professor Edamisan Temiye who made this known, also said most parents whose children have cancer symptoms do not take the prompt initiative to seek medical care until it is too late and when they do, it is already too late to save the child.

Temiye spoke in Lagos recently when Children Living With Cancer Foundation (CLWCF), in partnership with Avicenna International School and Unilever Nigeria Plc has donated cancer treatment equipment valued about N6.7 million to LUTH Paediatric Cancer Ward.

Lamenting the growing incidence of cancer diagnosis in the country, Temiye regreted that some medical personnel do not have the capacity to diagnose cancers among patients, thereby worsening cancer morbidity and mortality rates in Nigeria.

In a related development, CLWCF, in partnership with Avicenna International School and Unilever Nigeria Plc has donated cancer treatment equipment valued about N6.7 million to the Paediatric Cancer Ward in LUTH. Speaking during the donation, the experts in separate interviews agreed that the country was faced with challenges of effective cancer treatment due to late presentation of cancer cases in hospitals as well as wrong diagnosis by their physicians.

Commenting on some of the equipment donated which include; 180 bone

marrow aspirators, 20 central lines, 14, infusion pumps, 6 pulse oximeters, oxygen panelling and points for each bedside, Temiye said the donation would go a long way in the fight against childhood cancer in the hospital and Nigeria at large as well as bring hope to children living with cancers in the ward.

He however pointed out that government alone cannot meet the health needs of Nigerians, calling on other corporate organisations and well meaning Nigerians to support the campaign against cancer.

Similarly, the Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Professor Akin Osibogun, who was Represented by Professor Chris Bode, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), LUTH regretted that children living with cancers are often brought to the hospital by their parents when it is too late

and urged parents to seek medical help for their children early enough.

On her part, Founder and Executive Director, CLWCF, Dr. Nneka Nwobbi, called on Nigerians to donate towards saving the children adding that “ if everyone in Lagos donated at least N500 “There is no way children living cancer would not have free treatment in LUTH.” Unilever Nigeria Plc Representative, Mr. Osita Ubana, said that the donation was in line with the company’s social responsibility and business philosophies.

He said that Nigeria needed communal support that saw the eradication of small pox disease to be able to be overcome childhood cancer and other deadly ailments. “If every Nigerian donates N10 for healthcare course, we would have nothing less than N1.7 billion to take care of our people.”

FG re-appoints Ujah as NIMR DG

P

resident Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has renewed the appointment of the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Professor Innocent Ujah after his first tenure of four years.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Head, Information and Public Relations Unit, NIMR, Lilian Chukwu.

According to the statement, in a letter dated February 14th, 2014, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu urged the director general “not to rest on your oars but to regard your appointment to improve on your performance during your first tenure.”

The current tenure of Prof. Ujah, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecological surgeon, expires on April 14th.

Reacting to the reappointment, the director general of NIMR assured that his new tenure will be hinged on the consolidation of past achievements to reposition the institute to become a truly centre of excellence for health research.

Prof. Ujah, an experienced and proven medical progressive has 30 years expertise in National Maternal Health Policy Development in Nigeria including national integrated planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation activities in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory.

Prof. Ujah

L-R: Dr. Adeyeye Arigbabuwo, Chairman AGPMPN, Lagos State, Dr. Augustine Aipoh, Secretary, Lagos AGPMPN and Dr. Jimmy Asuni, Executive Secretary, Health Facility Monitooring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) at the press conference on sustaining hospital-side laboratories by the AGPMPN in Lagos recently

GTBank rallies experts on autism disorder

G

uaranty Trust Bank plc has began preparations for the Bank’s 2014 Autism Awareness Program and is using the event to advocate for the establishment of comprehensive and inclusive schools for children living with development disorders as well as integrated centers for adults.

Similarly, the bank will gather support and lobby for legislation that protects the rights of people living with developmental disabilities, encourage government and private organisations to fund research in Autism and clear up societal myths concerning Autism Spectrum Disorder.

According to Managing Director/ CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc., Mr. Segun Agbaje, the Institution commenced its Autism Advocacy programme to ensure societal awareness and knowledge about the disorder and

highlight the plight and requirements of person’s living with Autism.

The 2014 Autism Awareness Program initiative themed “On the Road to Future Inclusion” will take place at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos from March 22 to April 2.

This will be the 4th edition of the programme, which the Bank introduced in 2010 to create awareness and advocate for the requirements of persons living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a neurological condition that presently affects one in every 88 children worldwide according to World Research Statistics.

Autism Spectrum Disorder as with other developmental challenges arises from insufficient development of a child’s physical, emotional or intellectual capacity. This disorder, which is largely misunderstood by society

makes it difficult for affected children to cope with the everyday demands of their environment and leads to varying stages of social stigmatisation.

The highlight of GTBank’s 2014 Autism programme will be the Awareness Seminar, which will be facilitated by International and local nutritionists, psychologists, educationists and medical practitioners will feature sessions on managing people with varying levels of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Members of the public can attend the seminar for free by registering at www.gtbank.com/ autism.

Other activities that will constitute the awareness week include autism talk shows on major radio stations, a fun day for children living with Autism and awareness walks within Lagos metropolis.

METRO 45

March 6, 2014

n dies in hotel as artner flees

T

tel in Lagos while the naked panion was

with a male partnded in the tragic d woman, identiin Lagos. the MAN Centre ying to resolve the ding the woman’s

stark naked on the

old NT Metro that be identified male tel on January 23. e man told the bardraw money from or the whole night,

After waiting endlessly, an employee of the hotel went to the room to ask his woman companion for his phone number, but they were shocked to find her naked on the bed and motionless.

“The man was our regular customer. That day, he came to the hotel with a tall and dark woman. He booked a room. But after a while, he came to the receptionist and told him that he would like to spend the night with his female friend but he did not have enough money to book for the night.

“He told the receptionist that he wanted to go to the ATM to withdraw some cash, but he did not come back.

“After waiting endlessly for him, the manager was informed and he ordered that the woman he came with be informed so she could leave the hotel but to our shock, after entering the room, the woman was found stark naked, her brazier and other underwear were scattered on the ground. She was dead.

“We raised the alarm and invited the police from the MAN Centre Police Station in Ikeja, but they could not trace the man.

But the woman was identified as Omolara Ashiru,” the hotel source said.

It was learnt that the police arrested two staff of the hotel and invited the owner of the hotel. But the owner has allegedly gone into hiding.

“The police arrested two members of staff of the hotel after they removed the woman’s corpse to the mortuary. The police are still looking for the owner of the hotel, but he is nowhere to be found. The case has been transferred to the Homicide Department at Panti Yaba for further investigation,” a police source said.

But when contacted, the state Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Domasus Ozoani, said he was not aware of the incident.

es landlord for rceful ejection

d, Stesterday Somolu agos for tenant perty. ides at di Lak, charge ul ejec-

P Akined that ejected on De-

ndlord beating sagree-

on Deup his

tenant over a disagreement; he then forcefully ejected him from his apartment.

“Ogunyade unlawfully began removing Ezekwem’s belongings and vandalising them in the process.

“Items vandalised include a refrigerator, furniture and clothes, all valued at N1.1 million.”

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Ogunyade, however, pleaded not guilty.

The Magistrate, Mrs. Bola Osunsanmi, granted the accused bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Maj. Gen. Dibi (left) and Maj. Gen. Umahi during the change of guards.

New GOC takes over 81 Division Flora Onwudiwe

T

here has been a change of guards at the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army in Lagos.

Major-General Tamunomibi Dibi, has taken over from MajorGeneral Abel Obi Umahi as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the division.

Umahi, who took over from the current Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Lieutenant General Kenneth Minimah, 22 months ago, is now the Director of Administration at Army Headquarters, Abuja.

In his short stay in Lagos, the former GOC gave the entire 81 Division a facelift.

Umahi solicited the cooperation of the media, saying that the same support should be given to the new GOC. While fielding questions from journalists, he said that the fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, had been one thorny issue in the nation’s security.

The former GOC recalled that base of intelligent report, a planned attack by the group in Lagos last year was averted by the

military who arrested 12 Boko Haram members and 42 others, many of who were later charged to court.

Umahi also praised the new GOC, who he described as a strict disciplinarian.

According to him, Dibi has an intimidating profile and has what it takes to move 81 Division to a greater height.

Responding, Dibi, who was Garrison Commander, Army Headquarters, commended his predecessor for transforming the division within a short time in office.

Man gets 95 days in prison for mischief

F

or breaking the windscreen of a truck, an Abuja Senior Magistrates’ Court yesterday sentenced an unemployed man, Isichukwu Oduwenyi, to 95 days imprisonment.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr. Abdullahi Illelah, convicted Oduwenyi, 29, of Akaraka Village Life Camp District, Abuja, after he pleaded guilty to a onecount of mischief.

Illelah, however, gave the convict an option of N2,500.

“I plead for the mercy of the court; it was out of anger I threw the stone on the truck after the driver splashed water on me and I felt he did it deliberately, I am very sorry,” Oduwenyi said.

“The convict is hereby sentenced to 95 days imprisonment with a fine option of N2,500 and a compensation of N58,000 awarded to the complainant.

“I put into consideration the plea of the convict, he is a firsttime offender and did not waste the time of the court in admitting to his guilt.

“The punishment is to serve as a deterrent not only to the convict but also to those who are likely to commit same offence,” the magistrate said.

Earlier, the prosecutor, PC Odigiri Onah, told the court that Mr. Yakubu Musa of Julius Berger Construction Company, Abuja, reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station, on February 27.

Onah said that on the same date, while the complainant was at his duty post driving

and spraying water on the road with a water tanker, the convict walked close to the tanker and the water splashed on him.

He said the tanker driver apologised to Oduwenyi immediately, but the convict got angry and picked a big stone, threw on the windscreen and broke the glass of the truck.

Policeman stabbed in Lagos

P

olice yesterday arraigned a 25-year-old-man, John Ukane, before an Apapa Senior Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for attacking a policeman.

Ukane, who resides at Olodi Apapa, Lagos, is facing a threecount of assault, stealing and escape from lawful custody.

The prosecutor, Inspector Friday Inedu, told the court that the

accused had unlawfully assaulted one Corporal Bamidele Shoyeye and stabbed part of his right ear with a sharp object, which caused him a bodily harm.

Inedu said the accused assaulted Shoyoye while on duty.

He said: “The accused also stole a phone valued at N7,500 from one Blessing Monday.”

The prosecutor, according

to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the accused committed the offences on February 10 at No. 25, Tolu Road, Olodi Apapa, Lagos.

He said the offences contravened sections 106, 172 and 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, which stipulate three years imprisonment, if convicted.

