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Friday, April 18, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 59

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2015: 500 politicians to watch

Obasanjo, Amosun, Daniel, Kashamu test strength in OgunPages } 13-18

N150

Why interest rate is high, by CBN Ayodele Aminu

Washington D.C.

igeria’s interest rate has remained high because there are

not enough fiscal buffers to run the economy, the acting governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Sarah Alade, has said. Nigeria’s benchmark

interest rate – the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) – which indirectly influences other interest rates in the country, was fixed at 12 per cent over a year ago.

This had prompted a fiveto-four vote against hiking the policy rate at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. ConC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 5

security meeting in Aso Rock

APC govs shun Jonathan

lThey were not invited, says Akpabio lMeeting rescheduled for next week lBuhari threatens to sue PDP over link to Boko Haram Page } 4 Anule Emmanuel

ixteen governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday shunned the expanded meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) summoned by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential villa, Abuja. The meeting was to discuss issues bordering on the increasing insecurity in the country. Following the boycott of yesterday’s meeting by the APC governors, President Jonathan has rescheduled a meeting with the 36 governors under the National Security Council for next

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Confab delegates dissolve into committees

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week Wednesday. The president had summoned members of the National Security Council to a meeting which held in his office from 11a.m. to 1:40p.m. The meeting was later expanded to involve all the governors of the 36 states of the federation and commenced at about 2p.m. None of the APC governors was sighted at the meeting which held at the First Lady’s conference room. Only two opposition governors – Willie Obiano (Anambra) of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Olusegun C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2

L-R: Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande; publisher of the book, Prof. Wale Adebanwi; Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola; former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Rev. Tunji Adebiyi; and Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu during a public presentation of a book ‘ Yoruba Elite and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo and Corporate Agency’ held in Lagos... yesterday. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

99 female students still missing –Borno govt lPrincipal disowns Defence Headquarters’ claim Ahmed Miringa

he Borno State government, yesterday, insisted

that 99 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok abducted by the Boko Haram ter-

rorists on Tuesday night are still missing. About 129 girls were abducted by the terrorists in

their hostel while preparing for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

The state Commissioner for Education, Musa Inuwa Kubo, said so far C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2

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Friday, April 18, 2014

Why govs shunned meeting with Jonathan –APC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Mimiko (Ondo) of the Labour Party (LP) – were present at the meeting. The others were Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors. New Telegraph learnt that the decision by the APC governors to boycott the meeting may not be unconnected with allegation by the PDP that the opposition party was responsible for the bomb explosion in Nyanya, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which killed scores of people, and injured many more. President Jonathan had through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, on Wednesday summoned members of the National Security Council to the meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, to be joined by State Governors. Abati said: “The meeting of the National Security Council will be followed at 1300 Hours by an enlarged meeting on se-

curity developments in the country to which President Jonathan has invited state governors.” Abati said that the meeting was convened to “review the security situation in the country as well as ongoing national security measures and operations with a view to determining the best way forward.” Addressing State House Correspondents after yesterday’s meeting which kicked off at about 2p.m., Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum, said the meeting was at the instance of PDP governors and was not planned to in-

clude governors from the opposition parties. “This is a fallout of our meeting which we held with PDP governors and we felt that there was a need for us to also meet with security chiefs. Mr. President has listened to us and even said that since it is a problem that involves all the states of the federation, it is better for all the state governors to be in attendance. “Because of that, he has graciously agreed to meet with all the 36 states governors of the federation on Wednesday by 4p.m. Of course, you know we are very much concerned first as PDP governors and the

centre belongs to the PDP. So, we felt that we should see our dear president and if need be with some of the security chiefs. “So, I believe strongly, notice will be going out and all governors will “be meeting with Mr. President and service chiefs next week Wednesday to discuss and proffer solutions to the current insecurity in the country. I believe it will come to an end.” Asked whether the issue of the state of emergency in three states of the North was discussed, Akpabio said: “No, he didn’t go into details with us. Of course, you know that is a national issue and if you discuss

you can’t shave a man’s head behind him. The governors of the states that are involved in emergency are not here. So, I believe that issue will be taken on when all the governors are around on Wednesday.” On why the APC governors were not at the meeting, Akpabio noted: “No! No!! No!!! they were not invited. You know there was an initial requisition of this meeting by the PDP governors, this was as a fallout of our own meeting. “And so it wasn’t something that was extended to all and that is why I said they have been invited on Wednesday. “We C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 4

32o 27o

32o 24o Thunder storm

ABUJA

37o 26o Mostly sunny

L-R: Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu; Hon. Edozie Madu, and former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), during Kalu’s visit to the former President...on Wednesday.

‘Our daughters have not been rescued’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

KANO

39o 27o Mostly sunny

ENUGU

34o 24o Storm

IBADAN

34o 23o Partially cloudy

CALABAR

32o 24o Thunder storm

MAIDUGURI

41o 27o Partially cloudy

ONITSHA

35o 25o Isolated storm

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

OVERLAND AIRWAYS LAGOS-ILORIN (MON-FRI) 07:15 LAGOS-IBADAN (MON-FRI) 7:00 IBADAN-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:00 IBADAN-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:30 ILORIN –ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30 ILORIN –LAGOS (MON-FRI) 17:00 ABUJA-ASABA (MON-FRI) 10:00 ASABA-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 14:15 ASABA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 11:30 LAGOS-ASABA (MON-FRI) 13:00 ABUJA-ILORIN 16:00 ABUJA-IBADAN 15:00

Mostly sunny

PORT HARCOURT

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

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

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST LAGOS

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

only 30 students have been taken into custody. He said: “I’m at Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, the scene of the unfortunate abduction. At the moment, we have taken custody of 30 girls. There is an increase of 16 students whose parents returned them to school after they ran home on the day of the attack. We had made announcements and called on parents whose children and wards ran home. The aim is for us to take proper account of our 129 students who were at the hostel on the day of that unfortunate attack. “You may recall that 14 students had earlier escaped from captivity as explained by our gov-

ernor, Kashim Shettima on Wednesday. By our records, of 129 students at the hostel at the time of that unfortunate incident, we are expecting the return of about 99 students who might be among those said to have been rescued by the Military. “Myself, the principal of the school, Asabe Kwambura, parents, other students and residents are awaiting the return of our students. We have no reason to doubt or contradict Wednesday’s announcement by the Defence Headquarters, given the fact that the Military personnel are those leading the search and rescue operations along with civilian volunteers. We are very hopeful that perhaps, the freed students are safely

with the military and being brought to us. “We pray that not just all our students return in good health but also all the security agents and volunteers safely return in good health after a successful and patriotic rescue effort. “We call on parents to remain prayerful and hopeful that by the grace of God all the students will return to us in good health. On behalf of the Borno State Government, my ministry, staff and students of the affected school, parents and relations of affected students, I deeply appreciate the concern of all Nigerians and the rest of the world for their solidarity and well wishes. I also thank the media for their very critical role as we look

forward to overcoming this grieving experience.” Some parents of the abducted girls have lamented the claim of the military that some of the girls had been rescued. According to one of the parents, who pleaded anonymity, on hearing the news that the army had freed the girls, he rushed down to the school, but on getting there he met over 50 parents who came to lodge complaints that they were yet to find their daughters. “When I went to the school and discovered that it is not true that our daughters were rescued, I was surprised that the claims of the military were not true. Only 14 of C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 4

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

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

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Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Boko Haram: Buhari threatens to sue PDP ...Gives seven-day ultimatum

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

former Head of State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has issued a seven-day ultima-

tum to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retract its accusation linking him with the Boko Haram terrorist acts, tender an unreserved public apology to him or face legal action. Buhari, in a statement he personally signed in Ka-

duna yesterday, declared: “I cannot sit back and allow my image, and that of my political party be smeared by falsehood in the name of politics.’’ He said the widely publicized and very serious allegations made against him

by the PDP and its spokesman, Olisa Metuh, to the effect that his utterances were responsible for the current state of insecurity and terrorism bedevilling Nigeria, were absolutely without basis. “To support his claim, Mr. Metuh engaged in twisted logic and outright

L-R: Commander, 9 Mechanised Brigade, Brig.-Gen. A.S. Malkobi; Commander, Airforce Base, Ikeja, Air Commodore A Adedoyin; Commissioner of Police Operation, Mr. Tunde Sobulo and the Commander, NNS BeeCroft Olokun, Apapa, Navy Commodore Ovenseri Emmanuel Uwadiae, after the State Security Council meeting chaired by Governor Babatunde Fashola, at the State House, Ikeja…on Wednesday

45.3m

The total population of Spain (representing 0.66% of the world’s population) in 2010. Source: Blatantworld.com

The number of fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of developing countries in 2008. Source: Itu.int

N138.4m

The IGR realized from road taxes of Kaduna State in 2011. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

Security meeting rescheduled for next week CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

just wanted to meet with our president and some service chiefs to hear our views and also make some suggestions. Now, he is insisting, which is right too, that it is a national issue because it must be handled nationally and that is why all the governors must be here.” The Akwa Ibom State Governor advised that security issues should not to be politicised. “We must face the situation. It is not something we can politicise; you don’t politicise security. All hands must be on deck; the entire country, every single Nigerian must contribute his quota towards bringing the current situation to an end.” Akpabio, however, explained that since the meeting was at the instance of the PDP, he had the right to invite any person of his choice. Governor Theodore

Orji of Abia State, who also spoke to reporters, corroborated Akpabio’s comments, saying that the meeting was at the instance of the PDP governors. “We took a decision when we went to Jigawa and we requested the president to invite us to a meeting with the security chiefs. That is why we are here. We initiated the meeting for clearance,” he added. Governors present at the meeting included Gabriel Suswan (Benue), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahimn Dankwanbo (Gombe), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Idris Wada (Kogi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa). Others are Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Baban-

gida Aliyu (Niger), Garba Umar Acting Governor of Taraba State; Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, Rear Admiral John Jonah and Deputy Governor of Kebbi. From the Federal Government side were Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau; Director-General of State Security Service (SSS), Ita Ekpeyong; Minister of Interior, Abba Moro; Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs; Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar; National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. But in defence of its action, the APC said its governors were given the impression that the meeting had been called off, hence they did not attend. In a statement issued in Lagos last night by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mo-

hammed, APC said: “On Wednesday, the Presidency called the Chief Detail of the Kwara State Government to say that the meeting had been called off. On the basis of this information, which apparently got to other governors under the aegis of the APC, our governors did not attend. “Now that the meeting has been held, it is incumbent on the Presidency to launch an investigation into the source of the call to the Kwara State Government and what the call was meant to achieve. “Irrespective of the totally unfounded and absolutely irresponsible allegation that the APC is behind the escalating security situation, our party will not shy away from any serious effort to end the terrorist attacks in our country. Therefore, it is not true that our governors shunned the meeting with the President,’’ APC said.

distortion – which he called facts – in which he said that I, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, beckoned on my ‘supporters to go on lynching spree’ should I lose the 2011 presidential election, as a result of which ‘an unprecedented violence broke out claiming the lives of hundreds of innocent people.’ “I take very serious exception to this grave accusation against me by the PDP Publicity Secretary. It is a false allegation aimed at tarnishing my image and reputation in the hope of destroying my political and electoral standings, and that of my party, the APC, in the country. “First, it is public knowledge that Boko Haram as a terror organisation long preceded the 2011 presidential elections. My utterances or lack of them on the 2011 presidential election could not therefore have created or sustained the Boko Haram insurgency. “Second, the PDP government of President

Goodluck Jonathan constituted the Sheikh Ahmed Lemu Panel of Inquiry to investigate and report on the post-election violence in some parts of the country. The panel discharged its duties within its terms of reference and submitted its report to the President. “This report was accepted by government and a White Paper issued. Nowhere in that report, a product of thorough investigation of that unfortunate incident, was I mentioned in the remotest way to have uttered a word or acted in any form or manner that sparked off the violence. If I had, certainly that investigation would have uncovered it. The truth is that I had not. “Third, 2011 was not the first time I contested a presidential election and was declared defeated. It was the third! If I had had no cause to ‘beckon on my supporters to go on lynching spree’ in the two previous occasions, I would have C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 5

‘Our daughters have not been rescued’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

those students who escaped when the vehicle conveying them broke down were re-united with their families,” he said. The parents were reportedly thrown into confusion yesterday when they got to the girls’ school only to discover that the news of their daughters’ rescue was false. The Defence Headquarters had in a statement on Wednesday claimed that some of the abducted girls had been rescued and reunited with their parents. Indeed, the Principal of the school, Mrs. Asabe Kwarmbula, who spoke on BBC Hausa service monitored in Maiduguri, also vehemently denied telling the military that her students were freed and that only nine were still missing. She declared: “I am highly disappointed by the spokesman of the Defence Headquarters who told the media that I confirmed to him that 80 of my students who were abducted by ter-

rorists have been rescued. From the official record I have, only 14 out of the 129 missing have been rescued as at today (Thursday). “We have opened a register for parents whose daughters return home to report; but we are still waiting to hear from them which will help us ascertain those that are still missing.” Another parent, Malam Awana Chibok, told New Telegraph on phone that his daughter was still missing, as he had gone to the school on hearing the news but couldn’t find her. Meanwhile, some parents in desperation are reported to be mobilizing themselves to launch a search in Sambisa Forest to rescue their daughters. “Because of the inability of the security forces to pursue the terrorists to their camps in search of our daughters who are held captive since four days ago, we are moving into the bush in search of our daughters,” a source said.

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Friday, April 18, 2014

Defection: Ebute wants Tambuwal to declare seats vacant

…I won’t respond- Speaker Philip Nyam Abuja

ormer Senate President and member, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ameh Ebute, has asked the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to declare vacant seats of the 37 members of the PDP who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He accused the Speak-

er of being a mole in the PDP. But the House of Representatives has dismissed Ebute’s charge at Tambuwal, describing him as “a lone voice in the wilderness”. Reacting to the letter, Tambuwal’s Special Adviser on Media, Mallam Imam Imam, said “the Honourable Speaker has read the open letter addressed to him by former Senate President, distinguished Senator Ameh

Ebute. The Honourable Speaker wishes to state that he will not join issues with the elder statesman.” Ebute, whose call was contained in a letter dated April 14, 2014 titled “Aminu Tambuwal, defected 37 PDP members, impunity, treachery and INEC” and addressed to the Speaker, also asked the Speaker to stop salaries of the defecting members as well as prevent them from participating in House activities. He said: “Honourable Tambuwal, are you aware

that these defected PDP members should not be allowed to participate in House matters and can therefore not be paid salaries? I, therefore, seize this opportunity to urge you to declare these seats vacant. The failure of the Speaker and the INEC to act in accordance with the laws could breed anarchy. This is a serious threat to our budding democracy” Ebute, who is a member of the ongoing national confab also accused Tambuwal of being responsible for the defection

saying, “My brother, you coerced and cajoled 37 members of the PDP to defect to the APC while you, the hatchet leader of the plot decided to remain in the PDP, so that you can finally bury the PDP. You institute courts cases against your party the PDP. You refuse to attend party rallies and other party functions and yet you remain in the PDP”. He said Tambuwal connived with the opposition and “hoodwinked” members of the House to scuttle PDP’s plan to zone position of Speaker to the South West, thereby mar-

ginalizing the region leading to the National Conference of today. “As a former Senate President, my colleagues and associates were very worried at the inception of the current House, when you Hon. Tambuwal connived with the opposition, entered into agreement with the now defunct ACH and CPC hoodwinked a good number of the members of the House in order to scuttle the plan of the PDP to install a South West member of the House in accordance with the agreed zoning arrangement,” he said.

Buhari threatens to sue PDP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano (middle); Chairman of the Board, National Hospital Abuja, Dr. Tony Okam and others, during the governor’s visit to the casualties of Nyanya bomb blast in Abuja...yesterday

N9.8bn

The internally generated revenue of Kaduna State in 2011. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

29.1m

The total number of internet users in Italy in 2008. Source: Blatantworld.com

850,000

The number of adults and children estimated to be living with HIV in East Asia region in 2008. Source: Blatantworld.com

had no cause to change in 2011 – and I did not,” Buhari said. The former Head of State said the PDP National Publicity Secretary also deliberately misquoted the interview he gave in Hausa on May 14, 2012 in which he said the opposition was determined to fight in the 2015 elections. “I used the Hausa idiom ‘Kare jini, Biri jini’, which is a metaphor for a very tough fight. But, like the Islamic fundamentalist toga, they falsely put on me because they cannot impinge on my personal and professional integrity; PDP apologists deliberately twisted this idiom to mean I called

for violence. “I am not a violent person and, other than my professional calling as a soldier, I have never associated with violence, I abhor violence and have never advocated it. I have always been a law-abiding person who insists on due process and the rule of law in all my private and public affairs. “It is therefore a grave infraction to my person, personality and integrity that such a false and malicious accusation is being levelled against me by the PDP. “This is dangerous politics by the ruling party and it must stop forthwith,” Buhari said.

Why interest rate is high, by CBN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

sequently, according to the published statement of the meeting, a strong argument against a hike was that monetary policy should not serve the interests of the offshore portfolio investor at the expense of the domestic economy. Nigeria is however, not alone in the high interest rate regime. Other African countries, including Ghana, which recently raised its interest rate to 18 per cent, have also had to raise their interest rate. This is however sharply at variance with other developed economies like the United States of America and Japan that have enough fiscal buffers to run their

economy. But speaking at the recently concluded Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C., Alade explained that since Nigeria had not built adequate fiscal buffers, there was a need to raise interest rate to attract portfolio investments. She said: “But it is also important to say that before interest rates come down, fiscal buffers must be up. We will not be depending on our portfolio investment or other inflows to run our economy, once we have our Excess Crude Account (ECA) coming back up and we have

the foreign reserves going up and a substantial part of those reserves belongs to us in the country. “We just talked about quantitative easing in other countries and when United States, for instance, stops pumping in the money it had pumped in, which has helped our economy stabilise, then there will be issues. That means people will withdraw their money and come back and invest here (in the US). So, you need a high interest rate to attract portfolio investments into the country. That is why interest rates in Nigeria are high.” Besides, she highlighted other measures spearheaded by the CBN to bring

down interest rate. Alade said: “In terms of cost to accessing loans, CBN has gone ahead to do shared services with banks. CBN had partnered with banks to make sure that the cost of services they have, which would have been ordinarily passed on to customers, becomes low. Banks now share back office facilities instead of each bank having its own. So, I think it’s a matter of time; interest rates will come down eventually.” As at 15th of this month (April), Nigeria’s external reserves had stabilised at $37.913billion, while the Excess Crude Account, which was created to in-

sulate the country from severe price shocks, had risen to $3.6 billion as at last month. An interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower (debtor) for the use of money that they borrow from a lender (creditor). Specifically, the interest rate is a per cent of principal paid a certain amount of times per period (usually quoted per annum). For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for its business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for deferring the use of funds and instead lending it to the borrower. Interest rates

are normally expressed as a percentage of the principal for a period of one year. Interest-rate targets are a vital tool of monetary policy and are taken into account when dealing with variables like investment, inflation, and unemployment. The central banks of countries generally tend to reduce interest rates when they wish to increase investment and consumption in the country’s economy. However, a low interest rate as a macro-economic policy can be risky and may lead to the creation of an economic bubble, in which large amounts of investments are poured into the real estate market and stock market.

NEWS

EASTER

Travellers set to enjoy a stress-free break as fuel supply improves

James Nwabueze Abuja

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its downstream subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) yesterday said about 293, 326, 011 million litres of premium motor

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

NNPC floods market with 293.3m litres of fuel

spirits, otherwise known as petrol, had been injected into filling stations across the country to ensure a hitch free Easter celebration. NNPC also said that besides this volume, major and independent marketers are scheduled to supply additional 142, 913, 189 million litres into the system.

Abuja blast: Senate committee pledges CCTV in parks, markets Chukwu David Abuja

he senate committee on the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, yesterday pledged to allocate adequate funds for the FCT administration to enable it install enough Close Circuit Television (CCTv) cameras in all the motor parks and markets within the territory this fiscal year. Chairman of the committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi, made the pledge while briefing journalists after leading a team of other senators on a visit to the scene of the Monday's bomb blast at the Nyanya motor park, which led to the death of over 100 persons in the nation's seat

of government. Adeyemi, who also visited the injured victims at the various hospitals where they were receiving treatment, described the incident as unfortunate and assured Nigerians that the government would continue to do whatever is within its jurisdiction to secure their lives and property. According to him, "Abuja has been relatively safe in the last one year so to speak. It is unfortunate that this has happened. On our part, we would look at the possibility of ensuring that now that we are still working on the FCT statutory budget, something is done about the funding of the territory.

Aggrieved PDP members seek cancellation of congress Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

ome aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday asked the national leadership of the party to cancel the state congress conducted in Kwara state on Tuesday. They want a fresh one within two weeks. In a petition addressed to the Congress Appeal Committee of the party, the members, spread across the three senatorial district, raised several allegations of manipulation against the Chairman of the party’s Caretaker Committee in the state, which midwived the con-

gress, Mr. Solomon Edoja, as well as other members of the committee. Apart from seeking the cancellation of the congress, the aggrieved members, who are loyalists of the ‘Freedom Group’ within the party, also want the Edoja committee dismissed with immediate effect while a new one should be constituted to steer the affairs of the party before the fresh elections. Noting that ‘the people of Kwara are resolute to take their destiny in their hands," the aggrieved members hinted that they were prepared to take any political and lawful steps deemed fit to realize their conviction.

In a statement, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, said the NNPC, the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigeria Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO) and all other importers of petroleum products, are all trucking out petrol from their

10%

various marine and inland depots to stabilise the system. In line with the resolve of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to return the country to zero fuel queues at the filling stations across the nation, “the NNPC/ PPMC is collaborating with relevant stakeholders in the hydrocarbon value chain

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Angola in 2010. Source: Itu.int

to wet the nation with PMS before, during and after the Easter celebration,” Alegbe said. According to him; “There is approximately 17 days PMS national sufficiency at 40 million litres per day consumption,” saying efforts are on to build up the stock to guarantee energy sufficiency for the country.

2.77m

The total area (in sq. km) of Argentina. Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

He assured that the NNPC is collaborating with other stakeholders to restore normalcy to the fuel supply situation in the country, enjoining motorists and filling stations’ owners to desist from panic buying, hoarding and other sharp practices while wishing Nigerians a happy Easter celebration.

278m

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions of China in 2012. Source: Itu.int

Members, Association of non-indigenous residents in Oyo State, paying homage to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odunlana, during the celebration of the Oba's centenary birthday in Ibadan …yesterday

Airlines surcharge Ekiti PDP screens deputy customers on aviation fuel governorship candidates Wole Shadare

igerian airlines have devised a new means of staying in business by breaking down air fares into several components to justify the high rise of air fare. However, the carriers are now finding it difficult to attract passengers and are forced to reduce or retain the old fare they charge on the popular triangle routes. These triangle routes are LagosAbuja-Port Harcourt destinations. The operators charge between N25, 000 and N30, 000 for an hour journey especially during peak otherwise known as JET

A1k periods but reduce their fares to between off peak period which are usually late in the money and afternoon. Some of the operators, who spoke to New Telegraph under condition of anonymity said they decided to put high cost on fuel surcharge in a bid to make passengers pay more to cover their cost of operation which they hinted is skyrocketing by the day. An aviation analyst, Olumide Ohunayo, described the fuel surcharge as a big rip-off, adding that fuel surcharge is taxable income that ought to be paid to government as it is done in other parts of the world.

l ...As Fayose continues campaign Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

ormer Nigeria High Commissioner to Canada, Ambassador Dare Bejide; former Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Femi Bamisile, an Ikere-Ekiti leader, Chief Bisi Aloba and six others are being screened for the post of deputy governor in the coming election. Checks by our correspondent in Ado-Ekiti yesterday revealed that other contestants include: Dr Kunle Afolayan, Mrs Sade Akinrinmola; for-

mer Chairman of Ikere Local Government, Alhaji Tajudeen Adejumo, Mrs Ogundare Olakiitan, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Ayodele and Mr Idowu Richard. They are struggling to get the ticket to serve as deputy to former Governor Ayodele Fayose, who is the PDP candidate in the forthcoming poll . The aspirants yesterday appeared before the Screening Committee headed by Chief Yinka Akerele. The screening was held at Akerele’s residence located in Adebayo Area of the capital city.

Friday, April 18, 2014

HEALTH

Legislators brainstorm with the military on the government Philip Nyam Abuja

he House of Representatives Committee on Environment has advised the Nigerian Navy to apply utmost expeårtise in the destruction of illegal refineries and seized petroleum products. This, it said, is to avoid jeopardizing the health of citizens. Chairman of the committee, Uche Ekwunife (APGA, Anambra), who

NEWS

Reps caution navy on hazards of destroying illegal refineries spoke during an interactive session with the Navy and the Nigeria Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) in Abuja, said though the Nigerian Navy had done well in the reduction of oil theft, more needed to be done in terms of healthy disposal of seized products. She said, “We appreciate the fact that they have reduced oil theft, but we are worried in the way of discharging the bunkered oil. The magnitude of the

devastation is much. We want to see if there are other ways we can discharge bunkered oil. "We want to ensure that the environment is not further devastated. This is the time we have to work together ..." The committee also treated the case of some communities from Bayelsa and Delta states which dragged Shell before it over Bonga Oil spill. According to the communities, Shell is hinging non-payment

of compensation to them on "phantom" court cases. They urged federal agencies to prevail on Shell to pay adequate compensation, clean the environment and send relief materials to the impacted areas. But Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, who was represented by Rear Admiral Johnson Olutoyin, Chief of Naval Safety and Standards, gave assurance that the Navy was

seeking a solution to the problem. He however disclosed the challenges facing the Navy on the issue. "The problems we have over the years through pipeline bandits and illegal refineries have been a concern to the Navy. "We have been working out ways to ensure that impact is reduced to the barest minimum.” He said some of the arrested barges, small vessels and other platforms

were rickety and towing them away was practically impossible. He also disclosed that the various creeks habouring the illegal refineries are difficult to access with boats or other "platforms" to evacuate the products. However, Idris Musa, a director at NOSDRA, said both his organization and the Navy were working together to ensure that safe destruction of illegal refineries and barges becomes feasible.

Delta’s $16bn Gas City Project to provide 50,000 jobs Dominic Adewole Asaba

Ambassador of Guatemala, Mr. Acisclo Molina (left), presenting his Letter of Credence to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Aminu Wali, in Abuja …yesterday

48.8m

The total number of internet users of United Kingdom in 2008. Source: Blatantworld.com

87m

The number of active mobile-broadband subscriptions of CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) in 2011. Source: Itu.int

N3.8m

The internally generated revenue of Ekiti State in 2012. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

N2.5bn food items wasted in Mile 12 Market monthly, says commissioner Muritala Ayinla

he Lagos State Government yesterday decried the rate at which perishable food items are wasted in the state, saying no fewer than 7,200 metric tons of food items valued at N2.5billion are wasted monthly due to lack of good transportation. This disclosure comes barely a week after the state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budgeting Planning, Mr

Ben Akabueze, disclosed that Lagosians spend about N4billion daily on food. But addressing journalists at the Lagos State Secretariat during the 2014 Ministerial Press Briefing, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperative, Gbolahan Lawal, who made the disclosure, said 240 metric tons of food items, valued at N84million go to waste daily in Mile 12 Market, the state's largest perish-

able food market, saying aggressive measures would be taken to address the problem. Gbolahan also disclosed that over 6,000 heads of cattle are consumed daily by Lagos residents. He said: "Our research has shown that the perishables entering the Mile 12 market everyday is 600 metric tons, which is 20 trailers, and out of the 600 metric tons, 40% or 240 metric tons go into

spoilage, thereby causing a lot of income loss to our farmers. The income loss is estimated to be N84million per day." To address the problem headlong, Gbolahan added that government was making drastic efforts at reducing the wastage to 25 to 30%. He said, "The State Government is changing the mode of transportation of produce within the state to a modern one that will reduce spoilage by 25 to 30%.

overnor Emmanuel Uduaghan has said the coming on stream of the $16 billion Gas City project at Ogidigben in Warri South Local Government Area of the state will cushion the effects of unemployment. The governor noted that the multiplier economic benefits of the project range from its expected 50,000 employment opportunities to providing gas for the nation's power plants. The intra-leadership tussle at Ugborodo, the host community of Ogidigben in Warri South Local Government Area of the state, has been resolved, he said.

Plans, according to him, have reached an advanced stage for the inauguration of the committee that would liaise between the Federal Government and the community on the project. The project is the first of its kind across the country; it will host a gas processing plant, fertilizer plant and petro-chemical plant. It is called a “Gas-City” because it is going to be a deep sea port that NPA is going to construct. The gas processing plant, according to the governor, would serve as a feedstock to the petrochemical and the fertilizer plant, maintaining that there were other projects that would spring surprises thereafter.

UNFPA bewails Nigeria's material mortality rate Muritala Ayinla

he United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) yesterday described as unacceptable the high rate of pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths in Nigeria, even as it donated drugs worth millions of naira and equipment to the Lagos State Government. Presenting the drugs and equipment to the state government, the UNFPA Head in Nigeria, Mr Omolasho Omosehin, ex-

pressed worry over needless deaths of women and children in Nigeria. It was disturbing, he said, that the country which only represented 2 per cent of the world population, contributed about14 per cent to global maternal deaths. He said UNFPA was committed to reducing maternal deaths in Nigeria and had pledged financial commitment of $2.5million annually from 2013 to 2017 to tackle the problem.

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Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

CROSS RIVER

PLATEAU

CALABAR

JOS

Group inaugurates committee on Jonathan/ Sambo Presidency A group known as the National Coalition for Jonathan/Sambo Presidency in 2015, South-South zone, yesterday said it has fixed Saturday, April 26, for the inauguration of coordinators for the six states in the zone. Zonal Coordinator of the coalition, Dr. Otu Archibong, disclosed this yesterday in Calabar.

Otu said the Akwa Ibom State chapter of the coalition has accepted to host the formal inauguration of state executives from Cross River, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta and Rivers States. He commended the Akwa Ibom State chapter for the gesture, adding that this was a demonstration of the willingness of the people of the zone to return the President to power in 2015.

CROSS RIVER CALABAR

Imoke harps on ICT for service delivery Cross River State governor, Liyel Imoke, has described information technology as a panacea for efficient service delivery, which if adopted, would boost available services provided in the country. Imoke stated this at the second edition of “Agenda

for Nigeria Innovation Forum 2014”, held at Tinapa Lakeside Hotel, Calabar during the week. He said innovation, which is synonymous with creativity and adaptation, will not only improve the well-being of the people, but would also present tremendous opportunities for economic

Governor urges Christians to pray over security Plateau State governor and factional Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Jonah Jang, has called on Christian faithful in the state to pray for the peace, security and stability of the country at this turbulent time. Governor Jang stated this in his Easter massage

to Nigerians, saying that Easter signifies the vicarious death of Christ on the cross and his glorious resurrection. He said because of this great sacrifice by Christ, Nigerians must strive to stand on the path of truth, respect human dignity and love for all God’s creation as the word professes.

BENUE MAKURDI

Former minister donates to displaced victims in Benue Former Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs Dr. Sam Ode, has implored Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) in the attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen to place their trust in God for intervention in the crisis. Ode stated this yesterday while donating

relief materials to the victims of the Fulani invasion at St. Mary's Primary School, North Bank in Makurdi and at the St. Francis Mission, Daudu Camp. He sympathised with the victims and expressed dismay at the level of destruction of property worth billions of naira as well as the killing of hundreds of Tiv farmers.

ONDO

EKITI

AKURE

ADO-EKITI

Lawmaker wants LG election in Ondo

We’ll focus on job creation next, says Fayemi

A member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Ebi Lubi, yesterday asked the state government to order the conduct of local government election in the state so that developments could be brought to the grassroots in the state. Lubi, who was elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at a news conference said, it was disheartening to learn that the state was among the 10 states in the federation that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said have not conducted local government election.

Ekiti State Governor, who is also the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in the June 21 election, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said the primary focus of his administration during his second term in office, if voted in, would be creation of jobs. This, he hopes to achieve by partnering private investors to establish industries in the state. While speaking during his campaign rally in Epe, Moba Local Government area yesterday, the governor said his administration had put in place a conducive environment for investors.

CROSS RIVER CALABAR

Senate Leader donates to warring communities Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) has appealed to the warring communities in Cross River State to cease fire and allow government to resolve issues among them. Ndoma-Egba made the

appeal while donating food items to Usumutong and Ediba communities in Abi Local Government Area of the state, where youths have been warming up for war in the last three weeks, with warriors from both sides resorting to guerrilla warfare.

Confusion as Easter rush hits Lagos airport, others

T L-R: Former Vice-Chancellor, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Prof. Dandatti Abdulkadir; Head, Personal and Business Banking, Standard Bank, West Africa, Lincoln Mali and Vice-chancellor, BUK, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, at a public lecture in Kano…yesterday

JAMB releases 2014 utme results

FCT

EBONYI

ABUJA

ABAKALIKI

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday said only 47 per cent of candidates who wrote Saturday’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scored 250 and above in the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and Dual Based Test (DBT) modes of the exam. The Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, who announced

the scores, said 24 per cent scored 250 and above in the PPT while 23 per cent scored 250 and above in the DBT. Breaking down the results of the UTME on the two modes, the registrar disclosed that in the PPT, 275, 282 candidates scored below 150; 122, 157 scored 150-159; 115, 456 scored 160-169; 315, 401 candidates scored 170199 while 108, 488 candidates scored 200-249.

ASUP calls for Wike’s sack over alleged bribery The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Ebonyi State chapter, has accused the supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyesom Nwike, of allegedly receiving gratification to impose and install a new Rector on the poly-

housands of travellers yesterday besieged the domestic terminals of the Lagos airport and airports across the nation for the Easter holiday. They made frantic efforts to get flights as many of the flights were fully booked. There was huge capacity for the airlines as many were eager to get out of

Oyo ibadan

technic from outside the polytechnic system. ASUP also called on President Goodluck Jonathan to, with immediate effect, remove the minister from his cabinet even as they pleaded that a successor of the institution’s Rector, Prof. Francis Otunta, should be one conversant with the polytechnic system.

Akinloye’s sister, Vaughan, dies at 94 The Otun Iyalode of Ibadanland and younger sister of late Chief A. M. Adisa Akinloye, Chief (Mrs.) Gladys Aduke Vaughan (nee) Akinloye, died on Tuesday, April 16, 2014. She died peacefully at her residence in Bodija Estate, Ibadan at the age of 94.

Lagos to be with their relations. The Federal Government had yesterday declared today and Monday next week as public holidays to celebrate the Easter holiday. Workers are expected to resume Tuesday next week. Some of the passengers, who spoke to New Telegraph, said they came to the airport to see if they could get seats on any of the airlines to their various destinations. Some intending passengers, who came to buy tickets for the day, were forced to postpone their flights until tomorrow. Airport touts, in connivance with airline officials, were having a field day as a result of the development, raising fares astronomically for desperate travellers, who were only interested in getting to their destinations.

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Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Nyanya blast: Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemns act l Urges Northern elders to call their youths to order Ikechukwu Ucheoma Umuahia

he youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a pan-Igbo socio-political organisation, yesterday condemned the recent bomb explosion at Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja, the federal capital territory. Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia, Abia State, the newly elected National President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, lamented the wanton destruction of

lives and property by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect in the country. He said it was regrettable that their activities have cost the country a lot in human and financial resources. Isiguzoro said the youth council condemns “these senseless killings, adding that this latest attack, coming at a time Christians are about to celebrate Easter, was indeed a bad omen, pointing out that most of the affected buses were South-East bound.”

SSANU, NASU, NAAT members shut down FUNAAB Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

oint protest by members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) paralysed academic activities yesterday at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State. The protesters, in their hundreds, barricaded the main entrance to the university as early as 8.00am, protesting alleged ill-treatment by the governing

council of the university. The blocking of the institution’s main gate resulted in a gridlock stretching over two kilometres along the Alabata Road, where the university is situated. The three unions accused the FUNAAB governing council of extending the three-year period for the confirmation of appointment and promotion of non-academic members of staff of the university. They also kicked against the plan to make it mandatory for nonacademic staff to sit for written examinations before being considered for promotion.

437 retirees get N1.7bn bond certificate in Lagos Muritala Ayinla

o fewer than 437 retirees from various local government areas and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Lagos State yesterday got N1.7bn worth of retirement bond certificates, being their accrued rights for past services rendered to the state. This was even as the state government disclosed that it had paid

about N22.7 billion to 4,199 retirees who retired from the state public service from the inception of the state contributory pension scheme. Presenting the certificates to the retirees, the Director-General of the Lagos State Pension Commission, Mr. Rotimi Hussain, who disclosed this, advised the retirees to be careful with the kind of business they venture into to enable them enjoy the fruits of their labour.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Yakubu Bashorun; Commissioner, Prince Gbolahan Lawal and his Information and Strategy counterpart, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, at a news briefing on the activities of Agric Ministry in Lagos …yesterday

273m

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions of the Americas region in 2010. Source: Itu.int

N1.9bn

The IGR realized from PAYE (taxes) of Adamawa State in 2011. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

59,000

The number of adults and children estimated to be living with HIV in Oceania region in 2008. Source: Blatantworld.com

Anambra: Nwoye fails to restore petition against Obiano BATTLE

The last is yet to be heard on the 2013 gubernatorial poll in Anambra Uwakwe Abugu Awka

n attempt by the gover norship candidate of the Pe o p l e s Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 16, 2013 Anambra governorship election, Chief Tony Nwoye, to get the tribunal reverse its earlier decision of striking aspects of his

Muritala Ayinla

agos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday tackled the Federal Gover nment over the alleged missing $20 billion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC account. He said the amount could provide 20,000 mega watts of electricity for the country. Fashola, however appealed to the President

petition that would have nailed Governor Willie Obiano on the issue of double registration, failed yesterday. Nwoye, whose petition had been at the election tribunal, seeking for the nullification of Obiano’s election on the grounds that it was marred by irregularities, had approached the tribunal to seek re-insertion of the excised part of his petition, following the judgment of the Court of Appeal on Monday. But as Nwoye entered the witness box, counsel to Obiano, the 1st respondent, O. J. Nnadi (SAN), raised an objection that

certain paragraphs of the petition were struck out by the tribunal and that the documents in relation to them cannot be tendered and admitted in evidence. Countering, Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, Nwoye’s counsel argued that it was time to tender the document in view of the Court of Appeal’s judgement, which restored all those paragraphs that were earlier struck out by the tribunal. Yet, Nnadi disagreed with Ezechukwu, saying the petitioner cannot rely on the judgement of the appellate court without tendering it before the

tribunal. When Ezechukwu eventually brought out the Court of Appeal’s judgement, Nnadi pointed out some defects in it, saying the judgement was not certified and that there were five justices involved in that adjudication, but that only one person signed the document tendered yesterday. Subsequently, Justice Ishaq Bello, chairman of the tribunal, adjourned the matter till next week, to allow the petitioner (Nwoye) bring a certified true copy of the Court of Appeal judgement.

Fashola: Missing $20bn can give us 20,000Mgwt of electricity Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to intensify efforts at recovering the missing money from NNPC's account to address the problem of epileptic power supply in the country. Fashola, who spoke while commissioning Addo- Kekere , Lagbasa and Ajah Badore Roads in

Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state, wondered why it is taking the Federal Government such a long time to recover such huge amount of money. He said; "If the Federal Government finds the $20billion that is missing, we will have constant power supply. I know that if we have

$1 billion, we will have 1, 000 megawatts of electricity in the country. So that is equivalent to 20, 000 megawatts." Reacting on current security challenges in the country, Fashola charged Lagosians to be vigilant, saying security has been beefed up in motor parks across the state.

