Monday, july 4, 2016 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

Militants blow up five NNPC, Chevron facilities Adeola Yusuf

ilitants, at the weekend, slashed Nigeria’s 1.9 million barrels per day crude production, blowing up

five facilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Chevron Nigeria Limited. The Niger Delta Aveng-

ers, a militant group, which has carried out series of attacks on Nigerian oil facilities in the last few months, said in a tweet yesterday

that it mounted five attacks in the Niger Delta since last Friday. The NDA, yesterday, said it had blown up Chevron's

two major oil well seven and eight, close to Abiteye flow station in Delta. The new attack, New Telegraph gathered, cut

US: Nigeria’s stolen funds won’t pass through our banks }2

down the production below 1.9 million barrels and increased the net loss by Chevron above 35,000 barrels per day. The incident was said to CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Sanctity Of Truth

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS /newtelegraph /newtelegraph

Vol. 3 No. 866

Monday, July 4, 2016

EFCC quizzes Omisore over N700m arms funds }4

Omisore

Truancy: Four principals demoted, 40 teachers lose salaries }39

Umahi

Forgery: Malami not qualified to be AGF –Senate }10

@newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com @newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com

Malami

Buhari’s wife donates N30m to Chibok girls’ parents }4

N150

Aisha

Travellers groan as int'l airfares rise by 70% lDrop in air traffic imminent, bookings cancelled }3 lStop selling tickets in dollars, NCAA warns airlines Military officers on trial for N94.7bn fraud

Air Chief Marshal Badeh

N3.87bn

Col. Dasuki

N42.57bn

Air Marshal Amosu

AVM Ojuawo

N69.2m

AVM Adigun

N22.8bn

AVM Atawodi

N600m

Air Commodore Gbadebo

AVM Kayode-Beckley

N10m

airfares on popular routes (Economy) Destination Before Now LagosN185,000- N425,000 London N200,000 Lagos- New N340,000 N650,000 York N800,000 Lagos185,000 N290,000 Dubai N350,000 LagosN260,000 N400,000 Amsterdam Lagos-Paris N260,000 N400,000

Air Marshal Umar

N4.8bn

AVM Oguntoyinbo

N166m

Major General Atewe

N19.7bn

AVM Mamu

N5.9bn

PDP crisis: Makarfi, Sheriff know fate today lRivers' court rules on chairmanship lJerry Gana's group splits over N37m largesse }4 Artificial pancreas could end daily diabetes injections }7

NEWS

MONDAY, July 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Military officers on trial for N94.7bn fraud Felix Nwaneri and Tunde Oyesina

he Federal Government has charged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to leave no stone unturned in the prosecution of serving and retired senior military officers undergoing trial for corruption and other related offences. Trials of military chiefs alleged to have been involved in one corrupt act or the other had since commenced in various courts. Such corrupt act is broadly divided into two parts – diversion of arms procurement funds and bribery. New Telegraph learnt that the government is dis-

turbed that 12 military officers, both serving and retired, are being prosecuted in various Lagos and Abuja courts for cumulative N94.7 billion frauds in relation to arms procurement. “We are disturbed that so much fraud was perpetrated by senior military officers in the course of discharging their duties. There is a matching order from the Presidency to recover the looted funds. “We are afraid that the figures will go up when the 13-man audit panel on arms procurement releases its report on the Nigerian Army and the final report. What we have now is just the report on the Nigerian Air Force,” a source said. The source added that President Muhammadu

Buhari has mandated the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to provide all needed legal support to the EFCC to ensure effective prosecution of the cases. The thinking of the Presidency is that the recovery of the looted funds would go a long way to address some challenges in the system. In the trial, N93.84 billion were fraud-related cases while N851.1 million were cumulative amount paid in form of bribes to serving and retired officers of the Air Force. Interestingly, three successive Chiefs of Air Staff are facing trial for alleged N31.57 billion fraud. They are: a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air

Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Muhammed Dikko Umar and another former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu. A former commander of the Niger Delta Joint Task Force, Major General Emmanuel Atewe, is standing trial for allegedly swindling Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to the tune of N19.7 billion. Others in the arms scandal deal are Air Vice Marshal Jacob Bola Adigun, Air Commodore Gbadebo Owodunni Olugbenga, Air Officer in charge of Tactical Air command, Makurdi, Air Vice Marshal Rufus Ojuawo and a former Chairman, Presidential Implementation Commit-

L-R: Wife of US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Pam Entwistle; Ambassador James Entwistle; former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu and his wife, Ifunaya, at the United States of America's National Day in Abuja…at the weekend. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

tee on Maritime Safety (PICOMMS), Air Vice Marshal Saliu Atawodi (rtd.). In the bribery trial, all defendants are officers of the Nigeria Air Force. They are a Director of Armament with NAF, Air Vice Marshal John Adeniyi Kayode-Beckly; Air Officer Training Command and a member of the Committee for Procurement, Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Alkali Mohammed Mamu and Chief of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Air force, Air Vice Marshall Olutayo Tade Oguntoyinbo. All the defendants had, in their various trials, pleaded not guilty and the trials are ongoing. While former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, is standing trial over alleged diversion of $2.1 billion and N45 billion arms deal money before three different courts, Badeh is standing trial before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over alleged diversion of N3.97 billion belonging to NAF. Umar, on his part, is also facing trial before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, over alleged diversion of N4.8 billion, which also belonged to NAF. However, Amosu and two ex-top Air Force officers – Air Vice Marshal Jacob Bola Adigun and Air Commodore Gbadebo Owodunni Olugbenga – are standing trial before a

US: Nigeria’s stolen funds won’t pass through our banks

he United States (US) has reiterated that it would ensure that no stolen funds from Nigeria are laundered through its banking system. The outgoing US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, who stated this at the weekend emphasised that the Obama administration was committed to helping Nigeria in its fight against corruption, add-

ing that the US government has offered technical assistance to Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies for the training of investigators and prosecutors. Speaking at the 240th United States Independence Anniversary celebration cocktail party in Abuja, Entwistle also disclosed that the US government supported the flexible exchange rate policy recently introduced by the Central Bank of Ni-

geria (CBN), noting that with policies such as the forex reforms and the removal of fuel subsidy, Nigeria was moving in the right direction. He pointed out that the biggest US companies in Nigeria have been in the country for decades, adding that it was important for government to maintain an environment that would attract more foreign investments to the country.

Eid el-Fitri: Sultan tells Muslims to watch for the moon

he Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has asked every Muslim in the country to look for the new moon between Sunday and Monday for the Eid el-Fitri. Secretary-General of the council, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, in a statement yesterday, said the council, under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, had enjoined all Muslims to look for the moon. Oloyede said the Sultan has therefore put in place a National Moon

Sighting Committee (NMSC) to that effect. The Shehu of Borno and NSCIA Deputy President-General is among the 34 eminent Muslims across the country as members of the committee. “NMSC has advised the President-General that the crescent of Shawwal should be searched for on Monday, July 4, 2016 equivalent to 29th Ramadan 1437 AH. “If the crescent is actually sighted by informed persons on Monday night and His Emi-

nence is so advised by the experts, he would declare Tuesday, July 5, 2016 as the first day of Shawwal (‘Id day). “If, however, the crescent is not sighted on Monday night, Wednesday, July 6, 2016 automatically becomes the first of Shawwal 1437 AH (‘Id day)," Oloyede said. Oloyede however enjoined Muslims all over the country to be on the lookout for the directive of the President-General of NSCIA on the completion of this year’s Ramadan fast.

According to him, “as you continue privatisation of the power grid, through President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, we stand ready to, among other things, help companies invest in building more electricity infrastructure, especially environmentally-friendly power generation.” Entwistle described his time in Nigeria as a fascinating one, saying that he would be leaving with a great sense of hope and optimism. It will be recalled that the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, had in March pledged that the American government would help Nigeria recover public funds running into “billions of dollars” stolen from Nigeria and believed to be hidden in the banks in the US and other countries. Kerry made the pledge in Washington DC while responding to comments by President Muhammadu Buhari on the commitment of his administration to the war against corruption and the need for the US government to

help repatriate the country’s looted funds stashed abroad. The US top official said that he had learned that the money stolen from Nigeria ran into “billions of dollars” and that American officials were ready to work with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to find and return the stolen funds. “It’s not easy to hide that amount of money and we are pretty good in tracing them,” Kerry assured Buhari. Several top officials in the previous administration, who are alleged to have stolen public funds, have been charged to court and are now facing trials.

90,000

The official capacity of Wembley Stadium, London, UK. Source: Businessinsider.in

The total number of matches played by Ecuador at Brazil 2014 World Cup. Source: Fifa.com

Federal High Court, Lagos over alleged fraud to the tune of N22.8 billion. For Atewe, he is standing trial before the Federal High Court, Lagos for allegedly swindling NIMASA to the tune of N19.7 billion. Atawodi is inside the dock for allegedly defrauding the government to the tune of N600 million through suspicious contracts to procure military boats. While Ojuawo was arraigned on a two-count charge of allegedly receiving a gift of N40 million and a car valued at N29.2 million from a contractor, Kayode- Beckly was docked for allegedly collecting the sum of N10 million as gratification from a contractor. For Mamu, the Federal Government is prosecuting him on a three-count charge bothering on bribery to the tune of N5.9 million. Human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), expressed satisfaction with the trial of the serving and retired military officers for corruption. “Criminal suspects are the same. Just like we are talking about politicians, who are alleged to have looted the treasury, there is no difference between the military and civilian wings of the Nigerian political dynasty. There is no difference in terms of ideas, worldview and primitive accumulation of assets. “They are one and the same and that is what is manifesting in the ongoing revelations.” Falana told New Telegraph that the trial of the officers has not caused any bad blood in the military. His words: “There is nothing that has caused any bad blood in the military. I am sufficiently close to the rank and file of the military; those who have borne the brunt of the criminal looting and diversion of money meant for procurement of arms, which had led to loss of over 25,000 men, comprising of soldiers and civilians. So, there is nothing to worry about over the trial of the military officers. “In fact, many of the soldiers are happy. Those who are languishing in prison custody and others who were dismissed illegally are happy over the development. So, their trial won’t cause any bad blood because people betrayed their country. One of those standing trial, allowed his village to be overrun by a rag-tag army of terrorists, while he was smiling to the bank and buying properties for his children, who have never worked anywhere in their lives. Who is going to lose a sleep for them?”

NEWS

MONDAY, July 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Travellers groan as int'l airfares rise by 70% Wole Shadare

ir travellers from Nigeria are having a horrid time, as airfares on international routes have jumped over the roof, prompting prospective passengers to either postpone their trips or opt for outright cancellation. Two factors – depreciation of local currency against the United States dollars and the rush for summer holiday – have pushed airfares up by between 70 and 100 per cent. A dollar now exchanges for N280. For long, the naira was pegged at $1 to N197. Airline fares are quoted in US dollars and Nigerians pay the equivalent in naira at the previous exchange rate of N197. After the introduction of the flexible forex policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the payment is now calculated at an exchange rate of N285. That is 45 per cent increase and the consequence is a huge reduction in travellers, as most people cannot afford the fares. Visa fees have also risen.

The United Kingdom six month visa fee has risen to N71,000 from between N38,000 and N41,000. Also, the US visa fee has jumped from N31,520 in early June to N48,000. Nigerian carriers that ply Lagos-London are not also affordable as they charge relatively the same fares as the foreign airlines. For instance, Arik Air’s flight to London from Lagos ranges between N350,000 and N400,000. For a return flight from Lagos to New York, fares go between N600,000 and N700,000 on economy class seats with business class tickets going for nearly N2 million. A Medview flight ticket to London Gatwick Airport that cost N285,234 penultimate week has jumped to N398,672 and could be higher in the next few days as air travel is usually on high demand during summer. Emirates and Ethiopian Airways still provide ‘cheaper fares’, compared to many of the other airlines. New Telegraph investigation shows that the average return ticket on economy class for Lagos-

Stop selling tickets in dollars, NCAA warns airlines Wole Shadare

he Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has warned airlines, particularly foreign airlines, to desist from selling tickets in United States dollars. NCAA said the action was a flagrant contravention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s prerequisite guiding cost of products or services in Nigeria. According to the CBN circular issued on April 17, 2015, “Pricing of any product shall continue to be in naira only and it is illegal to price or denominate the cost of any product or service (visible or invisible) in any foreign currency.” A statement by the spokesman for the agency, Sam Adurogboye, stated that the NCAA was disturbed by reports that some foreign airlines are declining to accept Nigeria’s local currency, the naira, as payment for tickets. According to him, “In other words, some foreign airlines have blatantly resorted to selling tickets only in foreign currency. This act is considered insensitive to passengers who have elected on their own volition to choose the airlines for their travel.” He noted that this is also contrary to the provisions of the Bilateral Air Ser-

vices Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and other countries as contained in Article 8 (4). As a consequence of this action, Adurogboye disclosed that the regulatory authority has written warning letters to erring airlines to immediately comply with the provisions of BASA and CBN directive, adding that sales of tickets and services should, henceforth, be offered to air travellers in naira without further delay. He further stated that the Federal Government has taken measures to ameliorate the subsisting foreign exchange issues. It would be recalled that foreign airlines had, in April this year, began a regime of quoting and receiving payment for tickets only in the US dollars. The situation was as a result of their inability to repatriate funds out of the country due to scarcity of the US currency. Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Capt Noggie Meggison, described the situation as unhealthy development driven by the scarcity of dollars which elevated black market rates, leaving foreign airlines facing losses on their routes and struggling to acquire exchange for routine and scheduled maintenance.

London route has risen to between N553,200 and N600,000 from between N280,000 and N355,000. For business class tickets on legacy carriers like British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, the fares are in the range of N2.5 million and above compared to last year which went for between N1.2 million and N1.5 million. For First Class ticket, most of the airlines offered N3.2 million, N3.5 million and N3.8 million per passenger. United States’ airline, Delta, Economy class return ticket go for between N700, 000 and N800, 000 while Business Class return ticket is between N3 million and N4 million. For a return flight from Lagos to Amsterdam and Lagos to Paris, fares go between N400,000 and above on economy class seats from the initial N260,000, while the business class tickets go for N2.1 million. A travel agent, who preferred anonymity, lamented that some of his clients going for summer vacation have cancelled their trips due to the high cost of airfare. The source said most of his clients have cancelled their reservations after learning of the astronomical rise in fares. He said a family of three that wanted to travel

airfares on popular routes (business) Destination Before Now LagosN1.2m N2.1m, London N2.8m, N3.5m LagosN2m N4m New York LagosN800,000 N1.5mDubai -N1m N2m LagosN900,000 N2.1m Amsterdam Lagos-Paris N900,000 N2.1m

to London for summer had to cancel the reservations when he gave them a bill of N1.6 million on economy class on Virgin Atlantic. He stated that travel agents have found themselves in tough situation of reservation cancellations. “The situation is really affecting travel business. This is capable of making travel agencies go into extinction due to lack of patronage. We might scream; the situation is bad, but we do know that it could have been worse as most airlines were also lamenting before the devaluation. “The airlines could not get their money out of Nigeria and Nigeria’s debt to International Air Transport Association (IATA) was above $599 million. Some of the airlines started pulling out and eventually stopped coming to Nigeria. First was Iberia

Airline, followed by United Airlines. Emirates Airline stopped one of its flights from coming to Nigeria,” the source said. The Managing Director of Omni-Blu Aviation Services, Akin Olateru, blamed the government for not managing the situation very well, adding that to encourage the country’s carriers to provide alternative to travellers, government needs to exempt airlines from Value Added Tax (VAT). He lamented that it is only in Nigeria’s aviation industry that such taxes are introduced, saying the exercise is killing the carriers. “Government should provide easy access to foreign exchange to our local airlines. They must devise ways to help. We are the only country that still charges VAT on leisure travel, which makes airfares to be expensive.” He pleaded that government should give the airlines tax holiday, stressing that the $50 international travellers from Nigeria pay that goes to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should be

$7.8m

The total amount of salary/ winnings of Roger Federer (Tennis) for 2016. Source: Forbes.com

done in naira at an agreed rate. Managing Director of Flyboku.com, a travel management company, Mr. Abiola Lawal, said travel agencies are groaning. He said the situation is further made difficult because of summer, which he considered as peak of travel. “The airlines do not have reasons to lower fares because demand drives supply. But another angle to it is that the flights are half full. This is now the opportunity for Nigerian airlines to take full advantage of what is playing out. People are now more a bit flexible in their travel plans instead of the traditional airlines they are used to,” he said. He said Nigerian carriers and Middle East airlines are taking advantage of the astronomical rise in fares by European and American airlines. He further explained that last year, people got tickets to Dubai for as low as N200,000, saying the situation now is different as destination goes for as high as N400,000.

96%

The proportion of households in major cities connected to sewers of North America. Source: Unesco.org

President Muhammadu Buhari (middle) with his classmates, the 1953 set of Katsina Middle School, during a visit to Buhari in Daura, Katsina State… yesterday

Borno received N345m cash donations for IDPs in four years –Shettima

he Borno State Government says it has so far received cash donations of N345 million for the upkeep of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state. Governor Kashim Shettima stated this while speaking with newsmen in Maiduguri yesterday. He said the state never received any cash donation from international donor agencies for IDPs in the last four years. “I want to say that many Nigerians may be shocked to know that a total of N345 million is the overall amount received as cash donation by the state gov-

ernment from May 2011 to date,’’ he said. He explained that the Federal Government during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan donated N200 million in four years. “Lagos State Government gave N50 million in October, 2015; Edo donated N25 million in 2013; Kano gave us N20 million in 2013 and Adamawa donated N20 million in 2013. “Ekiti donated N10 million in 2013; Osun and Kaduna State gave N10million and N5million respectively in 2013 while Unity Bank Plc. donated N5 million. “There was a woman

who prefers her name not to be mentioned; she donated N100, 000 cash.” He said that the state was spending N600 million every month to cater for the IDPs. He also said that all other interventions had been in kind through donation of food items or medical supplies, which included donation of 1,200 bags of rice by Kebbi. According to him, Ebonyi donated 5,000 bags of rice; Taraba, three trucks of highland tea and Gombe; six trucks of assorted food items. He said that there were many other groups who

visited and donated food items in the last five years but certainly not cash to Borno Government. “We have received tremendous support from international community but no foreign country or any international partner within or outside the UN and major world donors gave any cash to our administration from 2011 to date for the IDPs. He noted that the World Food Programme also made intervention of food and recently they were doing conditional cash transfers which was being handled by officials of the organisation.

NEWS

MONDAY, July 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

PDP crisis: Makarfi, Sheriff know fate today Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

he attention of leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will today focus towards Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as Justice Mohammed Liman of Federal High Court decides the party's leadership between the seven-man caretaker committee headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi and the former National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. The leadership crisis in the party was worsened in May with two conflicting court orders, one from Port Harcourt and the other from Lagos, restraining Makarfi and Sheriff from parading themselves as chairman of PDP. The two suits were, on June 7, consolidated and Justice Liman will have the arduous task of deciding where the pendulum swings. Specifically, the court will determine whether the May 21 National Convention in Port Harcourt that appointed Makarfi-

led National Caretaker Committee was in violation of May 12 order by Justice Ibrahim Buba of Lagos Federal High Court, which stopped PDP from conducting elections into the offices of the National Chairman, National Secretary and National Auditor. It will also determine whether Sheriff and other former National Working Committee (NWC) members were validly removed from office by the national convention, having completed their four-year term. The two claimants to the PDP leadership, last week, secured victories at three different high courts in Abuja, but none, however, was a declarative judgement. On Tuesday, Justice Valentine Ashi of Court 29, Abuja High Court, nullified the amendments to the PDP Constitution used to ratify Dr. Adamu Mu'Azu in the December 2014 Special National Convention on the basis of which Sheriff was appointed National Chairman by the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC). Though he did not

mention Sheriff, Justice Ashi restrained individuals "currently parading themselves as the national officers of the PDP on the basis of the purported amendment to the PDP constitution effected at a special convention on December 10, 11, 2014." PDP amended Section 47, paragraph 6 of its constitution to reflect that where there is a vacancy, the acting chairman shall "serve the tenure of the officer", who left before the expiration of the tenure. But Justice Ashi declared the amendment illegal because the party did not comply with Section 66(2)(3) of its constitution by failure to serve the national secretary with a written copy of the proposed amendment two months before the convention, which he was also required to circulate among the state party secretaries a month before the convention. The suit was filed by Joseph Jero, a PDP member from Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State, against PDP. In the second judgement delivered on Thursday, Justice Hussein

Baba-Yusuf of the FCT High Court struck out a suit filed by Sheriff seeking to recognise him as the authentic chairman of the PDP. The former National Chairman had included 17 other former NWC members in the suit. But the judge held that he did not seek the consent of some of the plaintiffs before joining them in the suit. Sheriff, however, scored a victory in another court that same Thursday when Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja reaffirmed him as PDP National Chairman, and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept his nominees for Edo and Ondo governorship elections. It is expected that today's judgement in Port Harcourt would resolve the intractable leadership crisis. But, former National Vice Chairman (South-South), Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, is advocating for political solution to the crisis. Ojougboh who was appointed Acting Deputy National Chairman by

L-R: Chairman, Arik Air, Chevalier Joseph ArumemiIkhide; Emeritus Archbishop of Lagos Archdiocese, Anthony Cardinal Okogie and Dame Mary Arumemi-Ikhide, during the 40th wedding anniversary thanksgiving of the the Arumemi-Ikhides in Lagos… yesterday

ty, also attended the Abuja parallel convention, but his grouse might have been against Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. Ojougboh, who had nursed the ambition of vying for Deputy National Chairman in the May 21 National Convention, had his ambition truncated when Wike insisted that Prince Uche Secondus would be returned at the convention. He believes that his association with Sheriff will help him achieve this, and this he partially achieved with his recent appointment. The source further disclosed that other aggrieved Concerned Stakeholder members accuse Gana and former Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu of pursuing personal agendas. Sheriff, two weeks ago, alleged that Makarfi and secretary of the caretaker committee, Senator Ben Obi, were meeting with APC chieftains, and had reserved the PDP presidential ticket in 2019 for him.

$36m

The total pay from endorsements of Kevin Durant (Basketball) for 2016. Source: Forbes.com

657,740

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

EFCC quizzes Omisore over N700m arms funds Emmanuel Onani Abuja

Buhari’s wife donates N30m to Chibok girls’ parents ife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, yesterday presented about N30 million cash support to parents of the abducted Government Secondary School (GSS), Chibok students in Borno. Buhari, represented by Hajiya Nana Shettima, the wife of the Borno governor, presented the cash to the parents at a ceremony in Maiduguri. She explained that the gesture was aimed at assisting the parents with some financial support towards alleviating their sufferings. Buhari pointed out that the presentation

Sheriff, foresees a situation where the court cases would continue till 2019. Meanwhile, a major crack was said to have occurred in the camp of PDP Concerned Stakeholders' Forum led by former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana. The forum, which held parallel national conventions in Abuja in protest over the planned election of Sheriff as chairman in Port Harcourt on May 21, is said to have been factionalised. A source in the party blamed the division on alleged N37 million largesse given to the group by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The source was, however, not sure who collected the money among its leadership. Indication that all is not well with the group emerged when some members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) who stoutly opposed the choice of Sheriff as National Chairman, started to openly hobnobbing with him. Among BoT members now in Sheriff's camp are Dr. Maryam Ali, wife of former National Chairman of the party, Dr. Ahmadu Ali; and former chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Mrs. Esther Audu. Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who is now Sheriff's depu-

was in fulfillment of her promise to assist the less privileged and victims of insurgency in the NorthEast. “Today's presentation was in fulfillment of the promise I made earlier in the year during my book launch in Abuja. “I made a promise that the proceeds will be used to better the lives of women and victims of insurgency in the North-East,'' she said. She urged the beneficiaries to invest the money in productive ventures, so it can better their living conditions. “This money is not a sort of compensation, but

a kind of support for those in need. “Our immediate prayer is for God to help trace and rescue the abducted girls so that they can be safely re-united with their families,” Buhari said. She commended the military for their efforts in fighting the Boko Haram terrorists and expressed optimism that the search for the abducted girls would soon yield dividends. Each of the 215 parents was given a cash of N139,000 during the event. Also speaking, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, a former deputy governor of Plateau State, said that the

gesture was goodwill from the wife of the president to the parents. “This is a goodwill support from Her Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari to the parents of the abducted girls. “We appeal to them to put the money into proper usage, either by investing it in farming or any other business venture,” Taline said. It will be recalled that 219 schoolgirls from Chibok were abducted on April 14, 2014 by suspected Boko Haram terrorists, while writing their Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) at the school.

peratives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, quizzed a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore. Highly placed sources told New Telegraph that the former Deputy Governor of Osun State was being interrogated over an alleged receipt of N700 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). It was alleged that the money was meant to prosecute the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State, which was won by Mr. Ayodele Fayose. "It is true that he (Omisore) is with the Commission," the source, who spoke in confidence, said. The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr.

Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for official comment. While declaring Omisore wanted over a month ago, the Commission had said, among others, that: “The EFCC, today, May 24, 2016, declared a former deputy governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, wanted. “The former senator is wanted in connection with a case of receiving and misappropriating the sum of over N700,000,000 from the Office of the National Security Adviser, between June and November 2014. “Omisore has been elusive and refused to report to the Commission after invitation was extended to him on April 7, 2016, requesting him “to come and make clarification on the ongoing investigation.” Omisore had, however, denied the allegation by the EFCC.

MONDAY, July 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

NEWS

MONDAY, July 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nigeria lost $100bn to foreigners in crude lifting contracts –NCDMB Adeola Yusuf

igerian economy lost over $100 billion in five decades by allowing its crude oil to be carried exclusively by foreign-owned tankers. The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), an agency of the Federal Government, which disclosed this at the weekend, added that a renewed commitment by government has been instituted to end this loss. The commitment, the NCDMB said in a statement, was made in collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry. “The Board estimated in 2013 that the Nigerian economy lost over $100 billion in five decades by allowing its crude oil to be carried exclusively by for-

eign owned tankers,” the statement read. But rising from a recent workshop convened by the Board in Lagos on ‘Crude Oil Off-takers Nigerian Content Deliverables’, the agencies and other stakeholders pledged to grow the quantum of Nigerian Content in the lifting of Nigerian crude oil by working with Nigerian shipping stakeholders to develop in-country assets capacity that meets international standards. They also agreed to ensure that companies that have invested in ownership of crude oil lifting vessels are given first consideration in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. NCDMB, NNPC and NIMASA also committed to explore the possibility of a joint fund as part of waiver mechanism, which can be used to purchase or finance the building of a Nigerian owned Crude Oil Lifting Tankers. Another decision taken at the workshop was to properly define what con-

stitutes "spend" in crude oil lifting contracts for the purpose of complying with the target of 90 per cent industry spend within the Nigerian economy set for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) by the NOGICD Act. In his opening remarks at the workshop, the Acting Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr. Patrick Daziba Obah, described crude oil lifting and marketing as a major activity in the oil and gas value chain, despite the fact that Very Large Crude Carriers were highly capital intensive to acquire. He, however, stressed that Nigeria will remain a major oil producer, and not a major oil business value-adding nation, if the citizens do not own VLCCs. While identifying opportunities for growing Nigerian Content in crude lifting, Obah noted that VLCCs require manning by certified crew while crude oil lifting attracts opportunities for financial, insurance, inspection and other services. Obah who was repre-

sented by the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Tunde Adelana, explained that the Board introduced Nigerian Content requirements for crude oil lifting in 2013 so as to maximise the value retention opportunities. In his presentation, the General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) of the NNPC, Mr. Adokiye Tombomieye, pledged the determination of the NNPC to enhance Nigerian participation and maximise Nigerian Content in the lifting of Nigerian crude oil.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

have occurred at 1:15a.m. yesterday, according to the group's posts on Twitter. This came shortly after peace was said to have been gradually returning to the volatile oil-rich Niger Delta. The militants had boasted they were determined to cripple the nation's economy and claimed responsi-

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

FG budgets N5.5bn for fire equipment Abuja

he Federal Gover nment has earmarked N5.5 billion for the procurement of fire fighting machines for the Federal Fire Service (FFS) in order to strengthen operations of the service. Controller General of the FFS, Mr. Joseph Garba Anebi, who disclosed this at the weekend in Abuja, said plans have already reached advanced stage to acquire the fire engines. He said that the service had suffered neglect over the years in terms of equipment. "I can say that the newest equipment we have is 28 years old. That is to tell you that the service was neglected," he said. He disclosed that the Service had, however, be-

gun the process of procuring 55 fire engines worth N5.5 billion for effective operations. He said that before he assumed the leadership of the service, there was no proposal in the 2015 budget for the procurement of fire fighting equipment. Anebi said that the service had embarked on a visit to the manufacturing companies abroad to source for the state-ofthe-art equipment for the service. The Controller General said that the foreign visit was aimed at getting the best and to avoid the procurement of second-hand equipment sold locally in the country. Anebi commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the approval of funds for the service to procure equipment. He said that officers to man the equipment when

procured would be trained by the companies as part of the sales agreement. Anebi said that following the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the service was opening offices in the six geopolitical zones for effective coverage of the country. "We have our zonal offices in Kaduna covering the North-West, South-East in Enugu, South-South in Port Harcourt, South-West in Osogbo,"he said. He said that the NorthCentral and North-East zonal offices would be located in Makurdi and Adamawa respectively. On staff strength, he said the service currently has 2,000 personnel, which was grossly inadequate for the service to effectively discharge its mandate. He said with the opening of the zonal offices, the service would need more

rian cadets per cargo for the purpose of obtaining requisite sea time experience and international certification, Tombomieye noted that Nigerian crude was sold Free on Board (FOB), hence marketers do not own the vessels and are often unable to secure slots for the cadets. Also speaking at the event, an Assistant Director at NIMASA, Mr. Victor Egejuru, confirmed that the agency was collaborating with the Board and the NNPC to grow local participation in the marine sector of the oil and gas industry.