46 business | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

5-Mar-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject to the FMDQ OTC PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

Bonds

Price

FGN Bonds Issuer

Rating/Agency

NA

FGN

Description 10.50 18-MAR-2014 10.75 31-MAR-2014 9.20 29-JUN-2014 9.25 28-SEP-2014 4.00 23-APR-2015 13.05 16-AUG-2016 15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 16.39 27-JAN-2022 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.00 23-JUL-2030

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

18-Mar-11 31-Mar-07 29-Jun-07 28-Sep-07 23-Apr-10 16-Aug-13 27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 27-Jan-12 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10

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

320.00 35.00 45.00 100.00 535.00 292.47 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57

18-Mar-14 31-Mar-14 29-Jun-14 28-Sep-14 23-Apr-15 16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 27-Jan-22 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30

0.04 0.07 0.32 0.57 1.13 2.45 3.15 3.39 3.49 4.24 5.32 5.64 7.90 14.73 15.21 15.71 16.38

12.57 12.63 13.20 13.94 14.18 13.88 13.95 13.82 13.82 13.81 13.88 13.80 13.86 13.62 13.61 13.59 13.63

8.57 10.61 12.72 13.65 14.02 13.81 13.83 13.70 13.70 13.71 13.80 13.71 13.81 13.58 13.56 13.53 13.57

99.90 99.83 98.71 97.52 89.65 98.30 102.80 89.49 87.95 90.22 107.75 73.92 111.85 108.62 92.85 67.24 76.40

100.05 99.98 98.86 97.67 89.80 98.45 103.10 89.79 88.25 90.52 108.05 74.22 112.15 108.92 93.15 67.54 76.70

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

4,402.04 Description

Issuer

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

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

0.66 1.22 1.58 2.76 3.13 3.34

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

15.00 16.76 16.28 15.84 15.31 14.82

90.97 82.16 101.43 89.25 86.36 84.89

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 06-Jan-21

0.42 0.61 1.49 0.86 1.39 1.40 3.12 1.96 3.82 2.60 4.58 2.80 2.80 3.38 3.27 5.72 3.32 4.13 6.73 4.13 4.17

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

18.54 19.96 18.48 17.35 18.53 17.55 19.41 21.49 15.61 15.65 14.81 14.84 15.05 14.82 16.28 15.74 16.56 16.55 14.80 15.25 15.76

98.14 96.65 92.51 96.29 94.90 97.88 78.65 88.51 95.44 96.65 97.35 99.45 104.35 99.21 98.19 95.36 95.60 94.92 94.50 101.94 101.59

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

0.59 0.79 0.82 0.97 1.05 1.13 2.57 2.64 3.57 2.19 2.10 2.26 2.26 4.55 2.37 2.71 6.70

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

14.96 19.28 22.81 19.06 15.18 16.79 14.85 15.19 18.34 15.75 17.36 19.07 18.93 16.87 16.15 19.95 16.56

98.08 95.87 95.75 92.43 97.24 97.55 96.14 97.97 86.41 105.13 97.83 98.08 101.77 91.12 99.43 94.44 94.73

11-Feb-18

3.94

1.00

14.81

86.57

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,304.32

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

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

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 06-Jan-14

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 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

14.00 14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 14.75 13.50 14.50 15.00

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

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

567.90

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

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

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

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

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

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

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

175.67

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

IFC

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

12.00 Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue Value ($'mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

5.69

5.54

105.95

106.83

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

18-Dec-09

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.82

4.63

101.16

101.92

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

01-Apr-10

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

6.13

6.01

101.71

102.58

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

Corporate Eurobonds Afren PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

4.01

3.40

113.51

114.71

GTBank PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

5.33

4.54

104.43

106.10

GTBank PLC II

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.41

6.17

98.36

99.33

B+/S&P

Access Bank PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

7.27

6.89

99.94

101.07

B/S&P; B/Fitch

Fidelity Bank PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

8.39

8.06

94.75

95.88

B/Fitch

Afren PLC II

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

5.36

4.81

114.08

115.27

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

First Bank PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.27

6.90

103.64

105.07

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

Afren PLC III

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.64

6.41

99.90

100.87

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

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

2,960.00

**Treasury Bills DTM 8 15 22 29 36 43 50

FIXINGS Maturity 13-Mar-14 20-Mar-14 27-Mar-14 3-Apr-14 10-Apr-14 17-Apr-14 24-Apr-14

Bid 11.10 12.25 12.35 12.20 12.80 12.20 12.80

Offer 10.85 12.00 12.10 11.95 12.55 11.95 12.55

^Yield (%) 11.13 12.31 12.44 12.32 12.96 12.38 13.03

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor CALL 7 DAYS 30 DAYS 60 DAYS 90 DAYS 180 DAYS

Rate (%) 13.9167 14.0417 14.3333 14.6667 14.9583 15.2083

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

13.42

Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

13.71

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M

163.70 163.95 164.21 164.85 166.01

163.80 164.23 164.59 165.61 167.32

O/N Tenor Call

REPO

Rate (%) 13.33

FMBN

NA

***LCRM

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

24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

24.56 6.00 112.22 116.70 66.49

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

1.22 1.58 2.76 3.13 3.34

2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

16.76 16.28 15.84 15.31 14.82

82.16 101.43 89.25 86.36 84.89

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

18.54 19.96 18.48 17.35 18.53 17.55 19.41 21.49 15.61 15.65 14.81 14.84 15.05 14.82 16.28 15.74 16.56 16.55 14.80 15.25 15.76

98.14 96.65 92.51 96.29 94.90 97.88 78.65 88.51 95.44 96.65 97.35 99.45 104.35 99.21 98.19 95.36 95.60 94.92 94.50 101.94 101.59

1,304.32

Sub-National Bonds Bbb-/Agusto KWARA A-/GCR NIGER A+/Agusto KADUNA A/Agusto March 6, 2014 *EBONYI Thursday, Nil *BENUE A+/Agusto *IMO A+/Agusto; A+/GCR LAGOS A-/Agusto *BAYELSA A/Agusto EDO A+/Agusto; A+/GCR *DELTA Bb+/Agusto; A-/GCR NIGER A/Agusto; A-/GCR *EKITI A-/Agusto *NIGER A/Agusto; A-/GCR *ONDO A/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS A/Agusto; A-/GCR *OSUN A/Agusto *OSUN Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS A/Agusto *EKITI A-/GCR *NASARAWA Sanctity of Truth

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 about LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 thing the commodity. That 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 document can be taken to a bank 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 IV 27-NOV-2020 by13.50 theLAGOS farmer who needs to use EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 his14.50 commodity as collateral to 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

Nigeria Commodity Exchange to provide warehouses for farmers storage

Nigeria Commodity Exchange provides succor TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE for farmer Corporate Bonds

T

A+/Agusto; AA/GCR LAFARGE WAPCO Aa/Agusto GTB he Nigeria Commodity µ Nil NGC Exchange (NCX) yesterBbb+/Agusto *UPDC day said it had concluded A-/Agusto *FLOURMILLS BBB-/GCR *CHELLARAMS plans to construct wareA+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO houses for the storage of farm A-/Agusto FSDH produce.

A+/GCR UBA BBB-/GCR *C & I LEASING Mrs Zaheera Baba-Ari, its BBB+/DataPro; BB+/GCR *DANA# Head of Management Services, A-/DataPro; A-/GCR *TOWER# # AAA/DataPro; made this A-/GCR known in an inter*TOWER A/Agusto; A/GCR view with the NewsUBA Agency of Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *LA CASERA Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

BBB-/DataPro; BBB-/GCR *CHELLARAMS# A+/Agusto; A-/GCR She said that theNAHCO warehous-

VALUE esTOTAL wereOUTSTANDING on a pilot programme, which would begin in 2014.

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P IFC the proBaba-Ari said that TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE gramme was also conceived to provide easy access to funds by Rating/Agency Issuer farmers.

FGN Eurobonds to her, after harAccording vest and the price of any comBB-/Fitch; B+/S&P modity is very low, the farmers BB-/Fitch; FGN BB-/S&P will take the commodity to the BB-/Fitch; warehouses and deposit it there.

BB-/S&P Baba-Ari said that the projTOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE ect, tagged “Warehouse Receipt Corporate Eurobonds System”, would provide places B-/S&P; B/Fitch Afren PLC I to store farm produce.

GTBank PLC I B+/S&P; B+/Fitch “The warehouseGTBank willPLC give II B+/S&P Bankthe PLC the farmer a receipt Access stating B/S&P; B/Fitch Bank PLC quality , quantity, sizeFidelity and every-

access loan’’.

“So, the warehouse receipt system is a way whereby 11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 farmGUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 ers13.50 have easy access to finance,” 17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014 she stressed.

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 Baba-Ari said that the loan, 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 which would be given to farmers 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 under the25-OCT-2016 scheme, would be on 14.25 FSDH 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 short-term basis, which would 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 not exceed 180 days because of MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 the shelf TOWER life of9-SEP-2018 farm produce.

MPR+7.00 MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 She remarked that the pro14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018 gramme was intended to be a 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 “win-win” affair forII the farmers.

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS 17-FEB-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 “The commodities will appreciate with time and the farmers will collect their goods from IFC 11-FEB-2018 the10.20 warehouse and sell at higher prices”.

Baba-Ari said that the basic Description challenges faced by farmers were storage and access to finance and that the28,warehouse 6.75 JAN 2021 receipt programme was de5.13 JUL 12, 2018 signed to address the problems.

6.38 JUL 12, 2023 ``The programme will address the problems of the farmers; the traders will have the commodities all through the 11.50 FEB 01, 2016 year and processors 7.50 MAY 19,will 2016 always have a steady supply of those 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 JUL 25, 2017 need,” commodities7.25 that they 6.88 MAY 09, 2018 she said.

10.25 APR 08, 2019

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 ome major 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 14.50 blue chips 15.00

17.00 05-Aug-14 0.42 6.00 15-Oct-14 0.61 8.50 31-Aug-15 1.49 16.50 30-Sep-15 0.86 13.00 30-Jun-16 1.39 18.50 30-Jun-16 1.40 57.00 19-Apr-17 3.12 50.00 30-Jun-17 1.96 25.00 31-Dec-17 3.82 50.00 30-Sep-18 2.60 9.00 04-Oct-18 4.58 20.00 09-Dec-18 2.80 points or 0.18 per cent to close 12.00 12-Dec-18 2.80 at 38,127.41 against 39,199.41 27.00 14-Feb-19 3.38re20.00 02-Oct-19.

3.27 corded on Tuesday 80.00 22-Nov-19 5.72 The market capitalisation 30.00 12-Dec-19 3.32 dipped by N23 billion or 0.18 per 11.40 30-Sep-20 4.13 87.00 to close27-Nov-20 6.73 cent at N12.459 trillion 5.00 31-Dec-20 4.13 compared with N12.568 trillion 5.00 06-Jan-21 4.17

business | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

47

Blue chips drop price on NSE bearish

The bears drove the bulls away from the market

S

on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday recorded price11.50 deprecia07-Oct-11 18-Dec-09 13.50 taking tion as a result of profit 01-Apr-10 17.00 by investors.