10 NEWS ENVIRONMENT Minister of State for Defence explains that safety and concern for people caused FG to stop housing project

Wale Elegbede

inister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has said that safety and potential adverse environmental effects of the proposed Ilubirin Housing project on the environment and the people are his principal concern. The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola,

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Ilubirin housing project not safe – Obanikoro had accused Obanikoro of stopping workers on the housing project site by deploying soldiers therein. Obanikoro, in a statement signed by his personal assistant on media, Mr. Ikenna Ezekwe, said that the legality of the reclamation, not the ownership of the land as being propagated by the state government, was the reason for Federal Government intervention. The statement reads in

part: "My main concern is the safety and the potential adverse environmental effects of the project on the area and its immediate environ, as well as the general focus of development of our great state. "This prompted me to seek the opinion of environmental experts on the Ilubirin project. The disturbing discovery is that none of them have seen the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Ilubirin project. Further-

more, the following observations were made across board: "There is a major concern the project is more than likely to contribute to the major flooding challenges already being faced in the Lagos Island and Ikoyi area (along the Dolphin axis). There is no information whatsoever available of the possible proposal for the construction of protection against sudden rise in water level for the Ilubirin project, one

can only hope and assume. "In addition, the poor maintenance culture and emergency management system in Lagos State pose significant concerns at this time of increasing and devastating impacts of global warming on coastal areas around the world.” The minister added that high-voltage electricity transmission cables run through the Ilubirin land. His words: "To mitigate the effect of the electromagnetic (EM) radiation

from high-voltage electricity transmission lines on human beings living and working close to the lines, the former Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) mandated that any building constructed close to the lines must give a right of way (RoW) of 15m and 25m for 132kV and 330kV lines respectively." This poses another major challenge for the project regarding the safety and health of the proposed occupants.

We have no plans to retrench workers – Imo Government Tosin Omoniyi

he Imo State government has said that the ongoing verification exercise of civil servants in the state is not for retrenchment purpose. That is contrary to the speculations by the worker. Rather, the government said it was a venture is aimed at strengthening the parastatals to make them healthy and productive after many years of inaction. “Against the backdrop of this speculation, the state government wishes to state categorically that

the on-going verification exercise is by no means, associated with retrenchment. The speculation to that effect, only exists in the imagination of those behind the false claim.” Sam Onwumeodo, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the governor, said that the government cannot embark on retrenchment exercise when it has already employed thousands of Imo indigenes and has established a motion to ensure that other unemployed indigenes work under various schemes including the “youth must work programme.”

Anxiety over Al-makura’s cabinet reshuffle plans Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

here is palpable fear and anxiety over moves by Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State to reshuffle his cabinet soon. Government sources said the governor is worried over the unsatisfactory performance, disloyalty and lack of electoral value of some of the commissioners in his cabinet; hence the planned cabinet reshuffle.

Sources told our correspondent that nine commissioners serving in the cabinet are likely to be dropped in the planned shake up to be announced soon. It was gathered that Al-Makura expressed worry over the various roles played by some commissioners during the just concluded local government election, which placed doubt on some of them, whose names are already pencilled down for sack.

Nigeria's Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu (left) with other African Ministers of Health, at their first joint conference in Luanda, Angola…yesterday

Abuja: Court stops park and pay policy Boko Haram: Senators plan scholarship for abducted students l...says it is illegal Chukwu David Abuja

ympathetic of the menace of Boko Haram insurgency and its adverse effect on children's education in the North Eastern part of Nigeria, some Senators are planning to set up a scholarship scheme to enable girls from the region continue with their education in other parts of the country. The idea came up in anticipation of the release of the 121 female students of Government Girls College, Chibok, Borno State, who were abducted by the members of the insurgent sect while they were writing their West African School Certificate, WASC examinations.

Senator Magnus Abe, who was thrilled by the courage and enthusiasm of the abducted girls in advancing their knowledge in western education, yesterday disclosed in Abuja that some Senators had agreed to partner and institute a scholarship scheme to help the female students continue with their education unhindered. Abe explained that the scheme, which would be in partnership with the parents of the affected girls and any other well-meaning Nigerians, would be so structured in a way that they would continue their education in other parts of the country, where nothing would truncate their noble ambition.

Tunde Oyesina Abuja

n what could be described as landmark judgement for the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, an Abuja High Court yesterday abolished the park and pay policy, describing it as illegal. While delivering the judgement that lasted for over one hour, Justice Peter Affen, held that though the park and pay policy may be described as an excellent policy, but it lacks the backing of the law. The plaintiff, Sun Trust Savings and Loans Limited had sued the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and two others, challenging them on the legality of collecting fees from motorists through the park

and pay policy. The plaintiff, amongst other things, asked the court to determine whether the park and pay policy of the FCT is in pursuant of any act of the National Assembly as provided by the 1999 constitution and whether the defendants can exercise the powers to collect taxes, rates and fees without the act of the national assembly. Upon resolution the plaintiff sought a declaration that the park and pay policy scheme is ultravires, illegal and not in pursuant to any Act of the National Assembly, a declaration that the defendants are not constitutionally empowered to collect tax, fees and rate in the FCT without an act of the national assembly.

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Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Cleric urges Nigerians to go back to God Yuzarsif Alhassan BAUCHI

renowned Islamic scholar and Director General, Tsangaya of Al’majirai Schools, Malam Sayyadi Ali, yesterday urged Nigerians and political office holders to always put God first in every endeavour to ensure a peaceful and orderly society. He told New Telegraph in Bauchi that the fear of God is the only way out of the current security challenges facing the nation, which, he said, has jeop-

ardised the future and development of Nigeria and Nigerians. Ali urged the government to come up with programmes that would ensure human capacity development in order to lift up the society. He said: “Government should provide jobs, assist religious leaders, whose concern is to teach tolerance, encourage education so that people will do the right thing before God, so that sanity will prevail in the country,” Sayyadi added.

Easter: FCT Minister asks residents to pray for peace Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

inister of Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, has asked residents of FCT to pray for President Goodluck Jonathan as they celebrate Easter. The Minister made the request in his goodwill message to the Christian residents of FCT. Also, the FCT Minister stated the need for residents to spread the gospel of love, sacrifice, tolerance and peaceful co-existence as they celebrate Easter. In a statement from his Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Hazat Slue, the Minister assured residents

of security during the Easter celebration. The CPS said, Senator Mohammed congratulated the residents, particularly Christians on this auspicious occasion and noted that the celebration calls for sober reflection and sacrifice as well as emulating the exemplary life of Jesus Christ. He charged residents of the Federal Capital Territory to re-dedicate themselves to the service of God and humanity to make the World a better place than we met it, while enjoined residents to continue to supplicate to God for peace and prosperity to reign in our dear nation especially with the current security challenges the country is facing.

CJN asks new Appeal Court President to shun political pressure CHARGE Chief Justice charges new Appeal Court President to reposition the court

Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

he Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, yesterday charged the new President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to shun all forms of political pressure in the course of dis-

charging her duties. The CJN gave this charge in Abuja while administering the Oath of Office on Bulkachuwa as the sixth and first female president of the court. Bulkachuwa has been acting as the president of the court for over a year until her appointment was confirmed as the substantive president by President Goodluck Jonathan last month. The CJN said: “Let me remind you that your appointment is coming at a critical time when the Nigerian judiciary is undergoing reforms, for this reason, I charge you to

make all efforts to reposition the court, and ensure that the confidence in the court is restored. “You must strive with diligence to ensure that you carry out your duties with all honesty, integrity and honour. “It is pertinent at this juncture, to stress that the discharge of the obligations of this venerated office must be executed with the utmost sense of fair play, impartiality and dedication to duty. “These and nothing else are the solemn responsibilities of a judicial officer.” The CJN further

charged the new PCA to lead by example as the office is very tasking and arduous. Bulkachuwa was also charged to ensure proper coordination of all the justices and activities of the court in order to foster greater efficiency in the dispensation of justice. “I therefore enjoin you, as a custodian of this sacred position, to shut all forms of political pressure and discharged your responsibilities in consonance with the oath of office you have just subscribed to,” the CJN added.

L-R: Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Brovo Kim; Marketing Manager, Information Technology and Mobile, Ms. Olajumoke Okikiolu; Director, Information Technology and Mobile, Mr. Emmanouil Revmatas and Head, Business Development, Information Technology and Mobile, Mr. Olumide Ojo, at Samsung’s Galaxy S5 Premiere 2014 launch in Lagos.

8,163m

The peak height of Manaslu, Nepal. Source: Blatantworld.com

1,193m

The number of individuals using the internet in developing countries in 2010. Source: Itu.int

8.76m

The total population of inhabitants of Tokyo, Japan in 2010. Source: Blatantworld.com

Pray for Ekiti election at Easter, says Fayose Group faults UK court on Ibori’s assets Adesina Wahab ADO-EKITI

ormer Ekiti State governor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the June 21 election, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has felicitated with Christians as people celebrate the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. According to a press statement issued by Fayose’s spokesman, Mr. Idowu Adelusi and made available to the media in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Fayose urged the

people to emulate the Lord Jesus Christ in all their daily activities, saying “by so doing, we can have peace in our society, in our homes and in our lives.” Fayose also urged the people to pray for a peaceful election. He reiterated the need for the people to obtain their voters’ cards, imploring them not to release such to anybody who might want to buy it from them. He also called for the support of Ekiti people in the election, urging them to vote en masse for him at the June poll.

HEARING Political group asks British PM to show more interest in Ibori’s hearing

Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

political group, the Niger Delta Alliance for Human Rights (NDAH) yesterday faulted the request by the prosecution counsel in the prelimi-

nary hearing now pending at the Southwark Crown Court, London, that seeks to confiscate the assets of the former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori. Members of the group at a media briefing on a push for justice and transparency in the handling of the case, yesterday in Benin City faulted the proceedings of the court. The group said the court was starved of evidence by both the prosecuting counsel and the Metropolitan

Police, which carried out investigations in the case alongside the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Convener of the conference, Comrade Nowinta Igbotako, urged the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, to take more interestin the hearing of Iboris case as it is capable of damaging his administration’s reputation. NDAH also called on the House of Commons to investigate the use of British citizens’ tax payers’ money, which the group said was wasted by the Metropolitan

Police in the controversial investigation. Igbotako said the body was particularly piqued that the crown prosecution’s confiscation request, which he said was ignorantly anchored on the EFCC and British Metropolitan Police’s claim that Ibori defrauded Delta State. He said there was no single evidence from Delta State, the so-called victim, either in the Crown court’s trial bundle or the recent hearing that there were withdrawals and funds diversion.

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Violent protest in Akure over botched youth carnival

dangerous escape Five suspected smugglers dived into the sea in Lagos

RAMPAGE Youths in Akure vandalise state government property for cancelling their annual carnival Babatope Okeowo Akure

ouths and indigenes of Akure, the Ondo State capital, yesterday embarked on violent protest over the abrupt stoppage of their annual carnival scheduled for the day. The youth went on the rampage over the refusal of the state government to allow them to hold their annual Akure Youth Carnival at the Democracy Park, which was later moved to Akure City Hall. The irate youths paralysed

SAVAGERY A man decapitates a toddler after raping the victim’s mother Kunle Olayeni

commercial activities, barricading the ever busy Oba Adesida Road and damaging some vehicles belonging to the government. Some indigenes in the employ of the gover nment fled their of fices to avoid being lynched. It took the intervention of the anti-riot policemen to disperse the ang ry youths who were bur ning tyres. At the Akure City Hall, the Akure Youth Coalition (AYC) President, Mr Adekanbi Oluwatuyi, who addressed the youths, expressed disappointment over the gover nment decision to cancel the car nival. It was lear nt that the carnival, which was slated for yesterday, had been publi-

cised for over one month. Popular musician, Saheed Osupa, was billed to perfor m at the car nival with thousands of Akure indigenes in the diaspora already invited. Trouble star ted when the youths got to the venue of the car nival only to realise that the venue had been besie ged by policemen. The expectation and preparation of the jubilant youths were, however, cut short as security authorities ordered the cancellation of the event. Reacting to the development, the police said they were not involved in the cancellation. The state Police Public Relations Of ficer (PPRO), Mr Yemi Lawal, said the police authority had approved the event to

hold and had also prepared to provide security. H e, h oweve r, s a i d t h at after all ar rangements had been concluded, the state gover nment cancelled it. But in a swift reaction, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, said the government cancelled

Man beheads two-year-old boy, rapes mother

Abeokuta

The protesting youths

olice in Ogun State have arrested a middle-aged man, Mahmud Bashir Ibrahim, for allegedly beheading a two-year-old boy in Ofada community in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area. The suspect was said to have committed the crime on Saturday shortly after Ibrahim raping the mother of the infant. Ibrahim reportedly sold the severed and killed the boy before he later severed head of the boy to an unknown woman his head. in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. He immediately fled to Ibafo area of the The suspect, who was identified as a local government where the long arm of national of Niger Republic, allegedly at- the law eventually caught up with him on tacked the unsuspecting mother of the Wednesday. After his arrest, the suspect yesterday boy while easing herself in a nearby bush led men of the State Criminal Investigain Ofada. According to sources, the suspect tion Department to the crime scene where pounced on the woman and dragged her the knife he used to perpetrate the act was and the infant into an uncompleted build- discovered. Scores of residents of Ofada attempted ing where he committed the rape. The suspect also stabbed the woman to lynch the suspect but policemen prevent-

ed the situation from going out of hand. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the incident yesterday, said the suspect was arrested through the help of some community leaders. Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, disclosed that the suspect revealed during interrogation that he had sold the head of the boy to an unknown woman in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

the carnival because of the insecurity in the country. Akinmade said that the security report available to the government did not allow the hosting of the event. He added that the government would not allow the breach of security in any parts of the state.

Free my children, Kogi Speake Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

he Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Momoh Jimoh Lawal, has appealed to those who abducted his children to release them. The speaker’s children, threeyear-old Ogirima and seven-year-old Hafeez, were abducted by some unknown gunmen on Tuesday morning at his Okengwe resident.

He sai that crea innocen The s to pray f this tryi “Thes came fr them. P dium to children he added

20-year-old boy sells WAEC ex

Mojeed Alabi

20-year-old boy, Mohammed Abiodun Raheem, has been apprehended for selling answers for the on-going Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) online. Raheem was paraded yesterday at the head office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Yaba, Lagos, before being handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He confirmed his involvement in the opening

of a fake website where answers to the questions were posted for candidates. Narrating how the suspect was caught, the Director of Administration, WAEC, Mr Steven Taiwo, explained that the body had discovered the ‘rogue website’ set up by Raheem and his cohorts now at large but the examination body played along. Taiwo said Raheem was arrested while trying to withdraw money paid in by candidates at the Badagry branch of the First Bank of Nigeria Plc. He said: “We got information that some people

POLITICS

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Friday, April 18, 2014

I have never said prayer can help resolve the security challenges facing Nigeria.... We should wake up to the reality. Nigeria is in war and only competence can solve the problem, not prayers -Wole Soyinka

2015: 500 POLITICIANS TO WATCH

Ogun and three-horse race Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

gun State occupies a prime position in Nigeria’s political configuration. It is blessed with firsts and leading lights in many fields of human endeavour. Interestingly, the Gateway State parades an unbeaten record as the only state of the federation to have produced a military head of state, an undeclared president, a head of interim national government and a democraticallyelected president since the country’s independence in 1960. In such a sophisticated state, politics is usually very exciting. Politicians always seem adept at their game.

Amid the interplay of different factors over the years, the electorate have also become more discerning in their choice of representatives in public offices. With the 2015 elections fast approaching, the state is set for an epic contest. Since 1999 when democratic rule returned to Nigeria, only three political parties have held the reins of governance in the state. These include Alliance for Democracy (AD), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which later transformed into the All Progressives Congress (APC). Between 1999 and 2003, Chief Olusegun Osoba was in power. Otunba Gbenga Daniel took over in 2003 and ended his tenure in 2011. The incumbent, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, was elected governor in 2011 and looks set to throw his hat into the ring for re-election. Though the state’s political climate is currently filled with an air of uncertainty due to the emerging realignment of forces, it is apparent that the battle f o r the soul of the state will be a three-horse race. The ruling APC, PDP and Labour Party (LP) are in real contention for the elections. Various gladiators across these parties are positioning themselves on the turf and jostling desperately to outdo one another. But in the buildup to

2015, the three major parties are convulsing under group struggles and factional supremacy. In the APC, for example, the division between loyalists of Governor Amosun and ex-governor Osoba is widening by the day. The recent ward and local government congresses of the party also aggravated the situation. The crisis has also pitted senators and House of Representatives members of the party against the governor’s camp. Aggrieved party stalwarts, who claimed to be original members of the ACN, felt the governor shortchanged them in the scheme of things. They alleged that Amosun’s loyalists were favoured in the distribution of political appointments. But the governor’s supporters justified his decision; they reasoned that Osoba’s loyalists took all slots for the National Assembly and majority of state legislature. In the state chapter of PDP, factionalisation is also rearing its ugly head in the run-up to 2015. Although the PDP has a legally constituted state executive headed by Chief Adebayo Dayo and backed by Prince Buruji Kashamu, all appears not well with it. Members that belonged to the factions of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-Governor Gbenga Daniel and two-time minister, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye, are spoiling for a fight over the control of party structure. As the APC and PDP strive to put their houses in order, the new entrant – Labour Party – is also trying to swim out of factional controversy. Already, the battle for the soul of the party has been taken to the courts. Loyalists of ex-governor Daniel and those loyal to factional LP chairman, Comrade Olabode Simeon, are locked in the struggle to take grip of the platform. By the time the dust settles, however, the following politicians to watch in the state are likely to shape the outlook of the 2015 elections.

During his eight-year tenure, he recorded some modest achievements. But he was later enmeshed in different political battles. Various forces in his party, PDP, and opposition elements were said to have conspired to check his grip on the state. The protracted crisis in the state House of Assembly also blighted his regime

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Obasanjo, Amosun, Daniel, Kashamu

Obasanjo

Amosun

Daniel

Kashamu

Osoba

Adesegun

Olusegun Obasanjo Obasanjo, a former military Head of State and former democraticallyelected president, may have reached the pinnacle of his political career. Nevertheless, the former president towers above other figures in the state in terms of territorial influence. He is usually courted by politicians of various hues and cues. Between 1999 and 2007, Obasanjo served as Nigeria’s president. After his exit from power, he emerged the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP. He wielded tremendous power in the party both at the national and state levels. Attempt by his “godson” and the then governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, to hijack the state PDP struc-

ture and scheme the ex-president out of its affairs backfired. Obasanjo, with some notable forces, fought fiercely and regained the structure. His camp eventually fielded party candidates in the 2011 elections. The elder statesman momentarily enjoyed control of Ogun PDP structure and even the South West zonal leadership until the presidency moved against him and tactically handed power to Buruji Kashamu. But in the unending scheming typical of politics, surprises are ever constant. Though some of Obasanjo’s loyalists have defected to the ruling APC in the state, majority still remain in the PDP. Due to his legendary influence, the former president is seen as a formidable factor in the 2015 elections.

Ibikunle Amosun Amosun, a chartered accountant, is the fourth democratically-elected governor out of the 15 governors (military and civilian) that have ruled Ogun State. He was elected on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011. His governorship ambition materialised after an initial unsuccessful bid in 2007. Amosun’s foray into politics began out of the desire to give back to the society. In 2003, he was elected into the Senate on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform and represented Ogun Central Senatorial District. During his tenure at the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Amosun served as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce. He

also served as member in the Committees on Appropriation, Foreign Affairs, Privatisation, as well as Security and Intelligence. In 2007, he contested the governorship on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) but lost to the then incumbent, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. He disputed the election results at the courts but the judiciary validated his opponent’s victory. Amosun eventually dumped the ANPP and contested the 2011 governorship as ACN candidate. He polled 377,487 votes to beat his main challengers, Gen. Adetunji Olurin of PDP and Gboyega Isiaka of Progressive Party of Nigeria (PPN), to second and third positions respectively. As governor in the last three years, Amosun has recorded landmark

POLITICS

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2015: 500 POLITICIANS TO WATCH

test strength in Gateway State

Bankole

Odunsi

achievements, especially in the areas of road construction, urban and infrastructural renewal, education, transportation, improved security and environmental transformation, among others. But ahead the 2015 elections, he is faced with political battles both within and outside his party. In the final analysis, however, analysts opine that the governor is likely to secure his party’s ticket for re-election. In addition, Amosun is poised to coast to victory if opposition parties eventually fail to galvanise themselves and present a common candidate to challenge him in 2015. He is a deciding factor in the All Progressives Congress (APC). Gbenga Daniel Otunba Daniel, an engineer and businessman, was a former two-term governor of Ogun State. As the PDP candidate in 2003, he defeated the then incumbent Olusegun Osoba of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). He also defeated Amosun in the 2007 governorship. While at the helm of affairs, Daniel transformed the state from a civil service-oriented one to an industrial hub. During his eight-year tenure, he recorded some modest achievements. But he was later enmeshed in different political battles. Various forces in his party, PDP, and opposition elements

Kaka

Kuye

it is apparent that the battle for the soul of the state will be a three-horse race. The ruling APC, PDP and Labour Party (LP) are in real contention for the elections were said to have conspired to check his grip on the state. The protracted crisis in the state House of Assembly also blighted his regime. Daniel eventually lost the PDP structure in the build-up to the 2011 polls. As a result, he pitched tent with the PPN where his loyalists contested the last general elections. The party won one seat in the House of Representatives and three seats in the state House of Assembly. After his exit from power, Daniel faced sundry trials. He was arrested and arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over charges bordering on corruption. An Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta later struck out the case. The anti-graft agency subsequently re-arraigned him for a 38-count charge. The trial is still

Obadara

Ishola

ongoing. The state government also inaugurated a Truth Commission to investigate cases of violence, killings, disappearance and sundry crimes during Daniel’s tenure. Supporters of the ex-governor, however, argued that the “prosecution and persecution” were masterminded to silence him. To them, Daniel remains a force to be reckoned with in the state. Despite his face-off with some PDP heavyweights, Daniel was appointed the South West Coordinator of the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign in 2011. Currently a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), the former governor had continued to enjoy close relationship with President Goodluck Jonathan. Watchers of the state politics opine that permutations in the PDP may still bring back the ex-governor to the party. Olusegun Osoba Chief Osoba, a renowned journalist, was a former governor of Ogun State. He was elected between 1991 and 1993 under the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). In 1999 when democratic rule returned, he was elected again as governor under the banner of AD. He attempted to seek reelection in 2003 but lost in the PDP tsunami which ushered in Gbenga Daniel.

Osoba, a national leader of the APC, is currently a delegate to the ongoing national conference in Abuja representing the Forum of Former Governors in the South West. Following Amosun’s emergence as governor, Osoba promised not to interfere in his godson’s administration. He may have kept to his promise to the best of his ability but the 2015 politicking may invariably make the ex-governor and the incubent to square up to each other. Loyalists of Osoba are currently locked in a running battle with the governor’s camp over the control of party structures. Some have even approached the courts to contest the recent APC wards and local government congresses, which appeared to have favoured the governor’s loyalists. Segun Adesegun He is currently the deputy governor of Ogun State. He has been an active political player. He was appointed Commissioner for Works and Housing during Osoba’s first stint as governor between 1991 and 1993. When the late Gen. Sani Abacha military junta took power in the wake of June 12 crisis, Adesegun returned to his private business. In 1999 when democracy returned, he was re-appointed by Osoba and served as Commissioner for Works and Housing till 2003. He was one of the two representatives of the defunct AD to the National Political Reform Conference set up by the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2005. On the formation of Action Congress (AC), he became the National Youth Leader of the party and later served as the Deputy National Treasurer of ACN immediately the party was formed. In the ruling APC, Adesegun and his boss, Amosun, belong to different political camps. The deputy governor, a product of the Osoba camp, was not Amosun’s preferred choice of running mate in 2011. The governor wanted a female but his demand was rebuffed. In the build-up to 2015, the plot to drop Adesegun is on the cards. How the deputy governor would weather the storm is expected to shape the next election. Dimeji Bankole Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, is being touted for the 2015 governorship on the platform of PDP. For eight years, he represented Abeokuta South Federal Constituency at the National Assembly. He had a running battle with his state governor, Daniel, though the feud was later resolved. After losing re-election bid in 2011 and defying the PDP hierarchy’s opposition to the installation of Aminu Tambuwal as his succesCONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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Ogun: Uncertainty over re-alignment CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 5

sor, Bankole faced the battle of his life. The former Speaker was arraigned for fraud by the EFCC. But in January 2012, he and his erstwhile Deputy Speaker, Usman Bayero Nafada, secured judicial victory. Also in February, this year, an Abuja Federal High Court discharged and acquitted Bankole over involvement in N874 million contract scam. In the crisis-ridden Ogun PDP, some chieftains who were apparently concerned about the situation in the party, found in Bankole a unifying factor and strong candidate to unseat the incumbent governor. The exSpeaker has himself stepped up strategic meetings and consultations towards realising the goal. With his political antecedents and track records, not quite a few believed Bankole is a formidable aspirant for the governorship. But he has some hurdles to cross. The former Speaker had been operating outside the structure of the “legally constituted executive” of Ogun PDP led by Chief Adebayo Dayo. His ambition may be a pipedream if he fails to submit to the party leadership in the state. Buruji Kashamu Kashamu, a businessman, remains a factor in the political chess game of Ogun State. Having entrenched himself and concretised his hold on the PDP through series of judicial victories, he is today the Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the South-West PDP. President Jonathan’s unresolved differences with Obasanjo seemed to have helped to place Kashamu at vantage position in the party. The Ijebu Igbo-born politician has been a major financier of the party since the ouster of PDP in the geopolitical zone in 2011. His deep pocket is an intimidation of sorts to any political adversary. His fabled vast connection in judicial circles is also a subject of concern and controversy. But he has probably paid his dues. In 2008, he appeared innocuous on the political scene. With his Omo-Ilu Foundation, a non-governmental organisation popular for empowering thousands of people with cars, cash and skill acquisition equipment, Kashamu became a household name. He initially enjoyed a robust relationship with Daniel but the relationship got strained when the Ogun PDP split into two factions. Kashamu teamed up with anti-Daniel forces led by Obasanjo and the battle ultimately swept Daniel and his loyalists out of the party. Kashamu later fell out with Obasanjo over sharing of ministerial and federal board appointments allocated to the party. With another judicial triumph, he was able to outsmart Obasanjo’s group and whittled down the former president’s influence on the PDP. While he has successfully tamed the gods in the party, criticisms have continued to trail Kashamu’s handling of party affairs. Many aggrieved chieftains are unwilling to surrender to his leadership. But from indications, the Ogun PDP godfather is poised to play a key role in shaping 2015. Adegbenga Kaka He is a Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District on the APC platform. A modest personality, he is the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. He played active role in Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, and also had a background in pro-democracy activism when he participated in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). Between 1999 and 2003, Kaka was the state deputy governor during the AD-led

Akinlade

Isiaka

Kawonise

Egbetokun

administration of Osoba. In 2007, he contested the governorship on the platform of Democratic People’s Alliance (DPA) but lost. Thereafter, he went back to the drawing board until he emerged in 2011 as a senatorial candidate. At present, Kaka is leading other APC National Assembly members in their running battle against Governor Amosun. Kaka was recently in the eye of the storm when he sponsored a bill allegedly prescribing jail term for internet scammers. Titled “Bill for an Act to provide for prohibition and punishment for electronic fraud and electronic transfer of funds in Nigeria,” critics claimed that the provision of the bill would hamper the work of journalists and social media critics. Kaka remains a factor in the 2015 elections in Ogun State.

The senator escaped death by the whiskers in January when suspected thugs invaded a stakeholders’ meeting he convened in Ewekoro Local Government Area and shot several people. In an open letter subsequently, he accused Amosun of masterminding crisis in the party. Though Obadara has yet to declare for second term, there are strong indications that he is interested in re-election with the ongoing scheming and permutations in the APC.

Gbenga Obadara A member of APC, Obadara is the senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District. He defeated Obasanjo’s daughter, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello of the PDP, in the 2011 elections into the Senate. A telecommunications entrepreneur, Obadara is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation. In the unfolding crisis rocking the state APC, which has polarized members along Amosun and Osoba factions, Obadara has emerged as a prominent figure.

Akin Odunsi A businessman, Chief Odunsi is the senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District on the APC platform. He is Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Air Force. His legislative interests are rural education and development, youth and women empowerment, agricultural development and corporate governance. An advertising guru, he co-founded Rosabel Advertising and retired as the agency’s executive chairman in 2003. He was also a former president of the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria. Odunsi is among the National Assembly members who pitched tent against Amosun. The senator had often accused some local government chairmen and party chieftains loyal to the governor of undermining his constituency projects. He said the meddle-

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of political forces

Amusan

Adekunbi

someness had trampled on his efforts at providing welfare and democracy dividends to his constituents. Pundits believe Odunsi would have to battle hard to secure ticket for re-election owing to the stiff opposition within his party and from opposition parties. Sarafadeen Ishola He is a politician of note in Ogun State. He was a former Minister of Mines and Steel Development in the administration of late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Before he joined the Federal Executive Council, he was Secretary to the State Government (SSG) under Daniel’s administration. His gubernatorial ambition in the build-up to 2011 made him to fall out with the ex-governor. Isola played a key role in the PDP and served as DirectorGeneral of the Ogun PDP governorship campaign train of Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd) in the 2011 elections. Shortly after the poll, he parted ways with the Obasanjo camp and reconciled with Daniel. Ahead 2015, the former minister is jostling with other aspirants for the LP governorship ticket. Abiodun Akinlade Akinlade, representing Yewa South/Ipokia Federal Constituency, is a member of the House of Representatives. He is the chairman, House Committee

Adeola

on Science and Technology. He was originally elected into the National Assembly on the PDP platform. Currently serving his third term, the lawmaker is also eyeing the state governorship in 2015. In the run-up to the 2011 elections, Akinlade defected to the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and was a frontline gubernatorial aspirant in the party. He, however, lost the ticket to Amosun. In a bid to realise his governorship ambition, the lawmaker has switched camp to the Labour Party. Recently, Akinlade who has reportedly facilitated various Federal Government projects, ensured employment for over 450 youths and empowered thousands in the field of ICT, accused Amosun of concentrating developmental efforts in a few urban locations to the exclusion of rural communities which is predominant in his (Akinlade) federal constituency. Given the fact that Ogun West Senatorial District has not produced the state governor since the creation of the state 38 years ago, Akinlade is seen as a strong contender for the governorship. Some of his supporters, however, believed that he stands a better chance by returning to the PDP to prosecute the ambition. They have already started making deft political moves to network with the PDP. Gboyega Isiaka Isiaka was the former Group Managing Director of Gateway Holdings Limited, an investment arm of the Ogun State government. He hails from Imeko-Afon Local Government Area in the Ogun West Senatorial District. He contested the 2011 governorship on the platform of PPN and emerged third in the contest, losing to Amosun. He was originally the PDP governorship candidate before an order of Justice Abdul Kafarati of an Abuja Federal High Court altered the ticket in favour of Olurin. Undeterred, the investment bankerturned politician wants to run for the governorship again; this time around on the platform of LP. He is regarded as Daniel’s loyalist. He may, however, find it difficult to unseat the incumbent because his Senatorial District has a political history of presenting multiple candidates for gubernatorial elections. Sina Kawonise He was the immediate past Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Ogun State. A native of Ago-Iwoye, Ijebu North Local Government Area of the state, he plans to contest the governorship on the platform of Labour Party. Since his exit from government

in 2011, Kawonise has been one of the most vocal critics of the Amosun-led administration. He founded the Association for Greater Ogun State (AGOS), which occasionally published critical comments about the state government’s policies and programmes in newspapers. In November 2012, unknown gunmen shot the excommissioner and his police orderly in Osun State on their way back from Awka, Anambra State. While Kawonise continues to prosecute his ambition, pundits opine that the electorate may not be favourably disposed to his zone. The former commissioner hails from Ogun East Senatorial District like the immediate past governor. If permutations prop up zoning, Ogun Central and West may hold the ace. Tunji Egbetokun A former Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, he is currently a Senior Special Adviser on Political Matters to Amosun and, in fact, one of the strategic henchmen of the governor. He came into political limelight during ex-governor Daniel’s second term when Mrs. Titi Oseni was impeached. Egbetokun’s ascension to the speakership changed the political tempo of the state and made the legislative arm of government more assertive. In the resultant confrontation with the executive, the House became polarised into two factions: G15 and G11. While Egbetokun led the first group opposed to Daniel, Soyemi Coker led the pro-governor’s lawmakers. On September 9, 2010, Coker and his loyalists broke into the Assembly chamber and suspended Egbetokun and all the G15 legislators. The incident ignited a chain of political events. When Amosun was eventually sworn in on May 29, 2011, Egbetokun led other 14 lawmakers in his group to the Assembly complex and reversed all the actions made by the Daniel regime which lacked legislative approval. The former speaker was soon rewarded with appointment by Amosun. But virtually all the lawmakers that belonged to his camp then are now opposed to him and have pitched tent with other power blocs. For the 2015 race, however, Egbetokun is playing an active role in the strategies being mapped out by the governor’s camp to retain hold on the state. The former Speaker is said to be eyeing a House of Representatives seat on the platform of APC. Kayode Amusan He was a member of the PDP, was in the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011. He represented Odeda/Abeokuta North/Obafemi Owode Federal Constituency and was appointed into various committees in the lower chamber of the National Assembly. In his quest to further serve his state, he attempted to contest the governorship in 2011. Due to political manoeuvrings in the state PDP at that time, he dumped the gubernatorial ambition for a senatorial aspiration. He eventually contested the 2011 elections as a candidate for House of Representatives. He lost to APC candidate and Olusegun Osoba’s son, Olumide. Ahead 2015 governorship, Amusan is back to slug it out on the political scene again. Though the former lawmaker pitched tent with the Kashamu-backed faction of PDP, he reportedly pulled out recently over alleged disagreement with Kashamu. Amusan believes his legislative experience with active participation in the affairs of the state had given him an insight into the challenges of the state. He has promised to run a responsive, participatory, accountable and transparent administration but his chances are being threatened by the protracted instability in the PDP. Fola Adeola A co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank, Adeola is one of the names being touted for the 2015 governorship in Ogun State. Though he has denied such ambition, his CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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2015: 500 POLITICIANS TO WATCH

Ogun and three-horse race CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 7

name keeps recurring in the political calculations and permutations of the state, especially within the ruling APC. In the 2011 general elections, Adeola was the running mate of the presidential candidate of defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Adeola, a chartered accountant, is another wavemaking politician in Ogun State, especially in the Yewa-Awori extraction of the state. Although he represents Alimoso Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the National Assembly, the lawmaker popularly called “Yayi” is interested in contesting the senatorial ticket of Ogun West Senatorial District in 2015. The coveted seat is currently occupied by Senator Odunsi. A native of Ilaro, headquarters of Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State, Adeola was a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly between 2003 and 2011. He was chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Finance throughout his eight years. In the House of Representatives, Adeola was appointed chairman, Public Accounts Committee. He is reputed to be very close to former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and this relationship has reportedly boosted his chances. However, the lawmaker is still considered an “alien” because his political antecedents were rooted in Lagos State, thus putting his ambition under threat. Suraj Adekunbi Adekunbi is the Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly. A member of APC, he represents Egbado North I State Constituency. He is an ally of the governor. In the 26-member state legislature, he enjoys support from pro-Amosun’s lawmakers. But no fewer than 13 lawmakers are allegedly against the governor, thus making it apparently difficult for the Speaker to sometimes push through certain agenda. Adekunbi is interested in seeking a second term in office. He is likely to get his party’s ticket but daunting opposition is said to be awaiting him back home. Oladipupo Adebutu He is the scion of the family of Sir Kessignton Adebutu, a pool magnate and billionaire businessman. Fondly called Ladi, he was formerly a PDP chieftain. In 2013, he defected to the Labour Party alongside thousands of his supporters. He explained that the PDP leadership backed by Kashamu had excluded the interests of other groups, including those loyal to Obasanjo and Martins-Kuye. He argued that politics of exclusion would adversely affect the chances of PDP in 2015. Adebutu’s influence traverses three local government areas – Ikenne, Odogbolu and Sagamu. He is believed to be eyeing the House of Representatives again to represent Remo Federal Constituency in 2015. With a financial war chest, the prospects of clinching the LP’s ticket are high. Soji Akin-Bankole Akin-Bankole, who hails from Abeokuta, was born in England in 1967. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff to ex-governor Daniel. Though he was not politically visible during the immediate past administration, he is now a cynosure probably because Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, which he aspires to represent at the House of Representatives

in 2015 is former Speaker Bankole’s constituency. Akin-Bankole is seeking the Labour Party ticket and is a frontline contender for the federal constituency seat. As an ICT expert, he was reputed for the establishment of a Gateway ICT Computer Assembly Plant in which over 400 computers and 100 laptops were assembled, distributed and maintained throughout the state government ministries and parastatals. He was also in charge of the team that got the accreditation for the four ICT polytechnics in the state. Jubril Martins Kuye JMK as he is popularly called is one of the prominent and experienced politicians in Ogun State. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and later served as Senator during the aborted Third Republic. At the advent of the Fourth Republic, he contested for Ogun governorship on the platform of the PDP and lost to Osoba, who ran on the platform of the AD. After losing the governorship election, he served as Minister of State for Finance between 1999 and 2003 during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, and was later appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010. Kuye, who hails from Ago-Iwoye in Ogun East Senatorial District, is a known godfather in the state politics. He was reckoned to be one of those who sent Osoba packing from Oke-Imosan Government House and installed Otunba Gbenga Daniel as governor in 2003. But he later fell out with Daniel. Kuye is definitely going to play a role on who gets what in Ogun State, especially in the PDP. Remilekun Bakare He is popularly called Arole Osoba – the heir to erstwhile governor of the state. In 2007, he contested the Ogun Central Senatorial District on the platform of Action Congress (AC) but lost to Iyabo ObasanjoBello of PDP. Though he challenged the result, the election petitions tribunal upheld his opponent’s victory. He attempted to run for the governorship in 2011 but lost the ACN ticket to Amosun. Bakare, a chartered accountant and Director-General of the Executive Business School in Lagos, is believed to be gunning for governorship in 2015 on the platform of APC. He is seen as loyal party man who has usually funded the party. However, it is remains to be seen how he would outshine Amosun for the party’s ticket. Iyabo Anisulowo A former Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State, she is one of the notable women in the state whose foray into politics had been quite interesting. She was the senator that represented Ogun West Senatorial District between 2003 and 2007 on the platform of PDP. She was appointed Chairman, Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration. Anisulowo once served as Minister of State for Education. She is currently a delegate to the ongoing national conference in Abuja representing the Forum of Former Senators from South-West. A staunch loyalist of Governor Amosun, Anisulowo is believed to be interested in returning to the Senate in 2015. This has reportedly pitted her against other interested stalwarts, including the state Commissioner for Environment, Ayo Olubori, and a House of Representatives member from Lagos State, Solomon Adeola. Interestingly, the three who are angling to succeed incumbent Senator Odunsi belong to Amosun’s camp.