Militants blow up five NNPC, Chevron facilities

L-R: Consul General, US Embassy, Lagos, Mr. John Bray; former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; Managing Director/ CEO, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc., Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde and Corporate Affairs Adviser, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, during 2016 Literacy Evening with Chimamanda in Lagos…at the weekend.

Philip Nyam

He charged Nigerian firms desirous of participating in the business to comply with the requisite standards with regards to the vessels they put forward in the tenders. He confirmed that the utilisation of Nigerian service providers by firms selected to lift Nigerian crude had increased from 50 per cent in 2010 to 75 per cent in 2015 and has helped to reduce capital flight, increased in-country spend and created job opportunities for Nigerians. On the requirement to attach at least five Nige-

personnel and equipment. Anebi decried the attitude of Nigerians towards the issue of fire outbreaks, adding that the state governments were most guilty. He said that under his leadership, the management of the service had prioritised the welfare of officers to enhance their commitment. "We are trying to raise the standard of the service in the country to be at par with their counterparts in the developed world," he said. Anebi noted that the obsolete 1963 Act of the service was hampering its operations. He said that a bill to amend the act to enhance the operations of the service was with the Ministry of Interior for inputs, from where it would be submitted to the Ministry of Justice.

bility for several bombings at the weekend. Attacks in the Niger Delta pushed crude production in the OPEC member to 30year lows in recent weeks, although the NNPC, last week, said output was rising due to repairs and because there had not been an attack since June 16. The group also reported through its Twitter handle late Saturday at 11:26p.m. that its strike team had blown up two major crude oil trunk line belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, close to Batan flow station in Delta. Also about 11:30p.m. on Saturday, the militants tweeted that it blown up the Nigerian NNPC Crude Oil Trunk Line to Warri Refinery at 9:15p.m on Friday. "At 9:15p.m on Friday, the @NDAvengers blew up Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Crude Oil Trunk Line to Warri Refinery. "At 11:26p.m. on Saturday @NDAvengers blew up two NPDC major crude trunk lines close to Batan flow station in Delta. At 1:15a.m. on Sunday @ NDAvengers blew up two major Chevron oil wells. Well 7 and Well 8 close to Abiteye flow station in Delta. All five operations were carried out by @ NDAvengers Strike Team. Well done, soldiers," the avengers twitted. There has been no official confirmation of the multiple bombing from the military authorities. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had last Tuesday, said that the country’s production hit 1.9 million barrels following the completion of repair works on some installations earlier attacked by the militants. Spokesperson for Chevron, Sola Adebawo, did not pick calls put across to him to confirm the attacks. He did not also respond to a text message seeking clarification. A source at the company, however, confirmed the attacks, stating that the net

loss by the company has increased above 35,000 barrel per day. Chevron Nigeria Limited has lost thousands of barrels worth of oil production capacity since militants blew up an offshore platform in renewed violence that could hit exports from Africa’s largest oil producer, the company said in an earlier statement. This is not the first time that the militants attacked Chevron’s installations. They had, on Wednesday, May 7 used explosives to blow up the Okan platform, a collection facility for offshore oil and gas that feeds the Escravos terminal in Delta State. The impact of the attack was significant as Chevron’s net daily production in 2014 averaged 240,000 barrels of crude oil, 236 million cubic feet of natural gas and 6,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas, according to the company’s website. “Approximately 35,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Chevron’s net crude oil production in Nigeria are impacted,” the company had said in a statement. The militants have called for a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth – which accounts for around 70 per cent of national income – to be passed on to the region's communities, and for authorities to clean up areas blighted by oil spills. In late June, Petroleum Ministry sources said a month-long truce had been agreed with militants, but the Avengers, who have claimed responsibility for most attacks in recent months, later said they did not "remember" agreeing to a ceasefire.

7.57%

The percentage contribution of EDT to total collection for 2015 Q4. Source: Firs.gov.ng

The age (in years) Charles Koch in 2016. Source: Forbes.com

national | news

monday, july 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Banks begin registration of moveable assets with NCR I Tony Chukwunyem

n line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country will from today start registering their security interest in movable assets with the National Collateral Registry (NCR). The apex bank had in circular released last week, signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulations Department, Mr. Kevin Amugo, informed DMBs and other financial institutions that the notice-based/ online NCR was now operational and could be accessed at the registry’s website. The circular directed financial institutions

4,000 passports abandoned by owners, says Ikoyi PC Taiwo Jimoh

he Passport Control Officer (PCO) in Ikoyi, Lagos State, Mr Kayode Eniolorunda, at the weekend said that his unit has more than 4,000 passport applications without follow-up by their owners. Eniolorunda said this during interaction with Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), at GRA Ikeja Secretariat, while reacting to the directive of Immigration Comptroller-General (CG) on passport backlog. The Comptroller General, Muhammad Babandede, had on June 13 2016, given passport control officers home and abroad, 48 hours to clear backlog of passport applications. The service spokesman, Mr Ekpedeme King, who issued the C-G’s order in a statement, said that the directive followed complaints and agitations by passport applicants. Eniolorunda said that many people put up applications to secure Nigeria International Passports without following it up to it completion. He said: “We have complied with the C-G’s order. Now, we have between 4,000 and 5,000 applications, whose owners never returned to complete the processes.” “We are doing everything possible to ensure that applicants do not spend many hours at our office before they are captured."

to begin registration of their security interest in movable assets with the NCR with effect from today, advising them to conduct search on the registry as part of credit assessment and risk management processes in order to ascertain the encumbrance status of movable assets sought to be used as collateral for credit facilities. According to the circular, “Each institution (bank or other financial institution) is hereby

required to nominate a staff not below the status of a senior manager to serve as the institutions’ administrator on the registry’s platform.” The regulator had in February 2015 issued and gazetted the registration of security interest in movable property with the NCR by all banks and other financial institutions as part of efforts to boost lending to Micro small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by providing an efficient

mechanism for the registration of security interests in movables assets and realisation of such interest in the event of a default. According to the CBN, the NCR will usher in a secured lending regime in the country by minimising the risks associated with lending to small businesses. It will also encourage Nigerian commercial banks and microfinance banks to accept movable assets as security for loans.

Dickson pleads with ex-militants to cancel protest

ov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has pleaded with former militants under the Amnesty Programme to cancel planned protests over non-payment of stipends. The governor also urged the militants to be calm and exercise patience with the Federal Government over delay in the payment of their stipends. The governor made the plea in a statement issued yesterday in Yenagoa by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Jonathan Obuebite.

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

'Artificial pancreas could end daily diabetes injections'

n artificial pancreas, which allows people affected by diabetes to lead ‘normal lives’ could be available within two years. This is the findings of a study published in the journal ‘Diabetologia’. The scientists have developed an iPhone-sized device which monitors patients’ blood sugar levels and automatically injects the right levels of insulin. According to a report in the mailonline, the revolutionary product attaches to the wearer’s clothing from where it monitors glucose levels and provides insulin when required through patches on the skin. Diabetes mellitus (DM), commonly referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which there are high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the cells of the body not responding properly to the insulin produced. There are three main types of diabetes mellitus. They are Type 2 DM, which begins with insu-

The statement quoted Dickson as advising all stakeholders in the Niger Delta struggle to ``eschew violence and live in peace’’. It stated that issues concerning their welfare would soon be addressed by the Federal Government. He also called on the Presidential Amnesty Office to urgently pay whatever was due to the militants. The governor’s call is coming amidst plans by the former militants to disrupt peace and destroy national assets.

PRRI commends FG over distribution of seedlings to IDPs in North East

L - R: Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Isaac Okorafor; Director of Financial System Strategy 2020, Mohammed Suleyman; Executive Director, Shared Services and Products, Fidelity Bank, Chijioke Ugochukwu; Director, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, Umma Dutse; and Chairman, Nigeria eFraud Forum (NeFF), 'Dipo Fatokun, during the unveiling of NeFF annual report in Lagos ... at the weekend.

Appolonia Adeyemi

lin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to respond to insulin properly. As the disease progresses, a lack of insulin may also develop. Gestational diabetes is the third main form and occurs when pregnant women without a previous history of diabetes develop high blood-sugar levels. In Type 1 DM, if the amount of insulin required fluctuates every day depending on the diet and activity levels, affected persons must monitor their blood sugar with fin-

ger prick tests every few hours. The device could also benefit tens of thousands of people who suffer from severe Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 DM, which is linked to obesity and those with a severe form may also need insulin injections. University of Cambridge scientists working on the artificial pancreas have found a way to combine two existing devices – pumps which deliver insulin and glucose monitors – into one automatic ‘artificial pan-

creas’ known as a closedloop system. The researchers, Dr. Roman Hovorka and Dr. Hood Thabit, said: ‘Type 1 diabetes carries a significant psychosocial burden and adversely impacts quality of life. “In trials to date, users have been positive about how use of an artificial pancreas gives them “time off ” or a “holiday” from their diabetes management, since the system is managing their blood sugar effectively without the need for constant monitoring by the user.’

NASFAT President canvasses support for FG Taiwo Jimoh

he President of NasruLahl-L-Faith Society (NASFAT), Engr. Kamil Bolarinwa, has urged Muslims in the country to support the Federal Government in its determination to improve the quality of life for Nigerians. Bolarinwa made the call at NASFAT Camp, along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, during the weekend as part of activities marking the 2016 night of Majesty, (Lailtul Qadr 1437 AH) 2016 which falls on the last 10 days of the holy month

of Ramadan. He advised that Muslims should not panic with the current situation in Nigeria, stressing that with their faith in God and the leadership of the country, things would get better. He said: “We all knew that Nigeria is going through such rough time at the moment. At times like this, what is expected of a believer is to have faith in God, not panic and hysteria, but calmness and appreciation.” “Given the commitment of the present leadership of this country, I strongly believe we are not heading for

the rocks. We need patience and sacrifice today for a better tomorrow. I urge us to ponder on two key issues I have raised tonight: the threat to our religion and the peace of our country.” Bolarinwa said that individually and collectively, “we should beseech Allah to protect us and our religion from enemies within and outside.” He called on all NASFAT members to always watch their utterances and conducts, urging them to live in peace with all persons, and bring up their children in a Muslim way so as bring out true Mus-

Non Governmental Organization, Peace Reconciliation and Rehabililation Initiative (PRRI) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to the empowerment of returning Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East p part of the country. The commendation is coming on the heels of the recent distribution of seedlings to returning IDPs by the Federal Government. It will be recalled that the PRRI has recently empowered over 2,000 farmers in Borno, Yobe and Gombe States with seedlings, food and cash as part of its commitment to ensure that the returning IDPs can become self sufficient.

£27,740

The monthly salary of Cuauhtemoc Blanco of Lobos BUAP in 2014/2015. Source: Paywizard.co.uk

lims in them. He spoke on how corruption has destroyed the country just as he also condemned those who kill people and damaged people’s property under the guise of religion, noting that such people were not true Muslims. “We are appealing to the various media houses in the country to give their organization a fear and balance reportage in any of their activities.” The group also offered special prayers for peaceful co-existence of the country. While other activities during the night included recitations of the Quran.

monDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

METRO

ABIODUN BELLO abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com 08023938212

...CRIME, CITY WATCH, COURTS

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve raped several women, say suspects

Tony Anichebe Uyo

embers of a threeman gang have told the police in Akwa Ibom State that they could not remember the number of women they had raped. The suspects specialised in going round Uyo metropolis, using a commercial tricycle to pick unsuspecting female passengers before hypnotising and raping them. Parading members of the gang at the weekend at the State Command Headquarters, Uyo, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Cordelia Nwawe, said they were apprehended by a team of Special Anti-Robbery (SARS) and State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) following a tip-off by one of their victims. The suspects, Utebe Archibong (29), Charles Essien (27) and James Etim (24), the PPRO said, succeeded because the victim (name withheld) said one of her abductors pretended to be a commercial tricycle rider, while the remaining two pretended to be

The suspects

passengers. According to Nwawe, the victim, a University of Uyo student, while aboard the tricycle, was hypnotised and

City Briefs

Four to die by hanging for murder Uchenna Inya Abakaliki

n Abakaliki High Court has sentenced four persons - Ikechukwu Nwafor, Amaechi Nworu, Michael Chukwu-Obasi and Chinedu Ekuma - to death by hanging. The convicts and others at large were accused of killing a man, Moses Akpa, at Ezza Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on August 12, 2008. They were said to have murdered the victim in cold blood and took his body to a boundary be-

tween the area and Benue State to avoid being noticed. They were, however, arrested and charged to court. The court remanded them in Abakaliki Federal Prisons from where they have been going for trial. Delivering judgement on the matter, Justice Benson Ogbu found them guilty of the offence and sentenced them to death by hanging. In his comment on the matter, the state counsel, G. A. Elom, appealed for life imprisonment for the convicts which the trial judge turned down.

then taken to a place where she was raped several times. Thereafter, the suspects made her to swear to an oath never to reveal the incident to anyone,

else she would die. But she summoned the courage and narrated her ordeal to her roommates in the hostel who advised her to report

the incident to the police who swooped on the rapists. The suspects, who confessed to the crime, said many young women had fallen prey to their pranks. The suspects said they had been raping for a very long time. Paraded alongside the rape suspects was Christian Ekung (27), who was nabbed for planning to kidnap his aunt, Mrs. Mary Asuquo Inyang, a resident of Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Nwawe disclosed that the suspect, who lives in Lagos, came into the state after strategizing with some friends on how to abduct the aunt for ransom. However, luck ran out on him as his felonious plan was divulged to the police by the same friends. The suspect, the PPRO added, was going to abduct the aunt and demand a ransom of N3 million. But Ekung denied that he came in from Lagos to kidnap his aunt who, according to him, has been his benefactor. The suspect said he returned to the state because one of his friends had told him he had a job for him.

Fresh communal Four held for pipeline vandalism clash claims two Zacchaeus Ozovehe Sabiu Mustapha JALINGO

t least two persons were killed in a fresh communal violence which erupted at the weekend between Wurkun and Shomo Goi ethnic groups in Karim Lamido Local Government Area. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Joseph Kwaji, who confirmed the incident to New Telegraph, said the cause of the crisis could not be ascertained yet. The PPRO said the command had mobilised more men to the area to quell the crisis. He also announced that the police had arrested some suspects in connection with the violence. In April, a similar incident occurred in the same Karim Lamido Local Government as the two ethnic groups clashed at Didango village.

Lokoja

fficials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested four suspected pipeline vandals in Kogi State. The state NSCDC Sector Commander, Everestus Obiyo, who disclosed this yesterday in Lokoja, said the arrest was part of efforts to flush out criminals and vandals from the state. Obiyo said the command would not rest on its oars in the fight against vandals till they were brought on their knees. According to him, those with criminal intents do not have place in the state. The state NSCDC Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ibrahim Tahir, said the hoodlums were apprehended with truck loads

suspected to be petroleum products on Obajana-Kabba Road on June 25. According to Tahir, vandals always have a field day on the route as a result of its secluded nature. He said the suspects would be charged to court when ongoing investigations were concluded. The PRO urged parents and guardians to caution their wards against economic sabotage. In another development, Obiyo expressed gratitude to the people of Ikah, Iregun and Ujeh communities in Ibaji for dropping arms for peace. The communities, which had been at war over leadership tussle, last week embraced peace. The commandant, however, implored the communities to remain good citizens of Kogi State as development would remain elusive in the face of rancour.

METRO

monDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

I made my wealth buying stolen cars –Suspect

The suspects and the recovered cars

Taiwo Jimoh

56-year-old suspected thief, Samuel Adebeshin, has told police in Lagos that he acquired his wealth from buying and selling stolen cars. Adebeshin told operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) that he knew the cars were stolen before buying them from the thieves. When Adebeshin was arrested, eight cars were recovered from him. According to the police, Adebeshin and his cronies specialised in transborder crime and stealing vehicles in Lagos. The gang allegedly used to move the stolen vehicles to Ogun State and Republic of Benin. Adebeshin, residing at 13, Kobape Road, Abeokuta, and his accomplice, Adeyemi Kamoru, 50, said the eight vehicles were all stolen at different locations in Lagos. Adebeshin, who has two wives and

seven children, said: “I built my first house, an eight-room-bungalow in 2006, and the second one, two flats in 2015 where I keep the stolen vehicles as they arrive from Lagos. “Once they bring the cars for me, we would repaint them, change their number plates and chassis numbers, and take them to neighbouring countries for sale. I have been in auto business for 30 years. I know all these cars brought to me were all stolen cars, but I thought I was safe enough here in my palatial compound.” The downfall of the gang started after operatives of RRS, who were working on a reported case of stolen Toyota Corolla from where it was parked in Ikeja Business District, Lagos, tracked the vehicle on Thursday night to a compound in Kobape, Abeokuta, belonging to a car dealer. The Toyota Corolla, grey, 2004 model with registration number KRD 759, belonging to Mrs. Olaitan Lawal, was

removed from the car park during a church programme at Ikeja, around 6p.m. before it was found around 1a.m. on Friday. Lawal said: “I took my car to the church and I parked it at the space designated for parking. After the church service, I went back to pick my car to go home, but I couldn’t find the car. Immediately, I called Lagos emergency line on 112 and I reported to the representative. I also went straight to Area ‘F’ in Ikeja, to equally lodge the complaint. At the station, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) connected me to the Commander of RRS, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Olatunji Disu, as capable hand to handle the case.” Lawal said that called Disu, who promised that her car would soon be found. She said that about 12:15a.m., Disu called and asked her to describe her car. After describing it, he told her the car had been located in Abeokuta. “I couldn’t believe my ears. In about six hours’ interval, my car was found!” she exclaimed. The RRS surveillance team moved to Abeokuta that same night and arrested two of the prime suspects. Speaking further, Adebeshin said: “Two years ago, I met Kamoru Adeyemi. He was the middleman between me and the car thieves. He was the one who introduced Alhaji Tajudeen and one honourable, both still at large, to me as car dealers and ‘crossers’ from Benin Republic. Later on, I discovered they were car snatchers from Lagos. At this point, I couldn’t back out from the deal. Anytime they bring cars to me, it was Adeyemi whom I used to give money to pay others. I didn’t want people to identify me with them.”

Car snatchers clutch Bible to rob Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

ar thieves in Edo State have devised new method of snatching vehicles from their owners. The victims, the majority of who are cab operators in Benin, the state capital, said the thieves now disguised as evangelists and clutching Bibles before snatching vehicles. At the last count, about 10 cars, mostly Toyota Camry, have so far been reported snatched from their owners. A cab operator, who did not want his name in print, said he was dispossessed of his Golf GT car by three men who posed as men of God. According to him, the men, with Bibles in their hands, flagged him down on Akpakpava Road and requested him to take them to a church on Jemide Street within the Government Reservation Area (GRA) in the ancient city. Narrating his ordeal before policemen at the Airport Road Police Station on Saturday night, the victim said the men later brought out a gun and ordered him to hand over the keys. He said: “I was coming on Akpakpava Road when three men holding

Bibles stopped me to drop them at Jemide that they were rushing to a church programme. Immediately I negotiated into Jemide Street one of them brought out a gun and pointed it at me and collected my phone and the only N1,000 in my pocket.” He added that the robbers even promised to drop his car after they must have used it for their operation. Also, about three weeks ago, thieves stole a newly bought black Camry car belonging to a journalist, Elder Tony Abolo in Benin. The car was stolen from where it was parked. Abolo went to get something but before he returned the car had been stolen. When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Abiodun Osifo, said efforts were on check the trend.

Ag. IG, Idris

44 die on Lagos-Ibadan Female student, 19, kidnapped in Ondo Expressway –TRACE Babatope Okeowo, Kunle Olayeni and Taiwo Jimoh

lAbductors free Babcock varsity graduate

19-year-old girl, Miss Moyinoluwa Abdulkareem, has been abducted at Owo in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State. The abduction of the teenage girl, Moyinoluwa, came barely a week after the acting Chief Accountant of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Mr. Kayode Asaju, was kidnapped in the ancient town of Owo. Asaju, according to family sources, was released after ransom was paid to the kidnappers. This came as a female graduate of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Justina Anochie, who was recently abducted by some armed men, has regained her freedom. Explaining how Moyinoluwa was kidnapped, her father, Bola Abdulkareem, said the girl was abducted by yet to be identified commercial motorcyclist while returning home from the bank on Friday.

Anochie

Abdulkareem said Moyinoluwa spoke to him from her kidnapper’s den once. Already, the matter has been reported at the Owo Police ‘A’ Division. Moyinoluwa’s father, who lives on Aralepo Street in Owo, told journalists yesterday said his daughter, who is a student of Prospect High School, Owo, after completing her National Examination Council (NECO)conducted examination “took an Okada to a bank to withdraw some money”. He added: “My daughter

said he diverted from the road that link to the bank to a bush and she said she asked him why he did so and he said he was avoiding the police checkpoint. “That was what my daughter said she knew until she found herself in a room. Up till now, I did not hear from her and her abductor and he has not demanded any ransom.” The Division Police Officer (DPO) of ‘A’ in Owo, Mr. Oluwole Fabiyi, who confirmed the abduction, said the police were waiting for

the family to furnish them with more information before setting on rescue mission. Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said yesterday that Anochie was released unhurt and without ransom payment. Adejobi, a Superintendent of Police, disclosed that operatives attached to Odogbolu Division found the 27-year-old victim after she had been released by the kidnappers in Odogbolu. He added that the operatives later handed Anochie over to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ikenne Division whose jurisdiction covers where she was kidnapped. According to him, the forensic investigation and Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills adopted by the police in the rescue operation compelled the kidnappers to release the victim.

Camillus Nnaji

gun State Transport Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) has said that about 44 motorists were killed in the first half of this year in accidents on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Addressing journalists, the Unit Commander of TRACE, Mr. Olusola Ojuoro, said the agency was strategizing on reducing road crashes and fatalities during the remaining half of the year. He said: “A total of 91 accident cases occurred during the period under review, 149 persons were injured, comprising 111 male and 38 female.” According to Ojuoro, TRACE has been able to identify causes of the alarming rate of accidents. He mentioned failed portions, heavy in flow and out flow of trucks, and the poor attitude of some drivers on the road as factors.

He added: “Some crashes on the expressway are avoidable, but we have serious challenges with the increasing failed portions on the road. Some drivers at night are ignorant of these portions. They drive into them. “We also have challenge of broken down trucks on the expressway. They cause serious accidents mostly at nights. There is also the poor attitude of some drivers; these drivers, rather than rest, embark on long journeys, only to fall asleep on the steering. Another major cause of road on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is over-speeding!” Ojuoro said that TRACE had mapped out enforcement, rescue and driver education programme to checkmate road crashes in the remaining half of the year. The commander said that henceforth, broken down trucks would be towed immediately.

NEWS | national

Forgery case: Malami not qualified to be AGF –Senate

Chukwu David Abuja

monday, july 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

he Senate yesterday expressed its reservations on the suitability of

Mr. Abubakar Malami, to continue in office as the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.

CONFIRMATION/change OF NAME

Benjamine

I, formerly known and addressed as Agbo Kingsley Olisaemeka now wish to be known and addressed as Agbo Obinna Benjamine. All former documents remain valid. Diamond bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Lilian

I, formerly known and addressed as Eke Chinonso Mabel now wish to be known and addressed as Eke Chinonso Lilian. All former documents remain valid. First bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Labake

I, formerly known and addressed as Aina Aderonke Adeleye now wish to be known and addressed as Aina Ronke Labake. All former documents remain valid. ECO BANK and the general public should please take note.

Nweke

I, formerly known and addressed as Efegi Sarah Miebi now wish to be known and addressed as Nweke Chinyere Annabel. All former documents remain valid. FCMB Plc and the general public should please take note.

Ejenavwoke

I, formerly known and addressed as Dovieme Omokuayigbe Betty now wish to be known and addressed as Ejenavwoke Omokuayigbe Betty. All former documents remain valid. Fidelity bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Alade

I, formerly known and addressed as Lawal Akeem Olayiwola now wish to be known and addressed as Lawal Isreal Alade. All former documents remain valid. BANKS and the general public should please take note.

Alade: I, formerly known and addressed as Inweregbu Onyinyechi Agnes now wish to be known and addressed as Austin Onyinyechi Agnes. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE DEVINE KING OF GLORY CHRISTIAN BIBLE CHURCH

This is to notify the general public that the above named CHURCH has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja for registration under Part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990. The Trustees are: 1. Pastor (Prophet) Solomon Niyanu Adeleke – General Oveseer 2. Mr. Lawrence Olanrewaju Akogun – Ass. General Overseer 3. Mr. Aaron Olugbade Oduwaye – General Secretary 4. Ladt Evang. Abimbola Olubunmi AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel of peace and deliverance of our Lord Jesus Christ 2. To establish more churches for the expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication. SIGNED: TRUSTEES

PUBLIC NOTICE

OLUSEGUN LATEEF JAKANDE FOUNDATION

This is to inform the general public that the above FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs named Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990. The Trustees are: 1. Olusegun Lateef Jakande - Chairman 2. Oladipupo Samson Kumuyi 3. Oyindamola Bilikisu Jakande - Secretary AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To provide financial assistance to deserving student for their education. 2. To provide support to the government in meeting housing needs. 3. To support hospitals, clinics, etc. In the provision of medical care Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication. SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

SURVIVAL CIRCLE GLOBAL INITIATIVE This is to notify the general public that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja for registration under Part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990. The Trustees are: 1. Adekunle Omolabake Mulikat 2. Ayinla Afolabi Kazeem 3. Ayinla Abdulkareem AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To improve maternal child health 2. To initiate and execute programmes aimed at preserving, promoting and improving the health of every human being in time of disaster and emergency conditions Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication. SIGNED: TRUSTEES

This was as the senate said it had been vindicated by the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja last week, which described the forgery case filed against its President, Senator Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as an abuse of court process and a decision taken against public interest. The senate made this claim in a statement signed by its spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi yesterday. He said the ruling by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, confirmed that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar

Malami, was acting personal and partisan script. The upper chamber said the AGF's filing of the charges against its presiding officers simply amounted to abuse of his position as the nation's chief law officer. It also challenged Malami to address the issue of his personal and pecuniary interest in the case as he was a counsel to the aggrieved members of the Senate Unity Forum (SUF), who took the matter to court. Sabi lamented that members of the SUF decided to externalise the issue of election of the

leadership of the apex legislative chamber after they failed to get their preferred candidate elected. He further noted that as it had become obvious from the ruling of Justice Kolawole and in the facts of the matter before the Federal High Court that Malami was the one who advised his clients to report the matter to the police and now that he has become AGF, he decided to use his constitutional powers to pursue private interest by filing a criminal case in the FCT High Court against the subsisting ruling of a court of co-ordinate jurisdiction. The spokesman also

pointed out that Malami's name was still on the list of lawyers defending Senator Hunkuyi and others in the Federal High court, Abuja, asking Nigerians to judge whether or not he was still qualified to remain as the nation's chief law officer in a government that has been claiming to operate a change agenda. Part of the statement reads: "When the Senate invited the AGF to throw more light on the forgery case, it was not to challenge his right to file, take over or discontinue any criminal case, but for him to explain the issues of conflict of interest."