17-Aug-10 10.00 Nestle topped the12.00 price los09-Dec-10 06-Jan-11 14.00 to close ers' chart, dropping N15 29-Sep-11 13.00 at N1,25-Oct-13 060 per share,14.25 according to the30-Sep-10 News Agency 13.00 of Nigeria 30-Nov-12 18.00 (NAN).

09-Apr-11 16.00 Total lost N7kobo to close at 09-Sep-11 18.00 16.00 N166,09-Sep-11 while Dangote Cement de22-Sep-11 14.00 preciated

by N2 to close at N238 18-Oct-13 15.75 per share.

17-Feb-12 17.00 14-Nov-13 NCR lost 84kobo 15.25 to close at N15.99, while CAP dipped by 75kobo to close at N45.25 per 11-Feb-13 10.20 share.

The All-Share Index lost 72

achieved on Tuesday.

567.90

On the other hand, Mobil led the 11.80 gainers' table 07-Oct-14with N5.84 0.59 to 13.17 at N125.98 18-Dec-14 close per share. 0.79 2.00 31-Dec-14 0.82 Nigerian Breweries followed 15.00 17-Aug-15 0.97 with N3.88 to close 37.50 a gain of 09-Dec-15 1.05 at 1.50 06-Jan-16 1.13 N148.89, while Flour Mill grew 15.00 29-Sep-16 2.57 by N3.30 to close at N81.30 per 5.53 25-Oct-16 2.64 share.

20.00 30-Sep-17 3.57 0.94Guinness30-Nov-17 2.19 to also gained N1 8.01 09-Apr-18 2.10 close at N180, while UAC Prop3.63 09-Sep-18 2.26 1.00 appreciated 09-Sep-18by 98kobo 2.26 to erty 35.00 22-Sep-18 close at N21.95 per share. 4.55 3.00 18-Oct-18 2.37 0.54In all, investors 17-Feb-19staked N4.48 2.71 2.05 14-Nov-20 6.70 billion on 884.273 million shares 175.67 in 4,956 deals.

This was against 341.165 mil12.00 shares worth 11-Feb-18N4.84 billion 3.94 lion 12.00 traded in 4,993 deals on Tuesday.

1.00 14.96 98.08 5.21 19.28 95.87 8.71 22.81 95.75 4.88 19.06 92.43 1.00 15.18 97.24 2.63 16.79 97.55 1.00 14.85 96.14 1.34 15.19 97.97 Onyema 4.52 18.34 86.41 1.88 15.75 105.13 3.48 17.36 97.83 Wema Bank as the 5.20 19.07emerged 98.08 5.06 traded equity 18.93 101.77 most with 409.24 3.06 16.87 91.12 million shares worth N410.22 2.29 16.15 99.43 million.

6.11 19.95 94.44 2.76 94.73with Transcorp16.56 came second

86.65 million shares valued at N341.58 million, while NEM 1.0061.75 million 14.81 shares 86.57 sold worth N50.57 million.

Meritrade will boost retail investor base–NSE Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue Value ($'mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

Prices & Yields

Chris07-Oct-11 Ugwu

6.75

T

18-Dec-09

5.13

he Meritrade platform 01-Apr-10 introduced by6.38 Meristem Securities Limited will deepen retail investor base in the01-Feb-11 Nigerian capital market, 11.50 the Nigerian Stock Exchange 19-May-11 7.50 (NSE) has said.

08-Nov-13 6.00 7.25 Chief Mr.25-Jul-12 Oscar Onyema, 09-May-13 6.88 Executive Officer, NSE said this

at the launch28-Jan-21 of the online5.69 plat500.00 form. He said: “We have been 500.00 12-Jul-18 4.82 working towards increasing the 500.00 12-Jul-23 6.13 retail investor base with intent of reaching out, even to the rural 1,500.00 areas. Anticipatorily, Meristem’s Meritrade should contribute 450.00 01-Feb-16 4.01 substantially to the 500.00 19-May-16 realisation 5.33 of this intent”.

400.00 08-Nov-18 6.41 350.00 7.27 Meritrade25-Jul-17 is an online stock300.00 02-May-18 8.39 broking portal, which allows

users and sell stocks 5.54 to buy105.95 106.83 of companies listed on the Ex4.63 101.16 101.92 change with as low as N50,000 101.71 6.01 102.58 online.

Onyema noted that the Exchange supports innovations such as Meritrade platform as 3.40 113.51 114.71 it has been demonstrated as one 4.54 104.43 106.10 that provides speed, accessibil6.17 98.36 99.33 99.94 101.07 ity6.89 and robustness of technol8.06 95.88 ogy systems. 94.75

B/Fitch

Afren PLC II

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

5.36

4.81

114.08

115.27

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

First Bank PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.27

6.90

103.64

105.07

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

Afren PLC III

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.64

6.41

99.90

100.87

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

2,960.00

5-Mar-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, FIXINGS fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject **Treasury Bills Money Market Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) to the FMDQ OTC PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

NIBOR

DTM 8 15 FGN Bonds22 29 36 Rating/Agency 43 50 64 71 78 85 92 106 113 120 NA 127 134 155 183 274 309 323 337 351

Maturity 13-Mar-14 20-Mar-14 27-Mar-14 3-Apr-14 10-Apr-14 Issuer 17-Apr-14 24-Apr-14 8-May-14 15-May-14 22-May-14 29-May-14 5-Jun-14 19-Jun-14 26-Jun-14 3-Jul-14 FGN 10-Jul-14 17-Jul-14 7-Aug-14 4-Sep-14 4-Dec-14 8-Jan-15 22-Jan-15 5-Feb-15 19-Feb-15

Bid 11.10 12.25 12.35 12.20 12.80 Description 12.20 12.80 10.50 18-MAR-2014 12.85 10.75 31-MAR-2014 12.90 9.20 29-JUN-2014 12.85 9.25 28-SEP-2014 12.90 4.00 23-APR-2015 12.35 13.05 16-AUG-2016 12.80 15.10 27-APR-2017 12.90 9.85 27-JUL-2017 13.10 9.35 31-AUG-2017 13.00 10.70 30-MAY-2018 13.10 16.00 29-JUN-2019 13.00 7.00 23-OCT-2019 13.00 16.39 27-JAN-2022 12.30 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.85 12.49 22-MAY-2029 12.85 8.50 20-NOV-2029 12.75 10.00 23-JUL-2030 12.90

Offer 10.85 12.00 12.10 11.95 12.55 Issue Date 11.95 12.55 18-Mar-11 12.60 31-Mar-07 12.65 29-Jun-07 12.60 28-Sep-07 12.65 23-Apr-10 12.10 16-Aug-13 12.55 27-Apr-12 12.65 27-Jul-07 12.85 31-Aug-07 12.75 30-May-08 12.85 29-Jun-12 12.75 23-Oct-09 12.75 27-Jan-12 12.05 28-Nov-08 12.60 22-May-09 12.60 20-Nov-09 12.50 23-Jul-10 12.65

^Yield (%) 11.13 12.31 12.44 12.32 12.96(%) Coupon 12.38 13.03 10.50 13.15 10.75 13.23 9.20 13.21 9.25 13.30 4.00 12.75 13.05 13.29 15.10 13.44 9.85 13.69 9.35 13.62 10.70 13.76 16.00 13.76 7.00 13.91 16.39 13.55 15.00 14.42 12.49 14.50 8.50 14.45 10.00 14.73

Bonds

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Tenor CALL 7 DAYS 30 DAYS Outstanding 60 DAYSValue (N'bn) 90 DAYS 180 DAYS 320.00 365 DAYS 35.00

Rate (%) 13.9167 14.0417 14.3333 14.6667 Maturity Date 14.9583 15.2083 18-Mar-14 15.4583 31-Mar-14

45.00 29-Jun-14 100.00 28-Sep-14 NITTY 535.00 23-Apr-15 Tenor Rate (%) 292.47 16-Aug-16 1M 12.3410 452.80 27-Apr-17 2M 13.1461 20.00 27-Jul-17 3M 13.3335 100.00 31-Aug-17 6M 13.8867 300.00 30-May-18 9M 14.2455 351.30 29-Jun-19 12M 14.7489 233.90 23-Oct-19 600.00 27-Jan-22 75.00 28-Nov-28 NIFEX 150.00 22-May-29 Current Price ($/N) 200.00 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 BID($/N)591.57 163.5750 OFFER ($/N) 163.6750

4,402.04

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

13.42

Tenor

13.71

Spot 7D Offer Yield 14D (%) 1M 2M 8.57 3M 10.61 6M 12.72 1Y 13.65

O/N

TTM (Yrs)REPO Bid Yield (%)

RiskRating/Agency Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiumsDescription Issuer **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills ^Bid yield

Agency Bonds

AMCON NA

FMBN ***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Modified Duration Sub-National Bonds Bbb-/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR Bb+/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR

Buckets

KWARA <3 NIGER 3<5 KADUNA >5 *EBONYI *BENUE Market *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN

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 Porfolio Market Value(Bn)

14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 1,232.61 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 1,049.63 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 451.96 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 2,734.19 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

Total Outstanding Volume(Bn)

1,280.27 951.30 591.57 2,823.14

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

0.00 0.00 17.25 FMDQ0.00/16.00 FGN BOND 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

Weighting by Outstanding Vol

Weighting by Mkt Value

05-Aug-09 45.35 15-Oct-09 33.70 31-Aug-10 20.95 30-Sep-10 100.00 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

14.00 45.08 14.00 38.39 12.50 13.00 16.53 14.00100.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75

Issue Value (N'bn)

978.35 24.56 6.00 INDEX 112.22 116.70 66.49

1,304.32

Bucket Weighting

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

0.45 0.34 0.21 1.00

Offer ($/N)

163.70 Price 163.80 163.95 164.23 164.21 164.59 Offer Price Bid Price 164.85 165.61 166.01 167.32 99.90 100.05 167.41 170.10 99.83 99.98 171.05 175.22 98.71 98.86 178.00 187.18 97.52 97.67 89.65 89.80 98.30 98.45 102.80 103.10 NA :Not Applicable 89.49 89.79 # :Floating Rate Bond 87.95 88.25 ***: Deferred coupon bonds 90.22 90.52 107.75 108.05 73.92 74.22 111.85 112.15 108.62 108.92 92.85 93.15 67.24 67.54 76.40 76.70

Tenor Call 0.04 1M 0.07 3M 0.32 6M 0.57

Rate (%) 13.33 12.57 13.92 12.63 14.25 13.20 14.75 13.94

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.66 1.22 1.58 2.76 3.13 3.34