Adeola

Bakare

Anisulowo

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EDITORIAL

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

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Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Buddha

FRIday, APRIL 18, 2014

Another deadly bomb blast in Abuja

buja recorded another deadly bomb blast on Monday this week. Officially, 71 people were killed, 243 people injured, 16 luxury buses and 24 other vehicles destroyed or burnt when an explosive went off at a busy bus terminus in Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja. This devastating explosion occurred almost a fortnight after the alleged jailbreak attempt by Boko Haram insurgents from the State Security Service (SSS) headquarters. There can be no justification whatsoever for this kind of gruesome attack. Since the October 1, 2010 Independence Day incident at the Eagle Square, when two bomb laden cars exploded, Abuja has witnessed a spate of bombings. The latest though appears to be the most devastating and must be taken as a serious statement of intent by the perpetrators. Although no group has claimed responsibility, this is further proof that the country is virtually in a state of war, given the gravity of the Boko Haram insurgency and other growing acts of insecurity. The insurgents have relentlessly tormented the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe to no end, killing citizens including students and abducting their female counterparts from their dormitories, planting bombs indiscriminately, and staging audacious attacks on high profile

security facilities even as far as the Federal Capital. In the past few weeks too, there have been unprecedented attacks by so-called Fulani herdsmen in Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara states without any proof of their real identity even with ongoing military operations to checkmate them. Their motivations are unknown, nobody knows where they get their arms from or how they are sponsored. Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, recently declared that the country needs competent leaders to confront, among others, the unfolding serious security challenges. He said the security challenges could not be solved by prayers, but by leaders with capacity to deal with the situation without partisanship. He suggested that learning from the history of nations that had faced similar situations could help Nigeria survive its present security challenges. There is a lot of sense in Soyinkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s observations. The government can no longer give any kind of excuses for its obvious failures to checkmate these rampaging terrorists in the country. The citizens are fed up with the routine promises of being on top of the situation, or that terrorism will soon come to an end. The longer the insecurity lingers, the more the insurgents will be emboldened to perfect their dastardly acts and extend the range of their

operational theatre. The country can ill-afford to bemoan its fate, fold its arms and idle away, while the insurgents seem to be dictating the pace. The government must redouble its efforts and ensure that the security agencies should be professionalized and reoriented to make them more effective and efficient. There should be sub-regional, regional and intercontinental collaborations to tackle security challenges in the country. The Nigerian government should not keep quiet about its problems, it should cry out for help to countries and organizations that will help her out of the present predicament. This is more so because, the number of people that have been killed by these insurgents are far more than those killed by ailments and diseases, and there seems to be no solution in sight. Lives of people are being needlessly wasted, and the future of the country continues to be threatened. The government must put all its cards on the table and work assiduously to end this nasty development. Security of the lives and property of the citizenry remains an inescapable fact of governance. The funding that goes into the present security challenges should be properly monitored and supervised to ensure that the money is not only put to good use, but actually uitilised for the earmarked purpose, and there must be proper accountability in this regard. Government should try and

streamline the security agencies involved in counter-terrorism. The need for inter-agency co-operation rather than rivalry should be an underlying priority. Nigerians are obviously tired of seeing people killed aimlessly, only for government officials to make a show of sympathy while embarking on political junketing. It is appalling. A well thought out and efficient security architecture would have saved most of the citizens from the unending losses and devastating pains. A security architecture that caters mainly for the ruling class, while making the rest of the populace most vulnerable, is a meaningless device. Terrorists react to such a flawed device by focusing on soft targets. We should not be deceived that the current insurgency is confined to a particular section of the country, and cannot spread to other parts. Thirteen states are affected one way or the other. That is why insecurity in any part of the country is insecurity in all parts of the country. Terrorism is bad and Nigeria cannot afford to be classified as an axis of terror. It is not good for the political economy of the country, as Nigeria can be treated as a pariah nation by the international community, and we sincerely hope that the situation will not deteriorate to that point. Only a few weeks ago we had cause to warn that there is a steady slide towards anarchy. The time to halt insecurity is now. GABRIEL AKINADEWO Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief IKE ABONYI Deputy Managing Director/DEIC FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU Managing Editor, South SULEIMAN BISALLA Managing Editor, North AYODELE OJO Acting Editor, Daily LAURENCE ANI Editor, Saturday EMEKA MADUNAGU Editor, Sunday LEO CENDROWICZ Bureau Chief, Brussels MARSHALL COMINS Bureau Chief, Washington DC SAM AMSTERDAM Editorial Coordinator, Europe EMMAN SHEHU (PhD) Chairman, Editorial Board GEOFFREY EKENNA News Editor PADE OLAPOJU Production Editor TIMOTHY AKINLEYE Head, Graphics ROBINSON EZEH Head, Admin.

Sanctity of Truth

OPINION Boohoo! Buhari-Tinubu ticket K

ites are flying all over the West, i doubt if Gen. Muhammadu Buhari understands what awaits this permutation if eventually they drag him into it.Simply,this arrangement is not only anti-Buhari, it just would not fly. In my dream Nigeria,there is neither tribe nor tongue. Christians and Muslims can attend a wedding in church at noon, and walk down to the mosque later in the day for thanksgiving. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not preach discrimination.I am sure Prophet Mohammed did not either. Politicians never fail to amuse me. Please do not be amazed.Politics is like voodoo,the more you look the less you see.There are talks of presenting a Muhammadu Buhari\ Bola Tinubu ticket by the All Progressives Congress[APC] in the 2015 Presidential elections. Wishes and horses.This arrangement is pregnant with meanings. It appears Nigeria does not belong to us all anymore. I see it as an a gang up against the former Eastern region. Somebody somewhere believes that the Igbo,Izon, Ibibio,Kalabari,Ejegam,Ogoni, and other groups have no stake in Project Nigeria. Let us assume that some people do not want President Goodluck Jonathan to return in 2015.Equity demands that someone of Igbo extraction should enjoy that position.However, the constitution permits Mr. President to try his luck. The argument is if you do not want an Izon to hold on to power,then you should allow someone form the old East to step in. That makes sense. What we see does not tally with reasoning.The Yoruba should not think of the Presidency in the next Twelve years.Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did enough to keep his people away from Aso Villa in the next decade.The Senate President or Speaker of the House could be from the Southwest,definitely not the President or the Vice President.

The Hausa -Fulani are yet to recover from the demise of Alhaji Umar Musa Y’aradua.They feel shortchanged. There is no harm .But to go for a Yoruba as running mate, sounds like others can go to hell.And nobody would love hell as a final address. Anyway,there is nothing concrete yet.Let me believe that someone is just dreaming.And because dreams could come true, we also have to wake politicians up from their sleep early enough. Simply because the Moshood Abiola\ Baba Gana Kingibe combination was warmly received in 1993,a few think MuslimMuslim ticket will be confirmed.That was a different setting. Nigerians were dog tired of the military at the time, and were ready to send them packing. Abiola was just from outer space.Nigerians did not see him as Yoruba or muslim.He was Nigeria. With wives from all parts of the country and chieftaincy titles even in his opponents villages,the Bashorun was the man.It did not matter if he chose even an Egun man as running mate. Abiola could have won elections in Igboland because the people knew him.Concord man Uwadiegwu Ogbonnaya, an ex-Biafran soldier, who today is a traditional ruler in Abia state was able to bring Abiola to his village as a friend of the people. It was no Master-Servant relationship.Those Abians did not care about the Yoruba chief’s background because they knew and voted for him. Sports is our only language of national unity. Abiola’s Ikeja home was home to all Nigerian sportsmen.The story of the Abuja National stadium cannot be told without mentioning his name. Sportswriters know that Abiola was not just a friend ,he was a hero.The first official car their Association got was from him. So many got their first gold watches and saw for the first time,1,000 US Dollar bills courtesy the man they crowned Pillar of Sports in Africa. Kingibe, a polished diplomat, was not really as rich as Abiola, but was also intellectually endowed.His wife was of the Yoruba stock and he spent quite some time interacting with people from the South.The combination with Abiola could then pass without much ado. Buhari does not look like Abiola in many ways.The only thing that could have brought them together was Nigeria

Friday, April 18, 2014

and islam. Without taking away anything from the general, i do not think that he will win elections in all parts of the country like MKO. I admire Buhari’s never say die posture.As a soldier you do not give up. Not many would lose elections and bounce back to the soap box.Not once, not twice,our general is soldiering on. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu! I must confess that i was on Governor Babatunde Fashola’s side during the Lagos Cold War. I felt that the younger man needed a whiff of fresh air, and i am glad he got it.It is also to the eternal credit of both men that they allowed diplomacy to prevail. Tinubu is the strongest politician in Nigeria today. He may not have the carriage of Chief Obafemi Awolowo but he is as strong.I see the Asiwaju as the Sarduana of the South-west. This man was able to read Obasanjo when other Oduduwa governors went beating Agidigbo with the Balogun of Owu. Today,Tinubuisthebride,thestrongmanof Nigerianpolitics. He is the joker in the pack,who holds the aces.You ignore him at your own peril. But i have a word for Asiwaju. As Sarduana,he should remain a kingmaker. Tinubu is more powerful than a Prime Minister. Tinubu is more influential than a Vice-President.The husband of a Senator,father of Iyalode-General, brain behind APC, controller of influential men,leader of governors,pillar behind elders, voice of the oppositon and a true descendant of Oduduwa, does not need any more political position.He is the last Bus stop. A Buhari-Tinubu combination is a death sentence on somebody’s political stature. I trust Asiwaju. He knows when to strike.Definitely, i do not see him firing in 2015. What happened in 2011,could still come on.Tinubu’s game plan is known only to the masters.And he is one. Buhari i insist should consider this option if he truly wants to rule again. Strike a deal with Jonathan,keep away from 2015,go frolic with the Igbo and offer them the Number Two positon in 2019.Let a Yoruba become Senate President,the journey will make sense.And above all, avoid this Muslim-Muslim deal.You had a northern muslim, Tunde Idiagbon in your first outing.It would not work again.

Efere Ozako - A life of colour, good noise and law Maero Ozako

ight up till the morning of his passing, my brother, Efere lived a most ‘likely’ life, one filled with adventure, travel, laughter, mischief, noise and law. It was a full dose everything. In fact, his cup always ran over. His character defied all description because, one minute, Efere was belting out jokes and the other minute, he was slapping the keys on his ipad, totally focused. His quintessential ‘leap’ of his forefinger while he wrote always irritated my father and amazed my mother both of whom he adored. Why would anyone especially the son of two teachers hold his pen in that manner? There was nothing ‘normal’ about Efere. One minute he was arguing about Fareed Zakaria’s latest article in the Time magazine with my father, the next time, he was listening to a needy youth. The youth were his people. Efere was very keen on connecting people, networking. I called him, ‘yellow pages’. It was he, Efere who insisted on wearing his shoes left to right till he

was about 9 years old. He argued with my parents that he did not have to be like everyone else. He won his case with my most strict parents. He was socially flamboyant but reserved. A man who never gave for the camera. It is worthy of note that it was not until his death that we learnt of a donation of a piece of land to the skills centre for the bliñd. Efere was sure-footed; one of those foetuses that leapt out of the womb with a pen in his hand and a wig and gown. He knew he wanted to be a lawyer from when he was a child. Once, when he was about 9 years old, he went ‘missing’. My mother was to find him at the high court in Benin, listening to proeedings, dressed in his spanking white Federal government college, Warri school uniform. He was a reader, a scribbler, doodler and a writer. He was terribly curious. I recall how he would open all letters that came in the post for mummy or papa and just read them. When he bought bole, {roasted plantain), Efere would stretch out the creased newspaper and read. At 8 years plus, he finished primary

school. He got a scholarship; distinction, then off he went to Federal government college, Warri. I recall a particular incident. He was on suspension from FGC, Warri. ‘Papa Davis’, the British principal was sick and tired of Efere’s antiques. He was sent home. I looked ‘forward’ to him getting some trashing from my father, the ‘floggist’. Efere was suspended because he wrote a petition to P.H.Davis. He had refused to use cutlery and was constantly using his hands to eat to the chagrin of this ‘oyibo’ man. Barbaric! He must have thought of Efere. Efere went on to argue that since his ancestors used their hands to eat, he would continue the tradition. He was a most serious character, a most intelligent lawyer. He hated to be called ‘Barrister’ but seemed to smile when he was called ‘de law!’ First he started talkshops with, ‘ First lets kill all the lawyers’ then this became , ‘Wetin Lawyers dey do sef?’ He was focused on making sure that people understood what law really is. He was in the forefront of putting a real structure in place for Nollywood and he will be remembered

as Nigeria’s foremost entertainment lawyer. He adored his family, loved his parents and will be constantly remembered for his mischief and jokes with siblings and friends. He was indeed a man of the people and would be remembered by many from the bole, (roasted plantain) woman that he defended for the injustice meted her to the shoemaker he built a kiosk for. Efere who studied law at the University of Benin, practised law till his passing. Described by his colleagues at the Nigerian Bar Association as fiercely loyal, a brother and friend by the governor, Babatunde Fashola, ‘my champion’ by Dewunmi Ogunsanya, chairman of multichoice, by the honourable minister for communication and technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson as one, ‘ who exhibited a level of professionalism that earned him a nomination into the Nigerian digital migration team (Digi Team), a presidential committee responsible for guiding the nation through the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. To my daughter, Zulu, he was a mentor taller than any.

ARTS FRIDAY, April 18, 2014

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/arts

A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots" ― Marcus Garvey

CULTURE

A cross section of teachers from public and private primary and secondary schools around Port Harcourt during training sessions to equip them to run Reading Tree and book clubs over the WBC year.

Port Harcourt agog for World Book Capital 2014 Tony Okuyeme

head of Port Harcourt’s tenure as UNESCO World Book Capital 2014, the River State capital is agog with activities. Pilot programmes have rounded up; all hands are on deck to deliver the programmes in the bid that was submitted to UNESCO. The pilot phase of these programmes, the organisers stated, included the test run of the Reading Tree (a programme which gets primary school children to read a book a week), Book Clubs (a programme which gets Secondary School students to read a book a month) as well as the Walking Book (a communal story on the Sights and Sounds of the 23 Local Government Areas by Secondary School children in the community) in Rivers State. A book donation drive and participation in CARNIRIV (the annual Rivers State Carnival) were part of the effort to sensitize resident of the city to the World Book Capital project. Opening ceremonies the Port Harcourt World Book Capital (PHWBC) year-long programme would kick off with a week-long of activities lasting from Tuesday 22 to Saturday 26 April. The main opening ceremony would take place on Wednesday 23rd April which is

UN World Book and Copyright Day. On this occasion, when Bangkok hands over to Port Harcourt, the keynote address would be delivered by Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka. The opening ceremonies include an International Literature and Culture Exhibition, celebrities reading to children, interactive sessions with some of Nigeria’s most important author, stage presentation of Along Came the Book, a dance-drama directed by award winning playwright Bikiya Graham-Douglas. The drama traces the role of information sharing from our oral tradition to the written word, culminating in the PH World Book Capital. There would also be the public presentation of The Walking Book (a communal

39 writers have been commissioned to write for an anthology to be published by Bloomsbury with foreword by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. Ellah Allfree will edit the Africa 39 anthology

story on the Sights and Sounds of Rivers State written by children from across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state). Founder, Rainbow Book Club and CEO of PHWBC, Mrs Koko Kalango said all visitors to Port Harcourt would be treated to the warm Rivers hospitality which includes display of cultural performances and excursion to Songhai Farms. “Each day of the opening ceremony is named after a significant writer in Nigeria as follows: Tuesday 22 April – Elechi Amadi Day, Wednesday 23 April – Wole Soyinka Day, Thursday 24th April – Gabriel Okara Day (his 93rd birthday), Friday 25th April – J P Clark Day, and Saturday 26th April – Zaynab Alkali Day,” she stated. It’s A Small World Afterall, an International Literature and Culture Exhibition, is a key component of the opening ceremonies. This exhibition would hold from Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24th April, at the Hotel Presidential. Embassies and foreign missions in Nigeria, local and international book festivals, literary awards bodies, as well as key partners and stakeholders in the book chain industry have been invited to participate in this 3-day exhibition which will showcase literature and literary efforts from around the world as well as culture (art,

Kalango

craft and fashion) exhibition. Visitors would enrich their global perspective and knowledge of local culture by a visit to this exhibition tagged ‘It’s a Small World After all’. Activities during the festival also include Africa 39, an initiative of the UKBased Hay Festival which it carries out with World Book Capitals - with Bogota in 2007 and Beirut in 2010. This project comprises the selection and celebration of 39 writers under the age of 40 who have the potential to define the literature of an area or language. Africa 39 features writers from Africa, South of the Sahara. The research to arrive at the names of the authors was carried out by Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainana. A long list of about 100 names emerged from screening of the over 200 entries from Africa and the diaspora responded to a call that drew participation from authors, CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

22 ART

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Nigerian Idol IV: Evelle, Antwon, Eye-D thrill, get second chance Tony Okuyeme

ome contestants in the ongoing Etisalat sponsored Nigeria Idol Season IV, made the most of the opportunity offered by the Wildcard episode of the show to thrill the audience and judges. The wildcard stage is for the judges to exercise discretion and make way for the re-entry of three evicted contestants for the race to the top prize in the competition. The lucky ones are Evelle, Antwon, and Eye-D as the judges, backed by a well entertained and participative audience, faced a tough task of sifting between excellent performers. With each judge having the power to save only one contestant, all 10 evicted contestants who were called back, sang their hearts out in the bid to win a place in the show. At the end of their performances, each judge was asked to save the contestant who convinced him/her that he/she deserved to be in the top 12. After careful deliberations, the effervescent Nneka Egbuna chose to save Evelle; Dare-devil Judge, Dare Art-Alade, gave his vote to save Antwon; while Dede Mabiaku decided to use his wildcard vote to save Eye-D. This third round of eviction now brings to a total of 12 contestants that have made it to the next round of the competition. To win her spot in the top 12, Evelle thrilled the audience and judges with her rendition of Diamonds by Rihanna and Antwon performed Usher Raymond’s song There Goes My Baby. Antwon was rewarded for his riveting performance by cheers and support from the audience and judges. According to Dede, his per-

L-R: Top 3 Contestants saved by Judges’ Wild-Card, Odugbemi Idowu Sarah, Anthony Akpan and Zibili Evelyn, at the Etisalat-Sponsored Nigerian Idol Season 4 Wild-Card Episode, held at Dream Studios, Omole Phase 1, Lagos, over the weekend.

formance justified his place among the top 12 contestants. “If Antwon continues this way in this competition, he will be the one the others have to beat,” he said. Eye-D, the African queen of the night who sang the popular Nigerian song by Christie Esien Igbokwe of blessed memory, Seun Rere, was met with applause and dancing from the crowd and the judges. Nneka described her performance as au-

Etisalat Prize for Literature winner, Bulawayo gives Fellowship to runner-up Tony Okuyeme

agos, Nigeria; April 14, 2014: Winner of the maiden edition of the Etisalat Prize for Literature, NoViolet Bulawayo has, in a genuine demonstration of sportsmanship, given her runner-up, Yewande Omotosho the Fellowship attached to her winning. Expressing her magnanimity, the author of ‘We Need New Names’, Bulawayo said, “My prior commitment to a fellowship at Stanford University will not permit me to take advantage of the Etisalat Fellowship aspect of the prize and I have given it to my runner-up, Yewande Omotosho in the hope that her participation would further promote the values that Etisalat Nigeria sought to achieve with this literary prize”. The Etisalat Fellowship is a unique £10,000 fellowship to the winner of the Etisalat Prize for Literature lasting four months in the UK, at the University of East Anglia in Norwich and mentored by Professor Giles Foden, author of the Last King of Scotland. The fellow will take residency at the University of East Anglia, joining members of the school of literature,

drama and creative writing. NoViolet Bulawayo and Yewande Omotoso are set to attend the World’s Literature Festival 2014 which takes place during the fellowship. The World’s Festival hosts a gathering of writers from across the globe to celebrate and discuss works of literature. Nobel Laureate and MAN Booker Prize Winner J M Coetzee is one of the writers participating at this year’s festival.

thentic, fetching, and original. “It stood out from the rest and I loved it,” she said. As a show of support to the other contestants who didn’t make it in the wildcard round, the judges thanked them and wished them the best in their future music careers. According to Dare “You all gave a wonderful performance tonight, don’t give up on your musical abilities.” Now that all 12 top contestants have

Rainstorm hits NICO Lagos office T he heavy rainfall experienced in Lagos over the weekend took its toll at the premises of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) as the Institute’s Liaison Office and Training School were adversely affected with parts of the roof blown off by the ensuing rainstorm. Mr. Airahi Isiaka, a security man on duty in the premises when it happened, stated that the wind was very heavy, felling many electric poles and trees around the premises, causing extensive

U.S. Consulate General to mark international dance, jazz days

he Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate General in Lagos, in collaboration with the MUSON Center, will mark the 2014 International Dance and Jazz Days with performances and a workshop aimed at increasing jazz and dance appreciation in Nigeria. The program, powered by Inspiro Production, will take place at the AGIP recital Hall of the MUSON Center on April 30 from 4 - 7 pm. International Jazz Day proclaimed by the UNESCO is observed yearly around the world on April 30 to celebrate the virtues of jazz as an educa-

successfully secured their spot in the competition, the show promises to be a lot more interesting. The million-Naira question now is who amongst these 12 contestants will be crowned the winner of season IV of the Etisalat-sponsored TV show. The judges may have their opinions but the Nigerian public will be the ones to make the final decision through their voting.

tional tool, and a force for peace, unity and dialogue among people. The International Dance day, April 29, 2014 is also known as World Dance Day and celebrated through promotions by the International Dance Council. The day was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute. The annually observed World Dance Day is to create an understanding of the importance of dance among the general public. Its goal is also to persuade governments all over the world to provide a proper place for dance in all systems of education.

damage to the NICO perimeter fence, and destroying the roof in many parts. According to him, “Suddenly, the bright Sunday morning became darkened due to the gathering rain clouds and what followed shortly after was the heaviest of strong winds and torrential rains like I have never seen. This left many Lagos residents in a situation to tell tales of woe and they actually did. In NICO the rain affected us too.” NICO staffers in Lagos, who reported for work, Monday morning, were shocked to find that the roof over the Institute’s Library had gone off, books, library shelves and the walls were soaked in water; the internet café of the Institute also had its own share of damages caused by rainwater as all the computer systems, LAN wires, LAN switch, electrical extensions, eight UPS and the chairs in the cyber café were all water-logged. Furthermore, the roof over NICO Lagos Conference room and Accounts Office of the Training School Department were blown open, causing water to enter through the ceiling. Reports have it that the rainstorm in Lagos affected many masts and buildings, felling trees and electric poles all over the place.

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Okoroji asks FG to declare war on piracy Tony Okuyeme

hairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to declare war on the piracy of Nigerian musical and movie products in the ECOWAS sub-region and the rest of the continent. Speaking at the Stakeholders’ Forum on the Entertainment Industry, organised by the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC) at Lagos Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday April 14, 2014, Chief Okoroji said, “If we must confront the frightening unemployment in our country and provide a better tomorrow for our children, we must flex our diplomatic muscles and take on the big abuse of intellectual property trade not just in the ECOWAS nations but across Africa.” Noting that the demand for Nigerian music and movies in every country in Africa is huge and worth billions of naira, Okoroji, added that demand is being met not with legitimate products but pirated products mostly from the Far East. “The result is that the Nigerian nation and Nigerians in the creative industry are losing a huge amount of money. If we are serious about dealing with the massive unem-

ployment in our country, the Nigerian nation cannot afford these losses anymore and must act with its might at the highest level. It is an emergency. Entertainment which is very attractive to young people is one area where Nigeria has significant comparative advantage,” he said. Earlier in his keynote address, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) had said that the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, as the nation’s statutory agency charged with the promotion of non-oil exports, in fulfillment of its mandate, has identified the entertainment industry as part of the four priority sectors for promotion under the services’ sector medium term implementation plan. According to Mr. Awolowo, in fulfillment of its commitment to develop the industry, the NEPC in 2010 and 2011 took some Nigerian entertainment practitioners on a road show to Namibia and Kenya respectively, with a view to bonding and networking with other entertainment practitioners, as well as charting a structured distribution channel and synergy in those countries. Mr. Awolowo also said that the relevant government agencies in the sector have been assembled to ensure that a holistic approach is adopted in order

to find a common solution to all impediments that have bedeviled the industry. Said Mr Awolowo, ‘’This forum will mark the beginning of yet another milestone in the development of non-oil export, from Nigeria as the entertainment industry has the capacity to generate substantial forex for the economy if well managed”. Stakeholders present at the forum include Chairman, Audio Visual Rights Society (AVRS), Mr. Mahmood Ali Balogun; for mer President of Actors Guild of Nigeria ( AG N ) , Mr Ejike Asiegb u , ; Chief G a b Okoroji Okoye of Gabosky Films; and Chief Don Pedro Obaseki. Also present were top officers of the National Film Corporation (NFC), Nigerian Copyright Commis-

Port Harcourt agog for World Book Capital 2014 CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 1

publishers, academics, libraries, readers, etc. around Africa and the diaspora. The panel of judges, who selected the final 39 were- Elechi Amadi, Margaret Busby and Tess Onwueme. The 39 writers have been commissioned to write for an anthology to be published by Bloomsbury with foreword by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. Ellah Allfree will edit the Africa 39 anthology. The list of the 39 was unveiled at the Port Harcourt World Book Capital stand at the London Book Fair (8th April) and would be announced again during the opening ceremonies of the Port Harcourt World Book Capital programme (22 to 26 April). They are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria), Richard Ali Mutu (Dr Congo), Monica Arac De Nyeko (Uganda), Rotimi Babatunde (Nigeria), Eileen Barbosa (Cape Verde), Igoni Barret (Nigeria), Jackee Budesta Batanda (Uganda), Recaredo Boturu (Equitorial Guinea), Nana Brew Hammond (Ghana), Shadreck Chikoti (Malawi), and Edwige Renée (Cote D’ivoire). Others Are Tope Folarin (Nigeria), Clifton Gachagua (Kenya), Stanley Gazemba (Kenya), Mehul Gohil (Kenya), Hawa Jande Golakai ( Liberia), Shafinaaz Hassim (South Africa), Abubakar

In preparation for the PH WBC programme, over 300 teachers from public and private primary and secondary schools around Port Harcourt are attending training sessions to equip them to run the Reading Tree and book club programmes over the WBC year Adam Ibrahim (Nigeria), Stanley Onjezani Kenani (Malawi), Dinaw Mengestu (Ethiopia), Nadifa Mohamed (Somalia), Nthikeng Mohlele (South Africa), Linda Musita (Kenya), Sifiso Mzombe (South Africa), Glaydah Namukasa (Uganda), Kioko Ndinda (Kenya), Ondjaki –Angola, Okwiri Oduor (Kenya), and Ukamaka Olisakwe (Nigeria). Also on the list are Chibundu Onuzo (Nigeria), Taiye Selasi (Nigeria), Namwali Serpall (Zambia), Lola Shoneyin (Nigeria), Nii Ayikwei Parkes (Ghana), Chika Unigwe (Nigeria), Mary Watson (South Africa), Zukiswa Wanner (South Africa), and

Mohamed Yunnis Rafiq (Tanzania). “The 39 authors have been invited to the Port Harcourt Book Festival 2014 which would be mainly dedicated to the ‘Africa 39’ project. At this year’s festival the authors would converge in PH for a week of reading, debates, discourse. Thereafter, they would be invited to participate in Hay festivals around the World as well as other such platforms.” On books of the month, the organisers stated that 12 carefully selected books will be featured in each of the months of the year. “Based on our general theme of Possibilities, these books will be the subject of discussions on partner electronic and print platforms. A play based on each book would be staged through the year. Books for the first 6 months are Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe for April; The Great Ponds by Elechi Amadi (May); This Child Shall be Great by Ellen Shirleaf Johnson (June); Ake by Wole Soyinka (July); Tomorrow Died Yesterday by Chimeka Garricks (August); Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie (September); Interventions: A Live in War and Peace by Kofi Anan (October); We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (November); Still Full Tide by J.P. Clark (December); Say You Are One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Janu-

ART 23

sion (NCC), National Film & Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM). ary); Children of the Revolution by Dinaw Mengestu (February); and Virtuous Woman by Zaynab Alkali (March). “In preparation for the PH WBC programme, over 300 teachers from public and private primary and secondary schools around Port Harcourt are attending training sessions to equip them to run the Reading Tree and book club programmes over the WBC year. The Reading Tree is a graded reading scheme that requires participants (senior primary school students) to read a book a week. Weekly book clubs are held where the children, with the guidance of a facilitator, discuss the book they have read and fill it work books that have been prepared for this purpose. At the Secondary School level participants read a book a month and meet to discuss monthly. “Having successfully completed the pilot Walking Book, in Rivers State, the National Walking book programme has kicked off. The Walking book involves writing on the Sights and Sounds of a particular region by children who live there. The World Book Capital is working with Unity Colleges around Nigeria on this project. 10 students from the Junior Secondary School section of each of the participating schools would work with their teachers to write about their states. The stories would be collated, published and presented at the annual Port Harcourt Book Festival in October.

24 TOURISM

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Stella Oduah on spot as Abuja Bantaba holds

Imoke

Stories by Andrew Iro Okungbowa

T promises to be as glamorous and rewarding more than ever before both in terms of scope and expectations. But more importantly is the fact that this year’s Abuja Bantaba comes with a novelty touch to it as it would be a celebration of persons who have in the last hundred years helped to shape and direct the course of the travel industry in Nigeria. It is the fourth edition of the yearly travel trade exhibition, which brings together hundreds of players and organisations from across the country and other parts of Africa, to Abuja to expose the products and services of their various destinations and network among the buyers and sellers of travel present as well as extend the frontiers of the industry itself. This year edition of the event is dedicated to marking the centenary anniversary of Nigeria, which was celebrated in January. Therefore, come Friday April 25 when the one day exhibition opens at the Ladi Kwali Hall of Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers, what would be on focus would be more than just tourism but also the selected one hundred persons – dead and living – who would be honoured for their various contributions to Nigeria tourism development and growth in the last hundred years. One of the persons on the honour list that would perhaps be the cynosure of all eyes is the former Nigeria’s minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah who would be celebrated as Legend of Travel in Nigeria. She would also be playing the role of special guest of honour at the event. Her appearance at the Friday’s travel gathering would be the first public appearance by her in any travel event since she was dropped from the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan over two months ago. Her departure from this exalted position may have been under controversial circumstances, however, in the eyes of some of the discerning travel persons, she stands out as a minister of note. According to the organizers of the event, Africa Travel Quarterly (ATQ), she deserves to be recognised and hon-

Oduah

Uduaghan

oured for her audacious move on taking on some of the forces and power brokers that have negatively affected the fortune of aviation in the country and successfully executed the facilities renewal in airports across the country. At the occasion, Oduah would be expected to relive her experience as minister of aviation, challenges, lessons and advise on how best to sustain some of the gains of her regime as well as what is needed to put the travel industry on the right footing in Nigeria. Because of her towering personality and the mileages recorded by her, key players and operators in the industry are expected at the event to also gain from her remarks and further contribute to the debate of how best to nurture the fledging travel industry in the country. The other personalities that would share the podium with her and the other selected 100 travel persons of the century include the Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, who would be

honoured as the “Tourism Man of the Year”. A statement from ATQ revealed that Imoke would be honoured among others for following and entrenching the vision of a tourism economy espoused by his predecessor, Donald Duke, by taking it to a new level. Also on the honour list is the governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, as the “Aviation Governor of the Year” for the vision and commendable work at developing Asaba Airport. The new minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, who was a former commissioner of Tourism in Akwa Ibom State during the era of former governor Victor Attah, under whose watch as commissioner the Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort was envisioned and developed, would also be garlanded. The other personalities drawn from both core and allied tourism and travel sectors based on their immense contribution to tourism include the former gov-

ernor old Kano State, late Commissioner of Police, Audu Bako, who is seen as one of the greatest tourism visionaries in Nigeria along with the former governor of old Bendel State. Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, who is credited with numerous tourism projects and the former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke while pioneers in aviation include Chief Igbinedion of the defunct Okada Air, the first private major airline in Nigeria, Sir Louis Ojukwu of Ojukwu Transport, Chief Ubajiaka of Izuchukwu Transport and Austin Ilodibe of Ekene Dili Chukwu. The event begins at 4pm with the formal opening ceremony, followed by a three hour speed dating and networking by the exhibitors and other operators; and the award dinner. One of the special features of the event is the Calabar Carnival, which would be on display. This would be first time that the carnival troupe is coming out of its traditional home to put up appearance at other venue.

EIL Telecom rebrands, to launch the ELPAZIO brand

ne of the leading hospitality technology solutions suppliers in Nigeria EIL Telecoms will be launching its new name at the Abuja Bantaba.

Chief Executive of the company, Mrs. Nkoli Moka said, ‘‘we are known for delivering world class solutions to the hospitality industry. For decades (as EIL Telecom

Ltd), now rebranded to ELPAZIO LTD, this has been our expertise. We offer these with first class service to discerning hotels and hospitality businesses nationwide. We

invite you to take advantage of our experience in the business of hospitality technology solutions from the world acclaimed industry brands we represent.”

Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel Easter treat

ntices with ‘let spoil you,’ package this Easter as it is promising a soothing and serene ambience for the Easter break.

The special offers include discounted room rates including breakfast for two, a wide variety of culinary delights in the hotel’s im-

pressive restaurant offering buffet breakfast, lunches, dinners, light meals and special Easter Sunday Brunch. The package also comes

ABTA begins buyer benchmarking process A s part of its commitment to underline the basic issues affecting corporate travel in the Sub-Sahara, the Africa Business Travel Association (ABTA) has announced the commencement of its interview processes with key industry players and organiza-

tions to enable it profile and benchmark its under current. The process, which is in conjunction with Severnside Consulting Limited, was described the project lead of the consulting firm, Chris Pouney, as exciting research project so far as it has already met with over 15 travel

buyers based in South Africa. “So far we have conducted 15 interviews from diverse industry sectors including professional services, finance, energy, retail, manufacturing and telecoms. Our goal is to conduct 50 interviews in total before we enter the analytical and produc-

with a 10 percent discount on laundry and dry cleaning as well as a guaranteed hi speed WIFI internet service at no extra cost tion stage of the paper. Interestingly, there are already a number of themes coming through loud and clear such as fraud -or the fear thereof, driving many aspects of various organisations’ travel programmes. It is also apparent that travel buyers in this region are hungry for technology – much more so than elsewhere.”

Entertainment

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/entertainment

SOny Neme Entertainment Editor

sony.neme@newtelegraphonline.com 0811 181 3096

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014

Absolut partners Wildcard thriller at Nigerian Idol IV MTV for MAMAs

Top 3 Contestants Odugbemi Idown Sarah Anthony Akpan and Zibili Evelyn

stories by sony neme

he Wildcard episode of the Etisalat sponsored Nigeria Idol Season IV, came to the fore last weekend as contestants made the most of it to thrill the audience and judges. The event provided judges the right to select the last three contestants that make up the Top 12 finalists. The wildcard allows the judges to exercise discretion for the re-entry of three evicted contestants back into the competition. And the lucky three out of the 10 evicted contestants were Evelle, Antwon, and Eye-D. The judges, backed by a well entertained and participative audience, had a tough task of sifting between excellent performers. With each judge having the power to

save only one contestant, all 10 evicted contestants sang their hearts out in the bid to win a place in the show proper. After careful deliberations, the bubbly Nneka Egbuna chose Evelle; Dare ArtAlade, gave his vote to Antwon; and Dede Mabiaku settled for Eye-D. To win her spot in the top 12, Evelle thrilled the audience and judges with her rendition of ‘Diamonds’ by Rihanna, while Antwon performed Usher Raymond’s ‘There Goes My Baby’ to a cheering audience. According to Dede, “If Antwon continues this way in this competition, he will be the one the others have to beat.” Eye-D, the African queen of the night stood tall with late Christie Esien Igbokwe awards winning song, ‘Seun Rere ’.

That got the audience dancing as Nneka later described her performance as authentic, fetching, and original. “It stood out from the rest and I loved it,” she said. The other contestants who didn’t make it were consoled by the judges who wished them well. Now that all 12 top contestants have successfully secured their spot in the competition, the show moves to the main stage that promises to be a lot more interesting. The question now is who amongst these 12 contestants will be crowned the winner of season IV of the Etisalat-sponsored TV show at the end of the day. Time alone will decide that as the judges may have their opinions, the Nigerian public will be the ones to make the final decision through their voting.

Diwari on Idol stage, next single for May

iwari Peterside, a Nigerian Idol Season 2 contestant returned to the Idol stage as a guest artiste on April 5. The Rivers state born M. Music artiste, performed her hit track, Ogun mi (My Medicine), which was released in 2013. The popular track whose video was shot in Europe has been enjoying favourable airplay on radio stations across Nigeria. Diwari who is to set to release her next single in May was styled fun and fresh for the performance by Addiena Concepts, Blekkover. She had dancing support by the salsa duo Wale and Tobi.

Diwari

s part of its support for creativity and transformation of young individuals, Absolut Vodka is partnering with MTV to organize this year’s MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA). The event is scheduled to take place later in June at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban, South Africa. According to the organizers, “the nominations for the awards will be unveiled on April 16 at a colourful ceremony in Nigeria. That will be coming with new additions like the ‘Transform Today Award’ sponsored by Absolut Vodka. The new award is to celebrate the power of young individuals to transform the image of Africa through their creativity and vision.” They further stated that other awards category includes, “The Lifestyle Award, the Nelson Mandela Leadership Award and Personality of the Year Award.” To underscore the reason for the event, Sola Oke, Marketing Director of Pernod Ricard Nigeria, reportedly said: “In each generation, there are a handful of artistes who leave transformative marks and the MAMA most certainly celebrates those artistes who are at the cutting-edge of the change in the music industry here in Africa. And Absolut will continue to push the boundaries of contemporary culture through creative collaborations. We are thrilled to be a part of the awards that celebrate artistes who define and transform music in Africa.” Mr. Oke further stated that the build-up to the main show tagged ‘Road to MAMA’ is expected to showcase events in Lagos, Nigeria, Durban, South Africa and Tanzania. It will be featuring MAMA nominees alongside the most current local artistes and DJs. It is a celebration of African musicians and achievers who have made the most impact on the contemporary music scene throughout the year. Oke also announced that as part of Absolut’s partnership with the MAMAs, there would be a series of exciting events to include one of a kind ‘Absolut Experience Parties’ amongst other activities in bars, supermarkets and clubs in Nigeria. His words: “These events are being held in order to share the Absolut experience with our consumers and also the opportunity to reward them with exciting packages, which would include tickets to the Absolut Experience Parties, the Road to MAMAs events in Lagos, and ultimately, exclusive tickets to the MAMA event in South Africa.”