Fayose's immunity: You goofed, Ozekhome tells Falana Senate condemns Sulaiman Salawudeen Ado-Ekiti

agos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), has declared as erroneous Mr. Femi Falana's position that the Nigerian Constitution did not grant absolute immunity against criminal prosecution of occupiers of certain public offices, including the President, Vice-President, governors and their deputies. Falana had, while de-

livering a paper entitled; 'The Limits of Immunity Clause,' at the 60th birthday of the Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG), Prof. Julius Inhonvbere, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, the Money Laundering Act, as well as the international criminal court laws do not give absolute immunity to Governor Ayodele Fayose, against criminal prosecution. Falana had added that the EFCC was right to have frozen Fayose's accounts and thereafter obtained a

court order against the act. But Ozekhome, who heads Fayose's legal team against the EFCC, speaking with reporters in Ado-Ekiti, said Falana goofed in these areas, saying: “Femi Falana made three points on the matter and I totally disagree with him." He said: "You can institute a legal process against governors because they are also sued during election petitions. And I disagree with him on that because election petitions are too generic."

Reps summon Julius Berger over forceful eviction of workers Philip Nyam Abuja

he House Committee on Public Petitions chaired by Hon. Nkem Abonta, has summoned the management of Julius Berger over alleged forceful eviction notice served against 720 of its workers and their families from various residential camps across the territory. The workers in a petition dated June 17, 2016, were purportedly declared redundant by Julius Berger Nigeria

Plc via a circular dated June 28, 1999, which was referred to the committee, solicited for the intervention of the House. According to the workers, the company recently issued Quit Notices to the workers, "despite all the ruling of the High Court and several ones delivered by District Courts in Abuja, FCT, for status quo ante bellum to be maintained, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has again decided to disrupt the peace in Abuja and cause chaos and anarchy by bringing armed

policemen and soldiers to threaten us and forcefully served all of us in the company's quarters a notice termed 'Notice to servitude tenant of owners intention to apply to recover possession,' dated June 13, 2016. The said notice said we “should vacate and yield possession of our company's quarters to one Mr. Haha Chinedu, the authorised representative of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc on or before June 22, 2016, if not we would be forcefully ejected," the petition reads in part.

Cleric seeks courageous, visionary leaders

Muslim cleric and university lecturer, Dr. Asif AbdulAzeezOlatunbosun, has said only courageous and transparent leader could run the affairs of the country and restore peace and economic stability to the nation. The cleric, who is a Principal Lecturer and Chief Imam of Tai Solarin University of Education, Omu-Ijebu, Ogun State, said most Nigerian leaders lack vision, courage, fairness, morality and financial transparency, lamenting that such is responsible for the recent incident of ‘budget padding’ at the National Assembly and the series of cases of

diversion of public funds for personal usage involving some public officers. Olatunbosun spoke when he delivered the 21st Ramadan Lecture of Ola-Olu Muslim Society of Nigeria held at the Central Mosque of The Wings Group of Schools, Iwo, Osun State, at the weekend. The lecture was held in honour of Sheikh Alhaji Hamoda Tiamiyu Oyebode-Adisa. Delivering the lecture entitled; “Challenges of Leadership, Morality and Financial Transparency in Islam,” Olatunbosun insisted that the present security and economic chal-

lenges facing the country would have been curtailed had former President Goodluck Jonathan, taken a courageous step towards curbing the menace of corruption before it escalated to the present level. Enunciating some of the qualities of good leadership, Olotunbosun said a good leader must be honest, transparent, courageous, God-fearing, trustworthy and be personally endowed with the ability to foresee what is likely to happen in future. He also said a good leader must be committed to the needs of the people and live up to their expectations.

murder of Oyo lawmaker, calls for probe Chukwu David Abuja

he Senate yesterday expressed outrage at the murder of a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Gideon Aremu, representing Orelope Constituency and called on the police to thoroughly investigate the incident with a view to bringing the culprits to book. In a statement signed by the Chairman of its Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Dr. Aliyu Sabi, the Senate said legislators by the nature of their responsibilities, should be free to mingle with people and move about at any point in time in response to calls by their constituents. It also said that the murder of a lawmaker was a wrong signal to the local and international community about the state of security in the nation, stating that many people would become apprehensive of their safety when a lawmaker was gruesomely murdered with ease. The chamber expressed worry that legislators had become endangered species across the world, noting that other lawmakers had been killed in other climes before the murder of Aremu. The statement reads in part: "Legislators across the world are becoming endangered species. Before the murder of Hon. Aremu, we have seen the gruesome killing of Jo Cox, the British Member of Parliament, who was murdered while campaigning for retaining Britain in the European Union. This only shows that legislators like every of their constituents, are more vulnerable in an insecure environment."

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Politics Nigeria's endangered tier of govt The local administration is the closest government to the people, but the inability of the country’s 774 councils to meet the two primary objectives spelled out in the landmark reform of 1976, which are to promote participatory democracy and rapid socio-economic development at the grassroots has made the citizens to lose trust in the third tier of government. FELIX NWANERI reports with additional reports from correspondents

ost Nigerians have over time craved for change in the local government system as presently constituted in order to bring it in conformity with present day realities as well as also to make the councils live up to the expectations of the people who have been yearning for grassroots development. The call for change was occasioned by the failure of the nation’s 774 local government areas, which are supposed to be the closest tier of administration to the people in the area of service delivery and grassroots development.The change, stakeholders, however agreed will require a constitutional amendment. While most analysts blame the nation’s faulty federal structure for the failure of the councils, others maintain that the joint account run by the states and councils is to be blamed for the latter’s inability to meet the two primary objectives spelled out in the Local Governments’ Reform of 1976, which are: To promote participa-

FELIX NWANERI

GROUP PoLITICAL EDITOR nwanerif@newtelegraphonline.com

Map of Nigeria. Inset: President Muhammadu Buhari

tory democracy, and ensure rapid socio-economic development at the local level. Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), guarantees a system of local government by democratically elected officials. However, the second component of the section makes the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of the local governments dependent on state laws. The section states: “The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall, subject to Section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.” Besides the guarantee, the constitution however, inadvertently makes it possible for state governments to “cripple” the local governments financially by routing funds standing to their credit in the Federation Account through the States/Local Governments’

There is no exception to this bastardisation and encroachment by states

Joint Accounts rather than directly to them. Whereas the Federal Government argued then that the operation of the joint account was meant to bring even development to all parts of the country as well as to forestall a situation, where no single government official at the state or local level corruptly enriches himself from the commonwealth, the arrangement has over time, adversely affected the financial viability of the councils as some state governments have continued to make inexplicable deductions from the accounts. Section 162 (8) of the Constitution which explains how the amount standing in the joint account should be distributed to the local governments in each state, states: “The amount standing to the credit of local government councils of a state shall be distributed among the local government councils of that state on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of the state.” But rather than ensure fiscal responsibility, the law has provided a window for state govern-

ments which are constitutionally required to fund local government councils, to instead hold them (the local governments’) hostage and make them their appendages. In practice, the operation of the joint account has denied the local governments’ their financial autonomy. It should be noted that the state governments were not meant to be beneficiaries of the account but trustees. They are required to maintain the accounts for the benefit of the local governments by ensuring that the amount allocated for this third tier of government is equitably and fairly shared among the councils, adhering strictly to constitutionally stipulated criteria. But most state governments have continued to implement the joint account contrary to its intention. Instances abound where some governors’ hand out only wage bills to the council chairmen in their respective domains, a development which have prompted calls by some analysts and stakeholders for the Federal CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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

Government to either review the local government system or even scrap it. The umbrella body of council workers – Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), which has persistently called for expunging of the joint account from the constitution, is of the view that it “will bring sanity to the local government system.” According to NULGE, the joint account had been the main problem of local government system because state governments have continued to abuse it. “There are illegal and sundry deductions from local government fund through the joint account by the state governments. And also imposition of undemocratic structures (caretaker committee) to run the affairs of local government contrary to section 7 of the 1999 constitution by state governments.” It added that the section has helped shield and create escape route for many state governments to manipulate local government affairs. “It has been the anti-development instruments used to frustrate every progressive and patriotic action to make the local government work since the return of the country to democracy in 1999.” It was against this backdrop that the 7th National Assembly through the House of Representatives, initiated a bill for an act to amend not only the provisions of Sections 7 of the constitution, but also Section 162 in order to provide for independence and financial autonomy of the local governments. Section 162 of the Constitution states inter-alia: “The Federation shall maintain a special account to be called "the Federation Account" into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation, except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the armed forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry or department of government charged with responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.” The bill, sponsored then by the member representing Anaocha/ Njikoka/Dunukofia federal constituency, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, sought to amend the two sections to give the local governments’ independence and financial autonomy. Ekwunife had in her presentation of the bill, lamented the level of underdevelopment at the local governments across the country owing to neglect by the various state governments. According to her, the impact of governance has not been felt at the local government in terms of changing the lives of the people as funds meant for the councils are usually withheld by the states. She queried the need for the councils if the only exist to pay salaries. “If they (the councils) are just there to pay salary, then what kind of responsibility do we expect from them,?’’ she queried, adding that until the relevant sections of the constitution are amended, the councils would continue to be under the apron strings of the state governors.

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Undemocratic govts

Obasanjo

The bill passed second reading on the floor and was consequently committed to the House ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review for further legislative action but nothing meaningful came out of it. A proposal by the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan administration for the scrapping of the joint accounts, also suffered similar fate. The Federal Government had then declared that it would not tolerate the diversion of the funds meant for the development of the grassroots but then main opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) advised Jonathan to jettison the proposal. The party argued that scrapping of the accounts and allocating the councils’ share of the federation account directly to them would amount to making them federating units. The party further warned that allowing the councils to wear the toga of federating units could stifle development and deal a further blow to the nation’s wobbling federalism. On the argument that deductions from the council funds by the states had led to a lack of development at the grass roots, the party said such does not warrant an amendment to the constitution that would fundamentally alter the nation’s federalism in the negative sense. “The answer for the lack of development at the grass roots is not to allocate funds directly to the LGs but to publish, as it is being done already, whatever is allocated to them. Making LGs federating units (as being proposed by the constitution amendment) will further strengthen the Federal Government and weaken all other units, thereby pushing Nigeria towards centralization or unitary governance. Nigeria’s inability to develop at the desired pace is due to over-centralization brought about by the extended era of military rule,” the party argued. The states, it would be recalled

Okorocha

Khaleel

The situation is so bad that workers no longer know what their monthly pay packet is statutorily

had in 2002, won a case at the Supreme Court on the issue, a victory that lead to the creation of the Joint Allocation Committee (JAC). Whoever heads the committee must be a governor's very trusted crony and in most cases, does all the “panel-beating” of the councils allocation from Abuja, in favour of himself and his principal, the state governor as council funds comes to him, not the LG treasurer, anymore. But there is another political school, which insists that as a federal state, Nigeria has three tiers of government (federal, state and local) whose intergovernmental relations (which include political, financial, judicial and administrative) are established by the constitution. They further insist that each tier is required to operate within its area of jurisdiction, and any action to the contrary is null and void to the extent of its inconsistency with the law. This, they claimed, guarantees the autonomy of each tier. While the issue of autonomy for the councils is yet to be resolved, stakeholders, including the national leadership of NULGE, are calling for urgent steps to be taken to save the local governments from imminent extinction. The NULGE leadership, which was recently at former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Hilltop Mansion in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, enlisted his support in rescuing the local government system. The union’s president, Ibraheem Khaleel, told Obasanjo: “As a major player in the 1976 local government reform, we are aware that the mission was to make the councils independent. But the situation has changed and the states have rendered the local governments impotent. As things are now, the governors cannot not do anything, that is why we decided to come to you to use your experience and not to allow the local government system go into extinction.”

Obasanjo, who agreed with NULGE that state governments have incapacitated the councils, however, said though he is “crippled” at the moment, he still retains the power to use his voice to draw attention to those who approach him for assistance. The former president accused state governments of incapacitating local councils, wondering whether states could allow the federal government to do the same to them. His words: “There is no exception to this bastardisation and encroachment by states. Even though both are supposed to be separate tiers of government, with each having its roles and functions, that is not the case anymore. “I wish I could help, but I am helpless. As it is, I can only help you to shout and talk to the world. I do not have any executive or legislative power. I am crippled. But we shall continue to talk until those who are reasonable among them change this attitude. I begin to wonder if they (states) can allow what they are doing to the local governments to be done to them.” Obsasanjo is not only a former Nigerian leader, who have voiced out against structural defect at the local government level. Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, has equally canvassed for financial autonomy for the councils in the past, saying that it is the only way to the nation’s rapid development. Babangida’s argument is that development will be even and sustained if allocations meant for the various local governments are released to them directly though he added that they should be made to account for how the funds are spent by way of monitoring the various projects initiated and executed to maintain quality. The believe that the joint accounts run by states and local governments as well as running of the councils by undemocratic administrations is responsible

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

hold sway in councils

Umahi

Ajimobi

for the inability of the councils to meet the primary objectives for which they were set up was confirmed by a survey conducted by New Telegraph correspondents in some of the states. Imo: Endless cycle of appointments, dissolutions There is apparently no functional local government administration in Imo state today, though there are Transition Committee Chairmen across the 27 council areas of Imo state. Governor Rochas Okorocha for unknown reasons has stalled conducting council elections in the state since 2011 he assumed office. It has been an endless cycle of appointments and dissolutions of different batches of Transition Committee Chairmen across the state. The current batch was appointed about six months ago and according to some of them, they are yet to collect any allocation for the running of the councils. Most of the responsibilities of the council in Imo State have been effectively usurped by the state. Pay parade exercises in the local government is now controlled by the state with the local government rendered incapable of executing any rural project. Revenue offices at the local government have been grounded by a recent directive allowing officials from the state to move across the 27 council areas on revenue drives while the host council areas are left helpless and unfunded. Most local government headquarters look gloomy, bushy and deserted as workers are ill motivated to give their best. Supervising officials most times lack the will to enforce discipline because, workers are not paid regularly and when the salaries come at all, the workers are underpaid. A staff of Njaba Local Government Area, who spoke to our correspondent, declared that the state of the council is pitiable. “Our salaries are far from regular. We are about to receive

May salaries and when we are paid, they pay us like we are charity cases; just like refugees on the breadline. The situation is so bad that workers no longer know what their monthly pay packet is statutorily. For the last three months we have been paid, nobody has received the same amount. What I mean is that the inconsistency is such that what you are paid this month is not what you will be paid next month and the subsequent months and we no longer understand the terms of payment. “If no decisive intervention is made by the Federal Government, local government system in Imo state will totally collapse. The governor created a Fourth Tier of government that is already dead on arrival with no definition to its operations and administration. The fourth tier was apparently created at the expense of the local government system but both of them now seem headed to the rocks as they are superintended by a government largely driven by ignorance.” Edo: LGs run by civil servants The administration of the 18 local government councils in Edo State is presently in the hands of Heads of Service (HOS) of the councils. This followed the dissolution of the council administration in May this year by members of the state House of Assembly at the expiration of the tenure of chairmen of the local government areas in late April after three years in office. The tenure of the chairmen ended on April 22, as they were inaugurated in April 2013. At present, most of the councils across the country are faced with the problem of paucity of funds and Edo state is no exception in this regard as the councils are also in pains of meeting with the needs of people and in running their affairs. This is attributable to the economic recession and fall in the price of crude oil at the international market, which

Ambode

The answer for the lack of development at the grass roots is not to allocate funds directly to the LGs

have brought about a drastic reduction in the nation’s earnings and an attendant drop in the allocation due to the nation’s 36 states and 774 councils. However, Edo state government under Governor Adams Oshiomhole has maintained a track record as one among few states that are not indebted to its work force, as it pays salary between the 22nd and 25th of each month to all the workers in the state, a position the government has taken with utmost seriousness and as core priority to boost service delivery. To add to the cheery news, Oshiomhole had during this year’s May Day celebration at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin, the state capital, approved an increase in the minimum wage payment to workers from N18, 000 to N25, 000. Nevertheless, about eleven out of the 18 local government councils in the state are groaning in huge debts of arrears of salaries, which were left behind by past chairmen of the councils. Investigation by New Telegraph revealed that workers of some of the councils are owed between five to 13 months of arrears of salaries. As at the last count, Egor Local Government Area of the state under the immediate past chairman, Comrade Victor Enobakhare, is under the yoke of 13 months arrears of salaries owed to workers. Further findings showed that out of the 18 councils, only Owan East was up to date in the payment of salaries to the workers before the tenure of the chairmen was dissolved by the state legislature. In her reaction the immediate past chairman of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) Edo state chapter and ex-chairman of Ikpoba Okha Local Government area, Mrs. Itohan Osahon-Igbeide, told our reporter that she was not aware of the issue of debts by councils to workers. She said the payment

POLITICS

of salaries is solely the business of individual councils and not the responsibility of ALGON as an umbrella body of the councils in the state. Kaduna: IMC’s running council affairs All the 23 local government councils of Kaduna State are being run by Interim Management Committees which is each headed by a chairman. Governor Nasir el-Rufai first appointed these committees on July 23, 2015 for a period of six months. According to reports, the governor relied on the Local Government (Administration) Law No 12 of 2012 in making these appointments. Specifically, the law provides that their tenures can be extended after six months by the State House of Assembly. The governor had in January dissolved the Interim Management Committees and sought the approval of the legislature to extend their tenures for another six months. Most of the chairmen returned while others were replaced. According to a source, most local governments in Kaduna State owe workers salary arrears of between three and five months. The worst affected are Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Sabon Gari, Igabi and Zaria local governments. Efforts to get the sate chairman of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Jabir Mohammed, to give a breakdown of the arrears being owed workers proved abortive. However, a top government source told New Telegraph that the state government has asked local governments to start paying teachers as at last Monday, while other categories of staff will be paid installmentally’. Osun: No council poll in six years Osun State has not had elections into its 30 local government areas since Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the governor of the state in 2010. Efforts made by other political parties in the state to ensure that local government election is held in the state have prove abortive as the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led government turned a deaf ear to their agitation. Instead of listening to their voices, the governor constituted a caretaker committee that steered the ship of the local councils till the end of his first tenure in office before they were dissolved. Presently, the state has in place Local Council Managers appointed to run affairs of the various local governments. These Local Council Managers are civil servants on Grade Level 14 and staff of the local governments. This was made possible after, Aregbesola terminated the services of those on level 15 and above from the 30 local governments to the state civil service. Those whose services were withdrawn include all directors of different departments in the councils and Heads Of Administrations. The council managers are reportedly being given subventions by the state government for the maintenance of the local councils despite their allocation from the federation account, while workCONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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Ugwuanyi C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

ers are still being owed 10 months half salaries and two months full salaries as at the time of filing in this report. Abia: Council poll held last in 2007 The last local government election in Abia State was held in 2007. That was the first tenure of the immediate past governor, and now Senator representing Abia Central senatorial zone, Chief Theodore Orji. Since the end of that era, local government administrations have been under the appointed transition/caretaker committees. The reason given at that time for not conducting another local government election was not only the huge financial implication but the mismanagement of the councilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; funds by that set of chairmen and backlog of staff salaries. The promise of conducting council elections after that time has not been kept. The present administration has also promised to conduct council election, ostensibly to assuage the growing agitation for elected administrations at the councils. The governor state, Okezie Ikpeazu, had earlier in the year directed the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) to furnish his office with requirements for the conduct of council polls. Since the promise early in the year, nothing else has been said of the election. And it is doubtful whether the council election would be conducted given the present economic situation. At the moment, it is not only that the councils have no elected officials but owe salaries of upward of four months. The ugly trend of owing council workers began with the immediate past administration in the state. The joy of the workers was short lived when the bailout fund could not clear the arrears and instead of decreasing it has rather increased from two to four months. Pathetic tales of families whose bread winners are council staff pervade the state. It is worrisome that one year after,

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

el-Rufai

Local governments on Aregbesola

the present administration also seems helpless over the matter as no solution appears to be in sight.

had since last year dropped such that salaries were being paid in a staggered form.

Oyo: Nine years wait for LG poll In Oyo State, it is a long wait council poll in the last nine years. Caretaker chairmen had been appointed by successive governments to run the 33 local governments in the state. While pressure had been on incumbent governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi since his first tenure to conduct election into the councils, the administration claimed that it could not conduct the poll owing to legal impediments. It was just recently that the governor constituted an 8-man Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) commission to midwife the council poll to be conducted in September. On the issue of funding, workers in the 33 local government areas of Oyo State have been paid their salaries better than other workers in the state. Unlike the state workers who are currently on strike for inability of the Ajimobi administration to pay their salaries since December 2015, translating to six month arrears, the local government staff have been paid till March, 2016, meaning that they are only being owed three months. However, primary school teachers were last paid in February. Those on Levels 1 to 12 have received their February salary while those of Levels 13 and above are still being owed February salary as at present. The situation with the local government workers and the primary school teachers is better being that their salaries are paid directly by the Federal Government. The state government disburses it to the local governments on monthly basis. Other workers who are paid by the state government are however worse hit because the allocation from the Federal Government

Ebonyi: Caretaker committee in place Since the present administration in Ebonyi State came on board, the state local government system has been under the control of caretaker committee chairmen. The caretaker committee chairmen were appointed by Governor Dave Umahi after the state House of Assembly approved one year tenure for the chairmen in its resolution. The caretaker committee chairmen were appointed in September last year to oversee the affairs of the 13 local government areas of the state. Also appointed by the governor were vice chairmen of the caretaker committees and local government advisory committees, who are all female. The immediate past administration of Martin Elechi also appointed caretaker committees to run the local governments after a Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki nullified the local government election conducted by the administration. The court in its ruling had faulted the open ballot system used in the conduct of the poll, describing it as inconsistent with the Electoral Act. When the Umahi administration came in, it borrowed a leave from the past administration and appointed its own caretaker committee chairmen. The governor said he appointed the caretaker committee to run the affairs of local government system as there was no fund to conduct local government election in the state. He said the state cannot afford the N600 million demanded by the state electoral commission for conduct of local government election. The government has, however, continued to pay workers under the local government system as

The joint account had been the main problem of local government system because state governments have continued to abuse it

and when due. It pays workers in the system every 20th of the month. Also pensioners under the system are paid regularly. Bauchi: Councils as reward for loyalists Eight years after the last local government election was conducted in Bauchi State, successive governments resorted to rewarding their loyalists with appointments as caretaker committee chairmen. Former Governor Isa Yuguda last conducted council polls in the state in 2008 and 2009. Apart from rewarding loyalists, another reason for the non conduct of local government election in the state was to hijack the council funds by the governors. The incumbent governor, Mohammed Abubakar on assumption of office dissolved all local government caretaker committees with immediate effect. Abubakar gave directive for dissolution in a state broadcast in Bauchi and directed the respective council administrators to hand over the affairs of the local governments to their respective heads of personnel managements. According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;let me use this occasion to formally announce the dissolution of all local government caretaker committees with immediate effect. The respective administrators are directed to hand over all affairs of local governments to their head of personnel managements.â&#x20AC;? Thus, Bauchi State is one of the states that is yet to conduct local government election despite the quest by the electorate to have the conducted into various political offices at grassroots. Enugu: Caretaker chairmen hold sway On January 2016, Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, formally announced the appointment of caretaker committee chairmen and management com-

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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the brink of collapse mittee members for the 17 local government areas in the state. This followed the expiration of the tenure of elected council chairmen in the state on January 4. Prior to the expiration of the tenure of the elected council chairmen, the governor in November 2015 called an extra-ordinary meeting of Enugu political stakeholders to discuss the matter. At the meeting, the governor laid down the difficult economic situation on ground, following which the stakeholders assessed the situation and urged the governor to set up a caretaker committee at the expiration of the tenure of the elected chairmen in January. The decision was really based on the prevailing economic downturn in the country coupled with the fact that no provision was made in the 2015 budget for the council poll. Consequently, the governor announced that “in order to avoid vacuum, on January 4, 2016, the local government caretaker committees will be constituted and this is in keeping with the extant laws of Enugu State.” The political and opinion leader, who took the decision, included Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, immediate past governor of the state, Chief Sullivan Chime, former Information minister, Chief Nnia Nwodo, former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, among others. Governor Ugwuanyi had offered two reasons the local council polls would not hold before the expiration of the tenure of the councils. One was the local government staff audit going on at the time and the second is that of inadequate funds for the exercise. Reacting to the development, the All Progressives Congress in the state and other pressure groups including Save Enugu Group (SEG) protested that one

Oshiomhole

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political party had “no right to gang up and deny the people of the state the right to governance.” Meanwhile, investigation by our reporter showed that salary payment varies from council to council. While some local government areas are up to date, some owe up to two to five months arrears of salary. The worst hit is Nsukka Local Government Area, which receives zero allocation from time to time, according to reliable sources. It was also gathered that the state is operating a joint account, whereby some projects are being executed jointly between the state and the councils. Lagos: Sole administrators in charge The 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) in Lagos State are presently run by sole administrators, who were appointed on June 11 by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Prior to last month’s appointment of the sole administrators, the ship of the 57 councils was steered by Executive Secretaries. But following criticisms that trailed their appointments, Lagos State government on June 9, asked them to quit office. The state government in a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello, after the Lagos State House of Assembly had asked Governor Ambode to relieve the Executive Secretaries of the appointments, said government took the decision as part of preparation to conduct local government elections in the 57 local councils. Two days after the sack of the Executive Secretaries, Governor Ambode approved the appointment of sole administrators and saddled them with the responsibilities of overseeing the 20 local governments and 37 LCDAs in the state. The sole administrators were

In Bauchi State, successive governments resorted to rewarding their loyalists with appointments as caretaker committee chairmen

sworn-in on June 13, and since then, they have been in charge of their various councils pending the conduct of local government elections in the state. Speaking at the swearing in of the sole administrators, Governor Ambode reassured Lagosians that his administration would spare nothing to make governance at the grassroots vibrant and responsive. He said that the appointment of the sole administrators to manage the affairs of the councils was in line with the recent resolution passed by the House of Assembly, which recommended that the previous local government committees be resolved. The sole administrators are expected to serve for three months before the conduct of council election, which is expected to hold on or before October. And with last week swearingin of Justice Ayotunde Philips-led members of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Lagosians may soon have the opportunity of electing their representatives at the third tier of government. Niger: Elected Administration place The 25 local government areas in Niger State are manned by elected chairmen who were elected in December, 2015 and sworn in by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello in January this year. However, the chairmen have not found it easy as activities in the councils were paralysed last week when the local government workers shunned the state government's bargain to start a three-day warning strike over non-payment of April to June salaries. Out of the 25 councils, only six – Mashegu, Mariga, Kotangora, Tafa, Magama and Agwara have been able to pay workers leaving the remaining 19 hoping on the government. The Nigeria Union of Lo-

cal Government Employees (NULGE), Niger State branch, on June 16, directed that the entire workforce of the local government areas to commence the warning strike. State Secretary of the union, Sa’ad Muhammed, who gave the directive, said: “Arising from the meeting held between the state governments and organised labour at government house on local government workers’ salaries which ended in a deadlock. I have been directed to inform you that all workers across the 25 local government areas should embark on a three-day warning strike should government fail to pay the workers’ salaries in full within the specified period.” Also, the state chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Yahaya Idris Ndako, who also confirmed that the meeting with the state government was deadlocked, said labour would give the state up to the end of June to pay workers before a full scale strike. Kwara: Elected chairmen to leave in November Local government areas in Kwara State are being run by elected chairmen. The 16 of them, who were elected two years after Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed was sworn-in for his first term as elected governor of the state are expected to vacate office by November this year at the expiration of their threeyear tenure. On the issue of salaries, all the local governments owe staff for six months. They, however, attributed the development to dwindling allocation from the federation account. Local government workers however dismissed this claim as they took to the streets last Wednesday demanding for their salaries. •Additional reports by Cajetan Mmuta,Ibraheem Musa, Adeolu Adeyemo, Igbeaku Orji, Uchenna Inya, Kenneth Ofoma, Dan Atori, Biodun Oyeleye, Nankpah Audu, Steve Uzoechi, Sola Adeyemo and Murtala Ayinla

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion Buhari, beware of enemies within Dominik Umosen

e are confident in the assumption that given his rich experience in leadership, President Muhammadu Buhari must have suspected that though a conspiracy by some factors entirely beyond his control, the administration might have suffered a disconnect from the people and lost the initial magic with which it was heralded into office, a little more than a year ago. You do not require extra-ordinary perception to realize that the prevailing mood in the country contrasts sharply with the instantaneous acclamation with which Nigerians received the administration at inception. Growing disaffection with the country’s worsening economic situation alone was sufficient to trigger disillusion that this was not the change they bargained for, further deepening the sense of alienation. But rather than address the seeping disaffection logically from its root, some mischievous politicians with powerful and strong leverage in the administration seem determined to manipulate this sentiment for personal gains that are at variance with the interests of the administration. Rather than encourage the administration to undertake genuine reforms as originally anticipated from the administration, this formidable clique and enemies within mobilize against and vigorously demonize in order to vilify agitations for genuine reforms the absence of which has consistently prevented the country from attaining its genuine potentials. For example, even when it is evident that the feeding bottle federalism that the country has been operating has outlived its usefulness, this powerful lobby ironically encourages the

administration to vilify and persecute recommendations for genuine and meaningful reforms without which the polity would continue to swing like a yoyo and grope endlessly for peace and stability within its contrived limitations that are avoidable. They spoil for war with the opposition even when there is no need to fight. And they coopt vital national institutions into this unnecessary and diversionary war of attrition, manipulating and deploying them to settle transparently personal scores. Ultimately, the citizens are bruised unless the president deploys his superior experience to insist that he belongs to no one but every one and remains committed to frustrate those who are determined to fight their private political wars, surreptitiously using vital national institutions. The war against corruption, which the administration has waged creditably so far, remains a great objective. But many fear that the powerful desperadoes within might hijacked a noble objective to create the erroneous impression that the anti-corruption fight is the only programme he has to offer Nigerians who have been driven deeper beyond the poverty line. There is need for the administration to devote equal attention to revamping the economy because the fall of two presidents and over three cabinet ministers in Brazil contradicts the impression that corruption is the problem with or peculiar to the country. The greatest re-assurance of the possibility of re-inventing the Buhari brand is the president’s sensational admission that the country’s economy has collapsed as consequence of years of mismanagement. But reat and sensational as this admission is, it flies in the face of his reluctance to beam his anti-corruption searchlight on previous administrations other than that of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, insisting that doing so

They spoil for war with the opposition even when there is no need to fight

would amount to a diversion and distraction. Having admitted this much, the president should fortify his position in history by reforming this mismanaged monstrosity with courage and dispassion. He has demonstrated his determination to bring treasury looters to book. But in doing so, we must not create the erroneous impression that the administration is only concerned about financial corruption and less with other equally deadly forms of corruption, be it political or moral. For example , while powerful politicians continue to shield sponsors of insurgency, the administration contributes to the loss of value of human life by wantonly killing citizens exercising their legitimate right to protest against entrenched injustice in the polity. And for helping to suppress atrocities committed by multi-national oil companies in the Niger Delta, generals are compensated with commissions as contractors, including those who have acquired choice properties in exotic locations like Dubai with blood money and income that is anything but legitimate, further mocking the anticorruption war by the administration. As the country grinds to a halt with more unviable states going bankrupt, corresponding political crisis in the United Kingdom following the exit of Britain from the European Union (EU), emphasize that there is a time limit for all forms of oppression and injustice. To underscore this fact, Scotland has warned that she would not be intimidated to walk away from the rest of Europe simply because Britain is so persuaded. To re-connect with Nigerians as reflected from growing pockets of tension across the country, Buhari should urgently reform the polity to align it with the genuine aspirations of citizens. The surest guarantee to regain his magic is to eliminate institutionalized injustice in the polity, not by intimidation or issuing fresh threats. •Umosen (dominik.umosen@gmail.com) wrote in from Lagos.