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

15.00 16.76 16.28 15.84 15.31 14.82

90.97 82.16 101.43 89.25 86.36 84.89

% Exposure_ Mod_Duration

Implied Yield

Implied Portfolio Price

INDEX

1.13 14.18 14.02 NOTE: 2.45 13.88 13.81 3.15 13.95 13.83 :Benchmarks 3.39 13.82 13.70 * :Amortising Bond 3.49 13.82 13.70 µ :Convertible Bond 4.24 13.81 13.71 AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 5.32 Government of 13.88 13.80 FGN: Federal Nigeria 5.64 Mortgage Bank 13.80 FMBN: Federal of Nigeria 13.71 7.90 13.86 13.81 IFC: International Finance Corporation 14.73Contractors Receivables 13.62 13.58 LCRM: Local Management 13.61 13.56 NAHCO:15.21 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 15.71 13.59 13.53 NGC: Nigeria-German Company 16.38Bank for Africa13.63 13.57 UBA: United UPDC: UAC Property Development Company WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company

*from the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the duration #

Bid ($/N)

05-Aug-14 22.08 15-Oct-14 38.67 31-Aug-15 39.25 30-Sep-15 100.00 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

0.42 13.98 0.61 13.87 1.49 13.63 0.86 13.80 1.39 1.40 3.12 1.96 3.82 2.60 4.58 2.80 2.80 3.38 3.27 5.72 3.32

4.88 100.4171 5.99 117.6779 4.44 82.5793 3.23 102.4956 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

18.54 1,015.77 19.96 996.45 18.48 999.69 17.35 997.42 18.53 17.55 19.41 21.49 15.61 15.65 14.81 14.84 15.05 14.82 16.28 15.74 16.56

YTD Return (%)

-

98.14 1.5767 96.65 0.3549 92.51 0.0311 96.29 0.2576 94.90 97.88 78.65 88.51 95.44 96.65 97.35 99.45 104.35 99.21 98.19 95.36 95.60

48 BUSINESS | MONEY LINE

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Keystone Bank promotes 627 staff

FIRS records N25bn fall in non-oil revenue tax OFF TARGET

Stories by Ayodele Aminu

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has missed it taget.

I

n bid to raise productivity and encourage hard work, Keystone Bank Limited has announced the promotion of 627 members of staff.

The promotion exercise, which cuts across the Executive Trainee and Deputy Manger grade, was announced by the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Philip Ikeazor.

He said: ‘The promotion is in line with management’s commitment to recognise merit and reward. It is also a major stride in the spirit of fostering and building a high performance and engaged workforce, delivering convenient and reliable banking services to our esteemed customers.”

Criteria for promotion, according to a statement from the bank, were based on performance assessment score, promotion readiness, tenure on current grade and absence of disciplinary actions.

While congratulating the staff, the Keystone Bank boss admonished them to be

T Ikeazor

spurred to “higher performance and exhibit a more passionate approach towards contributing to and achieving the Bank’s customer centric goals.”

Keystone Bank is a technology and service-driven bank with over 200 business offices in Nigeria and subsidiaries in the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Uganda.

“The bank has positioned itself as the first call bank for customers and business partners to seamlessly and easily realise their banking and business objectives,” the statement added.

he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) non-oil tax collection fell by N25 billion, provisional data from the Service have revealed.

According to FBN Capital, available records indicated that the FIRS collected N347billion in January as against a target for the month of N372billion.

The investment and finance firm explained that while revenue from the petroleum profits tax was marginally ahead of target, the shortfall emanated from the non-oil side and particularly the company income tax.

FIRS, one of the agencies responsible for tax-gathering in Nigeria in its provisional data for the month of January stated that total non-oil revenue collection yielded between 6.0 per cent and 6.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2007 and 2012.

Analysts consider this to be particularly low in an emerg-

Economic Indicators N14,737,618.7m N16,509,472.5m 8 0.0000 12 10.899 7.96 17.01 US$109.9 US$42,604,781,796.6

Description

TTM

4.00% 23-Apr-2015 13.05% 16-Aug-2016 15.10% 27-Apr-2017 16.00% 29-Jun-2019 16.39% 27-Jan-2022 10.00% 23-Jul-2030

1.21 2.53 3.22 5.39 7.98 16.47

Tenor (Days) Call 7 30 60 90 180 365

Rate (%) 11.9167 12.3333 12.6667 12.9167 13.2167 13.5000 13.7500

NIBOR

Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 2/5/2014 1/20/2014 11/6/2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 1/20/2014 2/5/2014 Source:CBN

FGN Bonds Bid Price 90.20 99.25 104.10 109.35 114.15 76.60

Offer Yield 13.01 13.40 13.47 13.49 13.44 13.59

Price 90.35 99.40 104.40 109.65 114.45 76.90

Tenor (Months) 1 2 3 6 9 12

Rate (%) 12.1827 12.2737 12.3744 12.8521 12.8535 13.8443

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

Bid 12.10 12.10 12.05

FX

Bid Spot ($/N) 163.28 THE FIXINGS –NIBOR,NITTY and NIFEX of February 6,2014

NITTY

Yield 12.86 13.33 13.35 13.42 13.38 13.53

Money Market Offer 11.85 11.85 11.80 Offer 163.38

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

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

Analysts at FBN capital believe that FGs trimming of the duty to 70 per cent would mark a classic response to the negative impact of the Laffer curve in operation. The curve suggests that, as taxes increase from low levels, tax revenue collected by the government also increases.

Eventually, if tax rates reached 100 per cent, then all people would choose not to work because everything they earned would go to the government.

The Corporate Tax Rate in Nigeria stands at 30 per cent.

Corporate Income tax rate is a tax collected from companies.

Its amount is based on the net income companies obtain while exercising their business activity, normally during one business year.

AMCON rated third best among five peers vindicated Analysts at financial derivatives company have justified the need for the AMCON.

T

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

ing/frontier market context, which will look even less impressive when the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) releases the rebased national accounts shortly.

FIRS collections are different from gross federally collectible revenue (all that flows into the federation account).

FIRS do not collect, for example, monies from crude oil sales, oil and gas royalties, and customs duties.

FBN capital explained that the federal government has signaled that overall non-oil revenue collection was short of its projections last year because its upward review of import duty on rice to 110 per cent in January resulted in an upsurge in smuggling.

he Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON has been rated third among five loss managers in the world by the financial derivatives company (FDC).

The research and investment company, in a peer review of a sample size, which consists of five countries (United States, Sweden, Ireland, Malaysia and Nigeria) that cut across four continents globally, concluded that the Nigerian model of loss management is among the best in the world.

FDC said five countries were chosen based on their similarities with respect to the magnitude of the crisis, the spread, and duration of the crisis, but to name a few.

It added that the Nigerian AMCON performance surpasses Ireland and Sweden and is a macro-economic success.

The Nigerian AMCON model of financial stabilisation involves a sinking fund set up by the banks to underwrite the funding cost of the detoxification of the system-wide risk asset portfolio.

The total amount of the exercise including carrying cost is estimated at $47.5billion (N7.6trillion). The first in the series of bonds have now been redeemed without any systemic disruption.

FDC noted that there are those who rightfully think that AMCON’s existence poses a moral hazard and thus it will be good to wind it down.

"This school of thought including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fail to understand that the key to economic development is leverage and thus the Nigerian aggregate corporate, mortgage and government debt is still very low compared to its Gross Domestic Product at 19.4 per cent. " Therefore, our view remains that AMCON should be institutionalised as a financial system shock absorbing detoxicant whilst the economy continues to undergo fundamental shifts to its structure," the peer reviewer company stressed.

It said the study reveals that using most criteria of arresting systemic haemorrhage and stabilising banks, whilst catalysing recovery, the Nigerian AMCON performance surpasses Ireland and Sweden.

Amongst the five countries reviewed, cutting across four continents, AMCON ranked three, ahead of Republic of Ireland and Sweden.

Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

business | CAPITAL MARKET 49

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

Symbol GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

No. of Deals 18 19 3 8 85

Current Price 70.00 2.04 1.85 1.50

Quantity Traded 364,036 197,360 13,500 3,688,575 5,370,121

Value Traded 25,579,725.55 414,841.06 23,760.00 5,532,862.50 34,793,060.76

5,370,121

34,793,060.76

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at March 5, 2014

Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014

Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050

Daily Summary (Bonds)

HEALTHCARE Totals Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC Computer Based Systems Totals

No Debt Trading Activity

Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals AGRICULTURE Totals Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 CONGLOMERATES Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 Diversified Industries

A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. JOHN HOLT PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UA C N PLC. on Board EQTY Activity Summary Diversified Industries Totals 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

IT Services

Symbol FTNCOCOA OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 1 44 22 67

Current Price 0.50 41.05 46.00

Quantity Traded 300 537,058 89,194 626,552

Value Traded 150.00 22,268,139.39 3,938,763.93 26,207,053.32

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 23 23

Current Price 3.83

Quantity Traded 658,500 658,500

Value Traded 2,594,668.60 2,594,668.60

1,285,052

28,801,721.92

Quantity Traded 93,370 372,746 67,199 86,647,107 242,866 87,423,288

Value Traded 143,096.50 451,022.66 340,026.94 341,580,795.16 15,781,831.90 358,296,773.16

90 Symbol AGLEVENT JOHNHOLT

No. of Deals 3 1 1 356 49 410

Current Price 1.50 1.21 5.06 3.97 65.07

Daily Summary (Equities) SCOA TRANSCORP UACN

410

87,423,288

ActivityCOMPUTER Summary WAREHOUSE on Board EQTY GROUP PLC ICT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals Processing Systems CHAMS PLC E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC Processing Systems Totals

1

of

No. of Deals 17 17

Current Price 1.66

Quantity Traded 396,754 396,754

Value Traded 664,058.26 664,058.26

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. ROADS NIG PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER ROADS

No. of Deals 9 1 10

Current Price 75.00 8.46

Quantity Traded 18,250 150 18,400

Value Traded 1,300,312.50 1,261.50 1,301,574.00

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 22 22

Current Price 21.95

Quantity Traded 209,282 209,282

Value Traded 4,424,959.80 4,424,959.80

624,436

6,390,592.06

Quantity Traded 19,500 19,500

Value Traded 9,750.00 9,750.00

Beverages--Brewers/Distillers

49 Symbol DUNLOP

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol GUINNESS INTBREW JOSBREW Symbol NB

No. of Deals Current Price Quantity Traded 66 180.00 317,428 15 27.30 829,448 8 3.96 206,000 No. of Deals Current Price Quantity Traded 175 148.89 4,234,996Page 264 5,587,872

Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 14 14

Current Price 82.64

Quantity Traded 8,349 8,349

Value Traded 717,054.06 717,054.06

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 56 74 76 58 22 3 13 302

Current Price 9.50 11.00 81.30 3.96 13.27 13.51 0.55

Quantity Traded 766,458 1,586,558 704,580 1,594,138 274,271 83,000 786,157 5,795,162

Value Traded 7,260,450.59 17,452,385.00 54,600,651.37 6,356,080.14 3,619,276.11 1,106,670.00 435,279.60 90,830,792.81

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

No. of Deals 51 96 147

Current Price 85.00 1,060.00

Quantity Traded 121,612 143,373 264,985

Value Traded 10,018,265.60 152,036,515.34 162,054,780.94

Symbol

No. of Deals 15 1

Current Price 4.38 1.66

Quantity Traded 372,700 1,000

Value Traded 1,514,253.00 1,580.00

PLC ActivityGUINNESS SummaryNIG on Board EQTY

INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. CONSUMER GOODS JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Published byNIGERIAN The Nigerian StockPLC. Exchange © BREW. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals

Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 Food Products--Diversified Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050

CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. VONO PRODUCTS PLC.