26 Entertainment

Friday, April 18, 2014

Glo Nokia Asha, D’Banj series thrill Nigerian youths

D'Banj

everal weeks after its introduction to the public, the Glo Nokia Asha, D’Banj (Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo) special series, has continued to generate tremendous buzz among its target audience, the Nigerian youths. The phone is the latest, and one of the most colourful Qwerty keyboard phones that comes in various bright colours like red, yellow and white. It also comes in green and black colours. Globacom’s Head, Corporate Sales, Kamaldeen Shonibare said during the unveiling ceremony, that, “once a subscriber buys the D’banj Asha 210 phone, he gets a free data plan with WIFI functionality by sending Yes to 66542. This would give the subscriber 12 months free internet with 260 MB on activation for the first month and 260MB monthly after recharging N1,000.” These features coupled with its cost effectiveness at N11,000 make it the preferred smartphone for the largely dependent youths. The smartphone, on sale nationwide, has 50 tracks of D’Banj’s popular tunes, including 15 songs that are yet to be released, as well as pictures, all pre-loaded on the phone free of charge. Most fans of the koko master described the offers as too good to be true and commended Globacom for bringing them closer to their music

idol. The Glo Nokia Asha smartphone was unveiled recently in Lagos at the formal announcement of the reappointment of D’banj, one of Nigeria’s most popular music acts as a Globacom brand ambassador. At the event Globacom said it was delighted to formally sign D’banj as brand ambassador, adding that his return would further add value to the brand and increase its equity. On

hand to receive D’banj at the colourful unveiling ceremony were fellow Glo Ambassadors, Chioma Akpotha, Ini Edo, Naeto C and Funke Akindele who displayed palpable affection for the artiste widely regarded as the game changer for brand ambassadorship in Nigeria. In his remarks, Nokia Representative, Olumide Balogun expressed happiness with the Globacom partnership, just as he described the smartphone as efficient, cost effective and trendy. On his part D’banj portrayed his second coming as a Glo Ambassador as humbling, and a great honour that he does not take for granted. For him,“It is exciting to be back in the Glo family. I was the first musician to be endorsed by Globacom as a brand ambassador in 2008. I am happy to be back glowing and Gloing”. The Koko Master promised to do everything within his means to add value to the Globacom brand. He kept to this promise as the opening act at the Glo CAF Awards, and also featured recently at the Glo Evergreen series where he did a collabo with King Sunny Ade that got the audience yearning for more. Achike Ude, an IT expert is excited about the Nokia Asha phones that he likens to his companion. He confessed being in love with Nokia products but picks the Asha, D’banj series as the peak of the pack. The smartphone, autographed by D’banj, was specially designed for youths in continuation of Globacom’s strategic engagement with the youth segment. The Nokia Asha 210 handset is compact and has a sleek, minimalistic aesthetic that is similar to the Lumia. Some of its characteristics

include 2 MP camera for crystal clear photographs with high resolutions, 3.5mm AV jack and Micro-USB port for charging. An avid fan of D’Banj and user of the smartphone, Mr. Best Isioma, a Lagos-based secondary school leaver said the phone is a great product. “I particularly like the sound production, which enables me to enjoy music on the move. Additionally, I am a great fan of D’banj, so I naturally cannot have enough of the phone.” Another user of the Glo Nokia Asha, Mr. John Okorie of Niger Insurance said: “This is a very beautiful phone. I like the fact that it’s light, very good for browsing and the parts are easily available at the marketplace in case you need to replace anything.” The capacity of the phone to accommodate two SIM cards is one of the major reasons why Kemi Adebayo, an HND 1 Mass Communications student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta prefers the phone to other smartphones. Some of the productivity tools on the phone include dictionary, recorder, calculator, clock, calendar, phonebook, converter, fixed dialing number, notes, alarm clock, reminders, to-do list, social networks in phonebook and sport watch, among others. To say that Glo is people friendly is to say the obvious as the telecom provider is always a ready ally for the people in all ramifications.

‘It is not easy for upcoming musicians’ Olushola Ricketts

he sojourn of Adetola Emmanuel Akinboyewa aka Yuppy into the music industry was unexpected. He was only singing in the classrooms just to entertain his friends. His big dream was to become a medical doctor or a lawyer by profession. But not music, which was not near his calling. However, due to prompting by friends and secondary school classmates who had different thoughts, he had to give it a try. According to him, “I started singing in 2007 while still in secondary school. Then I formed a group with a friend, Tobi Olabode, and we called ourselves Tsquare. But it was only singing for the fun of it then.” Things soon took a different turn, and the rest, like they say is now history. He recalled that one major thing that really

helped him then was that the more he sang, the more people showed him love. That continued until late 2009 when it dawned on him that he could not do without music. That was the same year that he dropped his first single, titled Tipe. He soon discovered after that that regardless of how competitive the industry is at present, the young and talented native of Ondo State is determined to leave his signature on the forefront of the Nigerian entertainment industry in no time. On his recent single with Jaywon, titled Ragabobo, he told New Telegraph that they met through his producer, Blaq Jersey who also produced Jaywon’s award-winYuppy ning track Odun Yi.

Entertainment

Friday, April 18, 2014

SONY Music collaborates with COSON

Okoroji

delegation from Sony Music Entertainment Africa recently paid a historic visit to the head office of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) early this week. The delegation led by its Managing Director, Mr. Sean Watson met with the Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji and his team to discuss ways that both organizations can work for mutual benefits. In Mr. Watson’s company from the South Africa based organization was Ms. Manusha Sarawan, Director, New

Business/Legal& Business Affairs and Mr. Craig Brown, Director of Finance. Sony Music Entertainment is home to international artistes like the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Celine Dion, Shakira, John Legend, Pitbull, Rita Ora, Avril Lavigne, Beyonce amongst others. During the meeting, the landscape for the licensing of musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria was discussed. Also addressed were digital music exploitation and the best ways

that both organizations can work together to harness the potentials of the digital age in music licensing and distribution. This much was explained by Mayree Uket, New Media for COSOn in a mail sent to New Telegraph. Chief Okoroji in his welcome address, according to Ms Uket, said: “At COSON, our mantra is ‘Let the music pay’. And this mantra provides the energy that drives everyone at COSON to do everything we can 24 hours daily. That is to ensure that music is profitable for all those who invest their talent, ingenuity and financial resources to create and make available the music that the world enjoys.” Okoroji further said: “COSON is today the number one institution driving the Nigerian music industry. We are determined to make Nigeria the most attractive place on the continent for investment in the entertainment industry, a place where the laws and commitments are respected by all. Today, COSON is represented in more than 85 countries around the world.” In his contribution, the General Manager, Mr. Chukwuji said “COSON is open to partnerships such as this, which will be beneficial to the society and the creative industry in Nigeria,” adding that “COSON is all for innovation and great opportunities that can move the Nigerian music industry to greater heights”.

KEFEE returns, now a certified video producer …Denies any secret wedding while in US

igerian music star, Kefee, is back from the United States of America. She returned to the country last week with her husband, Teddy, after about eight months to pursue courses in video production and directing at the Chicago Access Network TV. They reportedly graduated in March and returned as certified Video directors. According to an insider, “they are collaborating with their different outfits—Kefee’s Branama Afrique and Teddy’s FourEleven Concepts to help out upcoming artistes in developing their careers. Kefee reportedly said that video production was a passion she always had and that it won’t take her away from the entertainment field. The Branama crooner further said she wanted to apply her experience to encourage other

Kefee receiving her certificate

artistes in the music industry. According to her, “we intend to help out other artistes in their music. We can help the artistes in various ways with the links we have, we can help in promoting their works to give them a platform to succeed, we can also help them get their audio together and shoot very good videos for them at very good prices.” Also recently, pictures purportedly taken at Kefee's wedding in the U.S had surfaced on the internet, but the artist distanced herself and her husband from any secret wedding in the U.S. Her words: “I didn't do any secret wedding in the U.S. I had wedded in

2012. After my traditional wedding, I had a court wedding with my husband. The pictures that they are parading on the internet were not from any wedding. Rather they were from a scene in my video, 'Beautiful', which was shot last year but we eventually cut out those scenes and never released the pictures. I don't know how they got out or the stories surrounding them.” Kefee also celebrated her 10th anniversary as a performing artiste in Hollywood, USA, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. She said the event was put together by friends in U.S. and that there would be another big celebration to mark the anniversary in Nigeria but she hasn’t set the date yet.

LYRICS for the week

AYE

By Davido

O Le le le . Le le le le le le le A le le. A le le o le Chorus: Aa yeee (Oya shekele) Aaa yeee Cause you want my love o She no want designer She no want Ferarri She say na my love o You belong to meee And I belong to her o babyyy You go killie somebody They say love is blind but I dey see am for your eyes o Aa for your eyes o Verse 1: She fine pass Darego She dey do like Ronaldo My sweetie poraro (potato) Ha! Eminado She like e my song She like e my song Her favorite artiste na David O David O And I like what I see I like what I see Baby girl just come come balance for me Come balance for me. Aaa Cause nobody can love you like I do Nobody can touch e you like I do Nobody can love you like I do Nobody can touch you like I do Chorus: Aa yeee (Alelelele) Aaa yeee Cause you want my love o Aa yee (Oya shekele mama) Aaa yee Cause you want my love o She no want designer She no want Ferarri She say na my love o You belong to meee And I belong to her o babyyy You go killie somebody They say love is blind but I dey see am for your eyes o Aa for your eyes o They say love is blind but I dey see am for your eyes o o o o for your eyes o Verse 2: The baddest! Baby girl you the baddest Oya shakee your asset Make e man no go forget Emergency! Baby you cause emergency Baby you loose your manners Baby you the latest e Oya gbe si oun, dancee Oya gbe down gently Oya dey dancee,legendary Oya gbe si oun for them Cause nobody can love you like I do Nobody can touch e you like I do Nobody can love you like I do Nobody can touch you like I do Chorus: Aa yeee (Alelelele) Aaa yeee Cause you want my love o Aa yee (Oya shekele mama) Aaa yee Cause you want my love o She no want designer She no want Ferarri She say na my love o You belong to meee And I belong to her o Babyyy You go killie somebody They say love is blind but I dey see am for your eyes o Aa for your eyes o They say love is blind but I dey see am for your eyes o o o o for your eyes o Tspize. O.B.O baddest Its all about love baby You Are In Love by Joe El (Kennis Music artiste) INTRO:

Kennis music Number one Weyo weyo weyo weyo Baby. Ah yor You are you are you you are My heart yeah oh yeah yeah VERSE 1: See I can feel what’s deep in your heart I know it always slowly tears you apart Oh how I wish that you would just let it show. Show. Hey You can hide it but I can see Through your eyes how you feel for me So don’t be scared Feel free. BRIDGE: The only thing that’s on my mind is you Dem all other guys are wasting time on you And I’m hoping can you know is true. Is true CHORUS: You’re aware of my love But you ain’t seen nothing yet You’re aware of the joy And that’s too hard to get You are in love with my touch And everything I do You’re in love You’re in love You’re in love VERSE 2: When you need me I’m ready and set I’ll give sweet love you won’t forget I will be there to guide and protect your heart.. Heart.. Hey How can I breathe if you are not with me In my arms here you need to be Girl you and I You will see Hey hey BRIDGE: You are the only thing that I want to do. Hey. hey When I’m all alone I focus on you.. Hey hey And I have something to say I need your heart Always CHORUS: You’re aware of my love But you ain’t seen nothing yet You are aware of the joy And that’s too hard to get You’re in love with my touch And everything I do You’re in love You’re in love You’re in love. Love You’re in love oh oh oh oh oh oh You’re in love oh oh oh oh oh oh oh VERSE 3: You are a true definition of a woman that is fine See a natural beauty That I can’t deny A girl with a class And the girl with a style You sold my heart with this your smile CHORUS You’re aware of my love oh oh But you ain’t seen nothing yet You’re aware of the joy oh oh And that’s too hard to get You’re in love with my touch oh oh And everything I do You’re in love You’re in love You’re in love CHORUS: You’re aware of my love uh uh But ain’t seen nothing yet oh oh You’re aware of the joy yeah yeah And that’s too hard to get oh oh You’re in love with my touch And everything I do You’re in love You’re in love You’re in love (Instrumentals)

28 Entertainment TELEMOVIES

ontrary to views of some movie makers, 18 of them are beneficiaries of President Goodluck Jonathan’s grant. They include Andy Amenechi, Paul Apel and Kingsley Omeoef among others are in America on capacity building. Kingsley Omeoef has been posting pictures from there. Amenechi is a long standing member of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) and the Director Guild of Nigeria (DGN). The Federal Government’s N300b grant for capacity building has been a subject of controversy, especially from some key players who are yet to be considered for the grant. The grant is from the N3b intervention fund provided to boost the Nigerian film industry. The setting up of the fund underscores government’s commitment to supporting Nollywood in recognition of its contributions to the economy. Amenechi was in February reelected by members of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, DGN as their President for a second term. Andy as he is fondly called is reputed to be one of the hottest and busiest movie directors on the Nigerian home video scene. He trained in advertising, marketing and advanced television and film production both in Nigeria and abroad. He is the directing force behind some of the sector’s

Friday, April 18, 2014

Amenechi, Paul Apel, 16 others enjoy FG Nollywood capacity grant enduring offerings like Rituals, Narrow Escape, Oracle, Blood of the Orphan, Time Bomb, Lord of the Mountain, Deep Love, Egg of Life, and the epic movie Igodo, which he co-directed with Don Pedro Obaseki. In March 2013, the indigenous film industry got the special boost as the federal government initiated 'Project Nollywood'. It was to fast-track the stellar performance of the movie industry in Nigeria. The grant was launched a month after Jonathan unveiled the package to help turn around Nigeria's movie industry. Jonathan, who hosted the ensemble to a dinner to mark the 20 years of the industry at the State House, Marina, Lagos on that faithful Saturday, disclosed that the sum of N3 billion was set aside by his administration as a grant to the industry with a view that the income accruing from its enterprise would surpass that of the oil and gas industry, which is currently the highest revenue generator. The grant is in addition to

a presidential directive to the Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank and Bank of Industry (BOI) to give additional impetus to the industry through provisions of loans. That was contained in a statement issued then in Abuja by Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, Spokesman for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. According to the statement, “action on the N3b support promised the Nigerian film industry by President Goodluck Jonathan has formally commenced with the rollout of a N300 million capacity building fund.” “The first component is a Training Fund of N150 million, dedicated to training and skills acquisition for Nollywood practitioners in all competencies along the entire value chain of the industry… that includes scriptwriting, directing, production and production design, special effects, lighting, sound, HD techniques, acting, cinematography, make-up and editing, among others,” the statement

added, noting that the second component was the Capacity Development Fund, which was also worth N150 million. The plan is for grants to be given to existing Nigerian-owned private institutes that offer training course s ,

Apel

programmes and technical certification in the movie industry. In addition, the fund might be used to upgrade existing facilities, procure equipment and develop internal capacity to offer a set of courses and training pro-

AMAA April date not feasible

he much publicized April 26 date for the Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA that is billed to take place in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State may have been altered. Feelers reaching Showbitz exclusively have it that the essence is to enable the state government get the hosting right, especially as the premium African movie awards

A Fathia Williams (Balogun) is YMAA 2014 Best Actress

ollywood actress and exwife of Saheed Balogun, now Fathia Williams, has added yet another credit to her overcrowded award shelf. The Edo State born actress recently won the Best Actress award. Other stars on the categories were Actresses Funke Akindele, Iyabo Ojo and Ayo Adesanyo. This is coming just as Odunlade Adekola beat Actors Muyiwa Ademola, Femi Adebayo and Yomi Fash Lanso, carting away the best Actor award. Members of the Yo-

ruba film industry gathered at the Ibadan Civic Centre in Agodi for the third edition of the annual Yoruba Movies Academy Awards (YMAA) on Sunday. The awards were in ten categories and four special recognitions. The YMAA is annually put together to celebrate all the success stories of the Yoruba movie industry. Full list bellow Special Recognition -Kola Ogunmola -Akinwunmi Ishola -Duro Ladipo

-Mama Awero AWARDS -Best Editor: Shola Ayorinde -Best Cinematography: Richie Richie -Best Marketer: Olasco -Best Cultural Movie: Aramotu -Best Cross Over Actor: Kelvin Ikeduba -Best Support Actress: Joke Muyiwa -Most Promising Actress: Memunat Yinusa -Most Promising Actor: Tunde Owokoroniran -Best Actor: Odunlade Adekola -Best Actress: Fathia Balogun

grammes that would address key skills gaps. The intervention Project ACT Nollywood, is being managed by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the Minister of Tourism, Chief Edem Duke.

ward winning actor, Tope Tedela has landed his first magazine cover in the April edition of Nolly Silver Screen. The actor who shot into the limelight after clinching the Best Actor in a Drama at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, AMVCA talked about his journey into the movie industry. He spoke on his role in A Mile from Home that won him the award and love for the theatre. His words, “The journey has not been smooth at all. There’ve been times of rejection, little or no pay and attending auditions with no results, but I’ve continued to strive and I’m beginning to thrive.” Newspaper columnist and film critic, Wilfred Okiche pro-

is celebrating a decade of celebration of excellence in African movie industry. According to an insider who pleaded anonymity, “Am sure it will be moved forward a bit to allow Bayelsa State to prepare well, to receive the local and international filmmakers that are expected to converge at the glory of all lands.”

2014 AMVCA winner Tope Tedela on Nolly Silver Screen files ten Nollywood actors who now go behind the cameras. They include Kunle Afolayan, Yvonne Nelson, Fred Amata, Uche Jombo-Rodrigues, Rita Dominic and Saint Obi among others. Also featured in this edition are interviews with Kehinde Bankole, Alexx Ekubo and Nzeribe ‘Sambasa’ Chiedozie. ‘Nollywood: a house divided?’ explores the Asaba home video industry versus the new big budget cinema productions.

Entertainment

Friday, April 18, 2014

CinemaWatch (Radio/TV/Events Guide)

APRIL 18 – 25 HIGHLIGHTS

M-Net Movies Premiere (DStv channel 103) M-Net movies Premiere is bringing a range of blockbuster movies in April. DStv viewers can look forward to The Last Stand The Last Stand: in the last stand, Ray Owen moves out of Los Angeles, after leaving his narcotics post at the LAPD, to settle in a sleepy border town of Sommerton junction. The peace is shattered when the most notorious, kingpin in the western hemisphere, makes a deadly yet spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy. Will Ray save the day? Tune in on Sunday 20 April at 20:30 CAT to find out. BBC Entertainment (DStv channel 120) Top Gear USA (new season - series 4): The new season is bigger and faster than ever before as Tanner, Rutledge and Adam set themselves cooler and even crazier ways of testing the world’s most incredible vehicles. They race from New York to Los Angeles to settle an argument about super cars, attempt a crossing of one of the Great Lakes into Canada in an attempt to prove that cars are better than boats. From high-speed races in super cars to incredible stunts and off-road mayhem, this season of Top Gear USA has got it all. Tune into DStv every Wednesday from 2 April at 21:00 CAT MTV (DStv channel 130) Ex on the Beach: MTV brings DStv viewers the ultimate real-life soap opera as ex-couples are brought back together in Ex on the Beach. When eight single guys and girls arrive on a sun-soaked beach looking for a holiday romance… what they don't expect is their paradise to be blown apart by the horror of their ex-boyfriends and girlfriends turning up one by one. But that's exactly what happens and what they never know, is whose ex is next. Whether their Ex wants to win their partners back, exact revenge or get closure on ‘unfinished’ business, there will be fireworks and compulsive drama throughout. Tune in every Wednesday from 23 April at 21:15 CAT

distributors and lifestyle magazines that promote and advertise skin lightening products. Catch this compelling documentary on Tuesday 22 April at 21:00 CAT. Trace Sport Stars (DStv channel 188) Mandela special: He was a 20th Century hero who fought for humanity against hate, racism and inequality. Nelson Mandela had one thing in mind: reconciliation. One of his most powerful weapons: sports, which he entrusts to be a key driver of national cohesion. Trace Sport Stars recounts the story of Madiba and his success in using sports to erase hate and resentment and give birth to solidarity, fraternity and love. Catch it on Friday 4 April at 21:00 CAT.

PSQUARE

grown movies every Sunday. The line-up of movies includes titles such as Red Hot and In a Man’s Mind Red Hot: Red Hot is the story of Kofo, a beautiful lady married to an extremely affluent man. She seems to have all the good things of life at her disposal, but the absence of a child in over ten year of marriage has her feeling frustrated. In frustration and desperation she hatches a plan with her friend, Princess. Just at the peak of this new found solution, crisis erupts leading one disaster another. Tune into DStv on Sunday 20 April at 22:00 CAT. BBC Lifestyle (DStv channel 174) Hotel Secrets with Richard E Grant (series 1): Get a taste of the incredible luxury and often scandalous history of some of the world’s best hotels in this upmarket travel series presented by award winning actor Richard E Grant. Travelling the world, Richard reveals the stories behind the glamorous facades, from warring hotel dynasties to the outrageous extravagances of rich and famous guests. Richard sets out to discover what makes a select number

CBS Drama (DStv channel 134) Soul Food ( season 2) : Based on the critically-acclaimed film of the same name, Soul Food reunites the Joseph family in a new hour-long drama series, which chronicles the lives of a tight-knit African-American family living in Chicago. Season 2 sees Teri quit the firm to help out more at home after trying to juggle her job and family, Lem is arrested and charged with arson when the grocery store burns down on his last night as manager and on their 13th wedding anniversary, Maxine discovers Kenny had an affair. Catch all the family drama on Soul food weekdays at 21:00 CAT from Wednesday 16 April. Africa Magic Entertainment (DStv channel 151) In April, DStv audience can look forward to an exciting range of home-

Ex on the Beach

of hotels so unique. Tune in every Sunday from 13 April at 17:00 CAT. National Geographic (DStv channel 181) Terror in the Sky: (New series): Aero engineer Brendan Walker reveals a hands-on way the science behind the remarkable and scary aviation near misses caught on camera and audio recording. As more people fly, ever more often, every near miss shows how close we are to disaster every time we step on board. Tune into DStv every Thursday from 10 April at 20:05 CAT. BBC Knowledge (DStv channel 184) Make me White: Skin lightening is a global big business. The market for cosmetics to lighten darker skin is reported to be worth millions - and journalist Anita Rani is on a journey to find out why. Starting in her own family, with her mother's preference for lighter skin, she explores the pressures within the Asian community that lead a growing number of people to want to "lighten up". She takes a hard look at the businesses that make money on the promise of lightening dark skin, and tackles the cosmetic

Cartoon Network (DStv channel 301) Uncle Grandpa (new show – season 1): Uncle Grandpa is world's magical Uncle and Grandpa, when he shows up you're always in for a fun time. In this new show, kiddies will see how Uncle Grandpa and his merry gang: a talking Belly Bag, a giant female realistic flying tiger, Pizza Steve & Mr. Gus travelling everywhere as they bring magical fun everywhere they go. Tune in every weekday from Monday 14 April at 18:00 CAT. Nickelodeon (DStv channel 305) The Thundermans (new series launch): What's more awesome than a superhero? An entire family of them. This month, DStv kiddies will meet the Thundermans, a not-so-average family whose number one concern is trying to keep their super-human powers under wraps and lead a normal life. Catch them every weekday from Monday 7 April at 15:45 CAT. CBeebies (DStv channel 306) Nina and the Neurons: Earth Explorers: This series sees super scientist Nina and her young Explorers travel the world in search of the Earth’s natural wonders. With the help of Nina’s five animated sense Neurons, they explain why the world around us looks like it does. “How are mountains formed?”, “why do astronauts float in space?” and “why do we have night and day?” are just some of the questions Nina and her Neurons answer as they find out about planet Earth and the spectacular Solar System. Tune in every weekday from Monday 14 April at 16:20 CAT. Trace Urban (DStv channel 325) Guest Star - P-Square: Africa no longer has reason to envy American R&B stars. The Nigerian P-Square twins have taken the entire African continent by storm with African R&B Socca, the musical style they invented. Talented musicians Paul and Peter Okoye sing, dance, top the charts and won several Awards. The pair signed with Akon’s record label, Konvict Muzik , and they are now the most famous and successful African group in the world. Enjoy the lively beats of P-Square on Tuesday 15 April at 20:00 CAT.

30 Entertainment TELEMOVIES

Friday, April 18, 2014

Coming Soon to the cinemas Silverbird Cinema

11:00AM,1:00PM,4:45PM Viewing Time - Monday 11:00AM,1:00PM,4:45PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 11:00AM,1:00PM,4:45PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 11:00AM,1:00PM,4:45PM Viewing Time - Thursday 11:00AM,1:00PM,4:45PM

Viewing Time - Friday 1:25PM,6:10PM,8:45PM Viewing Time - Saturday 1:25PM,6:10PM,8:45PM Viewing Time - Sunday 1:25PM,6:10PM,8:45PM Viewing Time - Monday 1:25PM,6:10PM,8:45PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 1:25PM,6:10PM,8:45PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 1:25PM,6:10PM,8:45PM Viewing Time - Thursday 1:25PM,6:10PM,8:45PM Running Time 128min

3:00PM Viewing Time - Thursday 3:00PM Running Time 90min 300: Rise of an Empire (Rating: R)

Render To Caesar (Rating:18) HOURS (Movie of the Week) PG-15 Viewing Time - Friday 11:45AM, 1:40PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Saturday 11:45AM, 1:40PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Sunday 11:45AM, 1:40PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Monday 11:45AM, 1:40PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 11:45AM, 1:40PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 11:45AM, 1:40PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Thursday 11:45AM, 1:40PM, 6:20PM Featured Actors Paul Walker Running Time 97 min SINGLE MOM'S CLUB (Movie of the Week) PG-15 Viewing Time - Friday 11:15AM, 4:00PM, 6:45PM Viewing Time - Saturday 11:15AM, 4:00PM, 6:45PM Viewing Time - Sunday 11:15AM, 4:00PM, 6:45PM Viewing Time - Monday 11:15AM, 4:00PM, 6:45PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 11:15AM, 4:00PM, 6:45PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 11:15AM, 4:00PM, 6:45PM Viewing Time - Thursday 11:15AM, 4:00PM, 6:45PM RIO 2 (Movie of the Week)

Rated-G Viewing Time - Friday 11:00AM,1:00PM,4:45PM Viewing Time - Saturday 11:00AM,1:00PM,4:45PM Binta Goudiaby Viewing Time - Sunday

Noah Rating: PG Viewing Time - Friday 3:40PM,8:20PM Viewing Time - Saturday 3:40PM,8:20PM Viewing Time - Sunday 3:40PM,8:20PM Viewing Time - Monday 3:40PM,8:20PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 3:40PM,8:20PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 3:40PM,8:20PM Viewing Time - Thursday 3:40PM,8:20PM Running Time 138min Divergent Rating: PG Viewing Time - Friday 8:55PM Viewing Time - Saturday 8:55PM Viewing Time - Sunday 8:55PM Viewing Time - Monday 8:55PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 8:55PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 8:55PM Viewing Time - Thursday 8:55PM

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Movie Of The Week) Rating:PG

Viewing Time - Friday 2:00PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Saturday 2:00PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Sunday 2:00PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Monday 2:00PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 2:00PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 2:00PM, 6:20PM Viewing Time - Thursday 2:00PM, 6:20PM Running Time 120min

Viewing Time - Friday 4:30PM, 6:30PM, 8:30PM Viewing Time - Saturday 4:30PM, 6:30PM, 8:30PM Viewing Time - Sunday 4:30PM, 6:30PM, 8:30PM Viewing Time - Monday 4:30PM, 6:30PM, 8:30PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 4:30PM, 6:30PM, 8:30PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 4:30PM, 6:30PM, 8:30PM Viewing Time - Thursday 4:30PM, 6:30PM, 8:30PM Running Time 102

About Last Night (Rating:R)

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (Rating: PG)

The Nut Job (Rating : PG)

Viewing Time - Friday 3:00PM Viewing Time - Saturday 3:00PM Viewing Time - Sunday 3:00PM Viewing Time - Monday 3:00PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 3:00PM Viewing Time - Wednesday

Viewing Time - Friday 12:05PM, 4:20PM Viewing Time - Saturday 12:05PM, 4:20PM Viewing Time - Sunday 12:05PM, 4:20PM Viewing Time - Monday 12:05PM, 4:20PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 12:05PM, 4:20PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 12:05PM, 4:20PM Viewing Time - Thursday 12:05PM, 4:20PM Running Time 100 min

Viewing Time - Friday 12:40PM,2:35PM Viewing Time - Saturday 12:40PM,2:35PM Viewing Time - Sunday 12:40PM,2:35PM Viewing Time - Monday 12:40PM,2:35PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 12:40PM,2:35PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 12:40PM,2:35PM Viewing Time - Thursday 12:40PM,2:35PM Running Time 92mins The Lego Movie (Rating: PG)

Viewing Time - Friday 8:40PM Viewing Time - Saturday 8:40PM` Viewing Time - Sunday 8:40PM Viewing Time - Monday 8:40PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 8:40PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 8:40PM Viewing Time - Thursday 8:40PM Running Time 100 min

BUSINESS FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014

WHAT'S NEWS Corporate bond issuance hits $3.2tn –IOSCO Following significant growth in the emerging markets across the globe, International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has set the value of corporate bond market at $3.2 trillion in 2013 in contrast to $0.9 trillion recorded in 2000.

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Any hope for revival of Nigeria’s commodities exchange? This is one agriculture infrastructure that has been embattled for too long. It was therefore gladdening that the 19th Nigerian Economic Summit listed it for discussion.

}p-33

Why we must step up fish farming (1) In recent weeks, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has blown the lid off a threatening scam in the Nigerian fishery industry.

}p-33

Retiree laments nonpayment of 7-year pension arrears A retiree from the Federal Ministry of Information, Mrs. Comfort Olalere, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to assist in ensuring the payment of arrears of pension owed her.

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BUSINESS CREW AYODELE AMINU, Deputy Editor (Business) SIMEON OGOEGBULEM, Dep. Business Editor BAYO AKOMOLAFE, Asst. Editor (Maritime) SUNDAY OJEME, Asst. Editor (Insurance) SIAKA MOMOH, Asst. Editor (Industry/Agric) JONAH IBOMA, ICT Editor DAYO ADEYEMI, Property Editor ADEOLA YUSUF, Energy Editor

CHUKS ONUANYIN, Energy NNAMDI AMADI, Reporter

}p-37

AYODELE AMINU, DEPUTY EDITOR, BUSINESS

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

DENIED Full pension for homebound migrants who return to their country of origin no longer feasible Sunday Ojeme

WITH AGENCY REPORT

he days of receiving full pension payment by migrants from Nigeria and other parts of Africa from the United Kingdom government is over, according to a new policy on pension for ‘citizens’ who retire abroad. The policy, which is already being contested by those affected, tends to exclude those who originally migrated to the United Kingdom, worked and now decide to retire to their original countries of origin from receiving full pension. Reports monitored in Retirement Links says half of the 1.2 million UK pensioners who have moved abroad have had their pensions frozen, meaning their monthly payments have remained at the amount they received at state retirement age – with no annual increase in line with inflation. In other words, a 90-year-old who migrated at pension age gets just £43.60 per week, while a newly-retired pensioner is entitled to £113.10 under the current policy. Statistics suggest 95 per cent of those with frozen pensions live in Commonwealth countries. The 2001 UK Census recorded 88,378 Nigerian-born people resident in the UK. More recent estimates by the Office for National Statistics put the figure

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Berger Paints, Mr. Jatin Madan; Managing Director, Aspire International Limited, Mr. Godday Okhio; Director, Berger Paints, Dr. Oladimeji Alo; Chairman, Mr. Clement Olowokande and Managing Director, Mr.Tor Nygard, at the unveiling of New Colour World Outlet in Lekki, Lagos.

at 174,000 in 2011. Community leaders believe the growing population is over 500,000 in 2012. A Council of Europe report gives a figure of 100,000 Nigerians in the UK but suggests that this is likely to be an underestimate since it does not include irregular migrants or children

born outside of Nigeria. Worried by the development, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is calling for concerted action from Commonwealth heads of state to combat the ‘unfair’ policy on pensions for those who retire abroad.

This policy, however, does not affect those who move to European Union countries, the United States, Israel, Mauritius and the Philippines, as they have been exempted and will continue to get the increases CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

Govt to introduce uniform port charges, rates Bayo Akomolafe

he Federal Government yesterday resolved to introduce uniform charges and rates at the seaports. Chairman of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Governing Board, General Saliu Ibrahim (rtd), said that the Federal Government had appointed the council as a tentative economic

regulator of the port industry pending the passage of the Port and Habour and the National Transport Commission bills by the National Assembly. He urged stakeholders in the maritime industry to join hands with the council for effective implementation of its role as economic regulator to make the ports attractive for business. General Ibrahim explained that the role of a commercial

regulator was given to the council to sanitise the ports by standardising its operation with defined rules and regulations to guide day to day activities at the ports. In his remark, the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, who was represented by his Permanent Secretary, Mr Nebolisa Emodi, assured the CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

Rates Dashboard

DELE ALAO, Brands/Marketing Editor ABDULWAHAB ISA, Finance Editor

www.newtelegraphonline.com/business

Retiring home: Nigerians, others lose pension to UK government

WOLE SHADARE, Aviation Editor CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor

NEW TELEGRAPH

CPS GAINS GROUND, AS PRE-RETIREMENT CAMPAIGN BERTHS IN GOMBE, KANO

INFLATION RATE February 2014......................7.70% January 2014 .......................8.00% December 2013....................8.00%

LENDING RATE InterBank Rate . . . . . . . . . 10.50% Prime Lending Rate. . . . . 16.93% Maximum Lending Rate..25.83%

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parellel As at April 11)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N170 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N282 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N235

EXCHANGE RATE

(Official As at April 11)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N155.74 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N260.56 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N216.15 Source: CBN

BUSINESS | NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Corporate bond issuance hits $3.2tn –IOSCO GROWTH Emerging market contributing significantly to the growth of bond market

Chris Ugwu

ollowing significant growth in the emerging markets across the globe, International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has set the value of corporate bond market at $3.2 trillion in 2013 in contrast to $0.9 trillion recorded in 2000.

This is contained in a published staff working paper of the global securities commission entitled ‘’ Corporate Bond Market: A Global Perspective’’. The commission which Nigeria SEC is a member noted that corporate bond markets are growing in terms of size and importance to the real economy, and are extending their global nature. IOSCO said in its research, that in the last 13 years, 27 new economies have recorded corporate bond issuances, most of these emerging markets. The commission disclosed that emerging markets accounted for 30 per cent of recorded

issuance volume in 2013 compared to about 5 per cent in 2000. ‘’Interestingly, a growing number of emerging market issuances are ‘puttable’ (the bondholder can ask to reclaim their principal before the maturity date),’’ the research said. IOSCO affirmed that in 2013, issuances of bonds with a put option in emerging markets reached $47 billion, compared to issuance of $1 billion in developed markets. ‘’If this upward trend continues, it could signal increasing volatility in financing of emerging market firms,’’ the global securities commission said.

The report says bond issuances offered on international markets have increased, with $1.8 trillion issued from developed markets and $320 billion in emerging markets in 2013. ‘’Specialized local issuances are also breaking into the global market e.g. Sukuk (Islamic) issuances. Sukuk issuances in emerging markets reached $24 billion in 2013. In developed markets, issuance in 2013 reached $472 million in 2013, double 2007 levels,’’ the report said. The IOSCO research further noted that corporate bond markets have almost tripled in size since 2000. While financial firms in developed markets are

deleveraging, non-financial firms are tapping the corporate bond markets in growing numbers. ‘’Bank lending to non-financials is weak in the US and Europe, suggesting a move away from bank lending towards corporate bond financing in some developed markets,’’ IOSCO noted. The report says long-term infrastructure projects and real estate property developers are also raising financing on corporate bond markets. ‘’For example, between 2000 and 2013, $171 billion worth of infrastructure bonds were issued, the majority issued post-2007,’’ IOSCO said.

Retiring home: Nigerians, others lose pension to UK government CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

which are applied to UK-based pensioners. It also does not affect those who migrate to Barbados, Bermuda and Jamaica in the Caribbean because of a special arrangement. The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP), who is leading the campaign for change, has branded the policy “absurd.” The group has rejected the Government’s argument that it is unable to pay inflation rate pensions to those who have migrated, pointing out that the treasury actually makes savings of £3,800 per year for every pensioner who leaves Britain, as they do not access services like the NHS. Dave Morris from ICBP said: “It’s absurd that Britain is the only OEDC country (out

of 34) that doesn’t uprate their pensions. Because we don’t live here government thinks nobody cares about the issue. More than half a million people are affected and they all have friends and family here in the UK.” Pensioner Ellen Lebethe, 76, who is originally from South Africa, said the current system is “simply unfair.” She is urging the high commissions of affected countries to join the campaign against the policy. She said: “It is wrong that people who have left their countries in their youth and have spent their lives making valuable contributions to this country, having paid their taxes and their national insurance and contributed to pension schemes, are not able to retire back home without being penalised.”

Govt to introduce uniform port charges, rates CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

stakeholders of government’s determination to promote the maritime industry by ensuring the quick passage of all the bills relating to the sector. Also, former Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Mr Omar Suleiman urged the government to consider economic viability before spending tax payers money on the development of deep sea ports in any part of the country. He said availability of cargo must be looked into before a new port should be developed. The Chairman, Seaport Ter-

minal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) Princess Vicky Haastrup noted that the country lost about 600,000 metric tonnes of rice between January and March 2014 to the neighbouring ports in Benin Republic, Cameroon, Accra and Togo due to the 110 per cent tariff slammed on the commodity by the Federal Government last year. She urged the Federal Government through Shippers'Council as the economic regulator to address the problem before it would degenerate to another problems.

L-R: Nollywood Actress/Etisalat Easyflex Ambassador, Genevieve Nnaji; Head, Corporate Communications, High Value Events and Sponsorships, Ebi Atawodi and Director, Brands and Communications, Enitan Denloye, both of Etisalat Nigeria, at the Etisalat Private Viewing of the movie 'Half of A Yellow Sun' at Silverbird Cinemas, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Bayo Akomolafe

he Senate Committee on Privatisation has reproached the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and port concessionaires over alleged revenue leakages at the seaports. The senators lamented that appreciable revenue that should have accrued to the country was lost because the concessionaires failed to remit their financial obligations to the NPA. The committee members expressed dissatisfaction on the poor implementation of the financial agreements in the port concession agreement signed by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and port concessionaires. Its Chairman, Senator Gbenga Obadara, who led others on a fact finding mission, visited the NPA headquarters in Lagos after the tour of two major terminals at the Tin Can Island Port; Five Star Logistics Terminals and the Josep Dam terminals.

Senate chides NPA, terminal operators over revenue leakage He noted: “We need money to finance NPA’s budget and if the operators cannot tell us where the money is, NPA should be able to tell us. “At Josep Dam, we waited for over 20 minutes and they cannot provide us what they were making monthly, they were not able to give us figures needed.” They gave knocks to the NPA for not providing needed infrastructures at the terminals and for failing to keep accurate tab on the remittances from the concessionaires. Addressing the NPA management at its headquarters in Marina, Lagos, Obadara said that with the volume of cargoes coming to the port, what the terminals were remitting was peanuts. He said: “We are not happy

about the activities, considering our port as the biggest in Africa, and what the terminals are generating is peanuts. “The committee spent more than 25 minutes at Tin Can Island Port and surprisingly, the terminal operators were unable to provide receipts of the monthly remittances to NPA. “The terminal operators complained of the delay in completing port rehabilitation, the access road which has affected quick delivery of cargoes and low profit margin,” he said. At Josep Dam terminals, he observed that the NPA had failed to provide fenders for the terminals after it was broken for eight months, a situation which has rendered the terminal redundant.