David Cameron’s message to Buhari Jones Onwuasoanya

his article is coming a little bit late, because I had to watch the drama called Brexit and see how it all ended, I was also interested in finding out the reactions of key players in European politics, especially as it is obvious that a good number of those who have access to political power in Britain are keen on retaining that country’s membership of the European Union. To many economists and politicians of Britain, the EU may have its disadvantages for Britain, but it is better they remain with them, than opting out. But as the referendum has shown, majority, though slim, of British people, think otherwise. They have voted to exit the European Union. This landmark voting means a lot not just for the Brits who have voted either side of the divide, but for us in Nigeria, who are victims or beneficiaries of the British political system, depending on how we think about it. The Nigerian marriage was officiated on by the British colonialists without consulting with the Nigerian people, and many Nigerians, including those in the corridors of power have not hidden their desire to see this marriage renegotiated. Every major ethnic group in the country has people and

groups within it that are fighting for separation from the entity called Nigeria. To many people, Nigeria has never been a nation and no matter how hard anyone tries, only a renegotiation of the country will solve our problems. Prime Minister, David Cameron has never being a supporter of Britain’s exit from the European, may be, because of the fear of the unknown. However, he understood even during the elections that majority of the people of Britain are no longer comfortable with the EU arrangement, hence, his promise during the elections that should his Party win majority seats in the Congress, he would organize a referendum to determine the fate of the United Kingdom in the European Union. True to his words and in no confusion about the likely outcome of such referendum, David Cameron, an ardent supporter of the ‘REMAIN’ campaign, organized a referendum against his own will for Brits to decide their fate. This is the first lesson, the young Conservative politician is teaching our President, Muhammadu Buhari. Democracy is what it is, because it is the rule of the majority, people have to be carried along in taking decisions that affect them. no matter how noble a policy or an idea is, if it is resisted by majority of the people, it has to be stepped down. Promises made during elections must be kept by responsible leaders. Before Prime Minister David Cameron made

the promise to British voters that he was going to conduct a referendum to determine what happens to the United Kingdom’s membership in the EU, he already knew where his vote will go. He believed and still believes that the United Kingdom will be better served if they continued in the EU, but as a respecter of democratic norms, he approved the referendum, and then went into the streets to talk to the people on the benefits of remaining in the EU. The idea of exiting the EU may turn out a very bad one, but that is one of the pains of democracy, and once you are committed to it, you must uphold its principles. Democracy does not allow one man to think for all people democracy is built on the belief that the more people that participate in the process of decision making for a country, the more likely it is that majority of the people will take responsibility for the outcome of such decisions. The idea of exiting the EU is a dangerous one with far-reaching consequences on the economy, politics and even existence of the United Kingdom. analysts have even predicted that the triumph of the ‘LEAVE’ vote may bring an end to the oneness of the UK. Scotland which is one of the four countries that make up the UK voted massively for the UK to remain in the EU, and it is believed that the Scots are especially interested in the UK’s continued membership of the EU, because they see that as a measure to check Britain’s politi-

cal dominance of their country. David Cameron understands that majority of UK citizens prefer a continuation of the Union as it presently is, but he cannot railroad them into casting their votes for the UK’s continued stay in the EU, as that may go a long way in guaranteeing the sustenance of the Union. The UK economy is already feeling the negative impact of this referendum with economists projecting the effect of this exit vote for the UK to diminish the UK economy by about 7.5 percent in the next fifteen years. Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne had even toyed with the idea of freezing trading on the stock market, as market watchers predicted what the VOX news called ‘Explosion of volatility’. The freedom previously enjoyed by UK based companies in the European market will also be drastically affected by this exit, as companies that presently enjoy unfettered access to all the markets in Europe will now have to begin extensive negotiations with other countries where they want to retain their operations. This will cause job losses, and other inconveniences to the UK market. Immigration, politics and even security will be in for serious reworks with the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU. David Cameron understood all this, but he also understands that theirs is a democracy, where the peoples’ wish must prevail. • Onwuasoanya wrote in from Owerri.

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Biafra: Between Buhari and Obasanjo

he resurgence of agitations for Biafra 46 years after the cessation of hostilities calls for reflection on the part of the Federal government presided over by Muhammadu Buhari. As a veteran of the Civil War, Mr. President fought and believed in keeping Nigeria one. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo shares a lot in common with President Buhari. Both fought the war although the latter was a subaltern under the former who Commanded the Third Marine Commando Division. The duo were also ministers, ruled Nigeria as military dictators and returned as president under a democratic government. Having worked hard to keep the nation one, both men get rattled when chants of Biafra echo in the South-East. However, Chief Obasanjo applied wisdom in handling issues emanating from the alleged marginalization of the SouthEast and the Igbo in the South –South geo –political zone. As a colonel, he presided over the Biafran surrender on January 12, 1970. General Philip Effiong who was a Lt.Col. in the Nigeria Army and Obasanjo’s senior had the miserable but bold task of giving up on behalf of millions of impoverished Biafrans. In 1977, Gen. Obasanjo appointed an Igbo officer, Commander Ndubuisi Kanu Military governor of Lagos state. At that time, Lagos was the nation’s capital. It was a swap. Captain Adekunle Lawal moved to Imo state to take over from Kanu. That redeployment meant a lot. Kanu was the first Igbo mili-

tary governor after the war. General Yakubu Gowon did not find any Igbo officer worthy of responsibility. Under him, the East Central State had an Administrator while the other 11 states were governed by the military and police. General Murtala Mohammed followed his predecessor’s footsteps. An Idoma, Col. Anthony Aboki Ochefu was made the first Military governor of East Central state in July 1975. He lasted just four months before he was replaced by a fellow Benue-Plateau officer, Lt.Col. John Atom Kpera, a Tiv. Benue –Plateau was just North of Igboland. One move Murtala made was to appoint Kanu ,then a Lt. Commander, to sit in the Su-

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Where Obasanjo used tact, Buhari is using threat

preme Military Council [SMC]. With the creation of Imo in February 1976, he redeployed Kanu to the new state as pioneer governor. In other words, Gen. Mohammed trusted the Igbo naval officer. Obasanjo looked beyond one Igbo man. In 1978, he sent Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe as Military Administrator, to replace Kanu. It was Ukiwe that handed over to Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande when democracy was restored in 1979. In essence Obasanjo handed over Lagos , the capital of Nigeria ,to two Igbo officers to administer. That was less than a decade after the war. When Buhari came as Head – of-State in 1983, the former East Central state had become Anambra and Imo . The Yoruba speak-

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ing states had Yoruba speaking governors, the states in the North had governors who were used to the environment. In Anambra, Buhari picked Commander Alison Amechi Madueke,who was at the Nigerian Embassy in the United States. Imo got an Igbo quite alright. Brigadier Ike Omar Sanda Nwachukwu. He had Katsina –Hausa roots like the Head-of –State, as his mother hailed from the royal family. The Red Beret fought for Nigeria against Biafra during the war. General Buhari’s initial SMC had no Igbo officer until Ukiwe was drafted in after the initial announcement. The Igbo took note of that development.

When Obasanjo returned as civilian President, the Igbo felt bad that one of their own Dr. Alex Ekwueme ,was kicked out for the former general to assume office following his emergence as the PDP flag bearer. They still went ahead to vote for the President. President Obasanjo buried the ghost of the Civil War when the Federal government re-absorbed all those who enlisted as Nigeria Army officers but fought for Biafra and were dismissed from service after the war. Till date, those of them who are still alive are receiving pension. Lt.Col Conrad Chukwujimje Dibia Nwawo [NA 10], the fellow Igbo who talked Maj. Chukwuma Nzeogwu into dropping his 1966 Revolutionary plans died last February. All arrears of his pen-

sion were duly paid. And in death, Obasanjo’s name was not lost. Another civil war veteran, Group Captain Mike Amanyaiwe, gave the former president full marks. “ He [Nwawo] was re-absorbed in to the Nigeria Army, the Prisoners of War [POW] were freed and he was on pension. All the people who fought for Biafra, but were not recalled, were eventually pardoned by Obasanjo, they started paying them their pension and cleared all arrears as well”, Amanyeiwe said. Today, Chief Obasanjo has in-laws in Owerri. He married an Amadi, sister to his military course mate, Lt. Col. Patrick Chiedu Amadi’s wife. The exArmy general found his way round neo-Biafrans. Where Obasanjo used tact, Buhari is using threat. And the nation may not breath fresh air except the President changed his strategy. In a little over one year of the new government of change, hundreds of unarmed Biafra protesters have been killed by security operatives. We advise President Buhari to learn from Obasanjo’s approach. Gowon preached No Victor, No Vanquished. That message should not be lost. Even Amnesty International has accused the Nigerian government of sitting idle while innocent citizens are killed just for remembering and chanting Biafra. At this time, this country needs peace. The Boko Haram insurgency in the North –East has not left us completely. The Niger Delta is burning. The economy is comatose and there is every reason for those in power to put on their thinking cap.

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

monDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Law The police have asked its men to declare their assets in accordance with the Code of Conduct for public officers. Are the police covered by the constitutional provisions on declaration of assets? AKEEM NAFIU asks

Interview Adegboruwa: Why Buhari must stop blame game

News Activist sues Ondo over OSOPADEC fund

FOLUSO OGUNMODEDE JUDICIARY Editor

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Dust over IG’s directive on assets declaration

lthough it looks bizarre when the Acting Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris directed its men to declare their assets in accordance with Section 318(1) of the Constitution and Paragraph 9 under Part II (i.e. Part 2) of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution, policemen have no escape route as lawyers have queued behind the IG. They were unanimous that Section 318(1) of the Constitution and Paragraph 9 under Part II (i.e. Part 2) of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution and Section 13 Cap 15 of the Code of Conduct Act mandate policemen to declare their assets. Police Inspector General, Idris had on assumption of office last week said it was compulsory for policemen under his leadership to declare their assets. Idris said: “We are going to make sure that our police officers are more accountable to the people and we are going to make sure that we take over the street from criminals and ensure that our presence is felt in our cities, towns and villages. “We are also going to operate within the concept of the rule of law and the code of conduct law of this country and Section 13 of the Code which provide that every officer must declare his assets and I am assuring you that every police officer from my rank (IGP) to the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) must declare his asset. “Under Section 13 of the Code of Conduct law, Cap 15 in the Federal Law of Nigeria, every police officer from the IGP to the ASPs is a Commissioned officer and they must declare their assets. “I must declare my asset and every police officer must declare his or her assets since I am declaring mine. Under our structure and it is the requirement of the Code of Conduct Law of Federal Republic of Nigeria and I don’t think the state made that law for the fun of it.” But his men had described his di-

Buhari

Idris

Akintola

Ugwumadu

rective as exercise in futility just as it had got the backing of lawyers. While some officers believe it was long overdue others said such declaration by the IG would be counterproductive, describing it as ‘a mere directive that cannot hold any water’. But Lawyers said at the weekend that declaration of assets is a constitutional provision that must be strictly adhered to by public officers, including the police. Chief Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, Femi Aborisade, Jide Olanipekun, Destiny Obun Takon, Ige Asemudara, Malachi Ugwumadu applauded

the police boss for his readiness to comply with the rule of law. All said it was a mandatory requirement for public officers to declare their assets in regardless of their cadre. For instance, Akintola said the directive by the Inspector General of Police was in order as the law was mandatory for public officers and the civil servants of which the police was a member. Akintola said: “Of course. They are also covered by the Code of Conduct Act. They are expected to declare their assets. They are public officers. The directive is not strange because it is in the law. The mere fact that they

have not been complying does not mean that they should not do it. The Acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, was right. They should declare their assets.” Aborisade was not different. He said: “By virtue of Section 318(1) of the Constitution and Paragraph 9 under Part II (i.e. Part 2) of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution, police officers are public officers who work in the public service of the Federation and who are mandatorily required to declare their assets and liabilities and those of their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 18 in compliance with Paragraph 11 under Part I (i.e Part 1) of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution. “According to Paragraph 11 (1) under Part I of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution, the declaration is to be done immediately after taking office, at the end of every four years and at the end of a term of office. “Although Section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, CAP C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 provides that a public officer is also required to declare the assets of his spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 years. These provisions would appear to be null and void to the extent of the inconsistency with the provisions of Paragraph 11 under Part I of the Constitution cited above, on the authority of the Supreme Court in Musa v. INEC (2003) 3 NWLR (Pt. 806) 72 where the apex court held that where the Constitution has provided exhaustively for any situation and on any subject, a legislative authority lacks the power to add to or to subtract from the constitutional provisions.” Olanipekun said: “Section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Tribunal Act provides thus: Every Public Officer shall, within fifteen months after the coming into force of this Act or immediately after taking office and thereafter ... submit to the Bureau a written declaration ...of all his properties, assets and liabilities and those of his spouse or unmarried children under the age of twenty one years. Is police officer a public servant? The answer is yes. Item 9 in second schedule to the Act specifically stated that ‘Inspector General of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police and all members of the Nigeria police Force and other Government security agencies established by law’ are public officers. Therefore, the police is covered by the law and should declare their assets. Not only the police, but all officers of other CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

20 Law|Interview

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Adegboruwa: Why Buhari Rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, in this interview with AKEEM NAFIU speaks on President Muhammadu Buhari’s corruption war, dwindling economy, security challenge, immunity clause and sundry issues

Many Nigerians still believe that nothing significant restructuring, has changed in the much touted change mantra of the ruling All Progressives Congress since the party came to power some 13 months ago. What would you say has indeed changed? It’s below our expectation. The President has performed below the expectations of Nigerians. The reason why I said he has performed below expectations is that a man is supposed to be rated according to his utterances. The President was the one who wet our appetite in the course of the campaigns that preceded the 2015 general elections by promising the impossible. He said in three months, the Boko Haram activities will be a thing of the past. He also said it during his campaign in Okigwe, in Owerri, Imo State that if he is elected the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he will make sure that there is parity between the Naira and the Dollar. That is, a dollar to one naira. The President clearly derided and condemned the former administration when they attempted to remove subsidy on fuel and petroleum products. The President and his party kicked against it. The same thing happened when the previous administration increased the price of petrol. The President also said within three months of his coming to power, he will not only declare his assets but also all those that will work with him, including his ministers and all political appointees will also publicly declare their assets. All these promises have been reneged upon. The President through his political party promised that there will be 20,000megawatts of electricity within the four years of his administration. If you divide 20 by 4, you get 5,000 megawatts every year. Also, by the time the President took over, we have 4,870megawatts. This rose in February 2016 to 5,000 megawatts of the existing megawatts. Up till this moment, the President has not generated one megawatt and the administration is already marking a year. This means we are already in deficit of 5,000 megawatts. It is therefore very clear that the President has not been faithful to his campaign promises. Not only that, he has not increased the megawatt, he has downgraded the one he met. Presently in Nigeria, we are in zero megawatt. There is no electricity anywhere and where there is electricity, may be it will last for just four hours in a day. I am talking from my own experience recently. I run generator in my office and at home and I am sure that is the experience of many Nigerians. So, if you take it in that regard, you will see that the President has

It is therefore very clear that the President has not been faithful to his campaign promises

performed below expectations. In his campaign promises, he said that there will not be less than 3,000km of national highways network of road. As we speak now, the President has not tarred 1km of any road. Lagos/Ibadan Expressway has been abandoned, the same thing with the Benin/Ore Expressway and other roads across the country. There are death traps everywhere now. The President equally said that at least every year, 3million jobs will be created, but there is no job anywhere. Banks are now retrenching and virtually all the companies are retrenching their staff while those who are not, are not paying salaries. About 27 states in the country cannot pay workers’ salaries because they are bankrupt. The President also gave a promise that pupils of public schools will be giving one meal per day. That has since gone into thin air. So, when you look at it in that regard, you will see that it is a regime of failed promises. However, all these notwithstanding, I am cautious not to write off the President because he cannot give what he did not have. The competency of the President is in militancy. His area of specialization is in combatant and to fight wars. In this regard, I must say that the President has performed excellently well in combating crimes and criminality, especially in the North East. I am impressed with the courage the President has shown. I am also impressed with the solidarity of soldiers. I think the President has matched his words with his actions in that regard. He moved the headquarters of the battalion right to the center of the battle. The President has performed brilliantly well in respect of the fight against Boko Haram and other insurgents. He deserved commendation. He did all these as a gallant soldier and he has demonstrated eloquency, commitment and he put his words to match his actions. So, in that regard, the President has performed excellently well. In respect of the war against corruption, the President has done more than any past leader in this country. He showed particular courage in tackling that aspect of our national life with zeal, commitment, matching his words with actions. He also went against those who are hitherto described as sacred cows. These are the people seen to be untouchable in the society. This to me is a demonstration of courage on the part of the President. I salute his courage and I pray that he succeed in this regard and others wherein he has not lived up to expectations at the moment. You will see that the President is performing in the areas of his own competence. But, in relation to the rule of law, infrastructural development, things are not the same. It’s unfortunate that he has no economic team. It’s unfortunate that he trusts people too much that he put an individual in charge of housing, works and power. I think that it’s in the area of administration that the President has no competence. The President is not a professional but

Adegboruwa

an army officer who knows only how to combat crime and insurgency. That is what he is tackling and he is doing it excellently well. For me, the reason why Nigerians are scoring the President low is because the buck stops at his table. If any of the Ministers are not performing, the blame will be on the President. If we are having crisis in the oil and gas sector, it is the President. This is because he is the one who appointed these people into offices. When it took the President about six months after he assumed power to constitute his cabinet, we thought he knew what he was doing. But, after a year, it is clear that the President has no knowledge about how to administer the country. He fits best as Minister of Defence. This present President should have been best for us as a Minister of Defence. The challenge we have about the talk on whether the current administration did not anticipate the humongous looting that has taken place in the country does not hold water. This is because virtually everyone working with this government had been with the immediate past administration. For instance, former governor Rotimi Ameachi, who was Presi-

dent Buhari’s campaign officer, was the Chairman of the Governors’ forum during former President Jonathan’s tenure. So, he knew the workings of the Jonathan’s administration. It was towards the tail end of the Jonathan administration that he decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Others like the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, were all chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As a matter of fact, Rochas Okorocha and some others were not part of Buhari’s team. Many PDP Governors decamped to the APC to support Buhari. So, I believe President Buhari had information and knowledge about what was going on under Jonathan government. But assuming that he did not have the knowledge about what was going on in Jonathan’s government and he just walk into a trap and saw an empty treasury, that is the reason why he was voted into office; to change the course of things in this country. He and other Nigerians knew that if Jonathan had continued in office, the boat of Nigeria would have sunk completely. We all knew that Jonathan and

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must stop blame game programme. Unfortunately, he died in office and could not implement his programmes. Jonathan later came in. So, it’s no longer an excuse for anybody to say that he is not performing because his predecessor did not perform or looted the treasury. I sympathize with the President, particularly with regards to the price of oil that has crashed in the world market. The point I am making is that as he met that economy, he should have come out to Nigerians and say, this was the way I think it will be but I did not meet it like that. He should have apologized to Nigerians. That to me is the first rule of integrity. He should have addressed the nation on what he met on ground. He should not continue to lay blame on past administrations. We are tired of that. You can’t be talking about PDP after spending one year in office.

the PDP were bleeding this country. They were just sharing money and we were tired of that. That is why Buhari was voted into office. That is why all of us came out to vote out Jonathan and the PDP. So, the President from the onset knew that we deserve a change in this country and we don’t expect him to work on the template of what was given to him. This is because corruption in Nigeria did not start with the PDP which took over power in 1999. Before then, we had military rule. If you are talking about people who are stealing money, it’s the soldiers. We know what happened during Babangida’s regime. Even up till now, we are still recovering Abacha’s loot. If you want to talk about people who are corrupt, it is the military because you can’t even question them. But, of course, it will be unacceptable for Obasanjo to get into power and be giving us excuses that he met an empty treasury. When he came in, he constituted his own team, stole his own money and did his own abracadabra. Yar’Adua also came in and he was not giving us excuses that Obasanjo had looted the economy. He also did his own and left. He introduced amnesty

Where would you put federalism? I mean, do you think Nigeria needs restructuring? The foundation of Nigeria needs restructuring. This is because if it has come to a stage where the Easterners are saying they don’t want to continue to partake in Nigeria; we want the right to determine our lives. We should let them be. If the Niger Delta people say their resources belong to them, we should let them be. This is because it is what the people have that they are expected to profit from. That is how a federation is run. People who have resources should be allowed to control them. Each state in the country should be allowed to discover the minerals in their land and explore it to the fullest in order to better the lives of their own people. Don’t gag people in the name of Federation. In Nigeria, everything that could bring money; that would lead to employment and drive commerce is being controlled by the Federal Government. Customs, Admiralty, Minting of money, Generation of electricity, etc are all being controlled by the Federal Government. Anything that has the potential to bring money is in the hands of the Federal Government. With all these, how will the states and local governments survive? So, the Federal Government should remove its hand from all the things that are situated within the various people’s land. It is then we can come together as a nation to agree on the percentage of remit. The restructuring should start from there. This should be followed by political restructuring. Honestly, I think that for all the problems that Jonathan has caused for Nigeria, he brought Prof. Attahiru Jega. The man came with an ingenious system of transparency in electoral process. At the time Jega was leaving office, ballot snatching incidents had been reduced drastically. In fact, the card readers were brought to shame election riggers. This was perfected to the extent that an opposition party was able to defeat the incumbent. Without card readers, PDP would rig election till eternity. What I am saying in essence is that President Buhari must distance himself from the

The action of the militants is totally condemnable. They can’t just be destroying what it takes generations to build

INEC. Presently, INEC is constituted by his cousins, adopted daughters and his relatives. This can’t work. Current INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu, is related to the President. Also, the lady who was the Acting Chairman, Amina Zakari, was his adopted daughter trained by his uncle. So, there is too much relationship between those who are in INEC and the President. This can’t guarantee independence of the electoral body and that is why in most elections now, the first word you will hear is inconclusive. This is because there is an attempt to manipulate the process in favour of the President and his ruling party which can’t work. I was told that INEC now stands for Inconclusive National Electoral Commission. The word, Independent, has been removed from INEC. The President should take INEC back to the position he met it if he can’t improve on it. Elections these days are no longer based on people’s vote. Every election conducted now is inconclusive. So, in this regard, we need political restructuring. I also want to say that now that the Supreme Court judgement has removed card readers from our electoral process, the National Assembly should urgently amend the Electoral Act to incorporate the card reader so that we will not go back to that period of electoral manipulations. This card reader and electronic voting should be used to ward off rigging from the system. Now, talking about political restructuring, how best do you think we can tackle the issue of Niger Delta Avengers? I think clearly there is a misconception on the part of these militants. This is because there is nothing that can be achieved through violence. At worst, the country will close down. All the refineries and power generating firms will be closed down. But, this cannot be the solution. I also think that by now, the leaders in the Niger Delta should have realised that what cannot be achieved through dialogue cannot be achieved through violence. People should come together for us to agree. The option to the President is not to deploy fight jets and gun boats because these agitators are Nigerians. The action of the militants is totally condemnable. They can’t just be destroying what it takes generations to build. I was also thinking that a way out is to find out the level of acceptability of those people that have been appointed to work with the President from the Niger Delta. If they are not legitimately acceptable to the people of Niger Delta, then, something urgent should be done to remedy the situation. These appointees from Niger Delta have not for once engaged these agitators. It means they are totally aloof and separated from them. Also, another way out of the problem is to revisit the Amnesty Programme. I understand that because of the dwindling resources of Nigeria, the Federal Government is not fulfilling its own counterpart pledge in terms of the various trainings that are going on abroad for these militants. Government needs to engage these people to see reasons with it. A panel that will engage with all that are agitating for one thing or the other in this country

must be set up by the Federal Government so that all issues that led to these agitations are resolved amicably. Is death penalty a panacea for kidnapping? Not at all as I have discovered from my experience that kidnapping cannot be stopped by death penalty. In that regard, most nations of the world are now moving away from death penalty as an option. It has also been discovered in law that it is not a deterrent. If execution has been working, those Asian countries who have been executing drug barons would have been rid of anything called drug. But there has been increase in the influx of drugs to those countries. The point I am making is that if the foreigners are the ones carrying the drugs and the locals know that there is death involved, the patronage will reduce and the market will no longer exist. The reason why the Asian countries have become the destination hub of drugs is because there is big market for it. It’s because there is a high demand for it. I am saying if the death penalty was working, the indigenes of these countries will even be afraid to deal in drug not to talk of a foreigner. In Nigeria, armed robbery is punishable with death. But, it’s always on the increase, despite the fact that people are aware that anyone caught will die. Murder is on the increase in this country. Kidnapping and other criminal activities cannot be stopped by firing squad and death penalty. There is also a campaign by the United Nations to do away with death penalty as a punishment for any crime. Human beings cannot take life because we can’t create one. The life of an individual is in the hands of God. So, it will be wrong by law for somebody to take the life of another person whom he did not create. The best you can do is to give a long sentence that will hinder that person from having access to commit another crime. During the period of that long sentence, the person will be rehabilitated and trained to become useful again in the society. This is better than just taking the person’s life and thrown his family into chaos and mourning. So, I don’t see how death penalty will stop kidnapping. Ekiti State Governor is in the news again not too long after a travel ban was placed on him by the Federal Government. Can his rights to freedom of movement be curtailed by the Federal Government more so that he is under immunity? I believe the Constitution has guaranteed the personal rights of every Nigerian as to freedom of movement. As far as I am concerned, that personal rights can only be tampered with when the person is suspected of committing a criminal offence. This means there is a need to restrain his liberty either for the purpose of investigation or committing the person to trial. Other than that, no individual as a citizen of Nigeria can be hindered from moving in and out of this country. Governors, their deputies, President and his deputy are rated above ordinary citizens in the enjoyment of this right. That is why in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, a provision has been inserted to give protection and immunity to these set of people against arrest and summon through any process whether of court, police, National Assembly, etc. in relation to the discharge of their duties while they are in office. This is to avoid distractions in the discharge of their duties and allow them to concentrate on the business of governance.