Daily Summary (Equities) VITAFOAM VONO

Summary onExchange Board EQTY PublishedActivity

by The Nigerian Stock © CONSUMER GOODS Household Durables Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

Page

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Daily SummaryFIDELITY as of 05/03/2014 BANK PLC Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC

711,855,335.38

3

of

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 56 75 131

Current Price 35.30 48.46

Quantity Traded 189,245 767,602 956,847

Value Traded 6,632,202.52 36,886,874.30 43,519,076.82

13,006,415

1,010,502,623.01

Quantity Traded 13,735,692 12,791,056 872,699 12,151,221 6,127,110 7,004,092 9,854,417 5,381,127

Value Traded 105,964,834.12 86,076,182.73 12,417,742.37 26,744,900.09 151,417,574.15 26,224,481.54 22,575,810.49 41,629,502.71

No. of Deals 76 24 52 239 1,484

Current Price 9.96 0.50 1.05 21.40

Quantity Traded 957,371 5,518,690 409,236,332 56,028,342 539,658,149

Symbol No. of Deals AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC AFRINSURE 2 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. AIICO 15 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CONTINSURE 6 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. CORNERST 2 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. EQUITYASUR 2 GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC GNI 3 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC HMARKINS 1 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC INTENEGINS 9 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. LAWUNION 1 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC LINKASSURE 1 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MANSARD 8 Daily SummaryMUTUAL as of 05/03/2014 BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. MBENEFIT 3 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NEM 30 Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NIGERINS 4 OASIS INSURANCE PLC OASISINS 23 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. PRESTIGE 8 DailySOVRENINS Summary (Equities) SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1

Current Price 0.50 0.85 1.12 0.50 0.50 0.59 0.50 0.70 0.50 0.50 2.19 0.50 0.82 0.50 0.50 0.58 0.50

Quantity Traded 50,000,200 681,873 1,053,500 80,000 26,217,965 10,200 1,000 2,561,700 6,500 1,900 601,330 10,000 61,748,518 76,016 2,571,611 127,100 500

PublishedInsurance

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Carriers, Brokers and Services

Activity Summary Board EQTY Published

by The Nigerian on Stock Exchange © FINANCIAL SERVICES Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Page

Value Traded 9,453,380.15 2,759,345.00 410,222,595.77 1,197,169,730.19 2,092,656,079.31

4

of

5

of

Symbol STACO UNIVINSURE WAPIC

No. of Deals 1 1 57 178

Current Price 0.50 0.50 0.87

Quantity Traded 7,500 200 4,613,501 150,371,114

Value Traded 3,750.00 100.00 3,983,014.40 99,111,425.42

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Symbol ASOSAVINGS

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 3,000 3,000

Value Traded 1,500.00 1,500.00

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 141 13 512 80 6 67 112 931

Current Price 4.10 2.19 12.80 3.40 0.61 20.49 2.90

Quantity Traded 20,305,106 342,600 14,656,787 4,630,133 856,916 674,739 18,136,135 59,602,416

Value Traded 82,806,345.72 752,145.00 189,105,118.86 15,838,159.47 522,841.37 13,605,421.71 52,607,516.67 355,237,548.80

749,634,679

2,547,006,553.53

Current Price 2.70 3.00

Quantity Traded 337,960 768,690

Value Traded 916,650.34 2,325,221.31

Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC

2,594 Symbol EVANSMED Daily Summary FIDSON

No. of Deals 13 (Equities) 24

Activity on Exchange Board EQTY Published

by The Summary Nigerian Stock © HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

Page

Symbol GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

No. of Deals 18 19 3 8 85

Symbol COURTVILLE Symbol CWG

HEALTHCARE Totals ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC Computer Based Systems Totals IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC

6

of

Quantity Traded 100

Value Traded 556.00

Symbol NCR TRIPPLEG

No. of Deals 1 2 4

Current Price 15.99 1.97

Quantity Traded 231,741 327 232,168

Value Traded 3,705,538.59 614.76 3,706,709.35

Symbol CHAMS ETRANZACT

No. of Deals 24 2 26

Current Price 0.51 2.32

Quantity Traded 8,493,220 4,400 8,497,620

Value Traded 4,250,737.40 9,724.00 4,260,461.40

9,113,113Page

38 Symbol AFRPAINTS ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN DANGCEM IPWA PAINTCOM PORTPAINT Daily Summary WAPCO

No. of Deals 1 51 9 27 10 32 6 7 2 (Equities) 79 224

Current Price 2.72 16.99 9.87 45.25 9.70 238.00 0.55 1.90 5.40 109.30

Quantity Traded 1,000 1,278,996 12,805 838,019 79,104 206,266 105,921 270,000 16,000 2,195,481 5,003,592

78,230,479.25 of 12

Value Traded 2,590.00 20,993,262.72 120,788.18 37,926,882.10 760,793.30 49,146,402.85 58,255.63 486,986.00 83,780.00 241,110,559.00 350,690,299.78

Page

8

of

12

Quantity Traded 210,850 210,850

Value Traded 428,356.90 428,356.90

Packaging/Containers AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals

Symbol AVONCROWN BETAGLAS

No. of Deals 2 5 7

Current Price 1.63 19.45

Quantity Traded 10,800 130,200 141,000

Value Traded 16,740.00 2,528,890.00 2,545,630.00

5,355,442

353,664,286.68

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

241 Symbol ALUMACO

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 7.75

Quantity Traded 28 28

Value Traded 227.64 227.64

Symbol MULTIVERSE

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 9,350 9,350

Value Traded 4,675.00 4,675.00

9,378

4,902.64

Symbol No. of Deals Current Price Quantity Traded Daily Summary (Equities)

Value Traded 1,594,228.98 1,594,228.98

2

JAPAULOIL

55 55

0.50

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 278 278

Current Price 18.50

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 29 20 27 21 1 11 109

Current Price 49.12 3.94 88.40 125.98 54.44 166.00

OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

442

3,177,074 3,177,074

Page Quantity Traded 5,332,792 5,332,792

9 of 12 Value Traded 98,898,154.90 98,898,154.90

Quantity Traded 41,361 339,941 57,904 60,322 100 27,506 527,134

Value Traded 1,948,483.46 1,341,287.54 4,964,262.00 7,537,103.90 5,172.00 4,569,466.28 20,365,775.18

9,037,000

120,858,159.06

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 13 13

Current Price 1.35

Quantity Traded 156,998 156,998

Value Traded 202,607.72 202,607.72

Symbol

No. of Deals 11 6 17

Current Price 4.65 2.81

Quantity Traded 414,500 28,375 442,875

Value Traded 1,877,436.00 78,649.75 1,956,085.75

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 6 6

Current Price 0.53

Quantity Traded 279,052 Page 279,052

Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 0.66

Quantity Traded 34,944 34,944

Value Traded 22,741.92 22,741.92

Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LEARN AFRICA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals

Symbol ACADEMY LEARNAFRCA UPL

No. of Deals 17 4 2 23

Current Price 1.72 1.90 4.29

Quantity Traded 270,859 111,414 157,694 539,967

Value Traded 460,599.56 208,565.90 676,554.34 1,345,719.80

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 19 19

Current Price 0.95

Quantity Traded 785,286 785,286

Value Traded 766,928.20 766,928.20

Symbol NSLTECH

No. of Deals 13 13

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 221,960 221,960

Value Traded 110,980.00 110,980.00

Symbol

No. of Deals 7 28 35

Current Price 3.01 5.50

Quantity Traded 238,909 714,676 953,585

Value Traded 714,868.95 3,930,232.40 4,645,101.35

Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Activity Summary on Board EQTY Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

12

SERVICES Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Employment Solutions Totals

Specialty Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 Specialty Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals

Daily Summary (Equities) REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

DailyAIRSERVICE Summary (Equities) NAHCO

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

SERVICES Published

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SERVICES Totals

Page

Value Traded 147,897.56 of 12 147,897.56

10

11

of

130

3,414,667

EQTY Board Totals

4,956

884,273,591

4,477,747,214.37

Equity Activity Totals

4,956

884,273,591

4,477,747,214.37

9,198,062.30

12

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

12

Current Price 70.00 2.04 1.85 1.50

Quantity Traded 364,036 197,360 13,500 3,688,575 5,370,121

Value Traded 25,579,725.55 414,841.06 23,760.00 5,532,862.50 34,793,060.76

5,370,121

34,793,060.76

No. of Deals 8 8

Current Price 0.68

Quantity Traded 383,325 383,325

Value Traded 263,308.50 263,308.50

No. of Deals 1

Current Price 5.85

Quantity Traded 100

Value Traded 556.00

85

Current Price 5.85

Current Price 2.01

OIL AND GAS Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

12

Value Traded 25,000,100.00 571,298.55 1,166,610.00 40,000.00 13,108,982.50 5,814.00 500.00 1,929,853.00 3,250.00 950.00 1,319,026.00 5,000.00 50,570,670.06 38,008.00 1,289,821.61 74,427.30 250.00

Page

No. of Deals 1

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

12

Value Traded 1,515,833.00

Symbol UBN UNITYBNK WEMABANK ZENITHBANK

Symbol CWG

No. of Deals 10 10

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals

Value Traded 263,308.50 263,308.50

Symbol CUTIX

Mining Services MULTIVERSE PLC Daily Summary asServices of 05/03/2014 Mining Totals Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 NATURAL RESOURCES Totals

Quantity Traded 373,700

Current Price 7.69 6.85 14.35 2.26 24.65 3.77 2.33 7.73

Quantity Traded 383,325 383,325

Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

NATURAL RESOURCES Metals ALUMINIUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Metals Totals

Current Price

Symbol No. of Deals ACCESS 194 DIAMONDBNK 94 ETI 44 FIDELITYBK 111 GUARANTY 337 SKYEBANK 112 STERLNBANK 58 Daily Summary (Equities) UBA 143

Current Price 0.68

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

No. of Deals 16

875

No. of Deals 8 8

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Published

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Value Traded 57,393,413.03 22,618,037.32 815,760.00 Value Traded 2 of 12 631,028,125.03

Symbol

CONSUMER GOODS Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP Daily Summary asPLC of 05/03/2014 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC IPWA PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. Building Materials Totals

12

Symbol COSTAIN

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals Daily Summary as of 05/03/2014 Printed 05/03/2014 17:53:50.050 CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals

Symbol COURTVILLE

Daily Summary (Equities)

Published The Nigerian Stock Exchange © ICTby Totals

358,296,773.16

Page

85

Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Symbol NEWGOLD

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 2,120.00

Quantity Traded 147 147

Value Traded 311,640.00 311,640.00

ETF Board Totals

1

147

311,640.00

ETP Activity Totals

1

147

311,640.00

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

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50 FOREIGN

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Pistorius mishandled gun weeks before shooting, witness says

P

rofessional boxer Kenin Lerena was a surprise witness at Oscar Pistorius' murder trial yesterday, where he testified that the athlete accidentally fired a gun in a crowded restaurant last year and asked a friend to take the blame.