Agric

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Hard Facts

US agricultural commodities processor Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) said it had hired advisors to help it sell its global chocolate business, while keeping a majority of its cocoa press activities, after extensive negotiations to sell its global cocoa and chocolate operations failed. Decline in the share of the agricultural sector in Nigerian GDP from 35 per cent to 22 per cent and a rise in the share of services (which comprises financial institutions, information and communications, real estate, professional, scientific and technical services) from 29 per cent to 52 per cent, is indicative of a more diversified economy than reported in the past. The revised data shows that the industrial sector now contributes 25.7 per cent, down from 36 per cent. The telecoms sector now contributes 8.69 per cent, manufacturing 6.83 per cent, and entertainment (Nollywood) 1.41 per cent, which had previously never been captured. As we enter 2014, there are still nearly one billion people suffering from hunger. Simultaneously, 65 percent of the world's population lives in countries where obesity kills more people than those who are underweight. The old glory of the Department of fisheries has disappeared due to complicity in how some staff had compromised the laws, rules and regulations, for pure personal gains. Nigeria, which has the ocean, lakes, estuaries, rivers, ponds and other water bodies has been allowed to become a dumping ground for imported fish, spending over N 170 billion importing fish. Yet fish grows in water not in the sand. Some of the large fish importers who prefer to import rather than produce fish in the country, simply bribe their way with duplicitous staff who issue them licenses to bring in fish, without any control or regulation.

BUSINESS 33

Cocoa

Any hope for revival of Nigeria’s commodities exchange? REVIVAL The embattled Abuja Commodity Exchange is up for revival... Siaka Momoh

his is one agriculture infrastructure that has been embattled for too long. It was therefore gladdening that the 19th Nigerian Economic Summit listed it for discussion. Panelists were made up of the likes of Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, David Blumberg, Vice President, Bloomberg Grains, Rod Gravelet-Blondin, Senior Adviser, African Exchange Limited and john Wainaina, Head of

SIAKA MOMOH questions why Nigerian-based Asians should engage in illicit fishery business whilst opportunities loom large for profitable fish farming locally.

n recent weeks, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development has blown the lid off a threatening scam in the Nigerian fishery industry.

Agriculture, CFC Stanbic, Kenya. The moderator was Eleni Gebre.Medhin, Economist and former CEO of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange. Abuja Security and Commodity Exchange (ASCE) is troubled. It has designated warehouses. Developing a robustly-regulated and trusted warehouse receipt system that encourages intraseasonal storage in well-run third-party facilities is required.

Demands by buyers not being fully met, which suggests that ASCE warehouses are not enjoying the best of patronage

This will make it possible for the Exchange-designated warehouses to attract stocks of products, deposits, especially as it will make inventory financing more attractive to the banks. It will also make it possible for the Exchange to issue and promote trade in standardised contracts, thereby attracting more market participants including investors. However, the development of such a system will require specific warehouse legislation to clarify the rights of third parties to whom receipts are transferred by trade or a pledge as well as the authority of warehouse regulators. The ASCE has already initiated consultations with the Federal Government of Nigeria regarding warehouse legislation and needs to follow this up. There is also the need

to tighten up the existing ASCE warehouse regulations to be consistent with any such legislation or prior to that, assure parties that their interests in underlying commodities stored in designated warehouses will be well protected. These measures are important in attracting participation by credible insurance companies and the banks and by extension, buyers. But as it is now, demands by buyers are not being fully met, which suggests that ASCE warehouses are not enjoying the best of patronage. For instance, the major buyers of the commodities are industrial end-users such as Guinness Nigeria PLC, Grand Cereal and Oil Mills Ltd. (oilseed pressers) and other processing companies. CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

Why we must step up fish farming (1) Fish importers of Asian stock, Indians to be precise, some of whom have done business in Nigeria for decades, aided by civil servants, are neckdeep into crooked importation of rotten fish into the country. Not only this, they smuggle tons of fish stock into the country. Only last Sunday, the Federal Department of Fisheries, led by its Acting Director General, Areola Folake, led a team, including the media, to Lagos Waste Management Agency

(LAWMA) dump site in Epe for destruction. These ‘crooks’ do this, yet there is a robust opportunity for local fish farming in the country which the ongoing Federal Government’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda is promoting. And there is high demand for fish worldwide. Industry sources say 200 million people, globally, depend on fish for food and employment. One industry estimate holds that 70 per cent of world fish

stocks are now in urgent need of management to ensure their long-term survival. In fact, an FAO report says about 50 per cent of all fish consumed as food worldwide are raised on fish farms rather than caught in the wild. The report, titled The State of the World Aquaculture, was presented to delegates from over 50 countries attending the biennial meeting of the FAO sub-committee on aquaculture. This suggests that fish stock in CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

BUSINESS | AGRIC

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Any hope for revival of Nigeria’s commodities exchange? C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 3

Total expressed demand, in the form of bids, for the major traded commodities from these buyers was over 7,000 tons in 2007 and about 10,000 tons in 2008. However, in 2007, only 25 per cent of their demand was met while the Exchange recorded no significant trade in 2008. Indeed, while the volume traded in 2006 was 986 tons and rose to 1,877 tons in 2007, there was no recorded trade in 2008 and by the end of the first quarter of 2009 only 11 tons of groundnuts had been traded. In

2007, one buyer placed an order for 500,000 tons of cassava chips but no offers were received. At this very low level of operation, the ASCE is unlikely to be financially sustainable. The bottom-line is that there is dear need to build more storage facilities to curb post-harvest losses. This is a venture that is largely unexplored and private investors will therefore find it a profitable business. The private sector should also own and run the commodity exchange and existing gaps relating to issues of legislation and integrity should

be rectified so that the Exchange warehouse infrastructure can attract more agric produce. If these steps are taken, we would go a long way in finding a solution to unnecessary food waste. This was the outlook and the NESG team took it up, identified the challenges and made recommendations. We will come to these, but first, let us look at the Federal Government’s involvement. The Federal Government, in its drive to institutionalising a private led National Agriculture Commodity Exchange (NACX),

Cashew nuts

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

the wild, that is, beneath the sea waves, are depleting. This is true because, according to sea resources experts, ocean ecologies are particularly vulnerable because they are easily exploited, and the damage is not immediately visible. The FAO report paints the gloomy picture of the industry. While in 1980 just nine per cent of the fish consumed by human beings came from aquaculture, today 43 per cent does, the report says. “That’s 45.5 million tons of farmed fish, worth US$63 billion, eaten each year. Currently, freshwater and marine capture fisheries produce 95 million tons annually, of which 60 million tons is destined for human consumption,” it notes. It says that globally, consumer demand for fish continues to climb, especially in affluent, developed nations which in 2004 imported 33 million tons of fish worth over US$61 billion – 81 per cent of all fish imports that year, in value terms. “But levels of captures of fish in the wild have remained roughly stable since the mid1980s, hovering around 90-93 million tons annually. There is little chance of any

has developed a roadmap for the establishment of a private sector owned and operated national Commodity Exchange (NCX). The NCX is proposed to be regulated by the security and Exchange Commission after the amendment of the Investment and Securities Act 2007. It will replace the Abuja Commodity Exchange (ASCE) and also subsume the NACX. Reports has it that government has identified two prospective investors interested in investing in logistics and other infrastructure necessary to maximise efficiency in the implementation of the NACX. These infrastructure that are to be located across the country, will include warehouses, rail transportation and packaging, among others. In addition to facilitating the actualisation of the initiative, a time table for transiting the commodities exchange into private sector ownership and management has been developed by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment working with the BPE to complete the process by the second quarter of 2014. In fact, it was reported by Bloomberg in January that Nigeria’s government plans to sell

its ownership of the Abuja Securities & Commodities Exchange by the middle of the year after missing an initial deadline in a plan to revive trading. According to the report, “government wants to privatise the only commodity exchange and it had committed to doing it by the end of last year,” Securities and Exchange Commission DirectorGeneral, Arunma Oteh, said in a January 15 interview at the regulator’s headquarters in Abuja. “It didn’t meet that deadline, but it’s planning to do something by the middle of 2014,” she said. Companies including Nigeria’s Heirs Holdings Ltd., a Lagos-based investor with interests across Africa in banking, energy, real estate and agriculture, plan to acquire or set up a commodities exchange in the continent’s most populous nation of about 170 million people. Nigeria had Africa’s third-biggest cocoa harvest last year and produces crops such as cotton and sugar. The Abuja bourse was converted from a stock exchange to a commodities market in 2001, according to its website, which last posted a news story in November 2010 and has information on CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

Why we must step up fish farming (1) significant increases in catches beyond these levels,” FAO says. The agency’s most recent global assessment of wild marine fish stocks found that out of the nearly 600 species groups it monitors, 52 per cent are fully exploited while 25 per cent are either overexploited (17 per cent), depleted (7 per cent ) or recovering from depletion (1 per cent). “Catches in the wild are still high, but they have levelled off, probably for good,” explains Rohana Subasinghe of FAO’s Fisheries Department and Secretary of the sub-committee on aquaculture. The report holds that this leveling off, coupled with a growing world population and increasing per capita demand for fish, spells trouble. It estimates that an additional 40 million tons of aquatic food will be required by 2030 - just to maintain current levels of consumption. The only option for meeting future demand for fish, Subasinghe argues, is by farming them. “Aquaculture could cover the gap between supply and demand, but there are also many

forces which could pull production in the opposite direction, making it difficult for the industry to grow substantially enough to meet demand in the decades to come,” the report notes. Aquaculture has been experiencing a boom since the mid1980s, sustaining a growth rate of around 8 per cent per year. Today, it continues to expand in almost all world regions, with the notable exception of subSaharan Africa. This is where we have a problem and why we should make a move to put emphasis on aquaculture. FAO is concerned that momentum could taper off if governments and development agencies don’t adjust their policies to respond to emerging challenges that threaten to damper the sector’s future growth. One serious bottleneck, says FAO, is the lack of investment capital for producers in the developing world. Another is a shortage of land and freshwater for use in aquaculture. Rising energy costs also pose a problem, and environmental impacts and questions of product safety continue to require attention.

Fishmeal The agency’s report also points to doubts regarding future supplies of fishmeal and oil, used to feed carnivorous cultured species, such as salmon, grouper and sea bream. Since 1985, world production of fishmeal and fish oil - manufactured using fish which are caught in large volumes but which are not consumed by humans - has stabilised at six to seven million tons and one million tons, respectively. While the vast bulk of fishmeal is used for livestock feed, chiefly by the poultry sector,

Mobile fish pond

aquaculture now accounts for 35 per cent of world’s fishmeal consumption. So, as aquaculture’s fishmeal needs grow, competition with terrestrial livestock for a limited resource will intensify, with ramifications for both price and availability. Key to resolving the dilemma will be continued progress in improving the efficiency of feed formulations - reducing the amount of fishmeal they contain - and coming up with adequate vegetable-based additives. CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

business | AGRIC

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

AU-EU releases roadmap on agriculture Siaka Momoh

U-EU Summit work on Agriculture and food security will be implemented within the context of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework, the Roadmap released at the completion of the meeting held early this month in Brussels has said. According to the Roadmap, “2014 is the African Year of Agriculture and Food Security and the international year of family farming. This issue features highly in the 2014-2020 EU assistance framework. Not only does agriculture feed people, it also creates sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs. We will endeavour to make our policies converge around a limited number of critical policy indicators to promote a sustainable development of agriculture. “We will transform and develop rural areas, forestry and agriculture to create perspectives, jobs and income in particular for rural youth and women. We will address the substantial challenges facing African agriculture in a way that conserves the future productivity of natural resources. Our cooperation

in this field will particularly take place within (i) the contact group established between the two Commissions and (ii) the CAADP partnership.” The AU-EU body says it will develop effective joint approaches to nutrition targets as major components of resilience, by strengthening information systems and analytical tools that support the national policy decision making process (Nutrition Integrated Phase Classification, resilience index, etc.). “Regional entities and initiatives, such as the Global Alliance for Resilience Initiative (AGIR), will con-

stitute a privileged framework to promote innovative solutions such as regional emergency food reserves or agriculture risk management,” it says. The Roadmap also says it will promote nutrition sensitive agriculture to contribute to internationally agreed targets to reduce the incidence of stunting; continue to collaborate on the implementation of the 2009 AU Declaration on Land, using the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa (F&G) in line with the Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible Governance of Tenure of land,

Pineapple

Units USd/bu. USd/bu. USd/bu. USD/cwt USd/bu. USD/st USd/lb. CAD/mt

Price 509.00 711.75 351.25 15.41 1,507.50 480.50 43.38 484.00

Change -0.75 +2.00 -1.00 0.00 +20.00 +6.10 +0.33 +4.10

% Change -0.15% +0.28% -0.28% 0.00% +1.34% +1.29% +0.77% +0.85%

Contract Jul 14 Jul 14 Jul 14 May 14 Jul 14 Jul 14 Jul 14 Jul 14

Time(ET) 08:06:31 08:06:31 07:55:59 20:40:38 08:06:48 08:06:18 08:06:47 08:04:59

Units USD/mt USd/lb. USd/lb. USd/lb. USd/lb. cents/kg USD/tbf JPY/kg USD/gal.

Price 2,990.00 196.45 17.56 164.20 92.25 1,027.00 326.70 218.50 2.14

Change +9.00 +1.40 +0.09 -0.25 +0.96 0.00 +3.20 +0.70 -0.06

% Change +0.30% +0.72% +0.52% -0.15% +1.05% 0.00% +0.99% +0.32% -2.50%

Contract Jul 14 Jul 14 Jul 14 May 14 Jul 14 Apr 14 May 14 Sep 14 Jun 14

Time(ET) 08:04:54 08:06:12 08:05:58 08:05:56 08:05:58 02:05:33 07:57:56 05:59:58 17:15:00

Units USd/lb. USd/lb. USd/lb.

Price 135.25 182.35 121.70

Change -0.18 -0.43 -0.83

% Change -0.13% -0.23% -0.67%

Contract Jun 14 Aug 14 Jun 14

Time(ET) 08:04:52 07:42:21 08:06:00

Softs Commodity ICE Cocoa ICE Coffee "C" ICE Sugar #11 ICE Orange Juice Conc ICE Cotton #2 SFE Greasy Wool CME Lumber TOCOM Rubber CME Ethanol

Livestock Commodity CME Live Cattle CME Feeder Cattle CME Lean Hogs

Commodities trade on different exchanges with different trading sessions. Change always shows from the previous close price. Quotes delayed, except where indicated otherwise. All prices in local currency. Time is ET. Source: Bloomberg

Why we must step up fish farming (1) C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 4

This is additional business opportunity for interested entrepreneurs who want to invest in fishery. “We need to start planning now for handling these challenges, because aquaculture is crucial to the fight against global hunger,” Ichiro Nomura, FAO Assistant DirectorGeneral for Fisheries, says. “It offers a source of food that is rich in protein, essential fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. And it offers a way to boost development by providing jobs, improving people’s incomes and increasing returns on natural resource use. We must ensure that the sector continues to expand, sustainably, to provide more people with food and income, especially in areas like sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where hunger and poverty prevail.” Lungfish to Lagos It is good news that some Nigerians have already identified these potentials in fishery business. There are quite a number of fish ponds that now dot homes across the country. But we have only scratched the surface.

Cocoa

Agricultural Commodity Prices - Grains Commodity CBOT Corn CBOT Wheat CBOT Oats CBOT Rough Rice CBOT Soybeans CBOT Soybean Meal CBOT Soybean Oil ICE Canola

fisheries and forest (VGGT); develop value-adding activities and agribusiness by increasing income opportunities for small holders, especially women, by creating jobs along the agricultural value chains in an inclusive and sustainable manner; support the implementation of the African Policy Framework for Fisheries and Reform Strategy to unlock the full potential of marine living resources and aquaculture for food security, livelihoods and wealth creation and enhance our research on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture.

Any hope for revival of Nigeria’s commodities exchange? C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 4

crops traded dated January 2008. Heirs Holdings Chairman, Tony Elumelu, wants to acquire the state-owned Abuja-based exchange when it is sold, he said in an interview last month. If it’s unable to buy the exchange, Heirs Holdings will apply to SEC to set one up, he said. “We have a number of both domestic players and international players who are very interested,” Oteh said. “They’d rather acquire the privatised exchange, so they’re trying to see how far government is going with this initiative and if not, they’re prepared to seek a registration of a new commodity exchange.” Challenges identified by NESG The absence of an enabling environment; lack of infrastructure and logistics; poor access to long term financing for agriculture across the value chain and high interest rate regime; delay

in leveraging technology in warehouse management; dearth of viable farmers cooperatives. In summary, NESG says the slow pace of government to create the needed environment is a political challenge to the growth of the commodity exchange culture in Nigeria. Recommendations Government’s support for realising the objectives of the NACX and NCX is critical. Government should create the enabling environment and must not be involved in the ownership. Government should institutionalise the Agro market to facilitate price stability, domestic food security and industrialisation. Should create visible infrastructure within the farmer community to elicit interest and encourage participation of all key actors.

BUSINESS | AGRIC

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Arabica hovers near 2-year high, cocoa consolidates

rabica coffee futures on ICE steadied on Tuesday below last week's two-year high, having rallied sharply in recent sessions on downward revisions to top grower Brazil’s crop, according to Reuters. Cocoa futures were little changed, under downward pressure from negative grind data from Malaysia, while sugar prices edged higher. Unprecedented dry weather during Brazil’s wet season in January and February has led to a wide spread of forecasts for Brazil’s coffee output, with figures ranging from around 39 million 60-kg bags to 56 million bags. “Some of the numbers have been in the range of 41-42 million bags and if that should indeed be the case, then there would probably be a severe

global deficit in the 14/15 season,” Stefan Uhlenbrock of analysts FO Licht said. “Speculators and some other players are obviously positioning themselves for more bad news further down the road.”

Benchmark ICE July Arabica coffee futures were up 0.15 cent or 0.1 per cent at $2.0755 cents per lb at 1055 GMT. The second month peaked at $2.1090 on Friday, its highest level since February 2012. Cocoa pods

Cameroon plans 3rd cocoa processing plant in early 2015

ameroon plans to start the country's third local cocoa processing plant with the capacity to process 16,000 tons annually by early 2015, its general manager said, Reuters has reported. The world’s fifth largest cocoa grower mostly exports its beans although government is seeking to encourage more local processing into cocoa liquor, butter and powder to lower import costs and create jobs. “We will invest about 13 billion CFA francs ($27.38 million)for the construction of the plant building, setting

up the processing equipment and employing some 100 people when the real processing starts in about one year,” Noha Mesaca, general manager of the private firm, told Reuters on Monday. The Cocoa Processing Unit (CPU) is planned for the economic capital Douala. SicCacaos, a subsidiary of Swiss chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut, and Chocolaterie Confiserie du Cameroun (Chococam), an affiliate of South Africa’s Tiger Brand already have grinding facilities in the country.

More trouble for economy as cocoa proceeds slump DECLINE Fall in cocoa prices and output is already affecting the country’s international reserves.

Cocoa beans; (up) Coffee beans

Cocoa prices fall in Cross River State

ocoa prices in Nigeria's second-largest cocoa-producing state have fallen again due to poorer quality beans coming to market, a cocoa association official and traders said Tuesday, according to Dow Jones report. Graded cocoa is trading in Nigeria's south-eastern Cross River state at 465,000 naira ($2,735) a metric ton, down from NGN470, 000 a fortnight ago, said Godwin Ukwu, national publicity secretary of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, or CAN. Mr. Ukwu said cocoa with smaller sized beans and lower weight was coming to the market and has driven prices down. "The bean count of the cocoa in the market is low and trading is also low," Mr. Ukwu told Dow

Jones Newswires by telephone from Ikom, the largest cocoa-producing area in Cross River state. He said cocoa bean count currently stands at 290 grams per 300 beans whereas the bean count of fully developed cocoa, the main crop, should be 300 grams or above per 300 beans. He said harvesting of the midcrop has begun on a small scale in Cross River state. The cocoa is usually harvested between March/April and August in southern Nigeria, which accounts for about 95 per cent of the country's annual cocoa production of 250,000 tons. The midcrop cocoa has smaller beans than the beans of the main crop that was harvested from September to February/

March. Cross River state is the largest cocoa producer in eastern Nigeria and the second-largest producer in the country after Ondo in the southwest region. It produces 50,000-60,000 tons of cocoa a year. A trader in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, said though the beans of the midcrop were currently small they are expected to improve in size because the state is getting substantial rainfall. "The cocoa needs water so that the bean size and weight can improve; the water provided by rainfall will help in that respect. Trading should pick up when we have cocoa that is better than the current one," he said.

overnment revenues from cocoa have fallen drastically to GH¢40 million in the 2012/2013 crop season from the region of GH¢153.9 million in the 2009/2010 season, primarily due to declining prices of the crop on the international market and low productivity, Graphic Online has reported. Despite this decline, government had to sacrifice 62 per cent of its revenue from cocoa exports to maintain the producer price of cocoa, as farmers were not ready to peg their prices to the behaviour of the world market price. This was because although prices dropped from US$3,392.97 in March 2011 to US$2,359.25 in March to 2012, government had to pay farm-

ers based on the former price. Consequently, COCOBOD also recorded a loss of GH¢14.94 billion in the 2011/12 season, compared to a profit of GH¢9.82 million in 2010/11. These were contained in a policy brief prepared by the Agriculture and Agribusiness Unit of the newly established Real Sector Division at the Ministry of Finance. The decline of cocoa prices and output is already affecting the country’s international reserves position. The gross and net international reserves, which stood at US$5.38 billion and US$4.44 billion respectively at the end of December 2011, worsened to US$ 5.35 billion and US$3.23 billion, respectively, at the end of December 2012. As of the end of March 2013, gross international reserves reduced further to US$5.23 billion, able to cover 2.9 months of imports of goods and services. This compares to the US$5.35 billion, which provided cover for three months of imports at the end of December 2012.

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Pension

BUSINESS 37

CPS gains ground, as pre-retirement campaign berths in Gombe, Kano COURTING PenCom continues its drive to see more Nigerian workers embrace benefits of the new pension scheme Sunday Ojeme

wo weeks after the National Pension Commission organised its pre-retirement workshop in Lagos, the management has taken the retirement message to Gombe and Kano States with a mission to woo more potential retirees into the Contributory Pension Scheme. The workshop, which is expected to go round the six geo-political zones will move next to Awka in Anambra State and Calabar, the Cross River State capital. A source at the commission told New Telegraph that the issues discussed at the Gombe and Kano events were similar to the one in Lagos where the acting Director-General, PenCom, Ms. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, did not only restate the benefits of the CPS as compared to the non-Contributory Pension Scheme, but also wooed retirees to become good ambassadors of the scheme Amazu has often recalled that one of the salient objectives of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 was that every person who worked in either the Public or Private sectors of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory received his retirement benefits as and when due, stressing that Section 15 of the PRA 2004 empowered the Commission to regulate, supervise and ensure effective administration of pension matters in Nigeria. With the belief that there is a clear imperative for the commission to facilitate adequate sensitisation and public enlightenment in order to create awareness on retireesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights and privileges, the commission had sought to establish uniform set of rules, regulations and standards for the administration and payments of retirement benefits to retirees. The interaction with retirees across the country is to serve as a platform for the commission to engage all existing retirees under the CPS in order to get feedback on their pension issues in retirement with a view to seeking ways of making life more comfortable for them within the ambit of the law. Apart from using the workshop to cement the relationship between the commission and retirees, New Telegraph gathered that the campaign is

Chinelo Anohu Amazu

also meant to further convince the state governments on the need to commence fully the implementation of the scheme. Whereas some states had registered with the scheme as far back as six or seven years ago and already benefitting from it, some others are still lagging behind, preferring to continue with the cumbersome and fraud-prone non-CPS. States that have so far registered are Lagos, Ogun, Niger, Kaduna, Delta and Jigawa, among others. According to the details, states in the South-West Zone have made reasonable progress in the implementation of the CPS. Lagos State is one of the pioneers in the implementation of the CPS, having enacted its law in 2007. The state has fully implemented the CPS with a total of 45,730 employees registered and pension contributions remittance of N46.50 billion as at July, 2013. It has also issued retirement benefit bonds of N18.9 billion to its retirees and these bonds have been fully redeemed and proceeds paid into the employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; individual RSAs, while 2,242 employees from the state have retired under the scheme as at August, 2013. Osun State adopted the CPS and enacted its law in 2009 with a significant

States that have so far registered are Lagos, Ogun, Niger, Kaduna, Delta and Jigawa, among others progress made in its implementation. Latest report on the scheme revealed that 45,106 employees have so far been registered with a remission of N4.15 billion as pension contributions, while the sum of N1.90 billion has been remitted into the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account. In the case of Ogun State, it enacted its law on CPS in 2007 and has so far registered 24,902 employees and remitted N10.90 billion as pension contributions, while the sum of N3 billion has been remitted into the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account. Ekiti State enacted its law 2011 and has 37,676 employees registered under the Scheme. Oyo State is yet to commence full implementation even though it enacted its law in January, 2010. Ondo State has only drafted a Bill on the CPS, a copy of which has been reviewed by the commission and comments duly forwarded to the state. Ondo stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move into the scheme

was met with some resistance from the workers who complained that they did not trust the state government enough to transparently implement the programme in their favour. Details from the North Central zone reveal that Niger State has fully complied with the scheme while Jigawa State in the Nortn West had long appointed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to manage the Pension Funds which have a total value of N16.49 billion as at September, 2013. Jigawa was the first out of the 36 states in the federation to enact its law. Further breakdown shows that Kaduna state adopted the CPS and enacted its law in 2007 and has also made significant progress in its implementation with 143,722 employees registered and pension contributions of N9.46 billion made as at October, 2013. The state had conducted an actuarial valuation and determined the accrued pension rights of its employees for their service prior to the CPS and established a Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund which currently has a balance of N1.6 billion. While Zamfara state adopted the scheme in 2005 with 63,254 employees registered, and remittance of N534.4 million as employee portion of the Pension Contributions as at November, 2013, Sokoto state enacted its law in 2007 and registered 46,808 employees with PFAs under the Scheme. Kebbi State enacted its law in 2009 and registered almost 38,000 employees with PFAs under the Scheme but it is yet commence remittance of pension contributions. The same thing goes for Kano State where the government enacted the law in 2006. Kastina State drafted a bill which has, however, not translated into law. The compliance status of the states in the North-West zone as indicated clearly shows the imperative for the states to expedite action on the full implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme. As for the states in the South East, Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu are yet to enact their own laws on the scheme. Imo State enacted its law in 2008 and appointed PFAs to register its employees. The state government has, however, suspended the implementation without explanation. Anambra State only recently enacted its law on the scheme and is still expected to carry out the necessary steps like setting up administration structure, appointment of PFAs, registration of employees by the PFAs, remittance of pension contributions and determination of accrued pension liabilities of workers among others.

BUSINESS | PENSION

FRUSTRATION Pensioner cries out to Federal Government over withheld benefits Sunday Ojeme

retiree from the Federal Ministry of Information, Mrs. Comfort Olalere, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to assist in ensuring the payment of arrears of pension owed her. Olalere, who has been residing in Ibadan after her retirement from the Lagos office of the ministry, told New Telegraph on the telephone that she had done everything the authorities requested, but getting the money was becoming almost impossible. Although she could not state how much the money has now amounted to in the last seven years, she said life was becoming difficult without the benefit after working diligently for the country for 27 years. According to her, “the situation is bad. I retired since seven years ago from the Ministry of Information and nothing has been paid to me. They requested for all the relevant documents which I submitted, but up till now nothing has been done. We are up to 20 in that ministry. “I worked for 27 years and was eventually disengaged during the administration of

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Retiree laments non-payment of 7-year pension arrears President Olusegun Obasanjo. They only paid us some money for a two-week training programme and thereafter sent us to Akure. They paid us little money for our gratuity amd majority of us were shortchanged.” She appealed to President Jonathan and the National Assembly to look into her plight and that of federal pensioners under the old Pay-As-You-Go Pension Scheme, saying that unknown to many, thousands

of these pensioners had been languishing in pain and living from hand to mouth because they are owed years of arrears of unpaid pension. She said: “The affected pensioners fall into two broad categories. First are those who retired on attaining the mandatory 60 years of age or having put in 35 years of service before the take-off of the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2004. “The second are the fed-

L-R: Permanent member, Niger State Pension Board, Mr. Mohammed Ndagi; Director-General, Niger State Pension Board, Alhaji Benu Yahaya Ahmed; and MD/CEO, Premium Pension Ltd., Mr. Wilson Ideva, at the signing of fund management agreement between PPL and Niger State government.

Premium Pension, Niger State sign fund management agreement

remium Pension Limited, a leading Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) in the country, has signed a portfolio management with the Niger State government. The agreement confers on the former the authority and responsibility of managing the state’s benefits fund named “Retirement Redemption Bond Fund.” A statement by the Head, Media and Communications, Premium Pension, Mr. Paddy Ezeala, said that the fund was established by the Niger State government through its Pensions Board. The statement affirmed that the agreement, which has the endorsement of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), emphasised, among others, that the funds and assets held in them must be managed in accordance with the guidelines issued pursuant to the

eral civil servants who were affected by the downsizing of the work force in 2006 by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms domiciled in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF). Some of those qualified for gratuities and pension by virtue of the number of years spent in service are yet to be enrolled to receive their monthly pensions effective July 2006 to date.” She pointed out that a na-

Pension Reform Act 2004, adding that it also accorded Premium Pension the responsibility of the lead PFA in the state. The agreement, which was consummated at a ceremony held recently at the corporate headquarters of Premium Pension Limited in Abuja, had key stakeholders on both sides in attendance. While the Managing Director of Premium Pension, Mr. Wilson Ideva, and Executive Director, Business Development and Investment, Mr. Adamu Mele, signed on behalf of the company, the Director-General of the Niger State Pensions Board, Alhaji Benu Yahaya Ahmed, signed on behalf of Niger State government. Commenting on the agreement, Ideva said: “This is a practical demonstration of mutual trust and highly productive partnership required

to drive the contributory pension scheme in the country. We must continue to justify the confidence reposed in us by the Niger State government as a leading PFA in the country through the rendition of quality service marked by high level of professionalism.” According to the agreement, “The appointment of Premium Pension shall be of a fiduciary nature consistent with the requirements of the law and Premium Pension shall exercise utmost duty of care and good faith in all their undertakings under the terms of this agreement.” Other officials of the Niger State Pension Board present at the event include the Permanent Member, Finance, Investment and Inspectorate, Alhaji Mohammed Ndagi and the Board Secretary and Legal Adviser, Mr. Mohammed Abdullahi.

tionwide biometric verification and enrolment of federal pensioners under the Pay-AsYou-Go scheme took place in 2011 during which all affected pensioners were captured and given identification numbers. She said: “What followed was the setting up of several taskforces and committees by the OHCSF to which these pensioners were directed to submit their complaints, yet, not a kobo has been paid to these suffering elderly citizens. The latest information from OHCSF was that the old Pay-As-You-Go scheme has been transferred to PenCom under a transitional arrangement in line with the Pension Reform Act 2004 (as amended). Yet nothing has been said about the payment of arrears owed this category of senior citizens. “The belief in some quarters is that some people are benefitting from these unpaid pensions. It is really disheartening that corruption has become such a way of life that some people have the temerity to corner what belongs to others, especially elderly persons, who have become dependents on their families and good hearted people.”

More people ‘to save in a pension'

ne million more people than previously expected are set to build up their pension savings in the coming years, according to revised United Kingdom Government predictions as reforms to head off a retirement savings crisis continue to see greater success than had been anticipated. Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, said that automatic enrolment is proving more successful than predicted Around nine million people will save for the first time into a pension or save more as the automatic enrolment of workers into pension schemes rolls out, according to the new government predictions - a figure which is around one million higher than had previously been forecast. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has halved a previous forecast that around one in three (30 per cent) people will opt out of automatic enrolment to just one in six (15 per cent).

Some 3.2 million people have already been placed into a workplace pension due to the reforms, which began in autumn 2012 and will continue to roll out to 2018. The scheme started with the largest employers, which tend to have more experience of pensions and explaining their benefits to their employees. But some experts believe drop-out rates could be higher when the scheme reaches smaller employers and the DWP may be "counting their chickens before they are hatched." The latest research by the DWP has found that the rate of people opting out of their pensions in the biggest firms once they have been enrolled is only around one in 10 (9-10 per cent). Minister for Pensions, Steve Webb said: "Automatic enrolment is proving significantly more successful than previously predicted. With opt outs remaining low we now expect nine million people will be newly saving or saving more as a result of our reforms.

CRIME

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JULIANA FRANCIS juliana.francis@newtelegraphonline.com

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014

‘My father didn’t know I was a robber’ eration was over N1million. I used the money to run my school programme. I paid my Dad’s six month house rent, paid his medical expenses for his knee which was hurting him. I rented an apartment for myself and furnished it.” Asked why his dad didn’t ask him how he was getting his money, Akinwunmi said: “He knows that I work at Unilever Company. He didn’t know that I was steal-

Juliana Francis

n May, 2013, at about 8am, four trailers drove into Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Limited, a Pharmaceutical Manufacturer company, located at Plot C2/3, Km 32, Agbara Industrial Estate, Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Agbara, Abeokuta North, Ogun State. The four trailers were occupied by a 13-man gang of robbers. They were in military and navy uniforms, armed with guns. Innocent eyes thought the uniform men were escorts that came with the trailers to transact business at the warehouse. The day was a Sunday; a day when the ever busy street was as quiet as a graveyard, with most residents having gone to churches. The gang had allegedly robbed that company close to 15 times. That Sunday’s operation led to the gang’s waterloo. The gang moved into the company’s warehouse, secured a family living in a quarter attached to the company. They met five victims in the house: two females and three males. One of the robbers raped one of the female victims, before proceeding to tie them.The victims’ mouths were cello taped, while their eyes were blindfolded. Their legs and hands were also tied with rope brought along for the operation by the gang. Months after the operation, the gang finally met its waterloo. While some of the gang members are still at large, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), has arrested about nine gang members, identified as Deji Akinwunmi, Okiefa Gods power, Shola Komolafe, Ezekiel Dikeocha, Tunde Oyedele, Osagedele Happy, Taiye and Kehinde Balogun (twin brothers), and Samuel Kingsley. Some of the gang members revealed the role each of them played. Deji Akinwunmi, 24, an undergraduate with Gateway Polytechnic, 300 level, studying Electric-Electronic, the leader of the gang, came to work in the Pharmaceutical company as a security guard attached to Asco Security Company. It was then he discovered how easy it was to steal the 25kg bags of raw chemicals (Soap Nodules) used in manufacturing of products. He confessed that he and his gang members had robbed the company several times. According to him, they used to be just six members who used to steal the bags of chemical, moving the chemicals with faragone buses, but the gang soon met a buyer who wanted larger quantities, forcing them to re-

‘I dined, bed women with my share of the loot’

Godspower Akinwunmi

cruit more gang members, who came with guns and military uniforms. Akinwunmi said that after some members of Asco Security were taken off the Pharmaceutical Company, he had gone to Uniliver to work, but the lure of the easy money at Reckitt Benckiser kept drawing him like a magnet. His friend, Tunde Oyedele was, however, still with the company. Akinwunmi said: “Yes, we’ve robbed

the company several times. Before, we used to move like 80 bags. We sell each for N1, 250. The real value in the market, however, is N6, 800. We moved them with farragone buses, but as time progresses, we started selling for N2000, per bag. But the buyer used to add N500 to our money in appreciation. On the last operation, we were 13 members that went for the operation. We went with four trailers. “My share of the money from the op-

CRIME QUOTE “Let me appeal to our country men and women, for them to continue to work very hard on this issue of Boko Haram. We shall get over it! We want to appeal to our media to begin to come up with enlightenment programmes for our people, to make citizens very aware of suspicious movement so that they can be reported promptly to security agencies. Let us become more observant and monitor the movement of people. We will do our best, the security agencies will continue to work hard to ensure that we get over this issue of Boko Haram.” President Goodluck Jonathan

Akinwunmi’s best friend, Okiefa Godspower, 27, aka Biggy, said that he used his own share of the millions from the robbery operation to go after women. According to him, he was also a security guard with Asco Security. It was when he was posted to Nestle Foods that he met Akinwunmi, another Asco staff and a friendship blossomed. His words: “Later Deji was posted to Reckitt Benckiser warehouse. Whenever I go to his house, I would see sachets of foreign Dettol. He used to give me some. Later I started seeing bags of them. I asked him questions and we reasoned together. We decided to go and steal some of the bags of the item from the warehouse. “Deji had already figured out a way to be able to gain access into the warehouse and steal the items. Even if the warehouse was locked, we could just push it from the edge and it will open.” As one of the former guards attached to the warehouse, Deji also knew that at night, guards on duty go to sleep in the quarter close to the warehouse. “We used to go and steal from the warehouse whenever Deji was on morning duty or off,” said Godspower. CONT INU E D ON PAGE 40

40 CRIME

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

We ’re on the trail of others –Police CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

“The first time we went to steal, we went at about 12am and carried eight bags of the chemical. We took them to Alaba Rago, met one Alhaji who said he didn’t like buying in small quantities. It was that statement from the Alhaji that made us decide to embark on bigger operation, whereby we recruited more members.” He continued: “We realized that the two of us just couldn’t handle the job alone anymore. Kingsley lives close to me and he had been asking me what I was doing to live and maintain an expensive lifestyle. He wanted to know the way, but I refused to open up to him. He went to Deji, who brought him into the gang.” He confessed that they used to sell the chemicals to Alhaji Yussy, Alhaji Hassan Badamossi and one Taiyo Olagunju. When they decided to steal more stuffs, they hinted Olagunju who advanced them N100, 000 to get four trucks for the operation. Godspower recalled: “On the day of the operation, which was a Sunday, we were about 13 gang members that went to the warehouse. Joseph and Emma had joined our gang. They both came with guns. Ezekiel, Emma and Joseph were in army camouflage uniforms. I bought those uniforms at Vespa market. Another of our gang member, Odu was in navy merchant uniform. Police are still hunting for Odu, Emma, Harmony and Joseph. Odu was armed with two guns. Harmony came with the cello tape used to seal the mouths of the victims. It was Ezekiel who brought Emma and Joseph into the gang because they had access to guns! “After the operation, my share of the money was over a million naira. I opened a viewing center, bought a plasma television set, a Gulf car, rented and furnished an apartment and used the rest to pick, date, wine and bed women!”

‘The only way to join gang was to get guns’

tion and had already used part of it to travel to Dubai. He got a job in Dubai as a bouncer and came back to Nigeria to perfect his residence permit documents when police swooped on him. Ezekiel lives on the same street with Godspower, but was not on speaking terms with the guy. But because Godspower rides a Gulf car, dresses well, Ezekiel chose to become friendly with him. He nagged Godspower endlessly to reveal to him how he made his money, even though he knew Godspower was not working. When Godspower refused to play ball, he went to Godspower’s friend, Akinwunmi, who welcomed him into the fold. Ezekiel said: “I met Biggy (Godspower) in a bar and told him that my job was not paying well, but he didn’t give me a positive response. I went to Deji. Deji said the gang needed guns. Deji said the

gang would allow me to join if I could get guns. I knew Emma when I was working at Unilever. I told him about needing guns. He laughed and said it was a small thing. He promised to get the guns as long as the gang allowed him to go with them on the operation.” On the fateful day of the operation, Ezekiel was part of the people who handled the victims. He revealed that the victims were two females and three males. “We collected their handsets. I later left Emma and Har mony with the victims. After the operation, Emma started laughing, I asked him what was funny, and he said Har mony did something bad. That Harmony raped one of the girls. My share from the operation was N800, 000. I went to Dubai, got a job and came back for some documents, only for police to arrest me!”