22 Law|FILE Dafe Akpedeye

entlemen, I used to believe that the word “fantastically” as an adverb is used only in the positive, until recently the British Prime Minister in a private conversation with the Queen of England, used it to refer to our country and the Afghanistan. Days after that statement, all over the social media, the expression has gone viral. Nigeria is now not just a corrupt nation but a “fantastically corrupt” nation. The stories of corrupt practices in our nation abound, that it would be an exercise in futility to try to recount them. You all might have heard of the wanton looting of the national treasury by present and past leaders of our nation. You’ve all heard of Halliburton, Bullet-proof Cars scandal, Pension Funds Scandal, the Arms deal scandal and others. The term corruption has been construed at various occasions to mean abuse of power for private gains which is manifested as fraud, embezzlement, bribery, extortion; conduct of person who deviate from service and use their position of power for selfish The World Bank on its part identified corruption as the greatest hindrance to economic and social development . It undermines development by distorting the rule of law and weakening the institutional foundation on which economic growth depends. For many years, the economy of Nigeria has suffered from the cancerous effect of corruption. Every fabric of the society has tasted the effect of corruption. Corruption indeed impacts societies in a multitude of ways. In the worst cases, it costs lives. Short of this, it costs people their freedom, health or money. On the political front, corruption is a major challenge to democracy and the rule of law. In a democratic system, offices and institutions lose their legitimacy when they’re misused for private advantage. This is harmful in established democracies, but even more so in emerging and nascent ones. It is extremely challenging to develop a responsible political leadership in a corrupt climate. Corruption in Nigeria is not limited to only the political front, it exist in all aspects of the society. It affects the economy, environment and the social life. Corrupt practices in Nigeria, got so bad that it earned Nigeria the status of the most corrupt nation in the world. Transparency International has indeed ranked Nigeria 121 in the 2008 corruption perception index. No doubt, it was as a result of the government’s effort to fight corruption, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) were established in 2004 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Despite the effort of these two institutions to curb corruption in Nigeria, corruption still prevails in many areas of the economy. In the course of this discussion therefore, we shall be looking at the emerging lawyer swimming through the tide in a corrupt society, understandably focus on the legal profession and its place in encouraging a corrupt free society or otherwise. The emerging lawyer in a “corrupt” society. The word “emerging” accord-

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Challenges of emerging lawyers in a corrupt society

Akpedeye

ing to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary, means ‘newly created or noticed and growing in strength or popularity: becoming widely known or established’. It is derived from the word “emerge”, which means to come into view. The term “Emerging lawyer” will therefore be used to refer to those who are newly called to the Nigerian Bar and a soon to be lawyer which covers law students in various universities and the Nigerian Law school, as it is said, Equity sees as done that which ought to be done. With the developments in the society and the quest for the average man to fend for himself in the midst of scarcity, the emerging lawyer is also faced with the big task of working hard to survive in a nation where the citizens are left with the responsibility of providing the basic amenities. The emerging lawyer, who is a member of the larger society where corruption thrives, wonders why he or she should not join the flow. The student undergoing training to become a lawyer is full of high motivation. He or she has the hopes of achieving success as a legal practitioner. The thought of the reality of the practice of law in Nigeria hardly crosses the mind of the student. He is full of vigour and energy to take on the society. This is usually the reality for students who are academically sound. To some other religious ones, there is the desire of making a positive impact in the Nigeria society through the instrument of law. Will the desires and expectations of these emerging lawyers be met? John Grisham in his book The Firm while capturing the dilemma of an emerging lawyer wrote: When you were in law school you had some noble idea what a lawyer should be: A champion of individual rights; a defender of the

Constitution; a guardian of the oppressed; an advocate for your client’s principles. Then after you practice for six months you realize you were nothing but hired guns. Mouthpieces for sale to the highest bidder, available to anybody, any crook, any sleaze bag with enough money to pay your outrageous fees. Nothing shocks you. It’s supposed to be an honourable profession, but you will meet so many crooked lawyers you will want to quit and find an honest job. Yeah Mitch, you will get cynical. And it’s sad really. The lawyer apart from dealing with the general corruption every other person deals with in the society, also battles with corruption in the legal profession. The sad reality is that the legal profession is not isolated from the corruption bedeviling the society. Unsavory tales abound of both lawyers, judicial staff and sometimes even judges involved in corrupt practices. Contrary to their oath of office and the rules of professional conduct guiding lawyers and judges, for a judge must first be a lawyer, we have heard tales of sobering acts of corruption among lawyers and judges. In view of the fact that focus of this work is to clearly x-ray the challenges confronting emerging lawyers in the face of perceived corruption pervading the legal profession and the society at large. It is imperative that we agree first of all that the legal Profession is a sub-set of the society, hence, it is undoubtedly not immune from corrupt practices, and thus it becomes difficult to appreciate how lawyers can play the very vital role expected of them in the reform and restoration of integrity to the system. Therefore, the first challenge an emerging lawyer is certain to face is living above the board in this hazardous time. Accordingly, we have in the

Show me a corrupt person and I will show you a lawyer by his side, advising him on how best to break the law and get away with it freely

recent times, seen an increase in corrupt practices among lawyers and Judicial officers. President Muhammadu Buhari visibly disturbed by the spate at which corruption is either aided or abated by lawyers in the society, cried out at the last NBA Annual National conference in Abuja, where he clearly remarked as follows: Ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted in an ugly way. In a gathering such as this, I do not need to elaborate on the way that corruption and impunity have damaged our economy. But I would like to say more on what, I believe, should be your role as legal practitioners, in helping us back to the path of rectitude. First, we need to make our courts functional and effective again. This means that we must have lawyers who take the ethics of the profession very seriously; lawyers who will not frustrate the course of justice, even though they defend their clients with all legitimate means and resources. Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who always keep the end of justice in mind and will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal system to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the brief may be. As expected, the above statement incurred the wrath of quite a good number of legal practitioners who felt the President was by his remark infringing on the constitutional right of every accused person to Counsel and presumption of innocence. However, I dare to say, that, we lawyers know better. In my view, show me a corrupt person and I will show you a lawyer by his side, advising him on how best to break the law and get away with it freely. In fact, the general notion today, is to the effect that when a politician steals from the public coffers, they as well set aside a portion of their loot for the endless legal battle that will inevitably follow, in a bid to frustrate the prosecution. It was in this light, that the Apex Court per Ngwuta JSC, in Dariye Vs FRN noted thus: It is not the duty of learned counsel to resort to motions aimed principally at delaying or even scuttling the process of determining whether or not there is substance in the charges as laid. In my view, this motion is a disservice to the criminal process and a contemptuous lip service to fight against corruption. The tactics employed here is only one of the means by which the rich and powerful cripple the criminal process. There are cases where the accused develop some rare illness which acts up just before the date for their trial. They jet out of the country to attend to their health and the case is adjourned. If the medical facilities are not available locally to meet their medical needs it is only because due to corruption in high places the country cannot build proper medical facilities equipped with the state of the art gadgets. There should be no clog in the process of determining whether or not a person accused of crime is guilty irrespective of his status in the society. Let me trace the genesis of this appeal... ...Upon his arraignment in July, 2007 appellant appeared to have seen no defect in the charge and joined issue on each of the 23 counts of the charge.

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ajor stakeholders in the nation’s justice administration, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed and the outgoing President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr. Augustine Alegeh, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria among other dignitaries, will brainstorm on “Data as the new Equity-New approaches for enhanced justice delivery and administration”, being organized by foremost IT Partner-LawPavillion. The event tagged ‘the Nigerian Judicial Awards- ‘Words in Gold’, will also parade the 36 states Justice Commissioners as both past and present judges would be celebrated. At the event, Professor Osinbajo will deliver a keynote address while Justice Mohammed as ‘very Special Guest of Honour’, would lead past and present Justices of the apex court. According to LawPavillion managing director, Mr. Ope Olugasa, the foremost IT Partner recognize fearless judges who had traversed the nation’s temple of justice since independence as a way of ‘immortalising present and past Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who through their pronouncements have contributed immensely to the development of Law and Jurisprudence.” Olugasa said: “At a time when so much more is being demanded by Nigerians about upholding the Rule of Law in which the Judiciary is at the fulcrum, Africa’s Lead-

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Osinbajo, CJN, Alegeh, others to fine-tune justice system

Osinbajo

ing IT Partner to the Legal Services industry has scored another first by putting together a first-of-its-kind Judicial Awards Ceremony dubbed “Words in Gold” to recognise, celebrate and immortalise present and past Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, who through their pronouncements have contributed immensely to the development of Law and Jurisprudence. “In what is poised to

Malami

Alegeh

be a remarkable and iconic event, LawPavilion has taken the bold and unprecedented step of recognising Nigeria’s foremost Judges from 1960 till date. “As Africa’s leading Electronic Law Report and IT Support Partner to the Legal Services Industry in Africa especially Nigeria, LawPavilion easily boasts of the largest database of more than 15,000 Decided cases, Case Index of

more than 80,000 issues and Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with updates amongst others. “As a foremost service provider in the legal services industry, we have deemed it necessary and fitting to recognise and celebrate eminent Jurists, both past and present who have sat in the hallowed Chambers of our highest courts and made pronouncements that are worthy of being in any Hall of Fame.”

“The “Words in Gold” Judicial Awards idea was borne out of our work through several years during which we have been collecting, collating, analysing and publishing the intellectually stimulating judgments that have emanated from our Superior Courts of Record, particularly the Supreme Court. Our objective is quite simple really – we recognise that Judges give up so much in order to carry out their duties and often

personal sacrifices have been made. “Often, our society has been more concerned about what has not been done rather than recognise and applaud appropriately what has been done. For too long, our Justices have laboured tirelessly and often behind the scene in upholding the Rule of Law and ensuring our steady progress towards a just and egalitarian society.

Activist sues Ondo over OSOPADEC funds Babatope Okeowo Akure

he Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital has fixed September 20 for the hearing of a suit seeking the explanation on how 13 per cent derivation funds accruing to the state from the federation account has been spent in the past ten years. A human right activist, Mr Adeyemi Nejo has dragged the State government and the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) to court over non-compliance to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2011 that makes government accountable to the masses. Nejo initiated the action against OSOPADEC for alleged refusal to grant information on the capital projects in the mandate areas, the ex-

act locations of the projects, amount earmarked for the projects and the state of execution from 2010 to 2014; if any. The litigant who hails from Ode-Mahin in Ilaje local government in his suit stated that “crude oil extraction/exploration activities have been carried out in Oroto town, Awoye, Ilowo Obe etc; towns within Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State,” stating that “my family compounds have been drastically affected by these exploration/extraction.” Also, he said “that as a result, the Federal Government in other to ameliorate our pains and provide succour to those of us living within the oil exploration/extraction areas provided a fund for the development of our area known as 13% oil derivation fund.” The litigant justified his action saying “ever since the commission was established in the year 2003, I have not noticed any meaningful development

in the area where my family compound is located, but rather oil exploration/extraction have been on the increase with its attendant pollution and land devastation.” Aside the intervention agency, the suit is being defended by Governor Olusegun Mimiko, the Attorney-General of the state, the Minister of Finance, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant-General of the Federation. According to him, the commission, which is directly controlled by the OSOPADEC and keeps part of the funds allocated to the state under the 13% oil derivation fund, has failed to carry out its functions as clearly spelt out in Part II Section 6(i)-(vii) of the law establishing OSOPADEC in 2003 that was marked as “Exhibit A.” However, the matter which was stalled at the weekend following the absence of the presiding judge, had been fixed for September 20 for hearing.

Mimiko

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Yahaya, Faleke shift battle to Appeal Court TUNDE OYESINA writes that it is not yet uhuru on the protracted legal logjam trailing the election which produced Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the Kogi State Governor

nother legal record is being added to the nation’s jurisprudence on Monday, June 6 as the legal tussle against the election of Governor Yahaya Bello was finally laid to rest in a judgement delivered by the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal siting in Abuja, dismissing the petition of James Faleke, who was the running mate to the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Prince Abubakar Audu who died before the completion of the election process. Although the petition at that stage had two legs, with one of them coming from the running mate of the deceased governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, Audu. The other leg was from the former governor of the state and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Captain Idris Wada. It all began following the death of Audu before the final result of the election was announced. His running mate, James Faleke had contended that he should be made to step into the shoes of the late Audu, being his deputy. Due to what INEC described as inconclusive election, it organized a supplementary election. The APC however, instead of yielding to Faleke’s call of stepping into Audu’s shoes, went ahead to bring Yahaya Bello who allegedly scored the second highest number in the primary election where Audu had emerged in the first place. However, the scenario had brought to fore what appears novel in the nation’s legal jurisprudence as the drafters of the Constitution and the

Bello

Electoral Act never envisaged that a candidate could die mid-way into the election. This may have posed a challenge in the nation’s jurisprudence as lawyers and major stakeholders in justice administration are battling to decode. Before the supplementary election was held, Faleke began fireworks through his counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN. The fireworks could not however stop the supplementary election where Bello was eventually emerged as the winner and consequently returned as the governor of Kogi state. Apparently dissatisfied, Faleke had approached the tribunal asking it to sack Bello and INEC to present to him a certificate of return, being the running mate of the late Audu. The tribunal however in a judgement dismissed the petition filed by Faleke challenging the legitimacy of Yahaya Bello as the candidate of the APC and governor of Kogi state. Delivering judgement, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Mohammed held that Faleke could not

‘Why police must declare assets’ C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 9

security agencies are mandated by the law to declare their assets. Hence, the request is lawful and in order. To Asemudara, IG’s directive was in order. He said: “Yes. I believe the directive is in order because policemen are public servants. All public servants are covered by the Code of Conduct Act and everyone is supposed to comply with it. The problem is that we all are used to this culture of doing things the way we want as against doing things the way the law wants it. “So, the fact is that everyone who is taking his earnings from the purse of the state, Federal, local governments or any agency of government is expected to declare his or her assets in line with the Code of Conduct for public officers in the Constitution and the Act itself. “The problem we have is that

people are not faithful when declaring their assets. All of us know what happens in the police force. Nigerians are even not encouraged about all these noise about assets declaration because of the unfaithfulness of these public officers.” Ugwumadu was also of the view that the IG’s directive was long overdue. He said: “Policemen are public officers and they are expected to declare their assets. I am aware that the Chief of Army Staff also gave the same directive. You see, the thing there is that once the leadership is right and radical positions are taken, it’s a good thing. This was the situation when President Buhari declared his assets and the Vice President followed suit. So, what we are saying is that the police and the armed forces are part of the public servants in Nigeria. It might be strange because it has not been happening before and that does not mean it can’t happen. So, the directive is in order.”

Faleke

be declared the governor of the state because he was not duly nominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its substantive candidate in the 2015 Kogi governorship election. The tribunal further held that the APC was right to have nominated Bello to replace the deceased Audu as its candidate in the December 2015 supplementary election. In addition, the tribunal held that Faleke had no locus-standi to file the petition since he was not nominated by the APC as its governorship candidate. The judgement reads in part: “Votes cast in an election belong to a political party” which nominates a candidate; hence it was lawful for the party to transfer votes polled by Audu to Bello”. Meanwhile, the tribunal also held that Faleke remained the valid deputy governor of the state because there was no evidence to show that he wrote to his party withdrawing his candidature as deputy governor as required by law. The tribunal however dismissed the petition for lacking in merit. But Faleke picked holes in the judgement, compelling him to challenge the judgement on the grounds that it was defective in law. He petitioned the tribunal, challenging the declaration of Bello as the governor of Kogi state, asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him the authentic winner of the election. But his petition collapsed like a pack of cards as INEC declined to oblige him. He contended that he ought to have inherited the votes of Audu, who was leading in the election before it was declared inconclusive since he was his running mate. INEC had therefore gone ahead to hold a supplementary election with Bello as a substitute candidate for the APC. Bello’s argument was that he was duly nominated by his party to represent it in the supplementary election and that he scored the highest number of votes in the exercise. But Faleke maintained that Bello was not qualified to be the elected governor of Kogi state. Meanwhile, in his closing address, counsel to Faleke, Olanipekun said

the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) plotted coup against Nigeria’s Constitution by declaring Yahaya Bello as Kogi State governor. According to him, the Constitution was self-explanatory and that the petitioner “has a locus standi for him to have channeled his complaint to the tribunal.’’ Olanipekun, citing the case of the late President Umar Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan as a case study where the former died and the latter was later made the president, urged the tribunal to forget all the grammar spoken by the respondents and face the fact by declaring his client as the rightful and legal governor. “I urged this tribunal to forget about all the grammar being spoken by these respondents and face the fact that this petition has not been resisted by the 1st and 2nd respondents, INEC and Bello. “The petitioner has a locus standi, I agree that this kind of issue has never happened before but this is a coup set up by the 1st respondent. “This is also the first time in the history of democracy where someone will contest without a running mate,’’ Olanipekun said. The petitioner’s counsel also told the tribunal that the 2nd respondent, Bello, was not a registered voter in the state which he said was against the provision of the Constitution. According to him, “the Constitution said that you should vote and be voted which the 2nd respondent does not even meet up with any of the provision.’’ Earlier, Alex Izinyon (SAN), counsel to INEC urged the tribunal to dismiss Faleke’s petition for lacking in merit. According to Izinyon, the case of INEC was straight forward and that Section 33 of the Electoral Act brought in the 2nd respondent as the governor by a circumstance. He said that one of the substances of the petitioner which bothered on qualification “does not even have any meaning when you look at the merit of the matter.” Izinyon went on: “The petitioner doesn’t have the right to hinge on qualification being a member of the same party with the 2nd respondent; if an outsider is not saying this, why should he who happened to be in the same party with the respondent say it. “The other side where the petitioner said that the 2nd respondent does not have deputy does not also make meaning.’’ Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), Bello’s counsel told the tribunal that he was surprised that the party was not joined as a co-respondent in the suit brought by the petitioner. He told the tribunal that the votes cast during the November 21 election did not belong to the candidate but to the party. “This case is not in any jurisprudence of the Electoral Act because it is happening for the first time where the first runner died before the conclusion of the election. “This tribunal will be making history in given direction to the lacuna that has never happened before. “Section 188 cited by the petitioner would have come in place if the election has been declared in the first instance. Therefore we urged the lordship to dismiss this petition for lacking merit.”

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Interview ‘Foreign investors still see Nigeria as good investment terminus’

Business What's news Furniture imports to Nigeria hit N151.2bn

Money Line Purchasing Managers’ Index rises to 50.2 in June

34 36

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE May 2016...............................15.6% April 2016............................13.7% March 2016..............................12.8%

LENDING RATE Interbank Rate....................12.57% Prime Lending Rate...........17.93% Maximum Lending Rate...26.83%

EXCHANGE RATE

(BDC as at July 1)

(Interbank as at July 1)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N353 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N469 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N385

l Foreign Reserves – $26.363bn as at 30/6/2016

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N282.25 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N376 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N314

Source: CBN

p.26

Flexible forex to ignite Nigeria’s $12bn software patronage

R-L:Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Lanre Adesanya; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and former Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment and Sanitation, Hon. Bola Ilori, at the official presentation of highway managers’ uniforms to the governor at City Hall, Olonkoro, Oshogbo

p.26

IMPEDIMENT Flexible exchange rate makes it difficult for fares quotation

Wole Shadare

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Bayo Akomolafe

Asst. Editor (Maritime)

Sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insurance)

Tony Chukwunyem

Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dayo Ayeyemi Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

Abdulwahab Isa Finance Editor

Taiwo Hassan

Industry, Agric & Brands Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst Production Editor

oreign airlines operating in Nigeria are seeking a fresh window for stable foreign exchange rate to ease their operations, New Telegraph gathered at the weekend. Besides, they said the new forex opening would help to stem the astronomical rise in prices of air ticket. According to three of the major airline that spoke with this newspaper, the airlines wanted a stable exchange rate for their carriers, stressing that the flexible exchange rate makes it difficult for them to determine exactly what to charge travellers. Consequently, the clearing house for over 250 global airlines (the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has booked a meeting with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), this week. It was learnt that the plan to meet the banking watchdog was unveiled by IATA at a meeting it held with foreign airlines last week. A top airline official who was at the meeting told our correspondent that aside that, the clearing house for global airlines would also discuss the issue of over $599 mil-

Foreign airlines seek fresh forex window

Want bills to agencies settled in naira lion of the airlines’ funds that are trapped in the country. Meanwhile, the carriers have made their displeasure known in the payment of charges to Nigerian aviation agencies in foreign exchange. To discontinue the status quo, the foreign carriers stated “that all payments will henceforth be made in naira.” The carriers complained that it is against the directives of CBN in dealing in local currency (naira) as stipulated by the CBN Act. The operators, under the aegis of Airlines Operators Committee (AOC), had written letters to the Nigerian Civil Aviation (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to this effect. The letters stated: “In view of the CBN directives on currency substitution and dollarisation of the Nigerian economy, we want to use this medium to advise you that all payments will henceforth be made in naira. “In accordance to Section 15 of the CBN Act, which provides that

$599 million Being the value of airlines’ funds trapped in Nigeria

the unit of the currency in Nigeria shall be the naira and also Section 20 sub-section 1 of the act provides that the currency note issued by the bank shall tender in Nigeria at their face value for the payment of any amount and also section 20 sub-section 5 provides that the person who refuses to accept the naira as a means of payment is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine and also six months imprisonment. In the wisdom of compliance and very difficult peculiar situation in the country, we have no other choice but to make all payments in naira. “We hereby solicit for your understanding in this regard.” One of the foreign airlines’ Country Manager, said. “The tickets we sell are in naira, but we are paying aviation charges in dollars. This is not supposed to be.” Also, the foreign airlines are clamouring for maintenance and overhauling of facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. In another letter to the Federal CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

BUSINESS |news

DISPLACE China manufacturers have dislodged Nigerian furniture makers from market

Bayo Akomolafe

igeria imported furniture worth N151.2 billion ($536.3 million) in the last 30 months (between January 2014 and May 2016, investigations have revealed. A breakdown of these figures show that imports between January and Decem-

Foreign airlines seek fresh forex window

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Furniture imports to Nigeria hit N151.2bn ber 2014 amounted to $226,809, 000; January to December 2015 was $235,938,000, while imports from China between January and May this year stood at $73,600,000. This depicts a total sum of $536,3 million for these periods. Last year’s imports were higher because that was when the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) removed furniture from the import prohibition list. But Nigeria’s imports began to drop this year due to the forex crisis that has eventually led to the introduction of the flexible exchange rate policy. Some of the furniture being shipped into the country includes chairs, bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishing such as lamps and lighting fittings and prefabricated buildings. Already, stiff competitions by furniture manufacturers in

Asia and Europe have crippled some furniture firms in Nigeria. Findings from the International Trade Statistics (ITS) revealed that between 2014 and May 2016, Nigeria imported furniture from China valued at $153.8 million; Netherlands, $46 million; Germany, $16.7 million; France, $129 million; United Kingdom, $13.4 million and Greece $7 million. Others are South Africa, $10.8 million; Turkey, $9 million; United States, $14.6 million; Italy, $16.02 million and Kuwait, $3.25 million. Between January and May 2016, China alone exported $73.6 million furniture into the country. A breakdown indicated that in May, some furniture and parts valued at $20million were shipped to the country. Also, in April the imports were valued at $18.1 million; March, $13.3 million, February,

$19.1 million and January, $5.8 million. Last year, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said that furniture had been removed from import prohibition list in line with the implementation of Economic Community of West Africa States, (ECOWAS) Common External Tariff (CET). The service said that the item had become dutiable, having been removed from the import prohibition list. The service noted that importers of the goods were expected to pay 35 per cent duty as agreed by ECOWAS member countries as well as the levy as contained in the Import Adjustment Tax (IAT). Findings from the Chinese Customs Statistics (CCS) also revealed that 45 per cent of the total wood used for furniture in China was from Nigeria. The statistics noted that several species of rosewood were

being used by Chinese furniture manufacturers to make products that were highly coveted status symbols. It noted: “China has shifted to countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and others. In 2014, when imports were at an all-time high, nearly half came from Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries. The statistics revealed that by the end of 2015, 30 containers of 20 feet of rosewood left Nigerian ports for China daily. It was learnt that the demand for office, household and industrial Chinese furniture was very high in Nigerian market. Lamenting, a furniture maker at Ipaja in Lagos, Mr. Ibrahim Olajide, said that the influx of imported furniture into the country had sent some of his colleagues out of the trade, noting that they have opted for other jobs to sustain their families.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

Airports Authority of Nigeria, titled: “MMIA Infrastructural Deficiencies,” some categories of the facilities that needed instant attention were listed. These include category 1: Baggage belt, Air-conditioning at the airport, Apron Depression, Avio bridges (Jetties), AVSEC Manpower, Equipment and Management, Elevator and Escalator, FAAN and Airlines Service Level Agreement (User Lease Agreement). Items listed under category 2: airport medical facilities, car park for staff, single exit point at the departure hall. Those under category 3 are ULD Storage facility and proliferation of kiosk at the departure. Not a few had taken a swipe at the much touted remodelling of many of the airport terminals at a staggering millions of dollars. The facilities are already crumbling few months after they were done, with many describing it as a ruse. But the concern remains that contract details of the airports remodelling project are shrouded in secrecy. Industry stakeholders insist that the refusal by the supervising Ministry to come clean with the total project cost is suspicious. The for mer Assistant Scribe of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, said all the noise about remodelling airports across the country is a ruse, stressing that given the level of work done so far, it is difficult to ascertain that the best had been given in terms of quality. “The renovation of airports is naturally a good initiative, but the work is not properly done. The poor quality of work done is the reason the whole thing is becoming an issue. The contractors must be called to order. The Senate must take steps to probe the airport projects across the country.

L-R: Outgoing Chairman, Board of Directors, Custodian and Allied Plc, Chief Michael Ade Ojo; Board Chairperson, Mrs. Omobola Johnson and Group Managing Director, Mr. Wole Oshin, during the sendforth reception for the outgoing board Chairman, Chief Ade Ojo, at Victoria Island, Lagos

OPENING Local IT firms will get greater patronage as a result of organisation’s difficulty in accessing forex for foreign software procurement

Kunle Azeez

igeria’s new foreign exchange (forex) policy, which seeks to expose the exchange rate to market forces, would unleash the potential of the nation’s software sector currently valued at $12 billion, New Telegraph has learnt. President of the Nigerian Computer Society (NC), Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, said this on the side-line of a media parley organised to discuss preparation for the Society’s forthcoming 26 National Conference holding in Abuja later this month. He was optimistic that the expected patronage of indige-

Flexible forex to ignite Nigeria’s $12bn software patronage nous software solutions would be harvested as technology-usage organisations face access challenge to forex, forcing them to make do with other relevant locally-developed software solutions. According to the don, though there have been clamours and agitations against restriction of foreign exchange forex access to the ICT industry, the development, however, could be a blessing in disguise. “If you ask me the effect of the restriction of forex to telecoms industry and the implication of the flexible forex regime recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), I will tell you it is both positive for indigenous IT companies, particularly the software firms. “This is in the sense that, as more companies find it extremely difficult of to access forex and the cost of foreign software licensing shoots up,

the local IT companies that have developed good software solutions will begin to gain patronage and this is good for our industry. “So, with the policy, we expect that licensing software from foreign companies will go down and then, local alternatives will be looked for and this would help strengthen the software sector and boost the economy at large.” Nigeria currently loses N10 billion annually in capital flight through the importation of telecommunication-related technologies, especially the software, according to the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP). Though, Aderounmu maintained that in the area of software licensing, local companies will get more patronage, Chairman, Association of Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, had, in a chat

with this newspaper, argued that the new forex policy will adversely affect the cost of and delay in infrastructure deployment by telecoms players who rely on imported technological equipment to expand network. He said: “The current issue of scarcity of foreign exchange is of concern and we are hoping that government will classify telecoms as one of the critical sectors that will have the first layer of priority in terms of access to foreign exchange because as you know, a lot of the things that we use are not made here. “Now, we have some systems that require upgrade from time to time. We have new technologies that need to be brought in to optimise what we have and without access to foreign exchange certainly, expansion would be difficult, maintenance would be difficult, introduction of new technologies would be a challenge.