The incident happened on January 11, 2013, one month before Pistorius said he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, because he feared

she was an intruder.

Lerena, who was a friend of the couple, told the Gauteng North High Court about the incident that happened at the upscale Tasha's restaurant, located in Northern Johannesburg. Pistorius and Lerena were joined by a mutual friend named Darren Fresco and another runner, Martin Rooney, he said.

Lerena told the court Fresco handed Pistorius a firearm under the table with the words

"There's one up," which he (Lerena) understood to mean there was a round in the chamber.

Moments later, Lerena said a shot went off in the restaurant and the entire dining room went silent. Lerena described his shocked state of mind as he went to the bathroom to wipe some blood off his toe after it was apparently grazed by the bullet.

"I had never been in a situation where a gun goes off like that," he said.

Lerena said Pistorius apologized profusely, said it was an accident, and asked several times if everyone was ok.

He said Pistorius, one of South Africa's most famous figures, also begged Fresco to say it was him who fired the shot as he didn't want any negative publicity.

"Please Darren, just say it was you. I don't want any tension around me," Pistorius said,

according to Lerena.

When the managers of the restautant came to their table to ask what happened, Lerena said Fresco took the blame for his friend. He said the group then paid their bill and left.

Lerena said he didn't speak to anyone about the incident until he received several calls from foreign journalists asking about it two days after Steenkamp was killed.

Ukraine crisis: Western leaders pile pressure on Russia

W

Testimony yesterday focused on both Oscar Pistorius' murder charge and his unrelated gun charge

Pope hits at criticism of Church over sexual abuse

P

ope Francis has strongly defended the Roman Catholic Church's record on tackling sexual abuse by priests.

In a rare interview with an Italian newspaper, the Pope said "no-one else has done more" to root out paedophilia.

He said the Church had acted with transparency and responsibility, yet it was the only institution to have been attacked.

Last month, the UN strongly criticised the Vatican for failing to stamp out child abuse and for allowing cover-ups.

In his interview with Corriere della Sera published yesterday, Pope Francis said: "The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and responsibility.

"No-one else has done more.

Yet the Church is the only one to have been attacked."

The Pope, who will celebrate the first anniversary of his election later this month, also praised his predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, for changing the Church's attitude towards predatory priests, saying he had been "very courageous".

He also questioned the focus of the debate, saying: "The statistics on the phenomenon of violence against children are shocking, but they also clearly show that the great majority of abuses are carried out in family or neighbourhood environments."

A UN report into the abuse scandals published last month called on the Pope to "immediately remove" all clergy who

were known or suspected child abusers.

It also accused the Vatican of systematically placing the "preservation of the reputation of the Church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims" - something it has strenuously denied.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said the Holy See should open its files on members of the clergy who had "concealed their crimes" so that they could be held accountable by the authorities.

Pope Francis has set up a commission to investigate sex crimes committed by priests and to care for victims, but so far he has made very few public comments about the scandals that have rocked the Church in recent years.

estern powers increased pressure on Russia yesterday to talk to the new government in Kiev in a bid to ease tensions over Russia's military intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region.

Russia has been warned that possible sanctions will be on the agenda when European Union leaders meet Thursday in Brussels, Belgium, if no progress is made in ending the high-stakes showdown.

But such measures may not only hurt Russia. In a tit-for-tat move, Russian lawmakers are drafting a law that would allow Russia to confiscate assets belonging to U.S. and European companies if sanctions are slapped on Moscow, Russian state media reported.

The diplomatic maneuvers come as world leaders meet in Paris for talks that were intended to focus on Lebanon.

Instead, Ukraine will likely dominate the agenda.

Russian forces remain in effective control of Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula where Russia has a large naval base, in a tense standoff with Ukrainian forces loyal to the new interim government in Kiev.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, were due to meet in Paris. But UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said what happens at the EU meeting on sanctions "will be partly determined by Russia's willingness to sit down with Ukraine."

If no progress can be made on de-escalating the situation, then there will be "costs and consequences," Hague said.

"It will be a test this afternoon of whether Russia is prepared to sit down with Ukraine. And we will strongly recommend that they do so."

UN to hammer out details of Central Africa peacekeeping plan

U

nited Nations diplomats will begin hammering out the details of a peacekeeping plan for the Central African Republic today hoping to restore order to the strife-torn country.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended deploying a 12,000-strong force to the former French colony, where political and sectarian violence following a coup last year has left thousands dead.

In a 24-page report to the UN Security Council, Ban called for a force of 10,000 soldiers and 1,820 police officers to be sent to CAR in order to halt the

bloodshed.

A first discussion of the report is to take place at the UN tomorrow, but while there is a broad consensus that a peacekeeping mission is inevitable, agreement on fine details is a long way off.

"Everyone agrees that there's likely to be some kind of UN peacekeeping operation, probably by the end of September," one UN diplomat told AFP. "But how big, what configuration, what balance between police and army, military and civilians, what will be the exact task? There is still a huge amount of work to be done."

C’wealth Games: NWF jittery over camp site

51

l As Nigeria gets two gold medals

Mercy Jacob

A

ll seems not to be well with the preparation of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation as the body prepares for this year’s Commonwealth Games holding in

Glasgow, Scotland.

This was against the backdrop of disappointments being faced by the body in getting a training camp for its athletes. Efforts by the NWF to

get support from the Delta and Bayelsa State governments have proved abortive as requests by the body for a training camp have not been acknowledged.

SPORT

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

CONTINUED ON PAGE 53

Did you know?

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

That the record for the most Olympic medals ever won is held by Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina who competed in three Olympics, between 1956 and 1964, winning won 18 medals

ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS kunle.salami@newtelegraphonline.com adekunles@yahoo.com

thursday, march 6, 2014

Jonathan sacks sports minister in the air

CHANGE OF GUARD

IN OUT

Danagogo

Abdullahi

Adekunle Salami and Jude Opara

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday sacked Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi

Abuja National Stadium

as minister of sports and swiftly replaced him with Dr. Tamuno Danagogo.

The President’s move came as a dramatic one because the sports minister was over 25,000 feet above sea level in an aircraft when the announcement was made.

Abdulahi departed Abuja 9am for Poland to support the Nigerian team participating in the IAAF World Indoor Championship in Sopot, Poland, between March 7 and 9.

Jonathan however announced the sacking at about 10. 30am while he was inaugurating 11 new ministers.

The former sports minister obviously was not aware such was coming and would have learnt about his sacking about four hours after the news broke in Abuja because of his sixhour flight to Poland.

Abdulahi is expected to fly back to Abuja on Thursday (toCONTINUED ON PAGE 53

NBBF appoints Bakare Technical Director

Falcons Battle Rwanda For AWC Ticket

Van Persie set for summer exit

}p-53

}p-53

}p-54

52 SPORT | INTERVIEW

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Countdown to Fifa World Cup

I can’t wait for the kick-off -Lahm

How did it feel to be named in the FIFA/FIFPro World XI? There are so many football players all over the world so to be included in the best 11 is definitely something very special.

Last year Bayern swept the board in terms of trophies. What makes the team so strong at present?

Our whole squad was what gave us that strength. We had great togetherness, we were a team. You need superb footballers, a good coaching staff and everything else around needs to be right too, but the most important thing is to be united out on the pitch.

We proved that last season.

You are captain of both the German national team and Bayern Munich. Is it possible for the winning mentality to rub off on Germany in Brazil?

Absolutely! There are a lot of Bayern players in the Germany squad, although that’s no guarantee that we’re automatically going to win the next title. Plenty of other countries are going there with the same aim of winning the World Cup. It’s been a long road to get this far with Bayern: we’ve played in three of

Facts l l12 of the 13 countries that took part in the first World Cup in Uruguay travelled on July 22, 1930 by boat and did not get to the venue until July 4. About 10,000 fans were on hand to welcome the players to Uruguay. l The FIFA World Cup’s first major con troversy was the France, Argentina game at Uruguay 1930. Trailing to a free-kick by Argentine enforcer Luisito Monti, the French were denied the opportunity of an equaliser when referee Almeida Rego halted Marcel Langiller’s run on goal by sounding the final whistle. There were actually six minutes remaining, prompting chaotic scenes that only ended when the Brazilian official brought the teams back on to the pitch to conclude the contest. l Uruguay’s Jose Nasazzi is the first person to lift the FIFA World Cup after he led his country to defeat Argentina 4-2 in the final on July 30, 1930. The government declared public holiday to celebrate the feat.

the last f o u r Champ i o n s League finals and only won it last year.

It’s a long and difficult path and you also need a little bit of luck on your side too.

In Brazil you’ll come up against Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and be reunited with Jurgen Klinsmann when you play USA. Which match are you most looking forward too?

All three of them, including seeing the people just named. I think we’ve got a tough group, especially as we play Portugal in the first game. They’re a top-class side with very good individual players and they’ve grown as a team more too. You could see that at EURO 2012, they were a bit unlucky to go out to Spain in the semi-finals. We’ll need to be wide awake right from the off because otherwise they can put you under a lot of pressure very quickly.

If we don’t win the first game...then we go up against Ghana and the USA, and they’re not easy opponents either.

They both have some players in the Bundesliga. The group stage is a huge challenge but of course Germany have to reach the next round.

World Cup runners-up in 2002, third in 2006 and 2010: is it Germany’s time now?

I’ve always thought that but other countries also have their sights set on winning the title and it’s a long road to winning a World Cup. It starts with the group stage which is never easy and then in the knockout rounds you face

the 2006 World Cup on home soil, we came close but nobody really expected us to get very far. We simply lost to a better team and Italy went on to win it.

In 2010 a lot of people dropped out before the tournament, like our captain Michael Ballack for example. We had a very young side that was playing in its first major tournament. We played well and managed to get to the last four, where we lost to Spain, who won the World Cup and went on to win the European Championship. We went close to making the final against big teams like that, but maybe there was a little something lacking. I think our team has matured from those defeats.

Lahm

the next hurdles. The team is ready to win the title but it’s no easy undertaking.

We’ve got a young squad with great quality and a lot of talent. We need to perform as a team, just as we did at past tournaments.

That’ll definitely give us a better chance of going far, although unfortunately there’s no guarantee whether that’ll be enough for us to win the title.

Why have Germany come up short at recent tournaments?

What has been missing?

Maybe we weren’t ready to win them.

W h e n I think back to

Many experts see Germany as favourites to win the World Cup. Which teams do you think will be your biggest challengers?

Given our past it’s only natural that we’re among the favourites. Reigning world and European champions Spain are up there too after winning three tournaments in a row. As hosts I’d include Brazil in there, as well as Argentina. And there are also some European teams who are aiming to reach the final, like the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy.