‘Spending my birthday in SARS is painful’ Tunde Oyedele, 30, is married and has a little daughter. April, 14, 2014, was his 30th birthday. But rather than spend it with his wife, kid and friends like he did last year, he spent it in SARS custody, among other suspected criminals like himself. Eyes brimming with tears, Oyedele lamented: “I’m so sad that I’m spending my 30th birthday in SARS! I wouldn’t wish this for anybody. Last year, by this time, I was dancing and enjoying with my wife and friends. I regret going into this criminal act. Let other young men lear n from my mistake!” Oyedele was working in Reckitt Benckiser Company as one of the promo staff. It was there he met Deji, an Asco security guard and became friends with him. The duo soon began to steal together. According to police, it was Oyedele who brought the buyers of the stolen items to the gang, but he denied the allegation, insisting that he, Godspower and Deji went to Alaba Rago to source for the buyers.

Oyedele

He added: “In the last operation, my share of the money was N200, 000. Taiyo gave me N50, 000 as gift for bringing business his way. I used part of my money to rent an apartment.”

‘I robbed only four times with the gang’

Ezekiel

Ezekiel, 28, confessed that his undoing was his obsession with living big. He received N800,000 from the last opera-

Samuel Kingsley, 24, was not happy that he was being lumped together with the gang. As far as he was concerned, the gang had robbed the company several times over, but he had only robbed with the gang four times and as such should be pardoned. He was working as waiter at Golden Destiny Hotel, located at Ajao Estate, receiving N15, 000 every month as his salary when he simply got fed up and quit. He said: “I spent my salary on transportation to and from office. I live at Agbara and work at Ajao Estate.” It was after he resigned from the hotel job that he teamed up with

his friends, to rob Reckitt Benckiser Company. He said: “Godspower initiated me into the gang. I got initiated in 2010. In the first operation I collected N40, 000. I had robbed only four times with them. “ I d i d n’ t eve n g o o n t h e l a s t o p eration with them. I made up my mind after the fourth operation t o s t o p. “ I stopped for dif ferent reasons. I stopped because I felt we were g etting dee per into crime and because I discovered that I was not using the money realised from the robberies for anything useful. But most impor tantly, I stopped because I knew Deji and Big g y were c h e a t i n g u s ! ”

TITBITS Tips on avoiding investment fraud •Think before you invest in anything, and be wary of any investment scheme that offers unusually high yields. • Beware of investments that use specific names like “Prime Bank Guarantees,” “Prime Bank Debenture Programs,” “Medium Term Note Trading Programs,” and “Roll Programs”— none of these are legitimate financial instruments. • Be wary if you’re told that the financial instrument is issued, traded, or guaranteed by a well-known organization such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Federal Reserve, or the International Chamber of Commerce • Perform due diligence. Independently verify the identity of the people involved, the veracity of the deal, and the existence of the security in which you plan to invest. • Be wary of business deals that require non-disclosure or non-circumvention agreements that are designed to prevent you from independently verifying information about the investment.

Man attempts to sell stolen car to police

woman was reporting her car as stolen, and mentioned that there was a car phone in it. The policeman taking the report called the phone and told the guy that answered that he had read the ad in the newspaper and wanted to buy the car. They arranged to meet, and the thief was arrested.

FAMILY AFFAIRS Page 41, FRIDAY, April 18, 2014

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PRINCESS ODUNAYOMI OKE

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I cook, wash, go to market – Gbenga Richards Gbenga Richards Adefolalu; is an artiste, producer, director and script writer, in this interview with ODUNAYOMI OKE, talks on his roles as a dutiful husband and loving dad, which has tremendously helped in the success of his marriage.

terpreted. Otherwise, the target audience will fault it, and the message will be lost. What informs your decision when accepting scripts that reflect on Family Affairs?

an you tell us how your acting career started, and what has inspired you to stay on till now? I started my acting career way back in 1976, but I FESTAC '77 was my debut, under Hubert Ogunde; as part of the Nigerian contingent. Making people happy has been my motivation till date. My joy is to see what I do bringing happiness to people, imparting their lives, and influencing them positively. Also, when people see my name on the cast of a soap, and are eager to watch, it makes me want to do more. Your wife is an actress, did you meet on set, and for how long have you been married?

I have known my wife right from secondary school, and we have been great friends since then. All together, we have been a pair for about 30 years; dating, courtship and marriage. We are no more husband and wife, but friends. She has been a great companion in all our years together. Is there a unique sacrifice you have made to fill-in for her at the home front, when she had to be on location for weeks?

There is nothing I need to fill-in for; it has been a part of me all along. I cook, go to the market, I wash clothes. So I can only say, I miss her warmth; as there is no one to cuddle and embrace whenever she is not there with me at home. I am very careful who I leave my children with, so I am always with them at such periods. I take them to school, bring them back, prepare their meals, and ensure they are comfortable. I learnt to bath them, change their diapers, right from when they were babies. So can you say she is combining well her

The Adefolalus

role as a wife, mother, and a career woman; without falling short in any of her duties?

Yes, she is! Remember I said she is my friend, so I treat her as a friend and a mother. I hardly allow her to overwork herself in the house, as I do most of the domestic work. Sincerely, I delight in cooking, more so, I want her to remain strong and young looking. Since she knows I love cooking, she goes to rest any time I take over the kitchen. She plays her role well when I am on location, because I always come back to meet the home well managed, without any trace of stress on her. You have been paired as a couple in one or two soaps I have seen, how easy was it interpreting such scripts?

It is our job, so we forget who we are, and bring reality and professionalism to bear. More so, because we are a couple, we play it better because the chemistry is real. I will kiss my wife for real on set, which I might not be able to do well if paired with another woman.

riages, and it takes patience and understanding to sort things out. When some of them make mistakes, they found it tough to apologize and move on. Instead, they would have messed up the situation, before they start to regret their line of action. My candid advice to them is that they should start as friends, and never rush into a marriage of convenience. There is no perfect marriage anywhere; our own marriage is a model one because we work on it to make it work. In one of the Super story TV series, you acted the part of an irresponsible drunkard Father so well, many felt it was beyond acting. What do you have to say about this?

Just as I said earlier, it goes beyond acting. Passion must come in, and above all; wealth of experience. And don’t forget, I have been there, I smoked, I drank, and all those stuff. But the most important thing here is that a good actor must be able to interpret his role perfectly well, even if he has never done all those things. Also, because we act such roles to pass across a message, it must be well in-

It is obvious your union has passed the test of time, but will you encourage movie stars to marry within the industry?

Well, they can, but the most important thing is for them to understand the institution called marriage; as it goes beyond living with or bearing somebody’s name. They must appreciate there could be storms in mar-

There is no perfect marriage anywhere; our own marriage is a model one because we work on it to make it work

I am particular about the scripts I accept, the role I play, and the message I pass across. I accept such roles to strengthen families, and at the same time; to show flaws in some homes, where parents think money is everything. For instance, there is a family programme going on, called together. It is to promote ties in families, and to bridge communication gap in some homes. In the soap, I chastise my TV daughters, just as I do my children at home. This is the beauty of parenting, and not when some parents pay people to write exams for their children, and send them on roller coaster abroad, because they don’t have time for them. Such children end up messing up. So when accepting roles that bother on family affair, I look beyond entertainment and take the fact that I must be a family role model into consideration. So, can you say you are fulfilled doing what you do, or will you quit if there is a better opportunity elsewhere?

Nothing in this whole wide world can give me the fulfilment I get from my career. This is my gift, my dream, and my mission. Acting is my first love. Though if a Political appointment comes up from my state, Ekiti; I will let them know that I will still continue with my acting career for as long as it will not be in conflict with whatever my primary assignment for the state is. One of your children I spoke with said you are his hero anytime, any day. What is the secret?

Like I said, my children love me. What a mother should do, I do for them. Even when their mom tries to discipline them by not giving them food, I would tell her if she wants to discipline them, she should do it properly, and not punish them by starving. And they know if mom says ‘NO’, it is so. But for daddy, they know he could still wave it. Though, that is not in any way implying that I am not firm with them. In short, you see me with my children most of the time, so that could be the secret.

HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY TO ALL OUR ESTEEMED READERS

42 FamilY AFFAIRS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

COUNSELLING

What could have caused this? Odunayomi Oke

nytime a woman misbehaves outside, the first thing people seek to know is if she is married or not. In case she is married, the first comment would go like, ‘see, and she calls herself a married woman; what a disgrace to her husband.’ This in essence shows that much is expected from a married woman; particularly, in the area of decorum. The society could excuse a young lady if caught in a brawl with another over a man, but a married woman dare not be caught in such a show. Same goes for dressing, as there are some dressing generally considered as outrageous and immodest for a woman who is respectably married. A single lady could decide to bare it all, by putting on a skimpy (macro mini) dress, exposing the laps and the boobs. If she feels that would move her ‘merchandize’ faster, or if it makes her feel ‘fulfilled, that is fine, but a family woman should know better than to be seen so-dressed. Who then is a Family Woman, and why is so much expected of her? She is one who is not only married, but who has people (inlaws, husband, children) she is responsible to. Hence, she cannot afford, or is not expected to mess around, or do things without consideration. But an incident that occurred recently in Ogba; Lagos mainland, where a woman engaged an-

other in a hand-to-hand combat, belied that definition. According to an eye witness report, the said woman drove into the street at about 3:00pm on the fateful day. She packed her clean Toyota car in front of a mallam’s shop, and took a walk down the street. But just about 20 minutes later, she returned with a torn dress, a rough face, and was escorted to where she packed her car, by a crowd of about six to seven people. Before she entered her car, she swore that she would not leave someone, except the person leaves her husband for her. The story had it that, two weeks before then; the same woman, in the company of some boys went to the controversial house and moved out all the furniture there. She had the gate man beaten up, and broke all the locks to the rooms. But when news got to her that the other woman was again seen at the house, she got infuriated, and maybe decided to have things sorted out woman to woman. Now, the question is, if what the mistress did was actually wrong;, that is by going back to

The society could excuse a young lady if caught in a brawl with another over a man, but a married woman dare not be caught in such a show

the apartment, is the wife’s reaction any better? Can two wrongs make a right? I think there should be a better way to handle such an issue, without demeaning oneself. In short, that is enough to get a man furious, as no man wants a woman who fights about the place like a tigress. A respectable family woman must therefore never descend as low as to start exchanging words with her husband’s female friends on phone, or to be sending derogatory text messages to them. And it will be the height of indiscipline for a woman to go to her husband’s office for a ‘showdown’ with his alleged mistress. I mean, that is ugly and old fashioned. I was told of a woman who asked her husband’s secretary to call her each time a lady visited her husband. She fought so many girls, and ended up being thrown out of the marriage because of her excesses. But guess who became the new wife; the secretary! You might want to say, wonders shall never end? But that is true, as we live in a world where just anything is possible. Well, she left her fried fish for the cat to keep. She lost it not to the rats, but to the cat. That was quite interesting. And just recently, I got another intriguing story of what some women now do to keep their spouses to themselves; without fighting any other woman. Join us on this page next week, for the story.

ear Counsellor, please I need your counsel on an issue that is bothering me seriously. My 22 year old daughter has been in a relationship since last year. Last month, she asked if she could invite her fiancé over to the house; for an informal introduction. But what she brought, was an albino. So what about an albino? Aside the skin colour, what makes them different from the rest of us? As much as I try to understand how you may be feeling right now; as a mother, I still want to dis-abuse your mind against certain things. Why don’t you take things in their strides, get to know the young man first, and see if there are serious reasons to stop them from going ahead with the relationship. If there is really none, why don’t you give them a chance, and allow love to prevail above a trivial thing as skin colour. Really, gone are the days of funny and unfair myths about albinos. Professors now have them as children, even Doctors do. I heard an interesting story of an albino man who was married to a beautiful dark-skinned lady. They were a pair everywhere they went, not because of the contrast in their skin colours, but because of the open show of affection between them. I learnt the lady had one very sweet pet name for her husband, which she would call almost 100 times within five minutes. And that made other couples around them go green with envy. Truth is, love is it! And the power of choice is strong. If your daughter is proud of her choice, every other person’s opinion is secondary. Just let her convince you that what she has for him is love, and not a mixture of some other emotional feelings; like pity. But if after all, you still feel you cannot accept the young man as a prospective son-in-law, you could call your daughter and tell her your reservations. But please, don’t hurt the young man either in words, or by deeds. Also try and ask yourself this question, ‘what if he was my son?’

Watch out! IT’S NEW, IT’S EXCITING, IT’S HERE AT LAST!!! l Is your family a happy one? l Have you been together as a Family for a decade or more? l Is your Family the envy of friends and people around you? l Are you proud of your family, wanting yours to be an inspiration for others to stay strong? lDo you have a good (award winning) family photograph, recently taken? Then, you could be the winning family for this year 2014. To participate, simply send your family photograph, which must be SHARP, BOLD, and PRESS READY; to

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NOTE: Entries will be treated on first come, first served basis, while quality of photograph is a major criteria for selection. To qualify as a weekly, monthly or overall winner, you must encourage your family and friends to vote for you by texting to a shortcode to be provided soon. The entry with the highest number of votes takes the prize. Voting starts immediately on days of publication (Fridays) and ends 10:00 pm on Tuesdays. Prizes to be won at the different levels are cool, while the overall prize is fantastic.

FamilY AFFAIRS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

SEXUALITY EDUCATION C O N T I N U E D f rom l a st w ee k

3) It’s appropriate for your tween? to want more independence. If you insist on controlling all her choices, you’re inviting rebellion, or worse. (I've known young people who spent their entire lives unable to assert their own wishes against their parents. In the worst cases the only escape seemed to them to be suicide.) If you can find appropriate ways to give your daughter independence, she won’t have to rebel against you to start standing on her own two feet. Of course she’ll make mistakes. That’s how humans learn. And of course she isn’t ready to make all her decisions. You’re still the parent. Deciding how much to weigh in is the hardest part of this parenting dance.

Seyi Macaulay with children during a Robotic training class

How do you engage your children during holidays? (2) CONTINUED from last week

Odunayomi Oke

ome Parents are simply wonderful in their approach in raising and nurturing their children. It has been noticed that while some are throwing their children about on vacation, to places, and some others just watching them waste the whole period at home doing nothing; wise parents are busy using the period to develop their children’s potentials. Just few days ago, a woman walked into our newsroom, with a boy about her height. Her disposition obviously showed she was a mom who perhaps brought her son for a job interview or for industrial training. Within me, I smiled because it amused me that a mother could leave all, to follow a boy that big on such outing. Well, trust the reporter in me. As soon as I got to work the day following, I went straight for him. ‘So how are you?’ ‘I am fine ma.’ ‘And who was that woman with you yesterday?’ ‘My mom’ Samuel Inyang is the boy’s name, a 15-year-old Senior

Macaulay during a training session

Secondary (SS) Two Student, and his mom’s name is Mrs Funmi Inyang; a caterer, married to an architect. He told me his school organises a two week holiday industrial training for students in JSS and SSS classes. It is to help them develop their minds and also assist them in future choice of career; without being compelled by parents to go for courses they do not like. This, the school does at no charge to the parents; while teachers still create time to check how the students are doing while on the training. Well, someone might want to say that is the exclusive preserve of the rich. But there is a saying that ‘If the white man drank tea, and I (an African) drank pap, it is hot water we have both drunk. In essence, if as a parent you cannot afford to put your children in a school like Samuel’s, where the system has inculcated two weeks industrial training into their holiday curriculum; then arrange your own holiday programme for your children. I mean something that is not academic, but which will equally add value to them. It

Robotic machines

could be Cookery, ICT or Fine Art lesson, or teach and supervise them while they carry out some basic house chore. They will not have enough time for that when school term begins, but now is a good time for such training. Oluseyi Macaulay; the CEO of Dream Youth International; believes another fascinating way of constructively engaging children during holiday period, is ROBOTIC EDUCATION. He affirmed that one of the best ways Parents can make their children happy during holiday is to allow them enrol for robotic class. He said, it is an activity which takes children’s minds away from classroom boredom, and the torture of violent video games, and some anticreativity cartoons. Twenty first century parents are too busy to create time for their children during the holidays and in a bid to keep them away from home while they are away at work, they take them back to school to go through another rigor of classwork in the name of summer coaching. I think this is being unfair to the children.

Though, one cannot put the blame totally on parents, because they cannot trust the children with the monster that decorates the living-room (The TeeVee!); which is capable of teaching these children what mom and dad keep secret behind the closed bedroom doors. So, in a bid to prevent the TV from corrupting their children, they push them to the summer mental torture. Another reason why parents send their children away from home during the holidays is to prevent them from getting hooked to another monster they brought home to keep children busy (the games and cartoons) some of which do have sublimed sexual contents that can pollute the good morals of these unassuming children. Robotics education engages the minds of the children constructively. It is hand-on activity-oriented tasks with lots of fun. Children learn to build robots, and program them in computer to perform simple tasks. They use the Lego kits provided to build over 400 projects, ranging from car, humanoid, plane, and so on. Robotics activities develop both the right and the left brain of children. It introduces them to the skill of teamwork, project management and engineering process in a childfriendly environment. And the beauty of it is that Children do these activities themselves with less interference from the instructors.

4) Schedule quality time. Create regular times, at least once a week, when you go together for brunch or a manicure or a walk, and make the most of those opportunities to connect. For ideas on conversations to have with her, check out 100 Conversation Starters for Conversations with Your Child. But you don’t have to always have deep conversations. Just appreciate and enjoy her. And listen. Remember, the more you give her advice, the more she feels like you don't have confidence in her ability to figure things out for herself. Instead, seek to enjoy her, understand her, and connect. 5) Cultivate empathy for your daughter. As you listen to her, remind yourself that the upset of the moment may not seem like a big deal to you, but to her it feels like the end of the world. Having your body start changing so dramatically is worrisome at best and painful at worst, as in growing pains and menstrual cramps. That means that when she over-dramatizes, you offer empathy. Her stubbed toe may not have warranted all that fuss, but something does hurt and she does want you to kiss it and make it better, even if she isn't exactly sure what’s bothering her and how to put it into words. 6) Be aware that teen girls usually harbour great anxiety about adolescence. One study found that tween' boys looked forward to adolescence and the strength, power, independence and prestige they would develop. Teen girls on the other hand, dreaded adolescence, fearing menstruation, their new vulnerability to men, and the pressure to be sexy and attractive. Most girls don’t know how to put these anxieties into words, but they feel them, even as they beg to wear skimpy outfits so they’ll be “cool.” Your daughter may want to be a hottie, but inside she knows full well that she isn’t ready for the attention that will bring. Culled from Family Matters

e X h O rtat i O n

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/islam

adeolaomoyusuf@yahoo.com 0803 438 0340 APRIL APRIL18, 11,2014 2014

“Or dO thOse whO evil deeds think that of] we "There shall be no earn compulsion in [acceptance the religion. right course hasthOse become clear from shall hOld The them equal with whO believe thethe wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and (in Oneness Of allâh islâmic mOnOtheism) believes in Allah has grasped thein most trustworthy and dO righteOus gOOd deeds, their present handhold with no break in it. And Allah is life and after their death? wOrst is theHearing and Knowing." (Qur’an 2:256) judgement that they make.” [quran 45:21]

2015 elections: JNI, MSSN God, not a religious bigotcaution – NSCIA

politicians against escalating tension harmOny

nscia’s delegate at the confab tasks religion SUPPORT BASE leaders on peaceful The JNI has rallied co-existence Nigerians behind federal government against Boko adeola HaramYusuf insurgency

here are two basic types of SIGNIFICANCE OF PURIFICATION

l-r: pupils of nosiru arabic and islamic centre, agege, lagos, munirat ayaba, aishat Omo-ade, ayuba ibrahim ayuba, sikirat Oduwole and ibrahim jimoh, during their walimot graduation recently. L-R: Member of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria, Alhaji Abdul Azeze Alatoye; Amir, Dr. Mashhud Aderenle Fashola; Chief Imam, Central Mosque than what The tendency, according a delegate from Muhin, Alhaji Suleman Olanijo and Chief Imam, Ajisebiaramocca, Mushin,the AlhajiSupreme Isa Abbas, duringgreater the Masih-e-Ma’ood Day, (125we yearshave of the establishment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community) in Lagos. to Lemu, is “for us to become Council of Islamic Affairs, we here in Nigeria. But some-

spiritually arrogant; to forget collective responsibility all that others are peopleoflike people and not just that of the us. There is always a tension government. He also condoled between representing our rewith the families and relatives ligious communities or our of the victims of the incident, ethnic communities and our and further Allah loyalty to theprayed virtuesto and valgrant them the fortitude to ues and teachings of our bear relithe agony the lofty communique gion even ,” those ideals of signed by Dr. Khalid our ethnic groups. Abubakar Aliyu, “It isJNI ourSecretary-General prayer that delread. egates will try and ensure The added in its letthat theMSSN spiritual strength we ter: “The next general election have in us will keep us from in 2015 should be conducted not getting angry and not acalcording to the rules of the game lowing our bitterness from withoutto those in us power others make sailtaking from undue advantage in theand name justice. It is in this vein as of power of incumbency. The political terrain in the country should not be seen as the exclu-

condemn the murder of all sive propertywe of some peoplethe to Christians, condemn the detriment of the populace murder of all Muslims. Not who should benefit from good because they are Christians governance. or Muslims, but because they otherbeings words,–politicians are“In human creatures should not use politics as an of God. avenue to amass at the “There is no wealth compulsion expense of good governance in religion. We all own Nigethat We would benefit here. the entire ria. all belong And country such that all we all have the rightessential to selfsocial amenitiesWe like Electricdetermination. should reity , portable water, Education, spect that right and do unto health, what etc arewe either others will not do funcunto tional or beyond the reach of the ourselves. common man as ismany presently the “There are other case. countries that have ethnic “We thereforediversity propose that and religious far the conference adopt the report of the Uwais-led committee on electoral reform in order to

thing that distinguishes us bring them, sanitybe to it our electoral from Singapore, system. We also believe a United States, they havethat been situation where a drop-out stuable to respect the rule of law dent who later contest and by so that any bigot, any nepotic all means win an election to the individual who tramples on office of a councilor or a memthe right of anyone especially ber ofofstate house of assembly that the minority, the rule becomes richer andup. more recof law will catch Satan ognized than a professor cannot will only find a hole if there achieve anything for is a crack in thatreasonable rule of law.” theHe country .” continued; “Every ethassociation continued: nicThe group is an oppressed “ As Muslim Students, we believe minority somewhere. Every education is the bedrock evgroup is a religious andofethery society . Without education, nic minority somewhere. Evtheremajority cannot be meaningery orany settler is an ful development. Therefore, we indigene somewhere. propose free education to all Nigeria Citizens from primary to university level. "

was obtained by new Telegraph showed that female pilgrims also “have difficulty locating clinics, medical personnel and of the National Orthopaedic state officials in some states.” Hospital, Igbobi-Lagos (NOHIL) Chairman of the commisto orderMallam on the alleged injustice sion, Muhammad and violation on the fundamenMusa Bello who led other top tal humanof right of a female officials NAHCON toMusthe lim Nurse, Mrs. Olayinka Lawal. workshop thanked Almighty All (SWT) efforts for to get reaction Allah thethe success reof the Medical Director of NOcorded in 2013 Hajj through the HIL proved The direcactivities ofabortive. the National comtor neither picked calls norneeds. made mittee on women special response to text messages The chairperson of too. the But IMAN President, Lagos committee on women special State Chapter, Dr. SolaHajiya Labineeds, Her Excellency njo who signed the protest letLateefah Okunnu in her welter sent to the body , a copy of come address thanked the which was sent to the Minister chairman whose foresight of Health Minister ofofState, led to theand formation the Federal Ministry of Health, as committee. well aspromised Board Chairman, NOShe that the com-

mittee would not relent in its efforts to ensure that female pilgrims comply with the injunctions of Allah (SWT) in HIL,performance disclosed thatofthe Muslim the Hajj. Nurse who has chosen to wear According to Okunnu, it hijab as part of her uniform as was observed that not all states approved by Nursing and comMidhave established women wifery Council of Nigerian has mittees to cater for the special been molested severally by the needs of women. management. “Many Nigerian female pil"I assumed the ingrims exhibitduty a lotwith of unethistitution on 25th February , 2014 cal Practices while on Hajj,” and the Nurse Administrators she said adding that female insisted I“do must my hipilgrims notremove have enough jab while on duty despite the knowledge of all prohibited presentation of a circular isitems t hat must not be carried sued by Nursing and Midwifery on board flights.” Council of Nigeria describing She continued; “Mixing Nurses Uniform and males allowing and struggling with in the use of hijab,” Lawal said in order to get joint services such the letter. as food and boarding of buses. She continued: “To my surFemale pilgrims patronise un-

screened dental clinics which might expose them to other medical problems. “Female pilgrims have difprise the nursing administrator ficulty locating clinics, medical said the circular is only advispersonnel and state officials ing and not binding on them. in some states. Many female Thereafter, I was prevented pilgrims cannot operate orfrom use performing my duty as nurse. In certain modern facilities such reaction to this, I wrote a letter as escalators, which in recent to thehave Medical Director times resulted in fatal(copy inciattached) informing him that dences. The quantity, quality and I was prevented fromfood carrying timeliness in serving at the out my duty I explained the Masha’ir are and not up to standards. situation on ground to him. The recommendations On of 7th April, 2014, I was sumthe of committee, according to moned to the the MediOkunnu, areoffice that of female pilcal Director, on be getting there; grims should taught theI met the Director of Administraneed to make” Taqwa” the bation, Head ofintention Clinical Services, sis for their in their Assistant Director of at Nursing performance of Hajj educaand programmes. two other management tion staff of the hospital.

2014 Hajj: NAHCON guards against pilgrims’ death eXpOsure Hijab: IMAN protests molestation of female Nurse female pilgrims patronise unscreened dental clinics, ADHERENCE which might expose The group has medical called them to other problems. for strict adherence to circular of Nursing and he National hajj CommisMidwifery Council of sion of Nigeria (NAHCON) has begunonmove to guard Nigerian uniform

against the death of pilgrims for the 2014 Hajj operations. he Islamic Medical AssociaThe commission, which raltion of Nigeria (IMAN) has lied Hajj boards from 21 states called for a full implementato a three-day workshop at the tion of a circular by Nursing National Mosque, Abuja and obMidwifery Council of Nigerian served that female pilgrims paon uniform. tronise unscreened dental clinassociation, which them made ics,The which might expose this know in a protest letter to other medical problems.also implored the Federalissued GovernA Communique at ment to call the management the end of the workshop, which

AL-TOHARAH - PURIFICATION

AL-TOHARA - cleansMeaning: Purification is the ing of impurities. In Islam purificaPURIFICATION tion is the cleansing of body and soul and places of worship of all form of CO NTINUED F R O M L A S T WEEK impurities.

he Nigerian supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Adeola Yusufhas declared that (NSCIA) God would protect the comhe Jama'atu Nasril Islam munity that stands for justice (JNI) at the weekend caueven if they are not Muslims tioned politicians in Nigeand God will not protect the ria against escalating tencommunity that goes consion ahead of the 2015 general trary to justice even if they elections. call themselves Muslims. LikeNSCIA the JNI, the Muslim StuAn delegate, Alhaji dents Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Nurudeen Lemu who said this also theNational politicians to at thetasked on-going Confear Allah before making promference maintained that God ises, they will not be able is notwhich a religious bigot. to “God fulfil. is not a religious TheHe JNIismade call in a bigot. not a the male chaucommuniqué at the end of the vinist. He is not an ethnocenAnnual meeting of its Central tric tribalist. God is not the Council in of Kaduna, while oppressor anyone. Godthe is MSSN’s admonition was conwith those who care; those tained in afor memorandum it who want others those sent to the National Conference things they want for themin Abuja. selves. “His Eminence, Sultan of “One tendency for people Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar who claim to follow a religion condemned in the absolute terms is to slide into position of the most recent bomb blast at believing that we are better the Nyanya Motor Park, Abuja, than the others. We overestiHe prayed the Almighty Allah mate our to virtues and underto expose both the masterminds estimate the goodness in othand executors ers,” he said. of the horrible incident. “He emphasized that the maintenance of security is a

UNDERSTAND UNDERSTAND YOURFAITH FAITH YOUR

purification; Internal The essence of purification is thatand External. it is the required symbolic exercise before thePurification worship of ouriscreator Internal to purify in any form. Purification in Islam is the soul from the effects of sins obligatory before one can worship and acts of disobedience, puhis Lord. It of is athe condition rification heart precedent from the before any worship of Allah can filth of polytheism, doubt, envy, take place as confirmed by both the resentment, rancor, treachery, Quran and Sunnah. haughtiness, boasting and Allah (SWT) says: “If you are in a state showing of Janabahoff. (i.e. impure because of The purification of these sinful sexual discharge, etc), purify youracts is achieved through Pure selves.” - Al-Ma’idah, 5 vs 6 Tawheed, sincerity, love of good“Purification is half of faith” – Muslim: Hadith 224. truthfulness ness, kindness, The materials purification are and modestyfor and the intention Pure Pure Earth. to doWater everyand righteous deed for Puresake Water: the ofWater Allah.for purification should be free of colour, odour, or The performance of good deeds taste except it is its natural form. is obligatory on the Muslims. This is water that has not been If one performs the obligatory fouled. It includes water from wells, acts in the wayrivers, and melted manner springs, valleys, ice, commanded by Allah (SAW) one boreholes and ocean water. will closer Him. Allahget (SWT) says:to“And weSome send of these obligatory acts expected down purifying water from the sky” Quran 25:48. the five daily of us include, The sayings of the fasting Prophet (SAW) prayers (Solat), in the supporting this position(Saom), are: month of Ramadam “Water of is pure (andkeeping it has the quality giving Zakat, away of purifying otherand things) Nothing from adultery, all other makes it impure”. bad acts earlier mentioned and This was the prophet’s response many more. when he was asked about Buza’a Performance of voluntary deeds well whether it was good for abluin addition to compulsory tion. Buza’a wasthe a well in which deeds will purify a person’s soul bad odorous objects were thrown. and draw him/her closer to Buza’a well was situated so that Allah. rain water used to drain objects into the well. - Abupurification Dawood, Hadith, 66. The internal is the “River and seabefore water are purifyprerequisite one can get ing and dead animals are Halal the bestitsbenefits of external (lawful)”. - Abu Dawood, Hadith, purification 83. However, the prophet (SAW) External purification is the warned: “Let none of you urinate cleansing of physical impuriin stagnant water, and then use it ties from body and clothes. for washing”. “Let none of you who There two of-external are in aare state of types Janabah bathe in purification. stagnant water”. 1) Taharat-ul-khabath Pure Earth: The pure surfacewhich of the is achieved by using pure water earth, whether dust, sand, stone orto salty earth deposits. remove filth from worshipers’ For the prophet (SAW) “The garments, body andsaid from the earth has been made for me as a place of worship. place of prayer and a purifier”. 2) Taharat-ul-Hadath is Where there is no water or because achieved by performing wudu of illness one cannot use water as a (ablution), Ghusl (bathing) purifier. Allah SWT says: or Tayamammum (wiping of “Pure Earth is fit as a means of the face andforthe toeven the purification thehands Muslim, elbows with pure earth). if he does not find water for ten Taharat-ul-Khabath – This is to years. If he finds it (water) let him purify one’s and touch his skingarments with it (i.e.body let him use it for wudu)”. surroundings such as place of worship formTO impurities. BE CONTINUED

METRO

ril 18, 2014

Hoodlums kill one over land dispute

Cajetan Mmuta

Benin

ension has enveloped Ikpele in Okpekpe village in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State over the killing of a middle-

aged man, Oseni Ekhameye. The man was killed in the renewed hostility between Iviukha in Weppa-Wanno and Ikpele in Okpekpe villages. The police have arrested many suspects in connection with the bloody communal clash. It was leant that Ekhameye died as a result of severe wounds he sustained when hoodlums from the two neighbouring communities clashed over land dispute. Wife of the deceased, Mrs Umoru Otsemobo, a native of Ikpele community, is now receiving treatment at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) as a result of the attack. She said she narrowly escaped death by the whiskers. The widow alleged that her husband’s killers were supervised by a prominent The widow on her hospital bed member of Ivbiukha for accusing the community of illegal encroachment on to ensure that they get to the root of this matter and bring all the miscreants who the said land. But in a statement issued yesterday, perpetrated this heinous crime to justhe President General of Iviukhua Pro- tice.” gressive Union Worldwide, High Chief The state Police Public Relations OfKennedy Izuagbe, and General Secretary, ficer, Moses Eguavoen, confirmed the Gabriel Inaede, condemned the incident. incident. “We condemn this callous act in the Eguavoen said the matter was first strongest possible terms. We also want reported at Agenebode police division to use this opportunity to appeal to the before it was transferred to the State Nigeria Police Force, Edo State command Criminal Investigative Department.

Police arrest FRSC, VIO officials for number plates’ racketeering Dan Atori Minna

wo Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) and an official of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) have been arrested for number plates racketeering.

er begs abductors

id: “I beg you in the name God ated you and I to release my nt children.” speaker also urged Nigerians for him and his family during ing moment. se boys are innocent. They rom nowhere and kidnaped Please help me use your meo beg them and release my n. I can’t stand this trauma,” d.

The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Richard Oguche, who paraded the suspects in Minna yesterday, said they had collected N1.4 million from a businessman to produce 42 number plates. Oguche said the police were investigating the case of joint acts of forgery, criminal breach of trust and cheating against the suspects. He said three months ago, four men, Yakubu Ahmed (VIO), Abdulmalik Mohammed (VIO), Ibrahim Mohammed (FRSC), Engineer Derima Adamu Musa (a dismissed official of FRSC, now at large) illegally got 42 number plates. The PPRO said that the Minna-based businessman wanted number plates for vehicles in his fleet and contacted one of his friends, Abdulmalik.

xam answers online were posting WAEC answers online in February and we decided to play along. We informed the bank and EFCC and his ATM card was blocked. “When he got to the bank to complain of the blockage of his ATM card, he was asked to go to his bank which is First Bank and there he was nabbed. “What they do is that they will get the question papers 30 minutes after the exams must have started and get an expert to solve the questions for them. Then they will forward the answers to the phone numbers of those that have

The suspects

According to him, the businessman gave the VIO official N1.4 million but he was given fake number plates. He said: “The suspects assured the businessman that he would get his number plates. But when he got the numbers, he was arrested because it was discovered that they were fake. “The businessman brought

paid for it.” Raheem said he had just been admitted to study Computer Science at the Osun State Polytechnic. He said: “I don’t know anything about the internet. A friend I met on 2go, Shola, told me about the WAEC malpractice. He always gives the candidates my account number to pay the money in, then I will withdraw and use the money to buy recharge card and send to him or send it into another account. The money is between N2,000 and N3,000.”

the complaint to our headquarters and we swung into action. During investigation, we discovered that an FRSC officer, who is attached to the Plant Office in Gwagwalada, where the plates are printed was involved. “Our investigation revealed that he was the one that brought out the unregistered number plates from the plant room and then issued to the VIO men, who in turn gave them to the businessman. “The VIO was the middle man between the businessman and the FRSC officer. They worked in connivance to defraud Nigerians which is tantamount to economic sabotage because if the number plates were registered, they would have generated revenue to the Federal Government’s purse. But they decided to wave that aside because of their dubious intention.”

Mob lynches another suspected kidnapper Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

olice authorities in Kwara State yesterday deployed undercover agents in parts of the state to check the growing trend in the state where angry people lynch persons suspected to be kidnappers. This followed the killing on Wednesday evening of another suspected female kidnapper. The incident happened on the Oyun Bridge, exactly the same spot where a day earlier, another suspected was killed by a suspicious and angry mob. The latest incident, according to witnesses, occurred about 6.30pm. The suspect was said to have been dragged to a spot on the bridge where she was lynched. The killing brought to three the number of suspects to have suffered the brutal fate between last Friday and Wednesday evening. Two others, according to the police, narrowly escaped being killed owing to the timely arrival of security agents on the scene. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ajayi Okasanmi, who confirmed the incident, said the command was now ready to enforce its earlier warning against the killing of innocent people or persons suspected to be kidnappers. He added that officers and men of the command would not hesitate to enforce the law wherever they noticed infringement on people’s rights. Witnesses said that in the first incident on the popular Oyun Bridge, the woman suspected to have been a kidnapper was burnt beyond recognition after she allegedly ‘confessed’ that she was in league with a team of other abductors who had been given a mandate to kidnap a given number of children. Witnesses also claimed that the woman ‘confessed’ to have succeeded in kidnapping five children in the area and was on the way to take the sixth when some people who suspected her movements accosted her. Being unable to give satisfactory answers to their questions, they were said to have raised the alarm which attracted the crowd which eventually lynched her. A police statement warning against the killings and signed by Okasanmi reads: “The commissioner of Police Kwara State Police Command Ambrose Aisabor wishes to appeal and at the same time warn members of the public who have found the habit of taking the law into their hands and meting jungle justice to people suspected to be kidnappers who are in most cases wrongfully so suspected to stop this irresponsible act immediately. “Henceforth, the command will not shirk in its responsibilities to deal with any individual/group of people caught in such acts of unbridled lawlessness. “Men and women of unsound minds are not necessarily agents of ritual killers so be warned. “For the purpose of emphasis, any suspected person is to be reported or handed over to the police if arrested.”