BUSINESS |Stock Watch

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Seven UP: Economic woes knock earnings Although Nigeria’s beverage industry has largely contributed to economic growth in recent times, CHRIS UGWU writes that the nation’s economic woes have altered the dynamics of this sector Challenges The success of the manufacturing sector mirrors the general performance of the economy. Taking a cue from the slow down in the Nigerian economy, profit margins have also shrink. This is because consumers, whose disposal income have dropped, are increasingly adjusting to more affordable brands due to the economic down turn occasioned by lower crude oil prices. Following the challenging macro-environment and the squeeze on household wallets, growth in the mainstream segment has been constrained with more growth seen among cheaper brands. For instance, the difficult operating environment has made the Seven Up Bottling Plc, like its peers, unable to sustain its performance despite innovative and proactive responses to market dynamics and competitive pressures. Market watchers attributed the depletion in the company’s revenue to stiff competition and drop in the value of the naira. Also, challenges of erratic supply of public electricity, weak logistics, insecurity and other high costs of operations attributable to poor infrastructure have continued to make businesses challenging - especially for the real sector of the economy. Besides, Seven Up was not insulated from share price depreciation in despite of the fact that the firm remained the only company listed on beverages - non-alcoholic subsector of consumer goods sector following the exit of coco cola firm. The firm’s share price movements has receded and remains susceptible to the challenges facing the manufacturing businesses in Nigeria due to the upset in financial sector following drop in oil prices and currency devaluation. The company had its fair share from the current lull in the market following massive profit taking that saw the market lose considerable chunk of investors’ wealth. Consequently, the company’s share price, which closed at N190.05 per share in August 31, 2015, stood at N142.05 when the closing bell rang last Friday. This indicated a decrease of N48 or 25.26 per cent year to date.

Financials Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc had ended the financial year in the green, posting a 10.7 per cent rise in profit after tax for the year ended March 31, 2015. In a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the company’s post-tax profit grew to N7.12 billion during the period under review as against N6.43 billion recorded in the previous year. This represented an increase of 10.7 per cent. Profit before tax stood at N8.74 billion as against N7.61 billion posted the previous year, accounting for a growth of 14.8 per cent. Also, turnover firmed up to N82.45 billion during the period, compared with N77.88 billion in the same period of last year, representing a growth of 5.8 per cent. However, the company’s dwindling fortune began with the first quarter, as the company posted 9.52 per cent decline in profit after tax for the first quarter ended June 30, 2015. The unaudited accounts of the company showed a profit after tax of N1.958 billion for the first quarter as against N2.164 billion reported in 2014, depicting a decrease of 9.52 per cent. Profit before tax equally dropped to 9.53 per cent from N2.705 billion in 2014 to N2.447 billion during the period under review. However, the company’s revenue grew by 10.06 per cent to N23.148 billion in 2015 from N21.032 billion a year earlier. The decline in the first quarter, which signaled signs of worry to investors were sustained during the second quarter poor performance, as the harsh operating environment increased its market woes to deteriorate in decline. Consequently, the company posted a 26.61 per cent decline in posttax profits during the half year ended September 30, 2015. The company’s half-year net earnings decreased from N2.480 billion in 2014 to N1.820 billion, accounting for a drop of 26.61 per cent. Its pre- tax profit equally fell to N2.371 billion, down 26.59 per cent from N3.230 billion in the same period last year. However, turnover increased by 3.74 per cent to N39.569 billion during the six months to September 30 from N38.142 billion recorded during the comparable period of 2014. Seven Up’s third quarter financial results continued on downward trends with 50.46 per cent drop in pre-tax profits, as top-line and bottom-line earnings showed considerable decline with marginal increase in revenue. Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of the company for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015 showed drop in growths in all most key performance indices, damping strong performance outlook of one of the leading soft drinks companies in the country. Consequently, profit be-

up to N85.634 billion during the period, compared with N82.450 billion in the same period of last year, representing a growth of four per cent. The directors of the company have thus recommended to members a dividend payment of N1,024,944,581 as against N1,761,623,498 in 2015, representing N1.60 per share from N2.75 per share in 2015.

El-Khalil

Seven Up Bottling Plc 2016

The success of the manufacturing sector mirrors the general performance of the economy

August 31

N190.05

September 30

N190.00

October 30

N196.00

November 31

N184.00

December 31

N182.00

January 29

N196.00

February 29

N170.00

March 24

N155.00

April 22

N145.00

May 31

N138.50

June 30

N142.00

July 31

N142.05

fore tax fell by 50.46 per cent to N2.884 billion from N5.822 billion recorded in 2014 while profit after tax also decreased by 50.89 per cent to N2.230 billion during the period under review. This is against N4.541 billion recorded in 2014. Revenue firmed up marginally by 0.66 per cent during the third quarter from N59.829 billion in 2014 to N60.226 billion in 2015. The soft drink producer, has ended the financial year in the red, posting a 53 per cent drop in profit after tax for the year ended March 31, 2016. In a filing with the Exchange, the company’s post-tax profit dropped to N3.347 billion during the period under review as against N7.125 billion recorded the previous year, depicting a decrease of 53 per cent. Profit before tax stood at N3.757 billion as against N8.749 billion posted the previous year, accounting for a drop of 57 per cent. However, turnover firmed

Reasons for profit decline Speaking at the company’s 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Chairman of the company, Faysal El-Khalil said as availability of forex dried up, sourcing became a huge challenge for companies. The major devaluation of naira, like in interest rates and uncertainty about forex availability put the survival of businesses in jeopardy, he said. Khalil noted that in addition to the headwinds, the operating environment also remained very challenging. “An ongoing insurgency in the northern Nigeria and oilrelated militancy in the Niger Delta had serious impact on business operations and economic activities in the region. The economy continued to struggle with perennial power outages, poor state of infrastructure, namely poor condition of road networks and non availability of gas to industries,” he said. Looking forward El-Khalil noted that despite the challenging operating environment, the company was committed to carry on with its growth agenda, introducing new products and packages to meet expectations of market place and consumers. The chairman said the company has invested substantial resources to expand and upgrade its manufacturing capacity and strengthen sales and distribution systems. He said, “This has and will continue to enable us deliver value to our end consumers. The sales and marketing initiatives taken by the company will put us in a good position to harness the opportunities that will arise in the market place. We anticipate that despite the tough business climate, the financial results for the current year will be in line with our expectations”. Conclusion The business climate for Seven Up Bottling Plc like any other manufacturing companies has been typically characterised by upsides and downsides due to intense competition in the southern Nigeria, insecurity in the north and softer consumer spending. The operating environment has also remained ever challenging as a result of high cost of borrowing, epileptic power supply, poor infrastructure. However, there is need for the company to continue to adapt business strategies to fit the dynamic operating environment.

BUSINESS | Capital Market

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at April 29, 2016

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Insurance

RESCUE There is need for stakeholders’ collaboration to save the industry now more than ever

L-R: Chief Inspiration Officer, XL Family and Founding Partner, Ventur. es, Jaspar Roos; Managing Director, Connected Thinking, Matt Dooley; Deputy Managing Director, FirstBank, Gbenga Shobo; and Chairman, The Asian Banker, Emmanuel Daniel, during the presentation of the Credit Card product of the year award to FirstBank, at the 3rd West Africa International Banking Convention 2016.

Sunday Ojeme

nder an absolutely normal business environment, the nation’s insurance sector had struggled over the years to remain afloat with most of the operators employing all known tricks to attract premium. Apart from the slow run in the past years, the industry experienced another minus in its 2015 financial report, as it recorded a mere N56 billion to earn N350 billion as against N294 billion posted in 2014. This development was fully attributed to dwindling economy in the first year of the current administration. According to the immediate past chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Godwin Wiggle, epileptic power, infrastructural decay and liquidity squeeze occasioned by falling oil price and the slow pace with which the new government approached governance impacted negatively on the industry in the last one year. Without losing hope in the sector, he pointed out that the industry would become stronger with the full implementation of the corporate governance code, improved enforcement of “No Premium No Cover,” better adherence to the prudential guidelines, full compliance with IFRS and improved anti-money laundering mechanism. He said that with these in place, the insurance industry in Nigeria would remain the preferred investment destination for the world market. In light of the economic uncertainty, Wiggle’s observation was corroborated by his successor, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, who called on the operators to think out of the box if they must remain in business. “We are fully aware that the there is a need for us to come together to save our industry now more than ever. The economic space is shrinking and businesses are facing greater threats; and the insurance sector is not insulated from developments in the global economic space. “It therefore behooves on us to respond quickly to the changing dynamics of the market space so that we do not go extinct in the face of the global pressures on our businesses. Indeed there is no better time than now to strengthen the Association and reposition it for the task ahead,” he said. As a further proof to reengineer the sector, Efekoha is also on the verge of ensuring a positive public image for the industry as well as collaboration with industry regulators to ensure higher insurance contribution to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He is also proposing a better

Harsh economy: Insurers advised on creativity

industry friendly legislation, continuous digitalisation of operations and enforcement of compulsory insurance offerings through relevant public agencies. Other areas with emphasis include stakeholders’ engagement with policy makers at the Judiciary, the Legislature and other relevant agencies of the government, as well as regulatory institutions and industry players. Also highlighted are enforcement of

market discipline among key industry players, which will involve engagement with colleagues and partners in the industry to encourage market development and continuity in the industry. It also includes the review of the NIA constitution to make it more dynamic in response to the changing business environment. He said: “We will deal with these matters to the best of our abilities but where we

Firm urges SMEs to sign insurance policies

he Chief Executive Officer of GN Life insurance, Mr Andrew Fiifi Simpson, has urged small and medium enterprise (SMEs) to sign insurance policies to cushion their businesses against eventualities. The Ghana-based insurance expert said many SMEs in the country do not have insurance policies because of the notion that insurance companies only paid out claims when there was an eventuality and thereby tend to enjoy the fruits of their labour more than the business owners. Ghanaweb quoted him as saying that the SMEs market was much bigger than the nonSME market and, therefore, offered the need for

them to wholly embrace insurance policies. “What this tells us is that there is a need for the insurance industry to look at ways of supporting the SMEs. What this means is that the insurance industry should ensure that they look at the risk SMEs are exposed to and device products to fit,” he said. The forum was to advise the SMEs of the importance of insurance and to direct them as to how to go about it in ensuring that their businesses are secured. He said the risks large businesses were exposed to were not different from what the SMEs face and noted that insurance companies needed to come up with tailor-made products to suit their needs.

make mistakes may you find a space in your heart to forgive us. To prevent mistakes from occurring we will need your prayers, support and wise counsel always. “We shall continue to intensify efforts at council level to ensure the realisation of these goals. Ours is indeed a collective effort. My promise is to ensure full actualisation of the projects we jointly embarked upon in the past, whilst ensuring that

many more that will contribute to the elevation of the industry to new heights are embarked upon as I provide the necessary leadership. “I want to restate that the NIA has and will continue to remain true to its legacy as an institution that exists to champion the cause of the insurance industry and we will ensure that the founders’ sense of purpose will be upheld by us at all times,” he added.

‘CBN’s flexible exchange rate’ll lift insurance’ Sunday Ojeme

eputy President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mrs Funmi BabingtonAshaye, has commended new foreign exchange policy, saying it will earn the industry more premium, as more individuals and corporate organisations will embrace insurance. Ashaye, in response to journalists’ questions on the initiative in Lagos, said, before now individuals were finding it difficult to take insurance while corporate bodies’ bottom lines were negatively impacted. She noted that with the introduction of the flexible exchange rate things would get normal. “Clearly, it’s only when you have a lot of money to spend that you remember insurance, even for corporate organisations, they have a lot of issues regarding their bottom line.

Prices have gone up and you see some of them that are even insuring in the past, comprehensively, have started insuring third party, even individual not renewing at all. You can imagine the negative impact on the bottom line of insurance firms. Last month, CBN bowed to pressure, stating that it would introduce greater flexibility in the interbank foreign exchange market structure. The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the central bank resolved to introduce greater flexibility in the interbank foreign exchange market structure and to retain a small window for critical transactions for prospective investors. Emefiele’s statement aligned with President Muhammadu Buhari’s speech during his budget presentation before the National Assembly on December 22, 2015, that the CBN would consider the adoption of a more flexible foreign exchange regime.

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Financial Market News

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

SELL PRESSURE Investors stake N17.065 billion in 21,246 deals

Stories by Chris Ugwu

he NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation depreciated by 4.39 per cent to close last week at 29,305.40 and N10.065 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other Indices finished lower during the week, with the exception of the NSE ASeM Index that closed higher. The stock market had rallied more than 8 per cent the previous week, fuelled by investors hoping that a Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) guideline on new forex policy will attract foreign investors back to the market. However, Britain’s decision

BUSINESS | Financial Market News

Stock market records 4.4% loss to leave the EU after a referendum sent further shockwaves through financial markets despite efforts by the country’s leaders to bring calm. Consequently, a turnover of 1.469 billion shares worth N17.065 billion in 21,246 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange in contrast to a total of 2.387 billion shares valued at N26.381 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 28,072 deals. The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.169 billion shares valued at N10.241 billion traded in 12,697 deals; thus contributing 79.59 per cent and 60.01 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 133.613 million

Vitafoam advocates special forex window for real sector

orried by the continuous inability of manufacturers to import raw materials due to paucity and high cost of hard currencies, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc’s Group Managing Director,Mr Taiwo Adeniyi has appealed to the Federal Government to create a special forex window to enable genuine manufactures access forex for enhanced production. He made this call while responding to the media enquiries on the new foreign exchange policy of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN). Besides, he proposed a more collaborative effort between the academia and industry to accelerate Nigeria’s economic growth and development. He also gave assurance to the shareholders of Vitafoam of good return on their investment despite the inclement operating environment. Adeniyi explained that the new foreign exchange policy

started on a good note, as more Dollars were released but after a few days, it dried up. He lamented that under the new regime, forex supply to manufacturers is now classified under futures placement requirement, which takes 90 days before forex could be made available to them. “As manufacturers, the question is: what happens to our production chain as we wait for three months to get forex to import raw materials? It is sad if manufacturers should queue for forex for 90 days when rent seekers can access it without stress. “There is no magic about this issue. The Federal government should create a special window for genuine manufacturers to access forex without waiting for 90 days. “This is one way that we manufacturers can purchase our raw materials that are sourced outside Nigeria, operate optimally, boost the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and reduce unemployment of the youths.

shares worth N300.892 million in 1,081 deals. The third place was occupied by the Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 110.745 million shares worth N4.904 billion in 3,495 deals. Trading in the Top Three Equities namely – Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 523.549 million shares worth N6.539 billion in 5,223 deals, contributing 35.65 per cent and 38.32 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. Twenty-two equities ap-

preciated in price during the week, lower than forty equities of the previous week. Fifty-two equities depreciated in price, higher than 32 equities of the previous week, while 106 equities remained unchanged lower than 108 equities recorded in the previous week.

Oando reports N49.7bn FY2015 PAT loss

ando Plc, one of the Nigeria’s leading indigenous energy groups listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has reported a loss after tax of N49.7 billion for the full year ended December 31, 2015. In a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the loss after tax during the period under review was reduced compared to a loss after tax of N145.7 billion recorded in 2014. The Group’s loss before tax equally decreased to N51 billion in 2015 from N138 billion

ustodian and Allied Group has announced the appointment of Dr. Omobola Johnson as the new chairperson of the board of the company, following the resignation of the pioneer Board Chairman of the group, Chief Michael Ade Ojo. Ojo according to a statement, has steered the leadership of the Insurance Group to enviable heights from inception. Also, the company has approved the appointment of Mr. Olakunle Ade-Ojo as director. Ade-Ojo is the managing director of Toyota Nigeria Limited. Johnson according to the statement, holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical and electronics engineering from University of Manchester, a master of science

a year earlier. Oando posted N381.7 billion top line revenue, a 10 per cent decrease from N425.7 billion in 2014. According to the company, the results were delayed due to an exhaustive audit process overseen by external auditors, Ernst & Young, and extension approvals were sought and received by Oando from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). However, Investors have gotten respite as the group posted an impressive perfor-

mance in first quarter ended March 31, 2016. Oando recorded a profit after tax increase of N4.1 billion, a 120 per cent increase compared to Q1 2015 figures. The company’s financial highlights also indicate that turnover decreased by 34 per cent, with N64.0 billion realized compared to N97.1 billion for the same period last year. Global crude pricing fluctuation has changed the corporate landscape for oil companies, and has had far-reaching economic implications on Oando and many other indigenous firms in the industry.

Johnson is Custodian and Allied chairperson degree in digital electronics from Kings College, University of London as well as a doctor of business administration from Cranfield University. The new chairperson was the former Minister of Communications Technology, past chairman Accenture Nigeria and Founding Chairperson of Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ). She is a fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN). Johnson brings over 30 years of corporate experience involving the private and public sectors both locally and internationally to the Board of the Company and

presently serves as non-executive director on the Boards of several Companies. The statement added that Ade-Ojo holds a bachelor of science in automotive product engineering from University of Reading and a master of science degree in engineering from Cranfield University. Custodian and Allied Plc is a holding company with leading specialist companies and brands including Custodian and Allied Insurance Limited, Custodian Life Assurance Limited, Custodian Trustees Limited and Crusader Sterling Pensions Limited; all rendering best in class services in its versatile fold.

BUSINESS | Interview

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

‘Foreign investors still see Nigeria The new President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe, in this interview with CHRIS UGWU, speaks on the state of Nigerian capital market and other issues affecting the economy

How would you assess the Nigerian economy since the beginning of the new administration? Although the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari came into office on the 29th of May last year on the mantra of “change”, there were challenges and obstacles from inception. Consequently, the first year of the government was largely spent settling down to understand the true state of affairs. I think the government has done well in some areas. However, a lot is expected of the government in other areas. For instance, economic indicators have worsened, and it appears the government is taking too long to have a clear direction on several policy issues. What is your take on the investment landscape in the country? Nigeria’s natural endowments still makes her a very attractive investment destination. However, this must be strategically supported by well thought-out policies. Foreign investors still see Nigeria as a good investment destination because of our current political stability, but obviously they will be further encouraged if we also have some consistency with our foreign exchange policies in line with global best practice. More important for the capital market is the issue of participation of local investors, as it is local investors who ultimately will bring stability to the equity market. The government and all stakeholders must therefore urgently address the need to encourage our local investors to return to the market. What are the challenges faced by stockbrokers in Nigeria? The biggest challenge facing stockbrokers today is low participation and low liquidity in the market. While the regulators and stockbrokers have been working hard to create new products such as the Exchange Traded Funds, the buy side of the market remains weak, especially from the local end. Meanwhile stockbroking firms have also had to grapple with spiraling costs arising from the recently introduced Minimum Operating Standards. Investor’s confidence is still low as a result of massive losses arising from the 2008 global recession, although this is being addressed. Quoted companies are also going through challenging times with regard to rising costs. This is affecting their dividend paying ability. What is the prospect of stockbroking in an emerging economy like Nigeria? History has shown that the capital market provides the surest route for developing countries to accelerate the pace of their economic development. So, the prospect of stockbroking in a country like Nigeria is bright and the crucial importance of the profession cannot be overemphasised. The question we should be asking is: “are we making maximum utilisation of our capital market in formulating and implementing development policies?” The government urgently needs to focus more on the capital market and craft policies that will make the market thrive for local and foreign investors.

Abe

Activities in the Nigerian capital market have been on a downward swing for a considerable period of time. Operators and the regulators are worried. What is your assessment of the current situation? I quite understand that stakeholders in the market are prone to worry when the market is in a downward swing. But my take is that the market is demonstrating one of its attributes. It is only normal for the market to swing upward and downward because that is what makes it a market. It is absolutely normal for the market to have swung on a downward direction. In any case, the direction of the capital market at any given time is a reflection of the economy and it’s been known that the economy has not been doing too well lately. So, I feel it is even the best time to invest in the capital market because once the economy gets better, the capital market will recover as well. What factors in your opinion will attract investors into the market or send them scampering away from the market? Some of the factors that draw investors into the capital market include, positive expectation about the economy, adequate and positive information about the market, security of investment, good returns in the form of dividends and/or capital gains, and favourable government policies. ‘Loss of confidence’ discourages investment. Several factors could cause this, including lack of transparency, weak corporate governance structure, and economic downturn. Do you think the recent introduction of direct cash settlement will protect investors and eliminate fraudulent activities in the Nigerian capital market?

Nigeria’s natural endowments still makes her a very attractive investment destination

Absolutely! It will bring more confidence into the market. Direct cash settlement is a situation where the accounts of investors are credited directly with the proceeds of sales of investments. This will make it more difficult to divert or convert investors’ funds fraudulently. However, I do not think the direct cash settlement policy will eliminate fraudulent activities in the Nigerian capital market completely, but it will curtail it. In effect, direct cash settlement is only one of several structures that need to be put in place to safeguard investor’s position in the capital market. Do you foresee any state government coming to raise capital in the market this year given the developments in the economy? It is not likely. We are already half way into this year, and from the look of things, it may not be feasible. The downturn in the market has continued this year. Accordingly, we anticipate that the investment climate may not be attractive enough. The Federal Government’s budget deficit for 2016 and the implementation of Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) may make it more difficult for state governments to raise capital from the capital market. Although with greater clarity on government policy direction, there is modest expectation that investors would show more interest in the market as the economy improves. Do you think the offshore listing being embarked upon by some companies have a direct impact on the Nigerian economy? Yes, though minimal. For example dual listing could have some direct benefit on the economy especially in times of currency crisis or other external factors. In 2013, for example it was reported that despite the huge

BUSINESS | Interview

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

as good investment terminus’

CV Career: Investment banking Organisation: Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers (CIS) Founded: 1992 President: Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe Education: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) Social Sciences (Sociology & Anthropology), 1988, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (FormerlyUniversity of Ife, Ile-Ife) MSc. (Marketing), 1996, University of Lagos, Akoka MBA, 1998, Ondo State Universisty, Ado Ekiti Snr. Mgt. Prog (SMP 18), 2003, Pan African University (LBS) Total pay: Nil

crisis among the BRIC nations (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India and China) in terms of currency devaluation against the U.S. dollar due to the announcement of Federal Reserve Chairman to discontinue the free money policy, South Africa’s Rand confounded critics with dual listed companies attracting strong equity flows into South Africa. That is, despite strong U.S. data and mounting pressures on the emerging markets the Rand continued to hold up remarkably well. Thus the concept of dual listing can help the economy of a country stabilise, and as a strategy to counter currency devaluation. What is your take on the adoption of a more flexible foreign exchange rate policy in relation to the stock market? The Capital Market is the barometer of the economy. Its performance mirrors the performance of the economy. When the economy is doing well, the capital market is boosted. Research has shown that developing countries are relatively better off under flexible exchange rate regimes and that faster economic growth is associated with real exchange rate depreciation. This means that introduction of flexible exchange rate policy will likely drive economic growth, which will boost the capital market. The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the re-introduction and re-modelling of the floating single foreign exchange policy. It is a bold and positive initiative, which attest to the dynamism of the apex bank in policy evolution for the greater benefit of the economy. The operating dynamics of the new framework as stipulated by CBN is in accordance with the tenets of democratic capitalism of which the highlights are, marketdriven systems, free participation within individual limitations and the ‘’invisible hand’’. The introduction of a forward market to hedge volatility in the foreign exchange market, and the licensing of Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers are well commended innovations, which we believe will deepen the market. Barring systemic malfunction, CIS believes that the implementation of the new framework will boost dollar supply; and with clarity, define the exact exchange rate, ease the challenges of businesses across the board and return the economy to the path of growth. The currency peg of the past 16 months resulted in a dearth of dollar currency and prompted large-scale capital flight with the

Abe

developing countries are relatively better off under flexible exchange rate regimes

attendant growth challenges in the economy. Foreign inflows into the capital market dropped by 32 per cent in 2015, as reported by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, while the benchmark equity index fell by 17 per cent this year. The new foreign exchange policy will bolster investor confidence, trigger inflow of foreign portfolio investments and boost the velocity of the stock market. CIS supports the continual restriction of the 41 excluded items from the interbank foreign exchange market. The exclusion of the items supports the infant industry argument. We believe that an admixture strategy of the floating foreign exchange policy, an intensive export promotion drive, support for the infant industry argument and pump priming will give fillip to the economy. Going forward, we are optimistic on the growth prospects of the economy in 2017. You were recently elected president of CIS. What is your agenda to lift the institute to higher levels? Briefly, working with the new leadership team at CIS, my plan is to make the Institute more visible by enhancing its brand capital. We are working to fully automate the examination process and make it seamless. We will pursue vigorously the passage of the CIS bill, which is currently with the National Assembly. As the institute is a membershipbased organisation, we will do our best to advance the welfare of our members and ensure that the profession takes a pride of place among other professions in Nigeria. We are also pursuing a strategy of aggressively enhancing our membership base. In pursuit of our determination to strengthen the operations of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), the Governing Council of the Institute recently inaugurated 12 committees with 148 members. The Committees, which have been specifically set up to drive the activities of the Institute are: Education Committee, Research and Technical Committee, Membership Committee, Finance Committee, Programmes Committee, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Committee, Board of Fellows, Investigating Panel, Supporting Member In-

vestigators, Disciplinary Tribunal, Nominating Committee, and Presidential Nominating Committee. The Committees have a two-year tenure. Their appointment was the outcome of a careful due diligence conducted by the Council to ensure that people who are fit and proper are given an opportunity to serve the Institute. The Institute had many talents that were willingly ready to drive its array of activities. The Committees’ performance shall be based on the quarterly implementation of their terms of reference, which form the deliverables. The Council is of the strong view that the Institute must be developed in order to adequately meet the expectation of its stakeholders in line with the global best practices. We believe the committee members will live up to expectation as the Institute places premium on their activities, which are pertinent to the growth and development of the Capital Market in general. How has the recent recapitalisation of stock broking firms helped reposition your institute? The recent recapitalisation of capital market operators is impacting positively on the development of the market, as it has enhanced research and product development capability of the market as well as the development of a more efficient information and communication technology base. The new capital injections would enable stockbroking firms acquire requisite information technology infrastructure, maintain quality human resources, fund research and training and explore creative initiatives in product development and services. Overall, with the recapitalisation, we will likely see better-managed institutions and better prospects for those who are in the industry. A firm that is well-managed and capitalised with good corporate governance in place will provide quality services to the investing public. It will also offer an exciting career for employees; and like I said earlier, the institute is committed to enhancing the welfare of our members. This makes sense because we are here for our members, and it rubs off positively on the institute if our members are happy and well taken care of.

BUSINESS | MONEYLINE

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Purchasing Managers’ Index rises to 50.2 in June IMPROVEMENT Firm have increased domestic input utilisation

Tony Chukwunyem

BN Quest’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.2 points in June, up marginally from the 48.2 points recorded in May, according to a report released by

Tony Chukwunyem

s part of efforts to accelerate development in Delta State, financial experts have called on stakeholders as well as all Deltans generally to partner with authorities in boosting development in the State. The experts spoke at the maiden edition of the Delta Economic Summit Group (DESG) held in Lagos. They said that while Delta State was richly endowed with both human and natural resources, there should be better coordination between the government and stakeholders to enhance the development of the State. Speaking at the event, which was themed “Bridging the investment gap in Delta State”, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc.

the firm at the weekend. In a statement obtained by New Telegraph, the firm said: “In our view, the fractionally positive headline reading of 50.2 is still consistent with Q1 manufacturing sector Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as the prospect of another poor set of GDP figures in Q2. The June report marks an improvement in two of the principal sub-indices (workforce and new orders).” The firm said it suspect that this was driven by those respondents, which have increased their domestic input utilisation.