Why will the World Cup in Brazil be a special one?

For me it’s another different continent. I was lucky enough to play a World Cup at home in Europe and then in South Africa too - now another continent is on the cards. It’ll be great to play in South America.

They’ve got football-crazy fans and the country absolutely loves football. I can’t wait for it to start.

What will you be doing on July 13?

[Laughs] Playing football I hope.

SPORT 53

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Nigerian League Rendezvous with charles Ogundiya

charlesog2001@yahoo.com, charles.ogundiya@newtelegraphonline.com

08098042287

Sunshine coach targets Africa New Coach of Sunshine Stars Football Club of Akure, Henry Abiodun, in an exclusive interview with Charles Ogundiya, spoke about his involvement in football and his expectations.

Excerpts:

Abiodun

How and when did you start your carrer as a coach?

I started coaching at a very tender age; I was 19. I was led into coaching after failing to achieve my dream of becoming a professional player due to an injury I had earlier in my career.

I cut my teeth as a coach with Obeya

Babes FC in Benue State between 1989 and 1992 before moving to Nigerdock FC, Lagos in 1992. I was there for a season and from there I joined Exide FC, Ibadan. In 1995, I was drafted to Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), Ibadan, where I was understudying Coach Godfrey Esu before moving to the United States in 2002, where I continued my education as a coach.

Do you think you can take Sunshine Stars back to the summit of the Nigerian league?

The mandate is clear and I am going to work on that with the resources available. Sunshine Stars were backto-back semi-finalist on the continent before having a terrible season the last time out. The most important thing

Jonathan sacks sports minister C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

day).

It is believed that Abdullahi’s removal was more political than competence.

Investigation by our correspondents revealed that the former minister was accused to be sympathetic to the opposition All Progressives Congress which is the new party of his political god-father, Bukola Saraki.

The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party was said to have petitioned the presidency over the activities of Abdulahi whom they accused of engaging in anti-party activities by shunning PDP events while attending secretly those of the APC. The former minister was said to have refused to attend the stakeholders meetings of the party in Ilorin and even when the meeting was hosted in Abuja, he neither show up nor sent a representative.

The recent visit of Jonathan could have also worked against Abdullahi as various people might have briefed the president about the former minister’s

disposition to party issues.

A former President of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, Dan Ngerem, said Abdulahi should have resigned before now.

Ngerem said, “In his shoes I would have resigned when Chief Saraki joined the APC. The handwriting was on the wall.

“For those in sports, the situation is even worse because Abdullahi paid too much attention to football at the expense of other sports.”

A senior staff of the NSC told New Telegraph that many stakeholders are not happy with the former minister.

“Let me give you an example, as we speak the Gymnastics Federation is looking for funds to attend the 12th African Gymnastics championship in South Africa from March 26th but just last month this minister doled out $200,000 to the Super Eagles players as special bonus during the African Nations Championship, is it Volleyball that is doing any better”

though is taking the games one after the other. It is not going to be easy, but with the technical crew and the support from the state government led by the governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the Chairman of the Ondo State Football Agency, Akin Akinbobola, and the coordinator of sport in the state, Mike Idoko, I am sure we are going to achieve our objectives.

Despite losing some of your players to other clubs and some to injury occasioned by the unfortunate auto crash that happened recently, do you think the team is ready for the new season?

I can say the accident was a big setback, but we are grateful to God that no one died in the unfortunate incident.

All the players are now with the team.

The only one we will be missing is Sunday Emmanuel, who will probably be out until the mid-season break, but the others are ready.

For those that left for other clubs, I can tell you that we have able replacements for them. With God on our side and hard work, the team will surprise everyone for good this new season.

Who are your coaching role models?

When I wanted to become a coach, I looked up to people like Chief Adegboye Onigbinde. He has inspired me a lot as a coach. Others like, Solomon Ogbeide Willy Bazuaye, Amodu Shuaibu, Ufere Nwankwo, Fanny Amun and the late Yemi Tella, have all inspired me.

What is your best moment in your career?

My sweetest memory was in 2010, when my team won the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association League in the United States without dropping a point.

What is your saddest moment?

The news of the death of my father in 2011 and that of late Yemi Tella in 2007. He was one of my mentors and instructors at the Nigeria Institute for Sports.

NBBF appoints Bakare Technical Director

F

resh into the new season, the Nigeria Basketball Federation has appointed a Technical Director to drive its 2013-2017 Strategic Plan aimed at developing and adding value to all its programmes.

After considering a number of candidates, the federation settled for former national coach, board member, Ayo Bakare.

Bakare is expected to bring additional impetus and experience to the rather difficult job of implementing the various initiatives of the federation.

The new Technical Director, who has resumed duties with the federation, has served as Head Coach on several teams within the national team programme and has won medals on the African continent at junior and senior(men and women) categories. He was also the one who qualified Nigeria to her first FIBA Men’s and Women’s World Championships in 1998 and 2006 as well as the Olympic Games in 2012 and for which he has been honoured

by FIBA Africa.

In a related development, the federation has also reconstituted some key committees to ensure a successful 2013/2014 sea-

Bakare

son. The committees have been streamlined to allow for expedited and easy decision-making and implementation.

C’wealth Games: NWF jittery over camp site Falcons Battle Rwanda For AWC Ticket C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

New Telegraph scooped that the federation is in dilemma as its initial plan of going into camp early is on the verge of being defeated by the silence of the proposed governors tipped as sponsors.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has been awarded with two gold medals in 62kg junior men’s category by the International Weightlifting Federation

following the ban of two Malaysians lifters who tested positively to performance enhancing drugs at last year’s Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship held in Penang, Malaysia.

Secretary General of Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation, Paul Coffa, in an e-mail to the NWF confirmed that Kalu is now a proud winner of the games gold medal, even as IWF suspended.

N

igeria’s female national team, the Super Falcons, have been paired against their Rwandan counterparts in the second round of the Africa Women Championship qualifiers.

The Rwandan Ladies made qualified for the second round at the expense of Kenya after both teams played out a 2-2 aggregate score. However the She-Amavumbi won the firstleg 1-0, and lost the second-leg 2-1, and

were thus favoured by the away goal rule.

Rwanda host Nigeria in the firstleg encounter which will be played on the weekend of 23-25 May in Kigali, while the second-leg will be played on the weekend 6-8 June in Abuja.

The winners of the Second Round ties will proceed to the Africa Women Championship proper which will be held in Namibia between 11-24 October.

54 SPORT | EURO FOOTBALL

Sanctity of Truth

Van Persie set for summer exit

M

anchester United boss David Moyes is said to be considering offloading Robin van Persie at the end of the season after allegedly becoming frustrated Van Persie with his attitude.

Van Persie, who has also been reported to be considering his future at Old Trafford, has struggled to show his best for m since Moyes’ appointment in the summer.

A n d a m i d g rowing talk that the Dutchman is keen on a return to former club Arsenal, it’s claimed

Ramsey to sign new deal

A

aron Ramsey is set to hand Arsenal a double boost by returning to training on Thursday after agreeing a new £90,000-aweek contract.

The Daily Mail reports that Ramsey will initially take part in light training outdoors before building up to full contact training next week as he prepares for his comeback from injury.

Arsene Wenger wants the midfielder to play some part in the north London derby against Tottenham but is keen Ramsey is not rushed back to the team and suffers any more setbacks in his recovery from the thigh injury that has kept him out since late De-

arcelona are expecting to sign Chelsea defender David Luiz at the end of the season as the Catalan giants look to replace the departing Carlos Luiz Puyol. to many, but Barca are already Puyol announced his inten- working on bringing in Luiz tion to leave Barca during an from Chelsea as his replaceemotional press conference on ment. The Brazilian has been Tuesday, with the club captain chased by Barca for months, Ramsey told he does not have a future at with the La Liga club believed cember.

The Welshman’s im- the Nou Camp. to have made offers for him last pending return comes as he The news came as summer and again during the prepares to sign a bumper a shock January transfer window. new deal as a reward for his outstanding performances esut Ozil insists he is in the 15 months since penover his bad run ning his last agreement.

Ozil of form for Arthe starting side for the last two Premier League games, senal and can games but is called on for handle the claiming the midfielder had been been flying “affected” by his mistake. the Copa del Rey and the flak that has Champions League. his way.

But the club-record £42.5 milAnd Buffon admitted Ozil was coming un- lion signing has insisted he has his surprise at Casillas’ der fire from fans before remained unfazed: “Nearly evproblems at club level. he missed a penalty in the 2-0 Cham- ery player who is new to PreHe said: “I know [Casil- pions League defeat to Bayern Mu- mier League needs time to settle las] from way back. It’s a nich on February 19 and manager in,” Ozil told German magazine Arsene Wenger has left him out of Sport Bild. peculiar case.

Buffon sorry for Casillas

G

ianluigi Buffon believes the situation of Iker Casillas at Real Madrid is a strange one for such a talented goalkeeper.

Casillas has lost his place as Los Blancos’ first choice for La Liga

Inter Milan

confirm Vidic deal I

United are considering letting Van Persie leave when the transfer window re-opens.

The news would come as a blow to many at United, with the striker picking up legend status for his goals last term that fired the club to their 20th Premier League title. However, the Daily Mail reports his relationship with Moyes has failed to get off the ground, and that a parting of the ways in the summer now looks likely.

Moyes was believed to have been disappointed at his striker’s comments to foreign television stations after last week’s Champions League defeat to Olympiakos, where he complained that United’s tactics were restricting his impact on the team.

That, along with rumours of training ground rows, mean Moyes will decide in the coming days whether Van Persie is part of United’s future, and whether their relationship can be saved.

Barca close in on £25m Luiz B

M

Thursday, March 6, 2014

I’m back and better – Ozil

nter Milan on Wednesday announced the capture of Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic for next season, w i t h club president Erick Thohir immediately hailing the signing as “crucial” for the team.

“Vidic is a great champion,” he said on inter.it. “I am extremely satisfied with t h e completion of this agreement that will bring Nemanja to Milan.

He is one of the strongest defenders in the world, for his characteristics, his international experience, his charisma as a leader will be crucial for the team and the growth of our younger players.

“He will add value to the club and will be another pillar for the construction of a great Inter.