46 BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

16-Apr-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject to the FMDQ OTC PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

Bonds

FGN Bonds Issuer

Rating/Agency

Description

Price

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

29-Jun-07 28-Sep-07 23-Apr-10 16-Aug-13 27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10

9.20 9.25 4.00 13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00

45.00 100.00 535.00 327.47 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 50.00 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57

29-Jun-14 28-Sep-14 23-Apr-15 16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30

0.20 0.45 1.02 2.33 3.03 3.28 3.38 4.12 5.20 5.52 7.78 9.91 14.62 15.10 15.60 16.27

11.58 12.43 13.42 13.33 13.36 13.26 13.26 13.29 13.42 13.34 13.46 13.43 13.44 13.45 13.46 13.52

10.84 12.07 13.25 13.26 13.24 13.13 13.14 13.19 13.34 13.25 13.40 13.38 13.40 13.40 13.40 13.47

99.46 98.62 91.29 99.40 104.20 91.13 89.61 91.94 109.40 75.76 113.80 104.10 109.80 93.82 67.97 77.00

99.61 98.77 91.44 99.55 104.50 91.43 89.91 92.24 109.70 76.06 114.10 104.40 110.10 94.12 68.27 77.30

9.20 29-JUN-2014 9.25 28-SEP-2014 4.00 23-APR-2015 13.05 16-AUG-2016 15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 16.39 27-JAN-2022 14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.00 23-JUL-2030

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,132.04

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

***LCRM

Description

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

0.00 0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

978.35 24.56 6.00 112.22 116.70 66.49

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.54 1.10 1.59 2.65 3.01 3.22

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

13.73 16.04 15.62 15.26 14.73 14.25

93.10 84.33 102.26 92.02 89.18 87.70

05-Aug-14 15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19 02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

0.30 0.50 1.38 0.98 1.27 1.28 3.01 1.84 3.71 2.68 4.47 2.68 2.68 3.26 3.33 5.60 3.30 4.01 6.62 6.71 4.02 4.05

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

17.15 18.65 17.82 16.62 17.85 16.87 18.83 20.92 15.06 15.06 14.31 14.26 14.47 14.26 15.72 15.29 16.00 16.03 14.37 15.32 14.73 15.24

98.95 97.88 93.72 97.02 95.91 98.81 80.38 89.62 97.00 97.86 99.00 100.68 109.21 100.66 99.52 97.07 97.02 96.44 96.31 98.64 106.26 105.91

1,304.32

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto A-/GCR

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

14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

05-Aug-09 15-Oct-09 31-Aug-10 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 30-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14

14.00 14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00

17.00 6.00 8.50 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00 9.00 20.00 12.00 27.00 20.00 80.00 30.00 11.40 87.00 5.00 5.00 5.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

572.90

Corporate Bonds A+/Agusto; AA/GCR

LAFARGE WAPCO

Aa/Agusto

GTB µ NGC

Nil Bbb-/Agusto A-/Agusto BB+/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto A/GCR

17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014 10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

*UPDC *FLOURMILLS *CHELLARAMS NAHCO

BBB+/DataPro†; BB+/GCR A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR A/Agusto; A/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR BBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

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

FSDH UBA

BBB-/GCR

11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014

*C & I LEASING # *DANA *TOWER *TOWER

# #

UBA *LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

07-Oct-11

11.50

11.80

07-Oct-14

0.48

1.00

13.62

99.04

18-Dec-09

13.50

13.17

18-Dec-14

0.67

5.21

18.14

97.11

01-Apr-10 17-Aug-10

17.00 10.00

2.00 15.00

31-Dec-14 17-Aug-15

0.71 0.86

8.71 4.88

21.69 18.09

96.96 93.95

09-Dec-10

12.00

37.50

09-Dec-15

0.93

1.00

14.32

98.14

06-Jan-11

14.00

1.50

06-Jan-16

1.02

2.63

16.05

98.48

29-Sep-11 25-Oct-13

13.00 14.25

15.00 5.53

29-Sep-16 25-Oct-16

2.46 2.53

1.00 1.34

14.27 14.61

97.42 99.25

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

3.46

4.52

17.78

88.01

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.94

30-Nov-17

2.07

1.88

15.17

106.03 98.72

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

8.01

09-Apr-18

2.23

3.48

16.77

09-Sep-11

18.00

3.63

09-Sep-18

2.40

5.20

18.48

99.35

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

1.00

09-Sep-18

2.40

5.06

18.34

101.90

22-Sep-11 18-Oct-13

14.00 15.75

35.00 3.00

22-Sep-18 18-Oct-18

4.44 2.26

3.06 2.29

16.37 15.57

92.71 100.35

17-Feb-12

17.00

0.54

17-Feb-19

2.59

6.11

19.38

95.74

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

6.58

2.76

16.13

96.46

11-Feb-18

3.83

1.00

14.28

88.25

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

NAHCO

15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

175.67

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

12.00 Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue Value ($'mm)

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

5.37

5.22

107.77

108.64

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

18-Dec-09

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.50

4.31

102.36

103.10

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

01-Apr-10

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

5.84

5.70

103.77

104.75

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

Corporate Eurobonds Afren PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

3.86

3.40

112.97

113.83

GTBank PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

5.30

4.53

104.27

105.81

GTBank PLC II

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.12

5.85

99.54

100.61

B+/S&P

Access Bank PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

6.99

6.49

100.74

102.19

B/S&P; B/Fitch

Fidelity Bank PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

8.41

7.88

94.83

96.59

B/Fitch

Afren PLC II

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

5.05

4.65

114.23

115.06

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

First Bank PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.13

6.68

104.07

105.76

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

Afren PLC III

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.24

6.00

101.50

102.50

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

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

2,960.00

**Treasury Bills DTM 8 22 29 36 43 50 64

FIXINGS Maturity 24-Apr-14 8-May-14 15-May-14 22-May-14 29-May-14 5-Jun-14 19-Jun-14

Bid Discount (%) 11.50 11.50 11.45 11.40 11.90 12.00 12.00

Offer Discount (%) 11.25 11.25 11.20 11.15 11.65 11.75 11.75

Bid Yield (%) 11.53 11.58 11.56 11.53 12.07 12.20 12.26

Tenor CALL 7 DAYS 30 DAYS 60 DAYS 90 DAYS 180 DAYS

NIBOR

Money Market Rate (%) 10.9167 11.2500 11.5000 11.8333 12.1250 12.4167

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

10.33

Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

10.58

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M

162.20 162.42 162.68 163.26 164.43

162.30 162.70 163.06 163.98 165.76

O/N Tenor Call

REPO

Rate (%) 10.25

7.00 23-OCT-2019 16.39 27-JAN-2022 14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.00 23-JUL-2030

23-Oct-09 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10

7.00 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00

233.90 600.00 50.00 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Description

Issuer

Agency Bonds

AMCON

13.25 13.40 13.38 13.40 13.40 13.40 13.47

75.76 113.80 104.10 109.80 93.82 67.97 77.00

76.06 114.10 104.40 110.10 94.12 68.27 77.30

Indicative Price

Coupon (%)

Issue Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

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

0.54 1.10 1.59 2.65 3.01 3.22

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.49 1.00

13.73 16.04 15.62 15.26 14.73 14.25

05-Aug-14

0.30

4.88

17.15

98.95

BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

NSE All-Share index records marginal gains FMBN

***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Sub-National Bonds

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

Stock market records minor gain as investors go for Easter holiday Stories by Chris Ugwu

13.34 13.46 13.43 13.44 13.45 13.46 13.52

Issue Date

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

TRIVIAL

5.52 7.78 9.91 14.62 15.10 15.60 16.27

4,132.04

Rating/Agency

A/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto A-/GCR

23-Oct-19 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30

he NSE All-Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange appreciated by TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 27 points or 0.6 per cent toCorporate close atBonds the close at 39,311.60 A+/Agusto; AA/GCR LAFARGE WAPCO while the market capitalization Aa/Agusto GTB µ NGCN12,927 ofNilequities closed at Bbb-/Agusto *UPDC trillion at the close of trading A-/Agusto *FLOURMILLS *CHELLARAMS onBB+/GCR Thursday. A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO At the close of trading sesA-/Agusto FSDH A/GCR UBA sion, the NSE All-Share Index BBB-/GCR *C & I LEASING # inches up by 0.06 per BBB+/DataPro†; BB+/GCR *DANAcent to # A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR *TOWERpoints close at 39,311.60.97 index AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR *TOWER# asA/Agusto; against points reA/GCR39,284.60UBA Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *LA corded on Wednesday . CASERA BBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMS# Consequently , market capitalA+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE by N5 ization shed marginally billion to close Supranational Bondat N12,927 trilAAA/S&P IFC trillion lion as against N12,932 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE recorded in preceding session. TheRating/Agency number of gainers at the Issuer close of trading session closed FGN Eurobonds at 23 just as the previous day as BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P against 21 that shed weight. BB-/Fitch; AG Leventis rose by 9.72FGN per BB-/S&P BB-/Fitch; cent to close at N1.58 to lead the BB-/S&P gainers’ chart. Sterling Bank TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE gained 4.80 per cent to close at Corporate Eurobonds N2.40 share while NPF B-/S&P;per B/Fitch Afren PLC I Microfinance Bank followed with GTBank PLC I B+/S&P; B+/Fitch GTBank II a gain of 4.76 per cent toPLC close B+/S&P Access Bank PLC atB/S&P; 88 kobo. B/Fitch Fidelity Bank PLC

On the other hand, Okomu Oil Plc led on the price losers’ table, dropping at 9.72 per cent to close at N36.02 per share while MRS Oil Plc followed with a loss of 5 per cent to close at N51.72o per share and Courteville Business Solutions Plc lost 4.29 per cent to close at 67 kobo per share. The banking sub sector of the financial services sector led the market transaction volume with 623.7 million units valued at 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

ransnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) is planning $1 billion to build power plants as it seeks to triple profit in 2014. The Chief Executive Officer, Transcorp, Mr. Obinna 10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 Ufudo said the organization thought it could reach financial close by January Description 2015 and start construction of a 1,000 megawatt gas plant. 6.75 JAN 28, 2021 According to an agency 5.13 added JUL 12, 2018 reports Ofudo that the company will explore 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 fundraising options including bank loans, selling shares or bonds, he said. 11.50 FEB 01, 2016 MAY 19, 2016 Nigeria 7.50 sold control of 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 14 power companies to new 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 owners last6.88year MAY 09,including 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

93.10 84.33 102.26 92.02 89.18 87.70

Corporate Bond Issuances hit $3.2tn-IOSCO

1,304.32

14.00 14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00

17.00 6.00 8.50 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00 9.00 20.00 12.00 27.00 20.00 80.00 30.00 11.40 87.00 5.00 5.00 5.00

15-Oct-14 0.50 ollowing significant growth 31-Aug-15 1.38 in the emerging markets 30-Sep-15 0.98 30-Jun-16 1.27 N4.6 billion exchanged in 1,590. across the globe, Interna30-Jun-16 1.28 The volume recorded in the tional Organisation of Secu19-Apr-17 3.01 30-Jun-17 1.84 sector was driven by transaction rities Commissions (IOSCO) 31-Dec-17 3.71 30-Sep-18 2.68 in the shares of UBA and Zenith has set the value of corporate 04-Oct-18 4.47 Bank. bond market09-Dec-18 at $3.2 trillion in 2.68 12-Dec-18 2.68 Other financial services sub 2013 in contrast to $0.9 trillion 14-Feb-19 3.26 sector, motivated by the shares recorded in 2000. 02-Oct-19 3.33 22-Nov-19 of UBA CAP and FBNH Plc folThis is contained in a 5.60 pub12-Dec-19 3.30 lowed with a turnover of 107.8 lished staff 30-Sep-20 working paper 4.01of 27-Nov-20 6.62 units of shares valued at N540.3 the global securities commis31-Dec-20 6.71 million in 929 transactions. sion entitled31-Dec-20 ‘’ Corporate Bond 4.02 06-Jan-21 4.05 On the whole investors staked Market: A Global Perspective’’. 788.9 units of shares worth N5.6 572.90 The commission which Nibillion in 4,385 deals. geria SEC is a member noted 07-Oct-11 11.50 11.80 07-Oct-14 0.48 that bond markets 18-Dec-09 13.50 13.17 corporate 18-Dec-14 0.67 01-Apr-10 17.00 2.00 are growing31-Dec-14 in terms of 0.71 size 17-Aug-10 10.00 15.00 17-Aug-15 0.86 and importance to the real 09-Dec-10 12.00 37.50 09-Dec-15 0.93 06-Jan-11 14.00 1.50 06-Jan-16 1.02 economy, and are extending 29-Sep-11 13.00 15.00 29-Sep-16 2.46 their global nature. 25-Oct-13 14.25 5.53 25-Oct-16 2.53 30-Sep-10 13.00 20.00 30-Sep-17 3.46 IOSCO said in its research, 30-Nov-12 18.00 0.94 30-Nov-17 2.07 Siemens AG, Korea Electric that in the last 13 years, 27 new 09-Apr-11 16.00 8.01 09-Apr-18 2.23 09-Sep-11 18.00 3.63 09-Sep-18 Power Corp. (015760) and La- economies have recorded2.40 cor09-Sep-11 16.00 1.00 09-Sep-18 2.40 gos-based Transcorp to attract porate bond issuances, most 22-Sep-11 14.00 35.00 22-Sep-18 4.44of 18-Oct-13 3.00 18-Oct-18 private investment15.75 to reduce these emerging markets. 2.26 17-Feb-12 17.00 0.54 17-Feb-19 2.59 blackouts. disclosed 14-Nov-13 15.25 2.05The commission 14-Nov-20 6.58 Transcorp bought the 175.67 that emerging markets acUghelli gas plant in the Niger counted for 30 per cent of 12.00 11-Feb-18 volume 3.83in delta11-Feb-13 and plans to10.20 boost its recorded issuance output to 700 megawatts by the 12.00 2013 compared to about 5 per end of the spending cent in 2000. Issue Dateyear after Coupon (%) Issue Value ($'mm) Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) as much as $300 million on tur‘’Interestingly, a growing bine repairs, Ufudo said. number of emerging market 07-Oct-11 6.75 500.00 28-Jan-21 5.37 An increase in power gen- issuances are ‘puttable’ (the 18-Dec-09 5.13 12-Jul-18 4.50 eration capacity will help tre- 500.00 bondholder can ask to reclaim ble pretax profit to 30 billion their principal before the ma01-Apr-10 6.38 500.00 12-Jul-23 5.84 naira ($185 million) this year, 1,500.00 turity date),’’ the research said. Ufudo said. “With the kind of IOSCO affirmed that in expansion we plan in key sec2013, of bonds with 01-Feb-11 11.50 450.00 issuances 01-Feb-16 3.86 tors 19-May-11 we operate, our7.50 vision is 500.00 a put option19-May-16 in emerging mar5.30 08-Nov-13 6.00 6.12 to make about 160 billion naira 400.00 kets reached08-Nov-18 $47 billion, com25-Jul-12 7.25 350.00 25-Jul-17 6.99 in profit by 2018,” he said. pared to issuance of $1 billion 09-May-13 6.88 300.00 02-May-18 8.41

Transcorp to raise $1 billion for power plants 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

in 5.99 developed18.65 markets. 97.88 4.44 17.82 93.72 ‘’If this upward 3.23 16.62 trend contin97.02 4.46 17.85 95.91 ues, it could signal increasing 3.48 16.87 98.81 volatility in financing of emerg5.59 18.83 80.38 20.92 89.62 ing7.60 market firms,’’ the global se1.79 15.06 97.00 1.80 15.06 97.86 curities commission said. 1.00 99.00 The report14.31 says bond issu1.00 14.26 100.68 1.21 offered14.47 109.21 ances on international 1.00 14.26 100.66 markets have15.72 increased, with 2.46 99.52 1.94trillion 15.29 97.07 de$1.8 issued from 2.74 16.00 97.02 veloped markets 2.74 16.03 and $320 96.44bil1.00in emerging 14.37 96.31 in lion markets 1.94 15.32 98.64 2013. ‘’Specialized local issu1.44 14.73 106.26 1.95 are also 15.24breaking 105.91 ances into the global market e.g. Sukuk (Islamic) issuances. Sukuk is1.00 13.62 99.04 suances in emerging markets 5.21 18.14 97.11 8.71 21.69 96.96 reached $24 billion in 2013. In 4.88 18.09 93.95 developed markets, issuance 1.00 14.32 98.14 2.63 16.05 98.48 in 2013 reached $472 million in 1.00 14.27 97.42 2013, double 2007 levels,’’ the 1.34 14.61 99.25 4.52 88.01 report said. 17.78 1.88 15.17 106.03 The IOSCO research 3.48 16.77 98.72fur5.20 99.35 ther noted 18.48 that corporate 5.06 18.34 101.90 bond markets have almost 3.06 16.37 92.71 tri2.29 15.57 pled in size since 2000.100.35 While 6.11 19.38 95.74 financial firms in developed 2.76 16.13 96.46 markets are deleveraging, non-financial firms are tap1.00the corporate 14.28 88.25 ping bond markets in growing numbers. ‘’Bank lending to Price nonOffer Yield (%) Bid Price Offer financials is weak in the US Prices & Yields and Europe, suggesting a 5.22 107.77 108.64 move away from bank lending4.31towards102.36 corporate103.10 bond financing in some developed 103.77 5.70 104.75 markets,’’ IOSCO noted. The report says long-term infrastructure and 3.40 112.97 projects 113.83 real estate property develop4.53 104.27 105.81 99.54 100.61 ers5.85 are also raising financing 6.49 100.74 102.19 on7.88 corporate94.83 bond markets. 96.59

B/Fitch

Afren PLC II

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

5.05

4.65

114.23

115.06

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

First Bank PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.13

6.68

104.07

105.76

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

Afren PLC III

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.24

6.00

101.50

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

09-Dec-13 6.63 FMDQ Daily Quotations List

2,960.00

102.50 16-Apr-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject to **Treasury Bills PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement. FIXINGS Money Market the FMDQ OTC Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

DTM 8 22 FGN Bonds29 36 43 Rating/Agency 50 64 71 78 85 92 99 106 113 120 127 NA 141 176 232 267 281 295 309 323 358

Maturity 24-Apr-14 8-May-14 15-May-14 22-May-14 29-May-14 Issuer 5-Jun-14 19-Jun-14 26-Jun-14 3-Jul-14 10-Jul-14 17-Jul-14 24-Jul-14 31-Jul-14 7-Aug-14 14-Aug-14 21-Aug-14 NA 4-Sep-14 9-Oct-14 4-Dec-14 8-Jan-15 22-Jan-15 5-Feb-15 19-Feb-15 5-Mar-15 9-Apr-15

Bid Discount (%) 11.50 11.50 11.45 11.40 11.90 Description 12.00 12.00 9.20 29-JUN-2014 11.90 9.25 28-SEP-2014 12.05 11.05 4.00 23-APR-2015 11.00 13.05 16-AUG-2016 11.65 15.10 27-APR-2017 11.60 9.85 27-JUL-2017 11.60 9.35 31-AUG-2017 12.05 12.05 10.70 30-MAY-2018 11.80 16.00 29-JUN-2019 11.90 7.00 23-OCT-2019 11.55 16.39 27-JAN-2022 12.20 14.20 14-MAR-2024 12.10 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.25 12.30 12.49 22-MAY-2029 12.10 8.50 20-NOV-2029 12.20

10.00 23-JUL-2030

Offer Discount (%) 11.25 11.25 11.20 11.15 11.65 Issue Date 11.75 11.75 29-Jun-07 11.65 28-Sep-07 11.80 10.80 23-Apr-10 10.75 16-Aug-13 11.40 27-Apr-12 11.35 27-Jul-07 11.35 31-Aug-07 11.80 11.80 30-May-08 11.55 29-Jun-12 11.65 23-Oct-09 11.30 27-Jan-12 11.95 14-Mar-14 11.85 28-Nov-08 12.00 12.05 22-May-09 11.85 20-Nov-09 11.95

23-Jul-10

Bid Yield (%) 11.53 11.58 11.56 11.53 12.07 Coupon (%) 12.20 12.26 9.20 12.18 9.25 12.37 11.34 4.00 11.31 13.05 12.03 15.10 12.00 9.85 12.03 9.35 12.55 12.58 10.70 12.36 16.00 12.62 7.00 12.47 16.39 13.40 14.20 13.34 15.00 13.60 13.73 12.49 13.55 8.50 13.86

NIBOR Tenor Rate (%) CALL 10.9167 7 DAYS 11.2500 30 DAYS 11.5000 Outstanding 60 DAYSValue 11.8333 Maturity Date 90 DAYS 12.1250 (N'bn) 180 DAYS 12.4167 45.00 29-Jun-14 365 DAYS 12.7083

Bonds

100.00 28-Sep-14 535.00 23-Apr-15 NITTY 327.47 16-Aug-16 Tenor Rate (%) 452.80 27-Apr-17 1M 11.3163 20.00 27-Jul-17 2M 12.0703 100.00 31-Aug-17 3M 12.3982 6M 12.5692 300.00 30-May-18 9M 13.1934 351.30 29-Jun-19 12M 13.9110 233.90 23-Oct-19 600.00 27-Jan-22 50.00 14-Mar-24 NIFEX 75.00 28-Nov-28 Current Price ($/N) 150.00 22-May-29 BID($/N)200.00 162.0225 20-Nov-29 OFFER ($/N) 162.1225 591.57 23-Jul-30

10.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE *from the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the duration

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

10.33

Tenor

O/N

10.58

Spot 7D Offer14D Yield 1M (%) 2M 10.84 3M 12.07 6M 1Y 13.25

REPO TTM (Yrs) BidRate Yield (%) Tenor (%) Call

10.25

0.20 11.58 1M 11.08 0.45 12.43 3M 12.17 6M 12.50 1.02 13.42 2.33 13.33 13.26 NOTE: 3.03 13.36 13.24 3.28 13.26 13.13 :Benchmarks 3.38 Bond 13.26 13.14 * :Amortising µ :Convertible 4.12 Bond 13.29 13.19 AMCON:5.20 Asset Management13.42 Corporation of Nigeria 13.34 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 5.52 13.34 13.25 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 7.78 13.46 13.40 IFC: International Finance Corporation 9.91 Contractors Receivables 13.43 13.38 LCRM: Local Management 13.44 Company 13.40 NAHCO:14.62 Nigerian Aviation Handling NGC: Nigeria-German Company 15.10 13.45 13.40 UBA: United Bank for Africa 15.60 13.46 13.40 UPDC: UAC Property Development Company 16.27 13.52 13.47 WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company

4,132.04

Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Agency Bonds AMCON NA

FMBN Modified Duration Buckets ***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR†

<3 3<5 >5 KWARA Market NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI

Description

Issue Date

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 Total Outstanding Porfolio Market Value(Bn) 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 Volume(Bn) 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

797.32 1,067.12 455.51 2,319.95 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

780.27 951.30 591.57 2,323.14

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 Weighting 09-Dec-11by Outstanding 20-Apr-12Vol 06-Jul-12

Coupon (%)

Issue Value (N'bn)

FMDQ FGN 0.00 BOND INDEX 978.35

33.59 40.95 25.46 100.00 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

0.00 17.25 Weighting by Mkt 0.00/16.00 Value 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

34.37 46.00 19.63 14.00100.00 14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50

24.56 6.00 112.22 Bucket Weighting 116.70 66.49

1,304.32 0.34 17.00 6.00 8.50 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00 9.00 20.00

0.41 0.25 1.00

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

162.20 Price 162.30 162.42 162.70 163.06 Offer Price Bid162.68 Price 163.26 163.98 164.43 165.76 99.46 99.61 165.70 167.66 98.62 98.77 169.34 173.56 176.35 185.44 91.29 91.44

99.40 99.55 104.20 104.50 91.13 91.43 NA :Not Applicable 89.61 Rate Bond 89.91 # :Floating ***: Deferred 91.94 coupon bonds 92.24 109.40 109.70 †: Bond rating expired 75.76 76.06 113.80 114.10 104.10 104.40 109.80 110.10 93.82 94.12 67.97 68.27 77.00 77.30

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 %09-Dec-16 Exposure_ Mod_Duration 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.54 1.10 1.59 2.65Yield Implied 3.01 3.22

1.00 2.63 2.27 Implied 2.00 Portfolio 1.49Price 1.00

13.73 16.04 15.62 15.26 INDEX 14.73 14.25

93.10 84.33 102.26 YTD Return 92.02 (%) 89.18 87.70

17.41 40.83 41.76 100.00 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

13.35 13.45 13.52 13.46 0.30 0.50 1.38 0.98 1.27 1.28 3.01 1.84 3.71 2.68 4.47 2.68

109.9717 121.4495 84.3892 108.1574 4.88 5.99 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 7.60 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00

1,044.51 1,028.39 1,021.60 1,026.27 17.15 18.65 17.82 16.62 17.85 16.87 18.83 20.92 15.06 15.06 14.31 14.26

4.4507 2.8388 2.1599 2.6273 98.95 97.88 93.72 97.02 95.91 98.81 80.38 89.62 97.00 97.86 99.00 100.68

48 BUSINESS | MONEY LINE

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

World Bank approves $150m for varsities in Nigeria, others

Gxxxx xxxxx

culture and health. This landmark Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) project, which will equip young Africans with new scientific and technical skills, will be financed through International Development Association (IDA), credits to the governments of Nigeria ($70 million), Ghana ($24 million), Senegal ($16 million), Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Togo ($8 million each). The Gambia will also receive a $2 million credit and a $1 million grant to provide higher education, including short-term training, to stu-

Bayo Akomolafe

he World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved $150 million to finance 19 universitybased Centers of Excellence in seven countries including Nigeria West and Central Africa. A World Bank statement explained that the competitively selected centers would receive funding for advanced specialised studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related disciplines, as well as in agri-

dents, faculty and civil servants through the 19 ACEs. The World Bank Vice-President for Africa, Makhtar Diop, said, "I am excited to support these pioneering centers of excellence because they will be another step in building and nurturing specialised worldclass higher education institutions on the continent. "I can think of no better way to grow African economies, create jobs, and support research in Africa, than educating young graduates with expertise in high-demand areas such as chemical engineering, crop science, and the

External reserves rise to $37.91 bn –CBN

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that the nation’s external reserves stood at $37.91 billion as at April 15, 2014. According to the apex bank, $36.87 billion of the reserves was in ‘liquid’ form, while $1.048 billion was in ‘blocked’ form. The new figure represents

an increase of $60 million or 2.77 per cent over the $37.85 billion recorded on April 1. The reserves have been fluctuating from $43.51 billion in January to $37.91 billion in April. It would be recalled that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the

Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had said that there was the need for Nigeria to shore up its external reserves. According to News Agency of Nigeria, the minister said this would enable the economy to be strong enough in event of any global adverse development.

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

N14,737,618.7m N16,509,472.5m 8 0.0000 12 10.899 7.96 17.01 US$109.9 US$42,604,781,796.6

Description

TTM

4.00% 23-Apr-2015 13.05% 16-Aug-2016 15.10% 27-Apr-2017 16.00% 29-Jun-2019 16.39% 27-Jan-2022 10.00% 23-Jul-2030

1.21 2.53 3.22 5.39 7.98 16.47

Tenor (Days) Call 7 30 60 90 180 365

Rate (%) 11.9167 12.3333 12.6667 12.9167 13.2167 13.5000 13.7500

NIBOR

Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 2/5/2014 1/20/2014 11/6/2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 1/20/2014 2/5/2014 Source:CBN

FGN Bonds Bid Price 90.20 99.25 104.10 109.35 114.15 76.60

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

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

control of infectious diseases." World Bank Education Manager for West & Central Africa, Peter Materu, said, "Students in West and Central Africa urgently need high-quality science and technology pro-

grams to compete in their own regional job market as well as the global economy, but not a single university from this part of Africa features in rankings of the world's top 500 universities."

Etisalat announces new mobile banking service Axxxxxx xxxx

Bayo Akomolafe

tisalat Group subsidiary, Etisalat Nigeria, has announced the launch of a new and comprehensive smartphone app that will enable customers access their mobile money services faster and with more ease. Etisalat Group Chief Digital Services Officer, Khalifa Al Forah, said, "Etisalat is at the forefront of technology innovation, bringing market relevant and transformational services to its customers across the group markets. Since September 2012, Etisalat has partnered with leading international and regional banks including GTBank, Zenith Bank, Stanbic Bank, First Bank Nigeria, as well as Paga Payment Network to allow Etisalat Nigeria customers conveniently access banking services through their mobile phones. Etisalat’s new smartphone app adds new dimensions to its existing mobile banking service. It supports all currently available functions and allows for more flexibility and convenience through additional features. The new app supports all major platforms including Android, Apple iOS, Windows Mobile and Java. It has a crisp, intuitive user interface accessible in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages. The Chief Executive Officer in Nigeria, Mr. Matthew Willsher said, "Research has shown that m-banking and mpayments can help lower the

transaction costs of money transfer, increase the flow of money by making it easier to send smaller amounts as well as introduce efficient tool for secure financial management. We believe the benefits to our customers will be immense and that this has the potential to transform the way we handle and manage money in this country. “The mobile phone has already improved African life in so many ways - it's exciting to think it now has the potential to replace notes and coins and give all of our customers’ access to world-class banking services. It uses advanced ISO-1 compliant security features, which ensure safe customer transactions that cannot be intercepted or manipulated by fraudsters. The app provides easy user interaction through icons, pictograms and bar-code reading functionalities. "Till date, the service has successfully registered over 15 million SIM ‘Tool Kit’ application downloads on consumer SIM cards. Nigeria currently has a smartphone penetration of over 10 per cent and it is expected to reach 40 per cent in the next two years. By enabling people to use their mobile phones to access advanced banking services, we not only hope to deliver lasting benefits to our customers, but also contribute to the socio-economic development of the economies of Nigeria and other countries that we operate in.” To develop this transformational service expansion, Etisalat has been working with globally renowned financial and technology partners in Nigeria to comply with local and global banking regulations and to facilitate payments and settlements in line with internationally recognised standards.

BUSINESS | CAPITAL MARKET 49

Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 Sanctity of Truth

Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003

Friday, April 18, 2014

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at April 17, 2014 Daily Summary (Bonds)

Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003

No Debt Trading Activity

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 7 11 18

Current Price 42.00 42.00

Quantity Traded 23,980 78,339 102,319

Value Traded 956,802.00 3,290,753.33 4,247,555.33

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 26 26

Current Price 3.09

Quantity Traded 813,170 813,170

Value Traded 2,561,264.30 2,561,264.30

915,489

6,808,819.63

Quantity Traded 2,503 20,454 13,701,241 1,151,038 14,875,236

Value Traded 3,704.44 98,383.74 49,560,356.85 67,793,867.31 117,456,312.34

14,875,236

117,456,312.34

AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 U A C N PLC. Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003 Diversified Industries Totals

44 Symbol AGLEVENT SCOA TRANSCORP UACN

No. of Deals 1 1 157 110 269

CONGLOMERATES Totals

Current Price 1.43 5.06 3.55 59.00

269

CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC U T C NIG. PLC. Food Products Totals

Daily Summary (Equities) Page

Activity Summary on Board EQTY NATURAL RESOURCES Paper/Forest Products THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. Paper/Forest Products Totals

Symbol THOMASWY

No. of Deals 1 1

NATURAL RESOURCES Totals

Current Price 0.79

Symbol JAPAULOIL

Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003 Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Quantity Traded 1,000 1,000

Value Traded 760.00 760.00

1,200

2,234.00

Quantity Traded 531,000 531,000

Value Traded 265,500.00 265,500.00

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals

No. of Deals 6 6

Current Price 0.50

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 145 145

Current Price 16.04

Quantity Traded 3,625,073 3,625,073

Value Traded 59,149,643.62 59,149,643.62

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 12 1 66 22 3 25 129

Current Price 51.90 3.80 122.70 120.05 54.44 172.38

Quantity Traded 16,044 4,870 507,146 36,576 156 32,566 597,358

Value Traded 752,153.40 17,580.70 61,468,164.08 4,428,457.82 8,068.32 5,529,555.08 72,203,979.40

4,753,431

131,619,123.02

OIL AND GAS Totals

280

Food Products--Diversified Totals CONSUMER GOODS Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Household Durables Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

Page

Activity Summary on Board EQTY SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 13 13

Current Price 1.15

Quantity Traded 118,531 118,531

Value Traded 132,591.02 132,591.02

Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

Symbol REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

No. of Deals 11 2 13

Current Price 4.39 2.47

Quantity Traded 116,070 62 116,132

Value Traded 505,427.30 153.76 505,581.06

Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC Hospitality Totals

Symbol TANTALIZER

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 100.00 100.00

Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 8 8

Current Price 0.57

Quantity Traded 72,000 72,000

Value Traded 42,205.52 42,205.52

No. of Deals 1 10 30 41 Daily Summary (Equities)

Current Price 1.80 1.78 3.67

Quantity Traded 1,000 152,048 1,232,211 1,385,259

Value Traded 1,710.00 258,564.00 4,766,774.37 5,027,048.37 Value Traded 620,022.45 620,022.45

Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 Printing/Publishing Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003 ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LEARN AFRICA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals

Symbol ACADEMY LEARNAFRCA UPL

Road Transportation

Activity Summary on Board EQTYPLC ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY

Road Transportation Totals SERVICES Specialty Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC Specialty Totals

Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 22 22

Current Price 0.89

Quantity Traded 688,485 688,485

Symbol NSLTECH

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded Page 1,000

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 9 53 62

Current Price 2.46 5.09

Quantity Traded 55,669 811,742 867,411

Value Traded 136,945.74 4,080,579.33 4,217,525.07

161

3,249,018

10,545,573.49

4,180

256,934,065

3,724,715,668.73

SERVICES Totals

EQTY Board Totals

Daily Summary (Equities)

500.00

Symbol CAPOIL

No. of Deals 1 1

Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003 OIL AND GAS Totals

ASeM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 100 100

Value Traded 50.00 50.00

100

50.00

100

4,181

256,934,165

Page

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 Exchange Traded Fund Totals Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003 Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 ETF Board Totals Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003

ETP Activity Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

Daily Summary (Equities)

Building Structure/Completion/Other CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals COSTAIN (W A) PLC.

UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Real Estate Development Totals UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Estate Investment Development Totals Real Trusts (REITs) Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Totals UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) Real Estate Investment TrustsTotals (REITs) Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts CONSUMER GOODS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals Beverages--Brewers/Distillers

Current Price 2,159.00 17.54

Quantity Traded 5 5,510 5,515

Value Traded 10,795.00 96,645.40 107,440.40

5,515

107,440.40

5,515

107,440.40

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE

Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction ROADS NIG PLC. JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals ROADS NIG PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals Real Estate Development

No. of Deals 1 2 3

Symbol COSTAIN Symbol COSTAIN Symbol JBERGER Symbol ROADS JBERGER ROADS Symbol UAC-PROP Symbol UAC-PROP Symbol SKYESHELT Symbol UHOMREIT SKYESHELT UHOMREIT

13 No. of Deals 1 13 14 1 14 No. of Deals

48 No. of Deals 48 48 48 No. of Deals 1 No. of Deals 1 1 2 1 792

Current Price 1.29 Current Price 1.29 Current Price 68.50 Current Price 8.46 68.50 8.46 Current Price 25.00 Current Price 25.00 Current Price 100.00 Current Price 47.59 100.00 47.59

79 Symbol DUNLOP Symbol DUNLOP Symbol CHAMPION Symbol CHAMPION

No. of Deals 2 No. of Deals 2 2 No. of Deals2 1 No. of Deals 1

Current Price 0.50 Current Price 0.50 Current Price 13.79 Current Price 13.79

Quantity Traded 671,961 Quantity Traded 671,961 671,961 Quantity 671,961 Traded

69,970 Quantity Traded 4,750 69,970 74,720 4,750 74,720 Quantity Traded

950,719 Quantity Traded 950,719 950,719 Quantity 950,719 Traded Page 200 Quantity Traded 70 200 270 70 270 1,697,670

4,564,172.75 Value Traded 42,180.00 4,564,172.75 4,606,352.75 42,180.00 4,606,352.75 Value Traded

23,870,211.60 Value Traded 23,870,211.60 23,870,211.60 23,870,211.60 Value Traded 13 of 13 19,000.00 Value Traded 3,165.40 19,000.00 22,165.40 3,165.40 22,165.40 29,365,660.54

1,697,670

29,365,660.54 Value Traded 7,000.00 Value Traded 7,000.00 7,000.00 Value7,000.00 Traded

20 Quantity Traded 20 Page Page

Quantity Traded 8,097 8,097

Value Traded 692,293.50 692,293.50

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR MULTITREX NASCON UTC

No. of Deals 33 48 64 28 1 19 2 195

Current Price 8.18 9.85 68.49 3.70 0.50 11.90 0.53

Quantity Traded 200,400 1,131,777 1,098,837 574,785 100 274,862 38,647 3,319,408

Value Traded 1,644,918.60 11,092,603.34 75,269,183.54 2,109,592.92 50.00 3,261,493.69 20,482.91 93,398,325.00

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

No. of Deals 47 95 142

Current Price 77.00 1,185.00

Quantity Traded 2,974,266 211,173 3,185,439

Value Traded 226,144,314.56 249,668,905.02 475,813,219.58

Symbol VITAFOAM

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 4.03

Quantity Traded 54,800 54,800 Page

Value Traded 221,643.00 3 221,643.00 of 13

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 36 41 77

Current Price 32.00 46.00

Quantity Traded 205,019 240,223 445,242

Value Traded 6,845,097.19 11,220,285.13 18,065,382.32

10,611,861

1,118,833,242.15 Value Traded 42,415,097.00 123,452,297.97 410,882,071.88 12,954,294.01 372,901,666.86 76,726,756.88 30,670,341.20 68,742,555.84 Value Traded 5,105,249.87 1,051,881.50 2,506,647.50 631,624,847.18 1,779,033,707.69

Daily Summary (Equities)

588

Current Price 0.50 0.76 0.97 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.63 0.50 2.32 0.77 0.50 0.59 0.63 0.50 0.50 0.69

Quantity Traded Page 100 1,207,472 245,313 4,410,491 10,000 150 74,400 10,500 5,098,821 5,074,189 10,000 204,700 418,000 30,000 300 11,342,914 28,137,350

4Value Traded of 13 50.00 918,977.68 239,173.61 2,205,245.50 5,000.00 75.00 47,784.03 5,250.00 11,470,372.54 3,856,667.59 5,000.00 117,679.00 263,340.00 15,000.00 150.00 8,161,530.68 27,311,295.63

Current Price 6.27 0.97

Quantity Traded 1,000 Page 272,000 273,000

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 UBA CAPITAL PLC Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003 Other Financial Institutions Totals

ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC Computer Based Systems Totals IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC IT Services Totals Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC PrintedSummary 10/04/2014 Daily as 14:48:03.003 of 10/04/2014 Processing Systems Totals Printed 10/04/2014 14:48:03.003

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 1.64

Quantity Traded 800 800

Value Traded 1,272.00 1,272.00

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 64 33 457 45 29 108 736

Current Price 3.04 2.20 12.35 3.51 20.45 2.60

Quantity Traded 3,031,252 3,319,755 11,354,899 1,334,491 100,882 7,781,504 26,922,783

Value Traded 9,072,922.61 7,233,163.28 140,428,895.65 4,684,332.39 2,039,653.36 20,258,681.38 183,717,648.67

210,633,860

1,990,334,143.99

2,515

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol UNIONDAC

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 60,250 60,250

Value Traded 30,125.00 30,125.00

Symbol EVANSMED FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

No. of Deals 1 1 20 7 1 1 31

Current Price 2.12 2.92 70.00 1.81 1.45 1.57

Quantity Traded 2,500 9,498 Page 239,074 49,500 3,000 100 303,672

28,019.10 6 of 13 16,701,081.96 86,866.40 4,140.00 157.00 16,825,314.46

Value Traded 5,050.00

363,922

16,855,439.46

Symbol COURTVILLE

No. of Deals 7 7

Current Price 0.57

Quantity Traded 5,201,000 5,201,000

Value Traded 2,762,570.00 2,762,570.00

Symbol CWG

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 5.56

Quantity Traded 2,600 2,600

Value Traded 13,754.00 13,754.00

Symbol CHAMS ETRANZACT

No. of Deals 9 1 10

Current Price 0.50 2.32

Quantity Traded 1,360,450 30,000 1,390,450

Value Traded 680,225.00 66,300.00 746,525.00

6,594,050

3,522,849.00

ICT Totals

Value Traded 5,960.00 of 13 264,260.00 270,220.00

Symbol INFINITY

Daily Summary (Equities) Daily Summary (Equities)

Page

Symbol ASHAKACEM Symbol BERGER CAP CCNN DANGCEM FIRSTALUM PORTPAINT WAPCO

No. of Deals 33 No. of Deals

Current Price Current 16.62 Price

Quantity Traded Quantity795,608 Traded 49,116 89,657 264,827 737,148 150 20 958,957 2,895,483

Value Traded 13,195,166.22 Value Traded 427,841.93 3,373,937.10 2,480,199.80 173,188,794.62 78.00 86.00 103,897,211.85 296,563,315.52

Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

Symbol CUTIX

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 1.94

Quantity Traded 220,200 220,200

Value Traded 420,125.34 420,125.34

Packaging/Containers AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals

Symbol AVONCROWN BETAGLAS

No. of Deals 1 3 4

Current Price 1.41 19.95

Quantity Traded 3,125 119,520 122,645

Value Traded 4,406.25 2,384,424.00 2,388,830.25

3,238,328

299,372,271.11

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 1,474.00 1,474.00

BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. Building Materials Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

262.20 Value Traded 262.20 13 2 of 2

Current Price 90.00

Insurance Carriers, and Symbol No. of Deals Published by The Nigerian Stock Brokers Exchange © Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC AFRINSURE 1 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. AIICO 26 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CONTINSURE 8 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. CORNERST 9 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. GUINEAINS 1 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC HMARKINS 1 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC INTENEGINS 7 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LASACO 2 Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MANSARD 19 Printed 10/04/2014 N.E.M14:48:03.003 INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NEM 29 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NIGERINS 1 OASIS INSURANCE PLC OASISINS 7 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. PRESTIGE 4 Daily Summary (Equities) STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. STDINSURE 1 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC UNIVINSURE 1 WAPIC INSURANCE PLCEQTY WAPIC 68 Activity Summary on Board Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals 185 FINANCIAL SERVICES Micro-Finance Banks Symbol No. of Deals FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC FORTISMFB 1 Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NPFMCRFBK 7 Micro-Finance Banks Totals 8

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials INDUSTRIAL GOODS ASHAKA CEM PLC Building Materials

Value Traded 866,930.79 Value Traded 866,930.79 866,930.79 866,930.79 Value Traded

Quantity Traded 14,000 Quantity Traded 14,000 14,000 14,000 Quantity Traded

No. of Deals 11 11

Quantity Traded 5,658,797 19,591,452 31,605,010 6,124,714 13,759,127 22,361,420 11,771,597 9,593,981 Quantity504,983 Traded 2,103,763 2,525,595 29,699,488 155,299,927

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Activity Summary on Board EQTY

No. of Deals 15 No. of Deals 15 15 15 No. of Deals

Symbol 7UP

HEALTHCARE Totals

50.00 of

Value Traded 16,011,048.81 3,154,406.25 511,469,661.49 530,635,378.75

Current Price 7.41 6.03 13.10 2.11 27.20 3.49 2.62 7.20 Current 10.35 Price 0.50 0.99 21.25

HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL Activity Summary on Board EQTY SERVICES PLC Healthcare Providers Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC © Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

3,724,715,718.73 12

Quantity Traded 84,301 121,875 3,378,679 3,584,875

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals

Activity Summary on Board ASeM OIL AND GAS Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CAPITAL OIL PLC Petroleum Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Daily Summary as ofand 10/04/2014

Current Price 190.00 26.41 150.85

Symbol No. of Deals ACCESS 112 DIAMONDBNK 85 ETI 100 Daily Summary (Equities) FIDELITYBK 120 GUARANTY 351 SKYEBANK 156 STERLNBANK 105 UBA 193 Symbol No. of Deals UBN 48 UNITYBNK 3 WEMABANK 43 ZENITHBANK 267 1,583

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Value Traded 11 of 500.00 13

1,000

No. of Deals 30 23 102 156

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Daily Summary as of 10/04/2014 Banking14:48:03.003 Printed 10/04/2014 ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC Activity Summary on Board EQTY STERLING BANK PLC. FINANCIAL SERVICES UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC Banking UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals

Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC.