“Faced with the challenges of sourcing fx for imports of raw materials and intermediates, some companies have been able to boost their processing of local raw materials. Textiles, food products and cement would come under this category.” The firm noted that manufacturing contracted by -7.0per cent y/y in Q1 2016, which is often the weakest of the year for the economy as a whole, predicting that for the sector (but not the economy), there would not be much change in Q2. According to FBN Quest,

Experts task stakeholders on Delta State devt (BEDC), Mrs. Funke Osibodu, said that although the Delta State government had invested a lot in power infrastructure, private sector operators were not making good use of the investments because of the widespread perception that Delta is a “volatile’’ state. The former top banker whose firm distributes electricity to Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states, said it was imperative for indigenes of Delta State to overcome their fear of the situation in the state and come back home to invest. She said, “Delta State has put in a lot of investment in power infrastructure, but much of it is not being used because the private sector is afraid due to the perception

that the state is volatile. Delta state indigenes are also afraid to invest in the state because of this fear. But we need them to overcome this fear. The state government is trying its best; however, there is need for better coordination between the government and the private sector.” Similarly, in his remarks, boardroom guru and Chairman, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr. Chris Ogbechie, said that in order to bridge the investment gap in Delta State, there was need to strengthen investor confidence in the state. He said, “We can’t expect foreigners to invest if Nigerians don’t invest. If Delta State indigenes don’t invest, they should not expect others to

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 15.6 12 10.77 US$44.77 US$26,363,435,289

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 May, 2016 23/03/2016 Mar 2015 1/7/2016 30/6/2016

Source:CBN

Description 15.10 27-APR-2017 16.00 29-JUN-2019 15.54 13-FEB-2020 16.39 27-JAN-2022 14.20 14-MAR-2024 12.50 22-JAN-2026 10.00 23-JUL-2030 12.1493 18-JUL-2034 Tenor (Days) Call 30 90 180

FGN Bonds

TTM

Price 104.65 114.59 111.96 120.58 109.60 100.54 83.82 97.56

1.07 3.24 3.87 5.82 7.95 9.81 14.31 18.29

NIBOR

Rate (%) 4.4583 9.1071 11.0102 12.3790

Bid Yield 10.38 10.55 11.60 11.44 12.27 12.40 12.44 12.49

Change (%) -2.50 ▼ -0.74 ▼ -0.65 ▼ -0.68 ▼

Change (%) -0.02 ▼ -0.01 ▼ 0.00 ↔ 0.00 ↔ -0.07 ▼ -0.08 ▼ -0.03 ▼ 0.02 ▲

Price 104.80 114.89 112.26 120.88 109.90 100.84 84.12 97.86

Tenor (Months)

Change (%) -0.02 ▼ -0.01 ▼ 0.00 ↔ 0.00 ↔ -0.07 ▼ -0.08 ▼ -0.03 ▼ 0.02 ▲

NITTY

Rate (%) 6.9949 7.2368 8.0819 9.2061 9.5872 10.5042

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Offer Yield 10.24 10.45 11.51 11.38 12.22 12.34 12.39 12.44

Change (%) 1.12 ▲ -0.27 ▼ -0.17 ▼ -0.11 ▼ 0.03 ▲ 0.42 ▲

Money Market

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) 7.67 7.82 -0.51 ▼ Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 3.83 30-Jun-16 7.92 8.08 -0.51 ▼ 6-Oct-16 8.59 8.34 8.71 -0.31 ▼ Overnight (O/N) 4.33 8.99 -0.31 ▼ 16-Mar-17 9.36 10.28 -0.07 ▼ 9.11 9.98 -0.07 ▼

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.14

Offer 199.24

Change (%) 0.57 ▲

NIFEX

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.0000

CBN Clearing Rates of January 7, 2016 Spot($/N)

196.00

197.00

0.00 ↔

Offer 199.1000

Change (%) -1.75 ▼ -2.08 ▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

“the liberalisation of the exchange-rate regime with effect from 20 June came too late to have an impact on the index in June. Indeed we do not see much impact for some months ahead. The new system has to bed down so that both the CBN and market players become familiar and comfortable with the experiment. At that point, we should see a pick-up in autonomous flows into the market and therefore a greater supply of fx for importers in manufacturing and other sectors.” Commenting on specific areas of the report, the firm noted that the reading for employment strengthened from 40.5 to 48.0 in June, pointing out, however, that

this, “remained below water for the seventh successive month, which is perhaps the best commentary on the sector’s condition.” It also stated that three of the five sub-indices were negative in June, noting that the highest reading was 57.5 for delivery times. The PMI update is data released at the start of the calendar month in developed markets -such as the Institute of Supply Management (ISM)’s in the USthe larger emerging markets such as China, and a few other frontiers. It is based upon the responses of manufacturers to set questions on core variables in their businesses.

Aregbesola praises Sterling Bank’s input to ecological sustainability

he Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has commended Sterling Bank Plc for its contribution to clean environment through the provision of necessary incentives to checkmate environmental challenges. The Governor, who made the commendation while receiving reflective coveralls donated by the Bank for use by members of the Osun Waste Management Authority (OWMA) in Oshogbo, noted that the coverall would protect the highway managers against occupational hazards, which they face in the discharge of their responsibilities on a daily basis. His words: “By this donation, Sterling Bank has demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability. These coveralls without any doubt will make the Highway Managers visible from afar and prevent the incidents of motorists running into them. It will provide safety against occupational hazards and also give them a sense of dignity as opposed to appearing improperly dressed and unkempt and elevate their status as they see themselves as very relevant to the society through the service they provide”. While reaffirming his administration’s readiness to maintain a top position among its peers at championing good environmental sanitation, the Governor according to a statement, identified environmental challenges as part of the reasons his administration took aggressive steps towards waste management and sanitation in the state. To kick start the process, he said his government came up with a 90-day emergency declaration on sanitation and zero tolerance for filth, culminating in the launch of the O’Clean plus initiatives, which had contributed significantly in the reduction of sanitation related diseases. He added that other corporate organisations should

emulate the Bank in ensuring a clean environment. Earlier, the Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Lanre Adesanya, said the presentation of coveralls was in line with the bank’s strategic focus on the environment as one of its corporate’s social responsibility priorities. He added that the Bank was already in partnership with other states such as Enugu, Kaduna, Rivers, Delta, Abia, Ogun and Lagos states. His words: “At Sterling Bank, environmental cleanliness is one of the cardinal points of our Corporate Social Responsibility thrust that informs the bank’s continued commitment of enormous resources towards ensuring that the environment where we live is habitable. “As we embark on this mission, we consider it of utmost importance to protect those whose job it is to manage and clean the environment. That is why we came up with the idea of producing coveralls for highway managers to ensure their safety, make them more relevant in the society and as well as dignify them while discharging their duties”. In his remarks, the General Manager, Osun Waste Management Agency (OWMA), Alhaji Ganiyu Oyeladun said the state government through Osun Waste Management Agency (OWMA) has in recent years embarked on various initiatives with focus on achieving the objectives of the restoration of healthy living and empowerment for the citizenry. He noted that the current administration has successfully placed a high priority on environmental sanitation and waste management, hence the creation of the agency. He said OWMA has succeeded in entrenching the culture of cleanliness among the citizenry, adding that with the efforts of the agency, there is sharp reduction in sanitationrelated diseases just as there is drastic reduction in mortality and morbidity rates.

News|NATIONAL

monDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

entral Bank Governor, Godwin Emefele, has enjoined Nigerian youths to emulate the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigeria’s foremost industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote. He said Nigerian government craved to have more of him in Nigeria’s industrial space He said the Federal Government appreciates Dangote’s exceptional business investments dotting the entire African continent and exemplary humanitarian efforts, pointing out the government would continue to provide the enabling environment that will give room for more of Dangotes The apex bank boss spoke during the disbursement of funds to youths to mark the commencement of the CBN’s Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP). The programme was instituted to promote capacity building and funding for Nigerian youths to empower them to be entrepreneurs rather than seeking white collar jobs. Emefiele acknowledged the role Dangote and his many companies have been playing in the employment of labour in Nigeria and Africa as whole. It was against this backdrop that Emefele further were the youths to fulfil their dreams, and not just become entrepreneurs, but also employers of labour, saying Nigeria has spent millions of dollars in forex on importation of foods

L-R: Chief Inspiration Officer, XL Family and Founding Partner, Ventures, Jaspar Roos; Managing Director, Connected Thinking, Matt Dooley; Deputy Managing Director, FirstBank, Gbenga Shobo and Chairman, Asian Banker, Emmanuel Daniel, during the presentation of the Credit Card product of the year award to FirstBank, at the 3rd West Africa International Banking Convention 2016 in Lagos.

Emefiele lauds Dangote’s entrepreneurial spirit

and other needless items. According to him, the developed countries of the world are strong economically because they produce and export more than they import thus giving them the desired trade balance. He said this is also the thought line of the present government and that it would pursue the task of industrialising Nigeria through the exploitation of the nation’so vast mineral resources which have long been neglected. Emefiele told the beneficiaries that the youth entrepreneurs part of the CBN programme of

FG restructures N3bn Nollywood fund Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

he Federal Government has expressed concern on persistent rise in the rate of piracy in the entertainment industry . Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, raised the concern over the weekend in Abuja just as government inaugurated a committee to review N3 billion Nollywood grant earmarked two years ago to re-position entertainment industry. Speaking in Abuja at an interactive forum between the Minister, Nollywood practitioners and stakeholders in entertainment industry, Adeosun urged practitioners to be more firm in tackling the issue of piracy, adding that most of the people who have worked hard to come up with creative movie don’t get to benefit from their investments owing to piracy. “We need to improve distribution to ensure that

the investments to make a film actually get the desired return. What do we do about piracy? How can we make this fund to make sure that we cut down the opportunities for those who simply sit back and wait for others to invest and then cream off the profit,” she noted. On N3 billion fund set up to solve the main challenges impeding the growth of the Nigerian movie industry, she said so far, government through the project has implemented specialist training programmes in Nigeria and abroad in which 247 practitioners have been trained to improve their technical and professional capacities in the entertainment industry. She said a total of 113 film projects had been financed by the fund at the cost of N799 million while a total of 2,436 people have been employed.

creating 1 million jobs in the next four years. He said “Youth entrepreneurs have been hindered in the past by lack of capacity and access to funding. “It is thus a matter of urgency to roll out the YEDP. Our youths are full of ideas and we want to empower them to make the dreams realities. We want to nurture your dreams, not only to be entrepreneurs but also to become employers of labour. “We want to raise many Dangotes from among our youth entrepreneurs. We want our

youths to build conglomerates and giant companies that can employ millions of Nigerians and produce goods for not only local consumption but also for export.” It would be recalled that the business mogul had indicated that his new $12 billion three-inone project, the refinery, petrochemical and fertilizer plants currently under construction would create a minimum of 235,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect jobs, as it becomes operational in the first quarter of 2019. Dangote said the refinery would have a ca-

pacity to refine 650,000 barrels a day, while assuring that there would be market for the refined products because even in Africa, as only three countries have effective functioning refinery with others importing from abroad.

28%

The percentage of households with internet access in developing countries in 2013. Source: Itu.int

£79.5m

The total aggregate payments received by Stoke City for the English 2015/2016 season. Source: Goal.com

How we can keep FESTAC spirit alive –Ahmadu Ali Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

ormer National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Ali, has called on state governments to organise yearly cultural carnivals to keep the spirit of the 1977 Second Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) alive. Ali, who was chairman of the opening session of the FESTAC ‘77, noted that given the enormity of the arrangement made in preparation for the festival, the Federal Government did not have such kind of money now to organise such a fiesta. He spoke when the Director General, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), Dr. Ferdinand Anikwe, paid him a courtesy visit to intimate him of plans by the centre to commemorate the 40th anniversary next year. “It (FESTAC) was a great cultural extravaganza where all the black races of the world came together, first for brotherliness, oneness, self-realisation, and to project Africa to the world,” Ali recalled. He commended Cross River and Lagos State governments for their annual cultural festivals, and called on other state governments to emulate them.

Cuba, Iran join in US independence celebration Ebere Ameh Abuja

espite the diplomatic row that exists between the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Cuba and the United States, the two nations were at the US 240thIndependence celebration at the weekend. The US Ambassador to Nigeria, James F. Entwistle, announced their presence and welcomed them warmly. The event which took place at the US Embassy,

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has said that the anti-corruption crusade of President Mohammadu Buhari would continue to be a ruse, unless many alleged corrupt people within the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) were exposed. The party alleged that the APC at present, have in its fold, some of the most

Abuja, had current and former senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, business, political and traditional leaders, senior media executives, civil society representatives, leaders in academia and other dignitaries in attendance. In his remarks, Entwistle underscored the robust engagement the United States has maintained with Nigeria and assured Nigerians that the partnership would continue to run deep. His words, “We have worked with the government of Nigeria on a host of issues – on elections, se-

curity, fighting infectious diseases, and spurring broad-based, inclusive economic growth, just to mention a few. It seems like almost every week, I stumble on some US-Nigerian area of cooperation between academic institutions or civil society groups or businesses that have been going on for decades. It is truly remarkable,” the Ambassador observed.” He noted that the future of Nigerians belong to the people of Nigeria, insisting that it specifically belongs to those Nigerian heroes ‘those men and women who

are brave enough to believe that they can change the world. The United States stands with every Nigerian who believes that this country can be healthier, safer, and more prosperous.’ Fielding questions from the media, Entwistle noted that the last election was a tremendous democratic success, not just for Nigeria but for the growth of democracy across Africa. On the economy, he said the government of Nigeria is heading in the right direction on things like the exchange rate and fuel subsidy.

Osun PDP berates Buhari over graft corrupt individuals that other parties, including PDP found rather too dirty to be accommodated, and yet they are being covered with the party’s duvet. Disclosing this in a statement issued in Osogbo on yesterday, Osun PDP spokesperson, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said with

glaring evidences of corrupt act, against even some members of the kitchen cabinet of President Buhari, corruption “fighters” of the present administration, have not seen the need to begin the “cleansing right from the presidential closet”. The PDP also stated that

despite efforts to muscle opposition and run it out of circulation by hiding behind the insincere fight against graft, President Buhari would never succeed. The statement reads: “Because no individual has succeeded in killing the truth.”

NEWS | south-west

monday, july 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Oyo pleads for understanding on N29bn debt FETHI workers’union cries

yo State Government has sought for the understanding of workers and pensioners in the state over the N29billion wage deficit representing five-month salary arrears, which it blamed on dwindling allocation to the state from the Federation Account and paltry internally generated revenue. The plea was made at a press conference jointly addressed by the Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr. Bimbo Adekanmbi and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka. The forum also provided opportunity for the government representatives to explain the rationale behind the decision of the state to apply for the sum of N14.1billion from the latest financial sustainability plan of the Federal Government. Clarifying the issues, the Finance Commissioner said the N14.1billion would be used to pay salaries, stressing that it would not be paid to the state in bulk, but in tranches of N1.3billion monthly for the first three months and N1.1billion

monthly for the next nine months. He said the delay in the payment of salaries and pensions to workers and pensioners in the past five months was not a deliberate action as being speculated in some quarters but due to non-availability of fund. The commissioner also faulted claims that the state got N84billion from the Federation Account between May 2015 and May 2016, saying only N37.48billion accrued to the state coffers within the period after all statutory deductions from source and irre-

vocable commitments. Within the same period, however, he said that N40.48billion was paid directly to the Local Government as its share of allocation, part of which was used to cater for the salaries of primary school teachers and local government employees. Adekanmbi said, "Oyo State government is not deliberately denying workers their salaries. Such misconception was borne out of ignorance and sometimes deliberate mischief by those who can never see anything good in this administration. "People have been ped-

dling unfounded rumour that the state received N84billion from the Federation Account from May 2015 to May 2016, which they claimed we have refused to use for the payment of salaries. They made a rough calculation that with such figure, we ought to be having over N7billion monthly. “The truth, however, is that, we collected only N37.48billion after all deductions from source from May 2015 to May 2016. The remaining N40.48billion went directly to the LGs and it is even criminal for any state to touch such allocation.”

out over unpaid salaries

Sulaiman Salawudeen Ado-Ekiti

he various workers' union at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI) has lamented the delay in the payment of their June salaries by the Federal Government. The unions while speaking through the hospital's Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Mr. Efe Asagba, at the weekend, appealed to the government for prompt payment of the salary.

Govt-Labour face-off: Women groups seek Olubadan's intervention Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

pparently worried by the continued faceoff between labour and the Oyo State Government, at least 25 leading women drawn from different walks of life have called on the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, Aje Ogungunniso 1, to intervene in the matter. According to a press statement made available to New Telegraph

by the Director, Media and Public Affairs to the monarch, Adeola Oloko, the women groups led by Prof. Mrs Adetoun Ogunseye and Chief Mrs Bola Doherty, among others, lamented the continued face-off and the effects on the society, saying as the father of all with no affiliation towards any political party or ideological persuation, the 87-year-old monarch was in a better position to bring about an amicable resolution of the labour crisis.

According to Chief Doherty, "As mothers, we are not comfortable with the on-going labour crisis in Oyo State and its effects on the society. Workers not going to work, school children and teachers not going to school is not a pleasant thing. As non-governmental groups comprising women from many organisations such as FIDA, FOMWAN, NCWS, YWCA, AGES and others, we believed that only a monarch of your standing with no

partisan commitment towards any political party could intervene in this matter. Responding, the Olubadan of Ibadanland said that he would not be tired of wading into the face-off until the conflict is amicably resolved. According to the first class monarch, while no one is out to apportion blame to either of the warring parties, the continuous absence of students and teachers in schools is giving everyone a cause for concern.

APC petitions police over alleged harassment of members Sulaiman Salawudeen Ado-Ekiti

Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa (left), with Most Beautiful Girl in LASU, Miss Yetunde Aminat Olasimbo, during a courtesy visit to the Speaker in Lagos …at the weekend

he All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has petitioned the state Commissioner of Police, Etop James, alleging harassment and intimidation on its members by aides to Governor Ayodele Fayose. A statement by the party’s state Secretary, Omotoso Paul Ayodele, drew the commissioner's attention to an earlier petition to the police on June 26, 2016 alleging planned attacks against members of the party.

In the latest petition also copied to the State Director of the DSS, Omotoso explained that on Monday June 27, 2016 under the guise of holding a rally against President Muhammadu Buhari and in support of Governor Ayodele Fayose, some hoodlums suspected to be PDP members stormed a restaurant/bar operated by an APC member, Mrs Ayoola Adetola, at Okeyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti, smashing many cartons of beer worth about N40,000 for no reason other than for being a member of APC.

Ondo 2016: Group writes Tinubu, Mimiko on need to produce governor Babatope Okeowo Akure

raditional, political and religious leaders from Owo ethnic group in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State have written letters to the political leaders of major political parties in the country to allow the ethic group produce the next governor of the state. In a meeting held at Mapo Hall in Owo and attended by virtually all the governorship aspirants of major political

parties, traditional rulers and their representatives agreed to prune down the number of aspirants from the town in order to choose the most suitable among them. In the letter written to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship forum, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and National Chairmen of all political parties, the leaders sought for the zoning of the governorship ticket to Ondo North

in general and Owo/Ose federal constituency in particular. In a communiqué read on behalf of all the indigenes by Justice Adesuyi Olateru-Olagbegi, Dr Monday Duromola and Chief Akin Aruwajoye, they harped on the need to support an indigene of the town to become the next governor. The meeting tagged Owo General Assembly (OGA) was attended by chiefs, elders, youths, religious leaders, professionals and politicians of the established political par-

ties. The meeting also has the blessing of the paramount ruler, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi and other traditional rulers. The people lamented the marginalization of the ethnic group in the sharing of political offices since the beginning of the present political dispensation. They also said they have put in place strategic voting system to reduce the numbers of aspirants from the town to three. Out of 50 aspirants jostling for APC ticket, Owo has seven of its indigenes,

while only two have shown interest under the platform of the PDP. Those jostling for the position under APC, included, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Jamiu Ekungba, Bukola Adetula, Niran Sule-Akinsuyi, Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose (née Ajasin), Akin Awodeyi Akinfehinwa, Hon. Bode Ayorinde while that of PDP are Senator Remi Okunrinboye and Prince Nekan Olateru-Olagbegi. The letter reads in part; "the zoning of political office at both national state and local govern-

Asagba while noting that all other federal-owned hospitals, especially across the South-West have been paid their salaries also sought for an immediate action to correct the supposed wrongs of the erstwhile administration headed by Dr. Lawrence Majekounmi. The unions further expressed worry that the Acting Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Raymond Okire, has not been able to assume duty as the institution's helmsman as "he is yet to have access to the hospital's accounts or any official vehicle", a development which they claimed has been taking serious toll on the operations of the hospital lately. Okire assumed leadership in acting capacity on June 1, 2016, following the official expiration of the tenure of the ousted CMD, Dr. Lawrence Majekodunmi. Asagba ascribed Okire’s inability to perform his functions to the undue influence of the ousted CMD, who they claimed was still controlling the hospital. He urged the Federal Government to speed up action on the report of a probe panel constituted following the unrest that greeted workers' grievance against Majekodunmi's administration. However, efforts made by journalists to reach the Acting CMD to confirm Asagba's claims were not successful as at press time but independent findings within the hospital supported the claims. Asagba, who is also the Chairman of the hospital's Joint committee of four other unions comprising Senior Staff Association, Medical and Health Workers Union, Nigerian Association of Nurses and Midwives and the Association of Resident Doctors, appealed to the federal government through the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, to urgently address for the resumption of normal and optimal operations at the hospital.

ment levels has over the years been embraced by all political parties in the distribution of political offices at all levels of governance. "Zoning has become well established and accepted as a panacea for peaceful co-existence and inclusive governance of the diverse groups in the polity. "Coming back home to the case for Owo, consider the recent trend of rotation of office of governor of present Ondo State amongst the three senatorial zones."

News|South-EAST

monDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

AGF denies involvement in Abia crisis

Absenteeism: Four principals demoted, 40 teachers to lose salaries

Tunde Oyesina

Uchenna Inya

Abuja

he Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, yesterday described as untrue and malicious, rumours that he gave directives to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue certificate of return to Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah, declaring him Governor-Elect of Abia State. In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Salihu Othman Isah, the AGF stated that he has not taken any definite action either by spoken words or

body language as far as the Abia State governorship crisis was concerned. The statement further described the rumours as untrue and a figment of imagination by those pushing their selfish, shameless and irredeemable political interest. The statement reads in part, “As far as the AGF is concerned, the constitutional powers for the legal opinion of his office have not been invoked on this issue. “So far, nobody has approached him to proffer any legal opinion to it and as a strong believer in the rule of law, it is his belief that the law should naturally take its cause.

“The AGF will not be dragged into this controversy and mind-games being played out by the various legal minds and spin doctors of both camps at this point. “The parties involved should await the decision of the courts. “We wish to by this statement advise those in the habit of dragging the highly esteemed Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice into knotty issue of this kind even when it is yet to take a position to desist from these unwarranted presumptions henceforth.” The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had last

Monday ordered Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, to vacate office with immediate effect for allegedly submitting false information to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, during the party’s governorship primary election in December 2014. The trial judge, Justice Abang Okon, also ordered INEC, to immediately issue a certificate of return to the plaintiff, Uche Ogah, who polled the second highest number of votes in the primary election. The court held that Ikpeazu was guilty of tax evasion and was therefore unqualified to have contested the 2015 governorship election in the state.

ABAKALIKI

our Secondary School Principals in Ebonyi State have been demoted for absenteeism, indolence and truancy. Also, 40 teachers are to lose one month salaries each for absenteeism. The state Commissioner for Education, Professor John Ekeh, disclosed this yesterday to reporters. He listed the four Principals to include those of Community Secondary School Oshiegbe, Kpakpaji High School, Girls High School

Onoh’s wife for burial August 5 Kenneth Ofoma ENUGU

Priest in charge of Infant Jesus Ministry, Obudu, Cross River State, Rev. Father Tonny Bruno (left), with Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, during the commemoration mass to mark Fr. Bruno’s 13th anniversary in priesthood, at Daughters of Divine Love Retreat and Conference Centre, Emene, Enugu State… yesterday

MASSOB insists on referendum for Biafra he Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra,(MASSOB),has reiterated that they want nothing short of referendum to exit from Nigeria. Leader of MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu, in a press release made available to journalists, noted that Biafra was not a new nation and should be given full autonomy. “Biafra as a kingdom existed many centuries before the amalgamation of

the entire geographical areas called Nigeria in 1914. Before the coming of the Portuguese to Biafra land and eventual subdued by the British, who later colonised Nigeria, the people of Biafra had nothing to do with the Hausa -Fulani - Yoruba tribe either politically, economically, culturally, religiously or socially. “It was the British because of their political and economic interest crowned with envy against the future existence of the people of Biafra that yoked the people of Biafra with that of Arewa and

Kenneth Ofoma

Enugu APC faults Ekweremadu’s letter

Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

ENUGU

he Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC) at the weekend berated the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, for writing the international community over the alleged forgery trial against him and other members of the Nigerian Senate. The party also faulted the invitation of Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar

Malami by the senate, saying it was unlawful and intended to impede the on-going judicial process. It would be recalled that Ekweremadu had recently written the United Nations, European Union, Unites States Congress, United Kingdom, among others, alerting them of imminent threat to Nigeria’s Democracy. The lawmaker, who represents Enugu West Senatorial district at the National Assembly,

Oduduwa in this contraception called Nigeria. “Many Nigeria nationalists and some elders who have realized the impending dangers of continuous and hypocritical existence of Nigeria are now calling for the restructuring of Nigeria. “The agitation for equity, Justice and self determination from ethnic nationalities that comprises Biafra, the violent activities of Boko Haram associated with their demands for Islamic state and the struggle for regional autonomy for the people of Middle Belt are all eloquent

(NASS) raised the alarm over what he described as attempt to truncate Nigeria’s democracy and silence him as the leader and highest ranking member of the opposition in Nigeria. But briefing journalists in Enugu, the APC Chairman in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye, said Ekweremadu’s action was uncalled for because nobody was above the law. “Our sovereignty is also in a way threatened by the behaviour of sen-

and dreading signs that this entity called Nigeria is merely existing for a limited time. “The ethnic pressure groups and activities of MASSOB, IPOB, Niger Delta Avengers, Biafra people National council, Lower Niger Congress, AFRA DESCENDANTS, EPC, BLC, Biafra Niger Delta militant Warriors etc are all evidences of the political imbalance, systematic injustice, political domination and economical, academically, religious and social slavery experienced daily by Eastern/ Middle Belt regions of Nigeria.”

ate leadership; no where on earth in any given democracy, where their lawmakers would call on the international community to intervene and also to appear to examine or scrutinise their legal process just because someone in power is charged with a serious crime. Instead, it is a mark of democracy where you have legislature, the judiciary and indeed the executive being subjected to the same law that its citizens are subjected to.”

Ndulo Ngbo and Community Secondary School Umuezeokaha. He said despite the demotion, the affected Principals are to lose their one month salaries and also answer queries. He said the affected principals and class teachers were found absent when a team from the state Ministry of Education led by him visited their schools and warned school heads in the state against absenteeism, truancy and indolence. He reiterated the readiness of the state government to sanitize the education system and restore the lost glory.

he remains of the wife of former Governor of old Anambra State, Mrs. Caroline Onoh, would be interred on August 5. The burial date was fixed, weekend, after an enlarged meeting of the Onoh family at their ancestral home Enugu-Ngwo, Enugu State. A statement by one of the sons of the late matriarch, Dr. Josef Umunnakwe Onoh, noted that their mother would be buried on Friday August 5 2016 at their family home, EnuguNgwo, after accompany-

ing rites such as church services. Onoh Jnr, who is the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on Special Projects, said their mother lived a fulfilled life for which their family is grateful to God for her life well spent, stating that further details of the burial arrangement would be made known in due course. Aged 81, late Mrs. Caroline Onoh was the wife of the late former Governor of old Anambra State and founding father of the present Enugu State, Chief Christian Chukwuma Onoh, popularly referred to as C. C. Onoh, who died in 2008.