Friendly results Japan

4 - 2 New Zealand

Bosnia

0 - 2 Egypt

Iran

1 - 2 Guinea

Russia

2 - 0 Armenia

Greece

0 - 2 South Korea

Montengro 1 - 0 Ghana S/Africa

0 - 5 Brazil

Zambia

2 - 1 Uganda

Bulgaria

2 - 1 Belarus

Sport Trending

TWITTER |@NTelegraphSport

Mobolaji Akiode Kilode?” Breaking news: Jonathan sacks Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi. lFormer Nigerian basketball star, Mobolaji Akiode, reacts to news of Bolaji Abdullahi’s sack. @MoH4GAfrica Bimbo Adeola Another sports minister bites the dust. @bimbolovesmusic Brown Ideye All the best guys!! #SuperEagles one love. @OfficialIdeye Chiney Ogwumike Surround yourself with people who push you, who challenge you, who make you laugh, who make you better... @Chiney321 SHAQUILLE O’NEAL Lebron might be MVP AGAIN WHAT YOU THINK lBasketball great, Shaquille O’Neal, after LeBron James scored 61 points against the Charlotte Bobcats. @SHAQ Earvin Magic Johnson There’s no team more fun to watch than the Heat and no player more fun to watch than LeBron James. @MagicJohnson Amir Khan On a serious note I wouldn’t mind beating up Broner. Is tht what everyone wants. Me to put Broner in his place ? @AmirKingKhan Mario Balotelli Good night to everyone! And if someone think to beat me just let me know! I own you all I bet! I never lost! lAC Milan forward, Mario Balotelli, daring anyone out there to challenge him to a game of table tennis. @FinallyMario

SPORT 55

Sanctity of Truth

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Odegbami, Alli frown at Abdullahi’s sacking Ifeanyi Ibeh

F

ollowing the sacking of Bolaji Abdullahi as Nigeria’s Minister for Sports by President Goodluck Jonathan, former captain of the Super Eagles, Segun Odegbami (MON), as well as former captain of Nigeria’s Olympic team, Yusuf Alli, feel the move couldn’t have come at a worse time.

President Jonathan, on Wednesday, fired Abdullahi and directed one of the 11 newly sworn-in ministers, Dr Tamuno Danagogo, to take over as Sports Minister.

But with less than a hundred days to the start of the FIFA World Cup, and with the Commonwealth Games scheduled to get underway on July 23 in Glasgow, Scotland, Alli, a former Commonwealth Long Jump champion, expressed his displeasure at Abdullahi’s removal.

“It is sad, really sad,” began Alli.

“Nigeria is not a serious country because I don’t see why the only minister who has really done well in this government should be sacked.

“All my life I have never seen any Nigerian Sports Minister that has shown so much passion for the job as Mallam Abdullahi, so I am sad about it because not only will it affect our preparations for the World Cup, it will also affect our preparations for the Commonwealth Games,” he added.

Odegbami, who told our correspondent he had no idea who the new helmsman at the Sports Ministry was, or his accomplishments, said; “I have no idea who the new Sports Minister is.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about and will need to find out more about him, but this is the last thing that we need right now, especially with so many major competitions just around the corner.”

Ajoke Odumosu (left) in action for Nigeria at the London 2012 Olympics

The man Danagogo

Danagogo

D

r Tamuno Wenike Danagogo, who was born on September 22, 1970, hails from Abonnema, in Akuku Toru Local Government area of Rivers State. He attended St. Joseph State School, Abonnema where he obtained his first school leaving certificate in 1981. He proceeded to Nyemoni Grammar School, Abonnema, where he also obtained his West Africa School Certificate in 1986. He got admission into the Rivers State

University of Science and Technology and graduated with LL.B in Law in 1990 and proceeded to the Nigeria Law School in 1991.

In 1997, he obtained a master’s degree in Law at the same university before proceeding to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D in Private and Public Law with specialization in Human Rights and Disputes settlement in 2005.

He came into the political terrain in 2004 when he was elected the Executive Chairman of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area. He has held many political positions in PDP. A former Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs during Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s administration in November 2008, moving later to the Ministry of Urban Development, where he resigned his appointment as a commissioner in December last year when he told the governor that he would not defect to APC.

Super Eagles at the 2013 AFCON

I saw it coming -Ngerem Adekunle Salami

A

former President of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, Dan Ngerem, on Wednesday said that the sacking of the former sports minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, did not come to him by surprise.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on Wednesday announced the sacking of Abdullahi while inaugurating 11 other ministers into his cabinet.

Ngerem said he saw it coming because the minister was not governing sports well rather he was focussing on football.

He stressed that he was disappointed that Abdullahi pampered football and

Abdullahi’s achievements - Aide

lAfter 19 years, Nigeria won the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in February 2013. The last time the country won the tournament was in Tunisia in 1994. Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles have also qualified for the World Cup in Brazil 2014. lSimilarly, the Golden Eaglets won the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. l Under the Minister’s leadership, there has been a repositioning of the domestic foot-

ball league in line with global best practices.

The new League Management Company has restored credibility and transparency to the management of the Nigerian Premier League.

For the first time in three years, the LMC has been able to secure a title sponsor for the premier league, and attracted broadcast sponsorship to the tune of $34million (for a 4-year deal). l In athletics, just like in football and weightlifting, Nigeria has become the number one nation in Africa.

l Blessing Okagbare won two medals for Nigeria in the last IAAF World Championship, which took place in Russia in August 2013.

The last time Nigeria won any medal was at the Seville’99 courtesy of Gloria Alozie and Francis Obikwelu. lTo ensure early identification and discovery of athletes, the first ever National Youth Games, for athletes between the ages of 13 and 17, took place in December 2013 with over 300 special talents discovered.

was indifferent to the plight of other sports.

Ngerem said, “I saw it coming in many ways. His performance to me was not satisfactory because he was servicing only football. At the CHAN competition in South Africa he was splashing money on the players even when they did not win the trophy and he arranged reception for them too.

“Other sports deserve something good and so I am not surprised. Federations are crying over neglect and we have a minister who should provide for them all. There is no plan for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games while athletes are not well monitored and prepared for the event. “ On the new sports minister, Dr. Tamuno Dangogo, and the task of taking Nigeria to the World Cup in June and the Commonwealth Games in July, Ngerem said there was still time to make a success out of the two events.

“All you need is good planning. The man should just be focused and resolute to achieve results. If he comes in and bring out a blueprint on the marketing strategy for the world cup and the commonwealth games, it will be fine.

“Abdullahi and his likes will always wait on budget in the third month instead of taking the alternative option of getting the corporate world to embrace our products.”

World Record

On Marble Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds – Albert Einstein

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

N150

THURSday, MARCH 6, 2014.

India is world’s largest democracy.

With a population of 1.24 billion, the country has 714 million voters, more than the combined voters of the United States and the European Union

Is APC really the alternative?

A

t a television viewing centre in one of the Abuja social gardens, a football/politics debate ensued. The audience numbering about 30 was watching the final of Nigeria Under-17 World Cup. The unanimity of the audience in support of their country was very glaring; no dissenting voice. But something happened at half-time that changed all that.

A commercial was placed by a proJonathan group flashing goodluck severally obviously to remind viewers that the certain victory of the boys had some “goodluck” touch to it. The advert did not say anything of such but the irritating way it was flashed on the screen connoted it.

Trust highly discerning minds who will not allow such pass by; one viewer immediately rained abuses on the advertisers. He extended his abuse to President Goodluck Jonathan - some unprintable words for trying to reap where he did not sow. The angered viewer claimed Jonathan was not doing sufficiently well to have deserved taking credit for the boys’ victory.

But pro-Jonathan people at the viewing centre would not allow the abuse go unchallenged. One of them shouted back at the critic claiming there indeed were some elements of Goodluck in the whole thing. “Under Jonathan we won the African Nations Cup in South Africa and now Under-17 World Cup and you don’t want to give him some credit”, he argued stoutly.

But the anti-Jonathan voice would not allow it. “Don’t worry; we’ll throw him out in 2015”. Who will do that, the Jonathan man interjected? “APC,” shouted another voice. At this point the argument was getting rancorous.

Politics firmly took over proceedings and nobody bothered to listen to the half-time analysis of Nigeria’s armchair sports writers.

One man stood up claiming to be neither for PDP nor APC and began his lecture that kept all the audience spellbound. His deep voice coupled with some good oratory helped in capturing the attention of the audience.

My brothers, he intoned, “Do not allow these people, these thieves deceive you, there is really no difference between PDP and APC. Their quarrel is not about me and you; it is about their individual interests. Under Jonathan we are already in frying pan. Would you want us to go further into the fire?

All, including pro-Jonathan football enthusiasts shouted no! God forbid.

Political Musings

IKE ABONYI

Jonathan

Tinubu

At this point the second-half resumed and politics gave way to football.

But as a political observer, I took home a number of things from the viewing center. Nigerians want a change but have not really found an alternative. That Nigerians are in dire need of change from the ruling PDP is real, but also real is the fact that the main opposition party, the APC despite all their huffing and puffing has not been found to be the alternative.

A key question arises: why has the APC, despite their compelling opposition struggle, not measured up as the acceptable, desired alternative for a country in need of change? To answer the question, it might be necessary to look briefly at why the people are fed up with the ruling party.

Easily, the point to pin down against the PDP is the arrogance that has made it place the people’s opinion in whatev-

er they do as inconsequential, apparently because they get to power without them. This is notwithstanding its name - “Peoples Democratic Party” and its slogan - “power to the people”. Lack of internal party democracy which is key to any party discipline is also an issue the PDP has failed to achieve over the years. The endless, rancorous nature of the party which is a product of lack of rule of law and discipline have all combined to dent the party’s reputation in the eyes of political observers especially as it has impacted negatively on the larger political environment.

Will APC not be better? Is the mega opposition party not different; have they not said they would right all the wrongs? Why are they not being seen as the party waiting to take power in 2015?

Answers to the foregoing questions are many. They have not shown that fundamentally they are different from the PDP. On the internal party discipline, the feelers from the APC have not been encouraging. Even without presidential power, Aswaju Bola Tinubu and retired General Muhammadu Buhari have carried on more like emperors than party leaders. The desperation shown by the party in chase of aggrieved members of the ruling PDP and the quirky way they treated their original members in Kwara, Kano, Ad-

Why has the APC, despite their compelling opposition struggle, not measured up as the acceptable, desired alternative?

amawa and Sokoto clearly gave them away as leaders who could be despots in power.

If PDP as has been rightly observed over the years as made up of strange bed fellows, assembled hurriedly to satisfy the outgoing military in 1999, then APC looks worse. Many political observers still doubt the workability of a Tinibu and a Buhari given their extreme positions on the issue of corruption which must be tackled squarely by anybody aiming to diminish the ruling PDP. If PDP through its infamous “family affair” crisis resolution strategy has mastered certain ways to handle some often self-inflicted crises, APC may yet need some tutorials to get to that point. The public perception of their one-sidedness, especially in religion and geo-political configurations, puts some question mark on the reputation of their national character.

But one big credit must be given to the APC - it has successfully elevated opposition politics to an enviable level that has helped to tame PDP’s arrogance. If Benjamin Disraeli was right in 1844 when he said that “no government can be long secure without formidable opposition”, he probably had the likes of APC in mind.

But whoever emerges in opposition at the end of this battle in 2015, must note Lyndon Baines’ advice in his book ‘Man and President’ where he admonished that “the role of minority party is to hammer out a program that will solve the problems of America not just obstruct the work of the majority party”. *Henceforth, this article will be published forthnightly

OmoBaba

NO ONE HAS CAPACITY TO BREAK NIGERIA - Clark

- What about Boko Haram threat?

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