Activity Summary on Board NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. EQTY

Symbol GUINNESS INTBREW NB

NATURAL RESOURCES Metals ALUMINIUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Metals Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

12 16 14 43 2 1 50 171

8.76 37.75 9.48 235.00 0.50 4.10 108.00

187 Symbol ALUMACO

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 7.75

Page Page

8 9

of of

13 13

50 WORLD | NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

Divers search for South Korean ferry survivors

Syria submits more ‘detailed’ list of chemical weapons

escuers struggled with strong waves and murky waters yesterday as they searched for hundreds of people, most of them teenagers from the same school, still missing after a South Korean ferry capsized 36 hours ago. Coastguard, navy and private divers scoured the site of the accident, about 20 km (12 miles) off the country’s southwestern coast. Earlier, rescue teams hammered on the hull of the upturned, mostly submerged vessel, hoping for a response from anyone trapped inside, but they heard nothing, local media reported. The vessel, carrying 475 passengers and crew, capsized on Wednesday during a journey from the port of Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju. Coastguards recovered five more bodies late yesterday, raising the death toll to 14 people. Another 179 passengers have been rescued, leaving 282 unaccounted for and possibly trapped in the vessel. One parent, Park Yung-suk, told Reuters at the port of Jin-

do, where rescue efforts are centered, that she had seen the body of her teenage daughter’s teacher brought ashore. “If I could teach myself to dive, I would jump in the water and try to find my daughter,” she said. Her daughter was one of 340 children and teachers from the Danwon High School in Ansan, a Seoul suburb, on

board the vessel. The captain of the ship, Lee Joon-seok, 69, faces a criminal investigation, coastguard officials said, amid unconfirmed reports that he was one of the first to jump to safety from the stricken vessel. One official said authorities were investigating whether the captain had indeed aban-

doned the vessel early and one of the charges he faced was violating a law that governs the conduct of shipping crew. Many survivors told local media that Lee was one of the first to be rescued, although none actually saw him leave the ship. The coastguard and the ferry operator declined comment.

Helicopters circle around the sinking passenger ferry off the coast of Jindo Island, in the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. (Photo by The Republic of Korea Coast Guard via Getty Images)

Man bags life jail after severing student’s head

man who was found in the street with selfinflicted stab wounds last June has been sentenced to life for killing an 18-year-old student. Ara Hussein severed Reema Ramzan’s head after killing her in a frenzied knife attack in Shirecliffe, Sheffield. He was told at Sheffield Crown Court he would have to serve at least 20 years behind bars for the fatal stabbing. He was found on the street with wound to his chest by a member of the public and, when police arrived at the scene, they searched Hussein’s property and found the remains of Miss Ramzan. He was taken to hospital and later charged with murder. Ramzan’s mental health was an issue during the case after his transfer from prison to Rampton Secure Hospital in North Nottinghamshire in July but he was subsequently deemed fit to stand trial. Miss Ramzan’s family is-

sued a statement after the sentencing: “Since the death of Reema, nothing is the same anymore. We miss her every single day and not a moment goes by that we do not think of her. “Words cannot describe the pain we feel not having her here. “Reema was not just a beau-

tiful girl to look at, she was a beautiful girl inside; so kind and helpful, she was always smiling and we loved her so much. We couldn’t have wished for a more loving and caring daughter and sister. “As a family, we are absolutely devastated and still cannot believe this has happened. We don’t think we will

ever be able to get over losing Reema and we just wish we could have her back, just one more time, to hold her and be able to say goodbye. “We are devastated by what has happened, Reema was such a special person in our lives and the hole that has now been left in our hearts will never be filled.”

Guinea-Bissau run-off to decide president

run-off election is expected to be held in the Guinea-Bissau Presidential race between the top two next month as no candidate secured an outright victory in Sunday’s presidential election in the country, the electoral commission has said. Jose Mario Vaz, an ex-finance minister from the main PAIGC party, will face Nuno Gomes Nabiam, a military-backed bureaucrat running as an independent. The general elections were the first since a coup in 2012, after which the EU and others suspended aid donations.

In the parliamentary vote, the PAIGC party, which has dominated politics since independence, won 55 of the 102 seats. The Party for Social Renewal (PRS) of former President Kumba Yala, who died earlier this month, took 41 seats. Mr Yala had not endorsed his own party’s presidential candidate, instead backing Mr Nabiam, who is a former head of the civil aviation authority. The PAIGC majority in parliament means the leader of that party’s parliamentary list, Domingos Simoes Pereira, will become the next prime minister. “These results, if managed

well by particularly the leaders of the two main political parties, will ensure that Guinea-Bissau finally has the stability that is essential for structural reforms in all sectors,” Reuters news agency quotes Jose Ramos-Horta, the UN special representative in Guinea-Bissau, as saying. The presidential run-off is expected to be held on 18 May. TheWestAfricannationhasstagnated since 2012, under the rule of a transitional government backed by its all-powerful military. Withfewresourcesotherthancashewnutsandfish,SouthAmerican drugcartelshaveturnedthecountry into a cocaine-trafficking hub.

yria has submitted a “more specific” list of its chemical weapons to the global regulator overseeing the destruction of its stockpile after discrepancies were reported by inspectors on the ground, officials said. Damascus agreed to give up its chemical arsenal after Washington threatened military action following the death of hundreds of Syrians in a sarin gas attack on the outskirts of Damascus during Syria’s civil war last August. But Damascus is several weeks behind schedule in handing over its lethal toxins. A diplomat said questions had been raised by member states at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) about the details of its chemical arsenal submitted by President Bashar al-Assad’s government last year. The officials said the original list had been based on estimates, not exact amounts of toxic agents found in storage and production facilities across Syria. The joint U.N./OPCW mission in Syria found “discrepancies between what they found, and what was on the original declaration”, one diplomat told Reuters. OPCW spokesman, Michael Luhan, confirmed a revised list had been submitted. “For some of the stockpile, ranges of quantities had been provided. Now they are being replaced with specific amounts,” he said. The exact amounts came to light after inspectors visited the sites, took inventory, and packaged the chemicals for transport to the port town of Latakia, he said. Official could not provide specific details about the discrepancies. Syria initially reported to the OPCW having roughly 1,300 metric tons of toxic chemicals, including precursors for poison gas and nerve agents. Luhan said no new chemicals were added in the revised list. As part of a deal reached with the United States and Russia last year, the Assad government agreed to abandon the weapons of mass destruction and destroy all chemicals in its possession by June 30. Syria did not make public the exact list of chemicals, but officials have said it includes more than 500 metric tons of highly toxic chemical weapons, such as sulfur mustard and precursors for the poisonous gas sarin, as well as more than 700 metric tons of bulk industrial chemicals.

Nigeria, Iran no threat –Bosnia coach Emmanuel Tobi

osnia-Hezergovina coach, SafegSusic, has boasted that Nigeria Super Eagles and the Iran national team will not pose any threat to Bosnia’s quest of qualifying to

the quarterfinal stage of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Speaking with www.nfsbih.ba, the national team’s official website, the coach is banking on the scoring prowess of his strikers which he stressed will destroy their oppo-

SPORT

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

nents in Group F which includes Argentina, Nigeria and Iran. “When you have players like (Miralem) Pjanic, (Zvjezdan) Misimovic, (Edin) Dzeko and (Vedad)Ibisevic, it would be unfair to the

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS kunle.salami@newtelegraphonline.com adekunles@yahoo.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 54

Did you know? That Portugal’s Eusebio was the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup in England with nine goals

FRIday, APRIL 18, 2014

NFF has NO PROBLEM WITH KESHI T -Maigari

Adekunle Salami he Nigeria Football Federation on Thursday cried out that the body was not after Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi , in any

lFootb all body reinstates focus on World Cup

way. NFF President, Aminu Maigari, told our correspondent on Thursday on the telephone that recent reports on the feud between the Eagles Head

Super Eagles players celebrating.

Coach and the soccer ruling body were untrue. Keshi two weeks ago frowned at the request of the Technical Committee demanding for a 35-man list for the forthcoming World Cup. The coach argued that it was too early and that he would submit his list at appropriate time. “Nobody is taking about list now CONTINUED ON PAGE 54

Nadal, Federer reach Monte Carlo Q/final

E Federer

ight-time champion Rafael Nadal and threetime runner-up Roger Federer were a pair of easy third-round winners Thursday at the $4 million Monte Carlo Masters tennis event. The top-seeded Nadal whipped Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-3, while the fourth- seeded former world No. 1 Federer handled big-serving Czech Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-1 on the red clay at the beautiful Monte Carlo Country Club.

Federer lost to Nadal in three straight finals here from 2007-09. Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic in last year’s final, ending his record eight- year reign at this event. He’s now a brilliant 50-2 overall in Monte Carlo. The reigning French and U.S. Open champion Nadal and Djokovic currently hold all nine Masters titles between them, as well as the ATP World Tour Finals. The 2014 Monte Carlo winner will collect $760,000.

Nadal

SportL

Mfon

52 SPORT

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/Sport

WITH Tobi Emmanuel

0805 400 5669

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

ifestyle

Udoka princetobby@yahoo.com tobi.emmanuel@newtelegraphonline.com

Former Nigeria basketball player

Best food - Thai Best drink – Coffee with cream Best colour – Teal Best city – Istanbul, Turkey Best Club Supported - Portland Trail Blazers Best car - Porsche Cayenne Best designer - J Crew Best Perfume – Marc Jacobs Daisy Favourite Music - Rap Favourite musician - Adele Favourite Actor - None Favourite Actress - None Best Competition Attended - 2004 Athens Olympics

Okpekpe Race: Oshiomole eyes better placement Charles Ogundiya

head of the 2nd edition of the Okpekpe road race, Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams has intensified training in order to surpass his feat last year after finishing in 131st position. The road race scheduled for May 3, continues to experience

influx of athletes as over 5,000 athletes across the world have already registered while some athletes from some Africa countries and Northern Nigeria are currently in the hilly town training for the race. A Kenyan athlete revealed that about eight of his colleagues from the Eastern African country are already in Auchi, Edo

state, for the race. Another athlete from Kano, who simply identified himself as Usman said he was looking forward to the prize money hence his decision to spend a week in the community to train and get himself familiar with the road. “I’m here to train ahead of the May 3 race. I came all the way from Kano.”

Ikhana on a rescue mission at Giwa FC Chimaobi Uchendu

arring any last minute change, former Enyimba coach, Kadiri Ikhana, will be announced as the technical Adviser of Giwa Football Club of Jos as negotiations has reached advanced stage between the management and the ex-Falcons coach. Ikhana was seen dishing out instructions from the stands to Giwa

FC players, last Wednesday in Port Harcourt, when they played Dolphins in a rescheduled Premier League clash which ended 1-1. The veteran coach, who won the CAF Champions League with Enyimba in 2003, has also coached Kano Pillars and Sunshine Stars in the past. Ikhana was with Nasarawa United last season where he helped the team avoid relegation.

Nollywood friendly: Mitchell, Izamoje, Ogazi top SWAN team list

resident of Africa Sports Journalists, Mitchel Obi, Chairman of Brila Group, Larry Izamoje and Director of Sports in Nigeria Television Authority, Paul Ogazi, top the list of sports writers that will face Nollywood actors in a novelty match on April 24. The match is the curtain raisers for the 2014 Lagos Sports Writers Association Cup and will hold at the Legacy Pitch of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, according to the organisers. Lagos SWAN Chairman, Fred Edoreh, said that all machineries have been put in place to ensure a successful tournament. Others members of the SWAN team are Ejiro Omonode, Felix Awogu, Niyi Oyeleke, Tony

Nezianya, Mumuni Alao, Dare Esan, Duro Ikhazuagbe, Peter Edema, Felix Okugbe, Taye Ige and Onochie Anibeze. Also in the list are Ben Alaiya, Adekunle Salami, Dapo Sotiminu, Chris Opara, , Tony Ubani, George Aluo, Jide Alabi, Jenkins Alumona and Ladi Egbedire are also members of the team. The list also includes Godwin Enakhena, Ken Ochonogor, Femi Obong Daniel, Mike Maiyaki, Ejiro Babafemi, Henrietta Ukaigwe, Blessing Nwosu, Deola (NTA), Pepsie Adiukwu and Mercy Igbafe. Barrong Etta Uranta, Nneka Anibeze, Mariah Olatunji, Cecilia Omorogbe, Anulika (VON), Anabel Okweri (FRCN) and Chisom Mbonu.

Football action between Etisalat football team and Standard Chartered bank team at the ongoing Remita corporate football championship cup at Campus Square in Lagos recently.

sport fanzone

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

FG knows only football, athletics

think there is unwritten policy that government can only develop football and, maybe, athletics. Government concession some lesser sports sometimes ago and the former Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, cancelled that policy which to me was the right thing to do because we had the wrong people taking over these sports and running them aground. Now that that policy has been reversed we must now fashion out a way to help other sports develop. Sports minister is a political appointee and he has some interests to protect and those interest and football and athletics inclined, we must check that.

Is FG neglecting other TFootball most popular

sports for football? Followers of sports react to the attention government is giving football and other sports in Nigeria

he reason is not far-fetched. Football in Nigeria is the most popular sport and government want immediate result and this has been the bane of other sports. Government and those running football are very corrupt and want a quicker way out which football easily brings. If they change their attitude and develop other sports in equal measure, the results will be immense

Let’s have football minister

-Phemmy Adetula- journalist

Govt not doing enough

ootball is just one overnment is not doing well for sports sport out generally, including football. Sports in of the 36 or this country has been bastardised and more sports government has been paying lip service associations to its development. How much is being we have and it budgeted for sports every year, compare has been overindulged in terms of to other sector? We are not just ready for it. funding and attention. -Abayomi Idowu, Designer This is a trend that portends doom Danagogo, Sports Minister for other sports in Nigeria. Other sports have continued to suffer Govt uses football Ministers of football Other countries give tremendous neglect because ot a good equal attention Sam Emehelu, Sports consultant the sports budget and attention for politics decision, hat has long been the revolves round football alone. And but then the reason why other sports the only solution is to have a clear problem is can’t develop in Nigeria. It’s cut criteria. more from Let us have Minister for football and as if football is the only sport those apthat exists but that shouldn’t here is Minister for sports. pointed as be the case. Those in governtoo much sports minister, who end up bement try to use football as an emphasis on -Monica Iheakam-Journalist his is a very serious issue coming ministers for football instrument to propagate their football in this in Nigeria, other countries Remedy? Those running sports political ambitions, celebratcountry. It is as give equal attention to other Football loved globally in Nigeria are not from outer ing mediocrity by offering if other sports ootball is the mother of all sports, national honours and money space, there is a general dearth sports especially medals are not existint loved by majority of people all to footballers while handing in our administration so getting winning sports, but here it is in this country. very unfortunate that we only A football team over the world. This actually has out nothing but handshakes it right for now is a pipe dream. invest in football at the detrigoes outside and returns home with a informed why there seems to be to athletes from other sports ment of other sports. I just -Timi Ebikagborobroadcaster bronze and they are celebrated, but if the a higher interest placed on football who work as hard, if not hardhope this will change with badminton team, or any other non-football by government. Government er, than these footballers. the new minister of sports in team travels for a championship and wins really pays little attention to other charge. it, they don’t get any recognition from the sports. To stem the tide, people who -Muazu Safiyanu, Golfer -Sola Akintunde, Civil very nation has its favourite sports ministry; not even a simple ‘thank participated as sportsmen should servant sport. In India, it is cricket, be appointed sports administrators you’ for doing the country proud. Eagles bonus can South Africa, rugby, China, in government, either as sports table tennis, USA Ameriboost athletes ministers or sports commissioners can football and basketball. e need to change our at -Jane Ekpo- Journalist -Grace Daniel, NSCDC, Abuja titudes towards other Granted that this government sports. I am not talking because I favoritism is helping football Chimaobi Uchendu am a coach of another sport, but but if other sports too do well, Ifeanyi Ibeh asketball is my number one sport but foot- the truth must be said. Football I’m sure government will supAjibade Olusesan ball has a way of bringing the entire country is a one medal sport while sports port them. Charles Ogundiya together. I guess that is why there is so much like swimming, athletics and Sina AbimbolaJournalist gymnastic can win us minimum Mercy Jacob attention given to it, much to the detriment of other sports. There are lots of talented athletes of 15 medals if there is proper inin this country doing other sports, but the fact vestment. We have the talents Football deserves the attention that you can only get recognition from those in but we are not harnessing them. will not blame government for paying so much attention authority if you’re into football doesn’t encourage others. And The bonus of the Super Eagles to football. Somehow, football has become the king of if this doesn’t change, other sports will gradually die in Nigeria. players can be used in preparing six athletes in other sports all sports. It’s natural that so much attention would be attracted. and they will win medals. I believe that the problem is with the administrators, -Anthony Asuquo, coach -Adewale Adepoju, Nigerian Navy coaches, and athletes in other sports. They have not done enough to win government’s attention. If they do, government will look their way. Take taekwando for instance, because of the personal efforts being put in by Chukwumerije, so much attention is being attracted to he love for football by Nigerians and their government is not akin to Nigeria alone. Its a global thing. the sports. This is what other sports too should do. Remember, football is like a religion and it attracts a lot of its own ‘congregation’ or followers if you like. In the midst of several demands and scarce resources, it’s So, a lot of people follow football more than any other sports in the world because of enthusiasm, interest natural that only the serious ones would be recognised. and influence it exhumes. Football has healing effect. And for government, its political. Government catch on the fact that the massesAdministrators, coaches, and athletes must join forces poor loves football and soccer becomes the only instrument for govt to permeate into the masses consciousand promote their various sports in order to attract govnesses and the only way for them is to fund it as long as it can stop people from taking restiveness in times ernment’s interest. of poor governance and corruption. -Kali Gwegwe- Vice-President YSFON -Emeka Ibemere –Journalist

It’s like no other sport exists

It’s everywhere

Football brings us together

The crew

People follow football more T

54 SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Gerrard deserves EPL title F – Zidane Gerrard celebrating after scoring a goal. Inset: Zidane

ormer French international midfielder Zinedine Zidane has heaped praise on Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, and feels the Reds skipper is deserving of the Premier League title. “He [Gerrard] has had a great career winning many things -- but it would be a big shame for him if he was never to win the league with Liverpool,” Zidane told the Daily Mail. “For everything that he has given - he deserves a league title.” Zidane, now an assistant coach and sporting director at Madrid, believes

Friday, April 18, 2014

the England midfielder could have succeeded at any club on the continent, and feels his loyalty to his club should be rightfully rewarded. “I don’t think that is any secret that Real Madrid and Chelsea had big interest in him and that is just the teams the media knew about,” said ‘Zizou’. “He could have played for any team in Europe -- but he turned them down. That sort of loyalty should be rewarded with a title.”

2015 World Cup: NFF blows hot on Falcons

We have no problem N with Keshi -Nff

Mercy Jacob

CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

and the number is too large for me. We have a short time to prepare,” Keshi had said. However, Maigari noted that the coach was not angry with any committee or the NFF in general. “I communicate with him regularly and there is no problem at all. We are all thinking about our participation in the World Cup in Brazil,” he said. The Spokesman of the NFF board, Chief Emeka Iyama, was more comprehensive while speaking to New Telegraph also on Thursday.

Iyama argued that the NFF and the eagles Head Coach were working on the same page to enable Nigeria to do well at the forthcoming Mundial. He said, “I don’t know where the reports on crisis have been coming from but it is important to state that we are all working as a team to do well at the World Cup. “Only recently, we paid the salaries of the coaches up till June ending yet people are saying all is not well between us. We have many things to do with money but felt the salaries were of priority to the federation.

“Keshi is in charge of the team and we can only support him with his plans to achieve results. We supported him well at the Nations Cup to lift the trophy and we are going to do so again to get the best result possible in Brazil.” Iyama revealed that the logistics of the forthcoming friendly games are the main burden of the NFF for now. “It is not as easy as people thing to stage friendly games but we have been doing this for all the national teams,” he said. Keshi’s provisional list for the World Cup is still being awaited as the event draws near.

igeria Football Federation Director of Competitions, Sanusi Mohammed, has, ahead of the African Women Championship qualifiers, warned the Super Falcons led by Edwin Okon to brace up noting that the federation would not tolerate any form of complacency. The AWC also serves as the qualifying tournament for next year’s FIFA World Cup in Canada, and Mohammed insists the nation cannot afford to miss out of both tournaments. “I have been mandated by the NFF to address you on the need for all hands to be on deck towards achieving the task of qualifying for the AWC to be hosted in Namibia “We have a very herculean task ahead of us as only three teams will qualify to represent Africa at

Okon

the next FIFA World Cup in Canada,” said Mohammed. “Countries like South Africa, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana and other upcoming countries are not lying low to see that they too qualify for the World Cup. Meanwhile, Super Falcons defender, OsinachiOhale, has signed a professional contract with American professional side, Houston Dash FC, making her first appearance for the club at the weekend in a loss to defending champions, Portland Thorns.

University of Georgia grabs Nigerian centre Balogun runs in two weeks Ifeanyi Ibeh

igerian teenager, Fred OsahenIduwe, has been signed by top American university, the University of Georgia, and will next season attend the famous institution and play for the Bulldogs. Iduwe, a 6ft, 11 inches tall centre, who hails from Benin-City, Edo State, currently attends St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin. He played one season for the school’s basketball team, averaging 8.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.4

blocks per game. Iduwe, who came to the U.S. in 2011 as part of the Ejike Ugboaja Foundation, which provides educational opportunities abroad for prospective Nigerian student-athletes, graduated in the spring of 2013 from Central Park Christian High School in Birmingham, Alabama, where he posted per-game averages of 8.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in the ’13 season. University of Georgia’s basketball coach, Mark Fox, said; “Osahen is a young student of the game, but he has a dynamic future in front of him. He has terrific length and athleticism.

Pepsi Academy takes positives from Eaglets’ mauling Charles Ogundiyi

fficials of Pepsi Football Academy have expressed happiness with the performance of their players despite Tuesday’s heavy 9-0 defeat to Nigeria’s U-17 National side, the Golden Eaglets. The friendly encounter came up at the Agege Stadium, Lagos, and speaking in the aftermath of the match, Technical Officer, Pepsi Football Academy, Ade-

wale Laloko said: “The game has helped us to assess the response of our boys to training and instructions.” Laloko also explained that only players from the Pepsi Academy’s Agege centre, one of 14 centres spread across Nigeria, were used to prosecute the match as there was not enough time to pick and assemble the best players from the other academies. Also speaking, Coach of the Golden Eaglets, Emmanuel

Amunike said: “All what we can do as a team is to continue to encourage ourselves and God willing, I hope we can put smiles on the faces of Nigerians when the time comes.” Established in 1992, the Pepsi Football Academy has discovered and nurtured young Nigerian football talents to stardom such as current Super Eagles stars John Mikel Obi, Osaze Odemwingie and Elderson Echiejile.

s the monitoring of national team players continues ahead of the Brazil 2014 World Cup, the only injured player of the team, Leon Aderemi Balogun of German side, Fortuna Dusseldorf, has revealed that in two weeks, he should be fit to run like a footballer. Speaking from his German base Balogun said his recovery has been phenomenal thanks to the support

of his club and those of the NFF. “As I speak with you, I just came back from the gym”, the told Super Eagles Media Officer; Ben Alaiya. He continues, “and it didn’t just start I have been going through the routine and should be doing bike next week, but all the medics have said is that I should take it a step at a time and hopefully I should be doing ‘Cross Trainer’ next week,” he said.

Nigeria, Iran no threat –Bosnia coach CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 1

game itself and the fans not to unleash all that talent.” He maintained that both Nigeria and Iran should forget about the second qualification slot in the group “Argentina is by far the best team in our group and they should finish first. Our target is to join them in the next round. I think our chances are very realistic, because at this moment, Nigeria and Iran are not better than us,” he added. Susic however revealed that

his team would not change its attacking pattern. “We will way we have always played because it would be wrong to change our approach now, although we are aware that our style may be a tactical gamble. After all, we are playing to score more goals than our opponents and so far it has paid off. “It would be unfair to the game and above all to the fans if we were to constrain such talents.”

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, April 18, 2014

NEWS 55

Delegates adopt work plan, dissolve into committees Onwuka Nzeshi Abuja

elegates to the ongoing National Conference yesterday adopted the work plan of the conference covering a period of fourteen weeks and terminating on June 19, 2014. The time table was adopted after an exhaustive deliberation of the various activities which the conference plans to undertake within its three months life span. The Work Plan indicates that committees work would begin on Tuesday April 22 after the Easter break and end on Wednesday April 30 while the Conference would receive reports from committees and commence deliberations on the reports on May 5 and conclude it in two days. The conference is expected to a recess on May Day in solidarity with labour before break-

Onwuka Nzeshi Abuja

he National Conference yesterday hailed the security agencies for their efforts leading to the release of about 92 abducted school girls in Borno State. The delegates at the conference, however, urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the security chiefs not to relent on the rescue mission until the remaining eight girls were set free. Since the bombing of the Nyanya Mass Transit Park in the Federal Capital Territory on

ing the plenary again for participation in the World Economic Forum which will hold in Abuja. Deliberation on the various committee reports will resume on May 12 and will last till May 15 when deliberations would be completed. Between May 19 to 29, the Conference Secretariat, working with the Report Drafting Committee, will put the report together and present same to the Conference in plenary. According to the work pan, the conference would commence the consideration and adoption of the draft report on June 2 and end on June 12. The h final report of the conference would be produced and signed between June 16 and 19. However, some delegates criticized the work plan, arguing that the time allocated to committee work was too short in view of the volume of work the com-

L-R: Representative of the Ambassador of Switzerland, Mr. Oliver Heggelin; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs, Dr. Habiba Lawal and the Minister, Hajiya Zainab Maina, at the inauguration of the National Joint Taskforce for the prevention of child sex abuse in Abuja …yesterday

mittees were expected to do. Other delegates were not comfortable with the absence of a business committee or a report drafting committee to assist the secretariat in the task of producing the report of the conference. Some delegates also kicked against the three-

delegate of Nigerians in Diaspora, Asia, at the National Conference has urged Nigeria to emulate Singapore’s model in her strive for economic development. Dr Jonathan Obaje, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Urah Health, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja. Obaje said one of the Singapore’s development

ris Kutigi appealed to the delegates to be calm and resume work at their various committees as the work plan was designed to fit into the period of three months which the federal government gave to the conference. According to Kutigi, it was better to start the work

Confab hails release of abducted school girls, condemns attack on Wukari Monday and the abduction of 100 school girls in Borno State the following day, security issues have continued to dominate discussions at the national conference. Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, set the ball rolling yesterday when he raised a point of order followed by a motion seeking to commend the security agencies over the rescue of the school girls and to encourage them to do more.

For mer National Woman Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mrs. Josephine Anenih who seconded the motion, said that President Jonathan who gave the marching orders to the security forces should be commended alongside the local chiefs and hunters in the area who worked closely with the security operatives. According to Anenih, the development underscored the need for

Diaspora delegate urges emulation of Singapore model

day break allotted to the World Economic Forum and wanted the period added to the work of the committees since not all delegates have roles to play at the global forum expected to hold in Abuja. In response to these criticisms, Conference Chairman, Justice Id-

models Nigeria needed to emulate was human capital development which made the country the third richest nation in the world. The delegate said the country should not be so concerned with resource control but how to enhance the level of capacity of its citizens and the education of her children. He said that Singapore as a country was rated the third richest nation in the world in spite of the fact

that it has no mineral resource, not even water to drink. “The issue of resource control that is so hot in this country should not be so. It is not how much natural resources you have; it is the development of the human capital, the brain that makes the different. “Otherwise Singapore wouldn’t have been anywhere today in the whole world because it has no single mineral resources.’’

the involvement of every well-meaning citizen of Nigeria in the security of local communities. Also yesterday, the conference received reports of the attack on local communities in Wukari, Taraba State as well as the killing of a monarch and 19 others in Yala, Gwoza , Borno State. Dr Salome Jakanda, one of the delegates from Taraba State disclosed that Wukari was under

Dan Atori MINNA

he 11 delegates representing Niger state at the ongoing constitutional conference have been directed to push for the full implementation of the Hydro Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), the bill which President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has since signed into law. The delegates were

siege and a 24-hour curfew had been imposed on the town. According to Jakanda, the situation was not about local communities fighting each other, but an invasion by some external forces. In view of the recurring debates on security, it was suggested that the Conference Committee on Security should look at the security challenges facing the country and produce an interim report which would then be

and later ask for an extension if the need arises. “This work plan was conceived based on the three months period given to us. But if the need arises and we request for time, there is no reason why the period for committee work cannot be extended,” he assured.

deliberated upon by delegates and resolutions passed to Mr President. However, there was a counter opinion that much as the conference should show concern for what is happening in the larger society, it should refrain from constituting itself into a parallel National Assembly. Deputy Chairman of the Conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi said the conference must remain focused on its mandate and avoid dabbling into issues that could antagonize the National Assembly or even the President.

Push for full implementation of HYPPADEC, Gov Aliyu tells Niger delegates told to lobby their colleagues for the full execution of the provision of the bill, because it is considered the solution to the annual problem faced by people in the riverine areas and flood plains of the three Hydro Electric Dams situated at Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro, as well as another one under construction in Zungeru, all in Niger state. Rising from a stake-

holders meeting, held at the government house and presided over by Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu and former Governor Abdulkhadir Kure, who is the leader of the state delegates to the conference, the meeting resolved that the state should also ask for necessary compensation from the relevant authorities for power being generated from these dams.

World Record

On Marble Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. – 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 FRIday, APRIL 18, 2014

Long truck driver, Mike Dobbyn, holds the world record for golf’s longest drive at 551 yards. The record is in its 11th year.

N150

The curious case of NELMCO N Graffiti igerians have a penchant for acronyms. Name it and within a twinkle of a thought, a very appropriate short form would have been conjured. Not only that, these contractions can also be given new meanings usually more interesting than what they originally represent. These new meanings tend to showcase the witticism of the average Nigerian, and are more apt within an underlying context. Thus, National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) easily transformed into “Never Expect Power Always”, a fitting situational reminder of the epileptic electricity supply. A transition from NEPA to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), a move officially explained as part of a determined desire to improve electricity supply, but perhaps also a move to get rid of the old acronym with its embarrassing public connotation, did not register much of a change. Nigerians gladly responded with appropriate baptismals, “Please Hold Candle Now” and “Problem Has Changed Name”. The current electricity reform dispensation has birthed GENCOS and DISCOS, and these new outfits are yet to earn their spurs in terms of improved electricity supply. Nigerians don’t seem to be in a hurry to find appropriate meanings for the new acronyms as they grapple with the sudden drastic slide into electricity shortages. Still the public is taking a jibe at the new outfits, especially on social media, by regarding the new outfits as reminiscent of things to do with music and dancing. A reference to the days of the discotheque boom. A less than familiar acronym, but related to the current electricity dispensation, is NELMCO. The Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company Limited, as it is officially known, is a special purpose agency which is supposed to have a specific lifespan. Created by the Federal Government, it is to manage stranded liabilities of the defunct PHCN, including staff pension of retirees and non-core assets. The latter are valued at N300 billion. On March 5, 2014, the Minister of Power revealed to the House of Representatives Committee on Power, during the 2014 budget defence, that NELMCO is indebted to the tune of N700 billion to N1 trillion. Almost a fortnight later, the public woke up to the bombshell of a revelation that NELMCO is actually a cesspool of fraud, victimization and clever utilization of proxies to appropriate juicy contracts. Some days later, apparently in a followup, it was further revealed that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has begun investigation into the alleged secret sale of

EMMAN USMAN SHEHU prohabe@hotmail.com - 08051614969 (sms only)

PHCN landed property by NELMCO. The revelations were long overdue in the public domain since last year. The whistleblower, who had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ICPC, with a stash of supporting documents, had met a brick wall. His efforts were scorned. Even when he went to some of the media organizations with the incriminating evidence detailing the systematic illegitimate acts in NELMCO, every initial enthusiasm to publish soon fizzled. It turned out that NELMCO management had perfected the art of silencing the reporters and the operatives through financial inducements to those assigned to the matter. The recent breakthrough of getting the sleaze in the public domain by New Telegraph, Blueprint and Vanguard newspapers, however is being craftily resisted. The expected fight back, as corruption always does, has emerged in the past few days in the guise of an orchestrated media campaign by NELMCO to burnish its image, by presenting seemingly impeccable credentials along with the now familiar bleating of its performance being hindered by a huge debt profile. This is just a sly smokescreen. In all the current media whitewash, the management has made no effort to address the weighty allegations on its head. Apart from those previously mentioned, the whistleblower alleges the use of a specialized syndicate of 36 companies being used to defraud the organisation, the retainership of illegal consultants to the tune of N360 milliion, payments made without verification to so-called creditors to the tune of N705 million, with evidence of where and when the payments were made. There are several more allegations pointing to a carefully plotted ruination of the organisation. The strange aspect is that as part of its fight back, the organisation is claiming it got a clean bill of health from the ICPC last year. To buttress its position, it brandishes an ICPC letter dated 28th August 2013 allegedly signed by the Head of the Financial Investigation Unit on behalf of the Chairman. The letter, apparently in response to the petition by the whistleblower, is titled “Investigation Activities”, but the content

makes no reference to such a matter only advising the petitioner “to resolve the matter administratively or seek redress at the appropriate Court of Law.” Apparently this is the letter that is being used to hoodwink reporters and operatives. Curiously the same ICPC, despite its previous all-clear letter, is now scrutinizing one of the allegations. The EFCC too is said to be suddenly interested after those previously assigned conveniently sat on the matter. Operatives recently carted away vital documents from NELMCO for closer scrutiny. The danger is that the moves by ICPC and EFCC may mysteriously cool off. It is obvious, given how the whistleblower has toiled for over a year almost unsuccessfully to expose the shenanigans, that powerful forces are benefitting directly from what is going on in NELMCO and providing the necessary protection. Is the Ministry of Power claiming to be unaware of the grave allegations against NELMCO? Why is the Board of NELMCO, headed by the Co-ordinating Minister of Finance keeping a seeming silence of convenience? Why are the Public Complaints Commission and the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petition turning blind eyes to the petitions that have been presented to them with supporting documents by the whistleblower-cumpetitioner? The NELMCO situation is worth examining by all directly concerned against the background of the current massive electricity shortfall, and what is turning out to be a GENCO and DISCO debacle. Already, banks are raining concern over the possibility of losing about N1 trillion in the acquisition of the privatized assets of the defunct PHCN. In a way this sounds like the NITEL situation playing out again, though more covertly. The illegal stripping of NITEL’s assets is one of those heartbreaking tales of how public institutions are deliberately cannibalized in the name of privatization. At some point the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) h accused Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) of stripping the beleaguered Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications (Mtel) of their assets.NLC argued that such action by Transcorp was against the privatisation policy.

NLC called for the return of all the assets of the companies which include Lagos Zonal Headquarters at Falomo, Lagos; North East Zonal Headquarters in Bauchi; South East Zonal Headquarters, Nawfia Street, Enugu; Lagos Island Territorial Headquarters, Bank Road, Ikoyi; Lagos ‘D’ Exchange, Broad Street; Akwanga Exchange, Akwanga, Nassarawa State, and Nassarawa Exchange, Nassarawa State. Nothing has been returned and NITEL remains a very bad example of our kind of privatisation. The way forward for NITEL, and its sister company MTEL, has remained the way backward. Asset stripping, or stealing, to give its proper nomenclature, has not been limited to NITEL, as the monster seems to make its presence felt wherever the national patrimony is being handed over to the members of the ruling clique and their co-conspirators. NELMCO claims, on its website, that its core values are honesty, integrity, accountability and transparency. Something more than a good acronym should come out of that. There is no better time than now to see to what extent those core values have been truly at the heart of the organisation’s operations. The power sector is critical for the country’s development. It would be wickedness of the highest order to the citizens for some public officials to plunge us into perpetual darkness, while engaging in illegal self-enrichment. The curious case of NELMCO deserves to be promptly and properly sorted out. No more turning a blind eye or keeping a silence of convenience. Open up all the books in full public glare and under the scrutiny of those charged with such a duty. The evidence is weighty enough.

OmoBaba

PDP SET TO SWEEP SOUTH-WEST - News

- APC is already doing that with broom!

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