Obi laments high cost of governance Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

ormer Governor of Anambra State, Mr.Peter Obi, has lamented the high cost of governance in Nigeria. He called for a drastic trim down of the expenses. Obi’s angst against the high cost of governance in the country, was laid bare at the unveiling of eight books on Catholic Church’s social teachings published in the Catholic Institute for Development, Justice and Peace (CIDJAP) Enugu. Unveiling the books, the former governor re-

gretted that the cost of governance in the country was avoidably too high, suggesting that bringing it down would make room for enough fund to be available for everybody, which he said would help to stabilize the country’s economy. Obi, who said he learnt a lot during his tenure in office as state governor, observed that the work done by CIDJAP was of great assistance to any government because the non-governmental organisation was actually undertaking and executing people-oriented projects that ordinarily are government responsibility.

South East PDP mourns Maduekwe Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

he South East chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), yesterday expressed shock over the demise of the Secretary of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Ojo Maduekwe. The party described Maduekwe’s death as a big blow to Africa and the PDP family. South East National Vice Chairman of the Party, Chief Austin Umahi, stated this in his condo-

lence message. He described the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s Former High Commissioner to Canada as a quintessential leader, an embodiment of integrity, a symbol of true nationalism and pillar of democracy. Umahi noted that Late Maduekwe’s death was a monumental loss to the PDP, at this critical time that his advice, opinion and contributions were highly needed to reposition and strengthen the party for the task of reclaiming its lost mandate.

News|south-SOUTH

NSCDC destroys eight illegal refineries Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

peratives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Edo State command, yesterday said it has destroyed eight illegal refineries and seized of 53, 640 liters of adulterated Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) from vandals in the state. The feat was made between May and June this year. Commandant of the

NSCDC in the state, Mr. Walter Akubuiroh, who stated this during a press conference held in Benin, the state capital, said nine suspects were also arrested in connection with these illegal activities. Akubuiroh said the suspects were being investigated and would be charged to court at the end of all investigations. He also explained that eight destroyed illegal refineries were located at Obazagbon, near Ehor in

Uhumwode Local Government Area of the state, pointing that a similar occurrence took place with the destruction in April of four refineries hidden inside a forest. The State’s NSCDC boss said the Automotive Gas Oil was concealed in 21 drums of 20 liters, 9 jerry cans of 20 liters, 432 jerry cans of 20 liters and 45,000 liters tankers with a registration no AWK 844 XJ respectively. “The drums and jerry

cans were being conveyed by five J5 buses which were all arrested at different times and locations in the state. We are amazed by the activities of these people, because the more we destroy, the more they go back to their illegal business. This illegal activity is seen or believed to have been supported by highly placed network of people in the society. We are not afraid of them; we will fight them to submission,” Akubuiroh said.

Guber aspirant, party chair in war of words Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

here was uncertainty in Edo State yesterday over the emergence of two factions of the Accord Party ahead of the party’s primaries today and the governorship election scheduled to hold on September 10 this year. Already, there is a controversy between the leadership of the AP in the state chaired by Dr. Samson Isibor and the governorship aspirant of the party, Mr. Don Pedro Obaseki, over the chairmanship of the party. Isibor said yesterday in

Benin the state capital that Don Pedro Obaseki is not the party’s governorship aspirant and therefore cannot contest the governorship election under the AP’s platform as he is not known as a member of the party and has not officially told the party’s leadership about his decision to fly the party’s flag. This is even as the party’s governorship primary election has been scheduled for today at the party’s 22 New Lagos Road, Benin. He explained that “Obaseki has not been admitted into the Accord Party,” even as he described the claim by the governorship aspirant

as “an embarrassment to us as a party to continue to read online that Don Pedro Obaseki is the Accord Party governorship candidate for Edo State.” He further stated that, “one Mohammed Nalado parading himself as the national chairman of Accord Party was removed since 29th July, 2011 by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party for alleged misappropriation of N93m of the party fund and had taken up appointment as chairman, board of governing council of Federal Polytechnic Katsina-Ala and automatically he ceases to be the national chairman of

Accord Party. “Article 20 (b) and (c) of the party’s constitution did not allow for double appointment.” Obaseki had last week sent a Whatsapp text to his associates and peers including our reporter about his move to realize his governorship ambition under the Accord Party platform in the state. Similarly, Obaseki, in a quick reaction yesterday in response to Isibor’s allegations, declared that, “the said Isibor is an imposter. INEC recognised national chairman of Accord Party is Alhaji Lawal Mohammed Nalado.”

L-R: Chairman, Cross River State Special Courts operation, Justice Maurice Eneji; Deputy Governor, Prof. Ivara Esu and Chief of Staff, Hon. Martins Orim, during the presentation of vans by the state to support Special Courts operations in Calabar

Delta PDP, speaker lambast defectors, APC leaders Dominic Adewole ASABA

nperturbed by the gale of defection rocking the Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), elders and leaders of the party in the state yesterday lambasted those cross-carpeting to the All Progressives Congress (APC). This was unconnected with tomorrow’s reception of two political gladiators, Chief Great Ogboru and Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei into the APC fold. Ogboru, the 2015 governorship candidate of

the Labour Party (LP) and Ochei, the Accord Party’s senatorial candidate and former Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, were allegedly wooed by the leadership of the APC to oust Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in 2019. But the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya, lauded Governor Okowa for ensuring prudent spending of the state’s resources in the past one year, while the Publicity Secretary of PDP in the state, Mr. Ifeanyi Osuoza, described the defectors as “spent forces.” Although, Osuoza spoke

on the implications for his party, the Speaker advised APC leaders in the state to stop building castles in the air. “Stop dreaming. APC cannot win in Delta State,” Igbuya said. While the Speaker thanked Governor Okowa for providing purposeful leadership and promoting the interest of the people and enjoined Deltans, home and abroad, to join hands with him to develop the state, he said his doggedness in politics, imbued with inspiring developmental and intellectual zeal, would shame the defectors in 2019.”

$60m

The total pay from endorsements of Roger Federer (Tennis) for 2016. Source: Forbes.com

monDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

SON seizes 500 expired tyres in Cross River Clement James CALABAR

he Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has confiscated not less than 500 expired tyres, while chaining more than 1000 steel bars said to be non-conforming iron rods in Calabar, between May and June this year. The state’s Coordinator of the organisation, Mr. Udeme Udom, who stated this at the weekend while briefing journalists on the activities of his organisation, said the exercise was carried out during market surveillance by his men on some shops in Calabar during the period. According to him, it has been discovered that expired tyres was one of the major contributing factors to road accidents in the country and his organisation is poised to ensuring that such products are taken off the market space in the interest of Nigerians. “Expired tyres are re-

sponsible for some road crashes. SON will ensure that the menace of buying and selling of expired tyres is a forgotten issue,” he said. Udom said the expired tyres were seized from dealers at Bedwell area of Calabar in May, adding that SON will leave no stone unturned in contributing to the reduction of road accidents through the eradication of expired tyres in the market. On the steel bars, Udom said that they were identified and chained in five shops that were visited by the organisation. “On the 16th of June, men of SON embarked on a market surveillance exercise and in the process, over 1,000 steel bars were chained. Five shops were discovered to be selling non-conforming iron rods. These iron rods failed the diameter test conducted by us. Samples of 8mm, 10mm, 12mm and 16mm iron rods were taken and all the products in the shops chained,” he said.

Ayade empowers special courts for sanitation, tax, others

s part of efforts to ensure speedy dispensation of justice, the Cross River State government, has presented seven pickup vans to special courts established in the state. The courts are Revenue, Forestry, Environmental and Sanitation, Traffic, Arbitration and Miscellaneous Matters, Medical and pharmaceutical, as well as Ports and Allied Matters. Presenting the vehicles at the Governor’s office, Calabar, Governor Ben Ayade, who was represented by his Deputy, Prof. Ivara Esu, maintained that “government wants the rule of law to be the order of the day while ensuring that the dispensation of justice is also done speedily.” Ayade reiterated the readiness of his administration to support the

15%

The proportion of households in major cities connected to sewers of Oceania. Source: Unesco.org

courts in the discharge of their duties, pointing out that the courts will be mobile in nature. According to the Governor, the Special Courts will ensure that the issue of evading taxes and levies are adequately addressed. “The courts will ensure that everybody does what he needs to do, they won’t take you to the normal courts where they will be adjourning and adjourning. These courts will meet and decide and the punishment meted,” he said. Receiving the keys, chairman of the special courts, Justice Maurice Eneji, thanked the governor for the provision of the vehicles which he said, will aid the courts in administering summary trial while helping government to generate revenue for the State.

77.7%

The percentage of households with internet access at home in developed countries in 2013. Source: Itu.int

PDP endorses Yakubu as running mate to Ize-Iyamu Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

he leadership and elders of the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have elected former Chairman of Esan North East Local Government council, John Yakubu, as running mate to its

governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, for the September 10 governorship election in the state. Stakeholders of the party at a meeting held at the residence of former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, narrowed the choice to Yakubu, who

hails from the central senatorial zone of the state. Leaders of the PDP zoned the position of the running mate of its governorship candidate to the Edo Central district. Yakubu was elected through a consensus decision of the party leaders and elders in attendance at the meeting.

monday, july 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Umar Danladi Ado Sokoto

ultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, yesterday appealed to Nigerians to be their brothers’ keepers as he noted that Muslims feel more marginalised in the country, only that they were not complaining. He also disabused the minds of some Nigerians, especially those circulating rumours that certain people were planning to Islamise the country, maintaining that such information was baseless as such was only intended to bring disunity among Nigerians. The Sultan also advised Nigerians to desist from adding religious colouration to anything negative in the country, saying no country ever survives a religious war. He spoke during a dinner organised for religious leaders, security agencies, residents of communities, media practitioners, NGOs and host of others at his palace at

north | news

Sultan: No plan to Islamise Nigeria the weekend. He said: "When there is a vacant position and an Hausa man is appointed, we called it 'northernisation and when a Muslim leader visit an Islamic country we say he is trying to Islamise Nigeria, while there are many people from other religions and tribes manning other offices and we see many

Christians leaders visiting Christian countries, but nobody said they were planning to Christianise the country." Abubakar observed that everything is being politicised in Nigeria and anything negative is attached to Muslims, Fulani herdsmen and Hausa even as there were other people committing hei-

nous crimes elsewhere, but was not linked to religion, ethnicity and region. The monarch, who said that Nigeria is a beautiful country and its people love one another, blamed the elites for some of the country’s challenges. According to him, the elite in the society were the major problems of this country because of their

Jubilation as Kogi workers receive salaries ahead of Eid-el-Fitri Zacchaeus Ozovehe Lokoja

head of the Eid-elFitri celebration in Kogi State, civil servants in the state at the weekend commended Governor Yahaya Bello, for paying the backlog of their salaries inherited by his administration. A worker in the state civil service, Adejo Haruna, made the commendation in Lokoja at a news

conference. Haruna, who claimed that he is representing a group in the labour union, said the government has met the expectations of all workers as promised by the governor, who said he was going to pay every genuine worker in the state. He said every worker in the state has been paid, including the local government councils. Haruna appealed to the labour union to call

off the strike if truly they were fighting in the interest of the workers, especially now that the government has cleared the salaries owed workers in the state. A local government worker at the news conference, who simply gave her name as Juliana Aaron, from Lokoja Local Government said "at least our families can now celebrates Sallah, I have been paid my three months’ salaries."

Abubakar Abdul Birnin Kebbi

ebbi State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday donated N10, 000 each and foodstuffs to the families of the 10 late union members who died last year. The presentation took place at the premises of the NUJ Press Centre, Birnin Kebbi. Delivery his speech at the occasion, the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Hon. Hassan

MINNA

I'm governor for all, Bello tells Niger people iger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, yesterday reassured the people of the state that he is not an All Progressives Congress (APC) governor alone, but that his administration has sworn to take care of all Niger citizens, irrespective of their political and sociocultural affiliations. Bello spoke in Kontagora, while meeting with stakeholders from the area in continuation of his efforts at carrying the people along and getting public input into governance. He said: "I recognise that I contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and promised to abide by its constitution and manifesto.

Kebbi NUJ donates money, foodstuffs to families of late members

Dan Atori

PHOTO: NAN

MINNA

lost never comes back. Let us sit together, discuss our problems and see how to overcome them. But why discussing after killing?," he queried. The Sultan, however, wondered why people blame the Fulani for every attack in the communities. “Criminals are criminals and they can be found anywhere, in any religion and tribes. Therefore don't add religion or tribal toga to any act of terrorism."

Kalgo, said the gesture was to remember the late members with prayers and encourage the families to be strong. He commended the union leaders for demonstrating such goodwill and for remembering their departed colleagues. In his remarks, Chairman of the union in the state, Alhaji Aliyu Jajarima, said the union decided to assist the families because of the contribution of the deceased to journalism in the state and the society at large.

Niger to overhaul TV, radio stations with N663m

Representative of the wife of the President, Hajiya Nana Shettima (second left), presenting money to one of the parents of the abducted Chibok Girls in Maiduguri …yesterday. with her is the former Plateau State Deputy Governor, Mrs Pauline Taline.

Dan Atori

selfishness and uncompromising attitude. "Whenever one loses power, one creates problems and the masses are always at the receiving end," he said. He advised leaders, particularly the elite, to desist from setting innocent people against themselves. “Let them bring up issues that could be debated, but don't carry weapons against one another. Life

"I am 100 percent loyal to APC. But I swore to an oath to abide by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. "And the Nigerian Constitution is supreme. It is above the constitution of the APC or any other political parties. Political parties come and go, but the Nigerian Constitution remains. I am not a governor for just APC members, but all citizens of the state." This, he said, informed the spread of developmental projects and programmes undertaken so far in the state, stressing that these projects and programmes are being executed base on areas of need and priority and not necessarily for party patronage or affiliation. The governor said the current financial difficulties that the state was going through was not peculiar to it and call on

all stakeholders to support government policies and programmes geared toward repositioning the state. "Nigeria in general and Niger State in particular, is facing serious economic challenges as a result of the fall in the price of oil at international market and security challenges in the Niger Delta. Niger State like many other states of Nigeria, depends on federal allocation, which has reduced drastically since the beginning of this administration. "In the past 16 years under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Niger State was getting monthly FAAC allocation not less than N5 billion. Some months, the state got N7 billion from the federation account. "Since the inception of the APC administration in the state, the highest FAAC allocation it has

received was N2.5 billion. And the state’s wage bill for salaries is about N2.4 billion. The state has so far taken over N3 billion overdraft to augment salaries since January this year." The governor, who promised to continue to relate with the various stakeholders in the state, said this period calls for sacrifice. He said: "These challenges call for sacrifice from all of us, from myself as governor to a messenger in the state. Already, this administration has reduced spending in Government House from over N150 million weekly to N20 million.”

10.37m

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions of Australia in 2004. Source: Itu.int

iger State Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, at the weekend signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a technology firm to overhaul the state radio and television stations with N663, 433,900. Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Tsado Vatsa, during the signing ceremony in Minna, said this is marking the beginning of better things to come for the two state-owned media outlets of Radio Niger both FM/

MW and Niger State Television (NSTV). Vatsa said the AM station has been off the air for about 17 years, assuring the people that the administration of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, has considered it necessary to revamp the media outfits so that government's programmes and policies can be promoted. The commissioner while assuring the people of the release of the 25 percent mobilisation fee within one week, added that the contract sum for the two radio stations will cost N334,989,600 while the cost of the NSTV contract is N328,634,300.

Tambuwal spends N1bn on foreign scholarship Umar Abdullahi Sokoto

okoto State government yesterday said it has spent more than N1 billion since its inception in the payment of scholarship to deserving indigenes of the state to study abroad. Commissioner for Higher Education, Sahabi Isah Gada, disclosed this at a ministerial parley in Sokoto, the state capital. Those who benefitted from the scholarship include students undergoing various disciplines at the diploma, undergraduate and post-graduate lev-

els at various universities and colleges in selected countries abroad. Gada said presently, the state has over 353 foreign students and over 17, 767 local students, noting that N1 billion has been spent on living expenses and allowances in addition to the sponsorship of 17 students to study French in Niger Republic. He said the state government is ready to partner with any private or public sector operator both locally and internationally that is willing to foster the educational development of the citizenry.

WORLD \ NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

IS bombing kills 125 Ramadan shoppers in Baghdad

t least 125 people have been killed and about 150 injured in an explosion claimed by the Islamic State group in Baghdad, Iraqi police say. A car bomb exploded on a busy street in the central district of Karrada late Saturday. The mainly Shia area was busy with shoppers late at night because it is the holy

month of Ramadan. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider alAbadi was met by angry crowds while visiting the scene of the blast yesterday. A second bomb also exploded at about midnight in a predominantly Shia area north of the capital, killing another five people. The bombing in Karrada is the deadliest in Iraq this year. It comes a week after

Iraqi security forces recaptured the city of Falluja from Islamic State (IS) militants. Authorities say the city was used as a launch pad for attacks on Baghdad. Deadly message from IS The destruction and death adds up to a clear message from the jihadists of socalled Islamic State. They are saying that even if they

are defeated on the battlefield, they can still hit back where it really hurts - killing civilians in the centre of the Iraqi capital, and other capital cities, too. IS have just suffered a serious defeat at the hands of Iraqi forces in Falluja. The town, less than an hour’s drive from Baghdad, has been in their hands since early 2014. IS are showing their supporters, and their

enemies, that they are not beaten. So many were killed and wounded because the streets are crowded at night at the end of a day’s fasting during Ramadan, with thousands in a mood to celebrate. It is only realistic to fear that there will be more attacks like this, as IS comes under more military pressure.

South Sudan: Dozens killed as violence flares in Wau

ozens of people have been killed and more than 120,000 displaced from their homes in a wave of fighting in Wau, one of South Sudan’s largest cities, almost a year after a peace agreement was signed to bring an end to civil war in the country. Clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and members of the Fertit tribe began on June 24, say sources in the city. The SPLA is predominantly made up of members of the Dinka tribe, the largest in the country. At least 43 people were killed in the fighting, according to a government statement on June 28. An independent count of casualties has not been done, and the actual figure could be

much higher than the government estimate. “We’ve not been able to get access to the southern part of the town, which is apparently where most of the heavy artillery fire was,” Shantal Persaud, a spokeswoman for the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), told Al Jazeera. At St Mary’s Cathedral, one of several churches in the town, 13 people have been buried, Father Natale, a priest at the church, told Al Jazeera. The dead included a three-year-old child. “A lot of people have been killed,” said Natale. “Dinka youths came to the town, some of them in uniform and others with spears and machetes.

UAE warns against wearing national dress abroad

nited Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals are being urged not to wear national dress outside the region, days after an Emirati man was detained in the US. Ahmed al-Menhali, a businessman, was detained while wearing traditional robes in a hotel in Avon, Ohio. Media in Ohio said a hotel employee feared he was pledging allegiance to socalled Islamic State group (IS). The UAE’s ministry of interior issued advice on Saturday urging citizens to be careful about what they wear abroad. UAE nationals should avoid wearing traditional costume “to preserve their safety”, the ministry said (in Arabic) without referencing the Ohio incident.

Ohio broadcaster WEWS reported that police received a call from the sister of a hotel clerk who had said there was a man “in full headdress with multiple disposable phones pledging his allegiance to Isis” [another name for IS]. Police later received a call from the employee’s father alleging the same thing. A video of Mr Menhali’s arrest, filmed by police, was published by WEWS on Friday. It shows armed police approaching him outside a hotel and forcing him to lie on the floor, before searching him. Mr. Menhali, who is wearing white robes, the ghutra headdress and the agal - cords to hold the headdress in place is heard repeatedly asking why police had stopped him.

Dozens dead in Pakistan, India after floods, landslides

t least 55 people have been killed in northern Pakistan and India in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains. Floods in the Chitral district of Pakistan damaged houses and a mosque killing at least 30, officials said. Another 25 are now known to have died in floods and landslides in India’s Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh states in recent days. Hundreds die in South Asian monsoon season floods every year. Bad weather has hampered rescue efforts in both countries. Flash floods hit the village of

Arsun, in Chitral, overnight from Saturday to Sunday. Several people offering special Ramadan evening prayers in the local mosque were killed, local officials said, adding that women and children were among the dead. A spokesman for the disaster management authority said there was panic in the area as hundreds rushed to flee their homes. Dozens of houses were also swept away as well as an army post, leaving eight members of the security forces missing. Chitral is a mountainous area in Pakistan’s far north, bordering Afghanistan.

Funerals being held for victims of the bomb attack

Tony Blair: UK should keep Brexit options open

ormer Prime Minister Tony Blair has said “we should keep our options open” on the UK leaving the European Union. He told the BBC the 48% who had voted to Remain felt “disenfranchised” and it was not clear “what we are moving to”. He said that “if the will of the people shifts” as details of what Brexit means for the country begin to emerge, then, “Why shouldn’t we recognise that?” Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn have both ruled out a second EU referendum. When asked on Radio 4’s The World This Weekend whether “keeping our options open” meant a second EU referendum, Mr Blair replied: “It means whatever we decide it should mean as we see how this debate develops.” But he said the case for leaving the EU had “crum-

bled”. He said the government should engage now with other European Union countries to see what room there was for manoeuvre, stressing the continuing importance of David Cameron’s role in this, rather than waiting for the outcome of the Tory leadership race. He said the referendum had been an event of “seismic importance” but warned the focus in the wake of Mr. Cameron’s resignation as prime minister would be on the Conservative leadership contest rather than the country’s national interest. He said that once the practical effects of the UK’s decision to leave the EU became clearer, then there should be a role for Parliament. “Right now it’s clear. We’re leaving,” he added. “But we don’t know what we’re going to. If what happens as we develop this negotiation

with the rest of Europe, it does become clear - and let’s suppose for example we find we’re shut out of the single market, we have to rely on the World Trade Organisation as the route back in to different trade deals. We are sovereign. Let’s just keep our options open.” The former prime minister said Britain had “diminished” its place in the world and would have to “fight to get it back”. There have been some calls for a second referendum and an online petition calling for one has been signed by more than four million people, although thousands of signatures were removed after it was hijacked by hackers. Legally speaking, the petition would have to show a clear majority of the electorate now favoured Remain for a second referendum to be triggered, says the BBC’s legal correspondent Clive Coleman.

Aides to ousted Ivorian leader return home after five-year exile

our senior aides to former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo have returned home from exile in Ghana more than five years after his ouster in a war over a disputed election, a step the leader of his party said would aid reconciliation. The four men, who included former Defence Minister Kadet Bertin, were persuaded to return following negotiations with the government and guarantees that they would not face charges related to the civil war. Accompanying Bertin were Kacou Brou, leader of Gbagbo’s Fesci youth militia, Yaon Franck, a presidential bodyguard, and Watchard Kedjebo, another militia leader. Five

years after the conflict that killed 3,000 people, the country, the world’s leading cocoa producer, has been reborn as one of Africa’s economic stars, held up by many as a model of postconflict reconstruction. But deep-seated tensions between supporters of Gbagbo and those of President Alassane Ouattara -- who won the war with French backing -- continue to simmer. Pascal Affi N’Guessan, leader of Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), confirmed on Saturday that the four men had returned by plane late on Thursday and met Defence Minister Alain Donwahi and Minister for Social Cohesion Mariatou Kone. A government spokesman did not im-

mediately respond to a request for comment. “They’re back,” N’Guessan told Reuters by telephone. “It’s good for reconciliation, but they also need to free all the political prisoners,” he said, referring to members of Gbagbo’s regime currently in jail for alleged war crimes. Gbagbo is in custody at the Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges that, when he was attempting to hold on to power in 2011 despite losing an election, he or forces under him committed crimes including rape, murder and persecution. His main youth militia leader Charles Ble Goude is also being held in The Hague, while his wife Simone is being tried at home.

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Sport Adekunle Salami

Sport News

Did you know? Germany on Saturday FINALLY defeated Italy for the first time at a major tournament on the 9th attempt. It ended via penalty shootout at Euro 2016 quarter-final match

Olympics: D' Tigers storm China for Stankovic Cup

International

Buffon laments Euro exit

Funds halt NFF’s plan to name Eagles coach

he Nigeria Football Federation’s plan to name a foreign manager for the Super Eagles at the weekend became impossible due to financial constraints New Telegraph can reveal authoritatively that the football body met with two sponsors over the appointment of the wouldbe coach believed to be Frenchman Paul Le Guen. The sponsors, however, are yet to give a final nod for the football federation to formally engage a coach. er, les defend “The process is not S up e r E a g se as easy as many peoEfe Ambro ple think because the NFF is making the NFF rathefforts to get the er than name best and to also be coach at the weeksure that the issue end or this week, of money won’t be came out with a a problem. time-table on the The truth is, appointment of the if the sponsors new Eagles handler. are ready, the According to the NFF will name statement, the body will a coach the on Friday, July 8 release next day,” a shortlist of candidates our source for the vacant position of revealed. Eagles’ Head Coach. The conThe Federation’s Techtinuous delay nical and Development of the NFF is giving many Nigerians concern especially when many countries in Africa and beyond decided on coaching issues with in two weeks. It is over 17 weeks since the former Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, resigned and the search for replacement continues for the federation. Apparently trying to buy time until positive news comes from the sponsors,

Federation adopts delay tactics To release shortlist on Friday Committee also set a deadline of Wednesday, July 6 for interested candidates to apply for the position. Chairman of the committee, Chris Green, told the nff.com that applications were invited from all persons who feel they are qualified for the position. “We encourage applications from all highly–qualified persons, whether they are Nigerians or expatriates. Applications are welcome until Wednesday, and the Technical and Development Committee will meet on

Friday to look through all applications and release a shortlist,” Green stated. The Super Eagles are away to Zambia’s Chipolopolo on Match Day 1 (October 3) and will then host the Fennecs of Algeria on November 7. They will then welcome Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions on August 28, 2017 and visit the Lions five days later, before hosting Zambia a month after and then rounding off the series by visiting Algeria on November 7, 2017.

NFF President, Pinnick

Wimbledon: Serena wins 300th Slam, moves to 4th round

D Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Sport Editor

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

efending champion Serena Williams did not need to work too hard to earn her 300th career Grand Slam match win and move into the fourth round at Wimbledon, overwhelming 43rd-ranked Annika Beck of Germany 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday. The victory pushed Williams past Chrissie Evert into second for career Slam victories in the Open era. Williams trails only Martina Navratilova, who went 306-49 in her career. Williams said she wasn't aware of the milestone until she was asked about it in a postmatch interview. "Was it? Cool. Oh, nice,"

she said with a laugh. "I had no idea. That's awesome, right? That's good, right? I think that's a lot of matches." It took all of 51 minutes at Centre Court for Williams to advance. Williams, who has won six of her 21 Grand Slam titles at the All England Club, compiled a 25-2 edge in winners. For only the fourth time in Wimbledon's 139year history, play was scheduled on the middle Sunday, which is the traditional rest day, because of rain delays in the first week that caused a backlog of matches. All 22,000 tickets for Sunday's play were snapped up in 27 minutes when they went

Serena

on sale online Saturday. "Obviously I love having that Sunday off, but I'm a little behind in my matches, so I guess I had to play an extra day," Williams said. After falling an early break behind at 2-1, Williams won 11 of the final 12 games and 24 of the second set's 28 points. She finished the first set with one of her seven aces and served out the match at love. "I still want to get out to a little bit of a faster start," Williams said. "But I was really

focused and calm today." The No. 1-ranked Williams improved to 300-42 at major tournaments. Williams will next face two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who put aside a warning for getting coached and erased a big deficit in the third set to edge 18th-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-7 (1), 6-2, 8-6. Kuznetsova, who won the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, needed almost 2½ hours to get past Stephens.

Okagbare, Ogunlewe arrive for Olympics trials

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SPORT NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

NFF scraps assistant coaches’salaries

Opts for allowances payment

Adeolu Johnson ABUJA

s part of measures to cut down expenses due to the growing debt facing it, the Nigeria Football Federation is planning to discard payment of salaries to assistant coaches in the various national teams. Our source said only Chief Coaches will be placed on contracts and salaries henceforth in order to reduce the huge wage bill on the federation. Each assistant coach and goalkeepers' trainer in the various national teams including the Super Eagles, U-23, the Flying, the Golden Eaglets and the female national teams earn salaries, match bonuses and allowances but the NFF is planning to

Al-Farouq Aminu (right)

intoduce a new paying formula. “These coaches earn as much as twice or more their salaries when winning bonuses are paid to them and yet most of them do not want to show understanding with us,” our source said. According to him the federation top brass are thinking about the method of tying the Chief Coach salary to that of their assistants like it is demanded by the expatriate coaches. This formula is being worked out after Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung urges the NFF to ensure it clears the backlog of salaries owed the national coaches and their assistants. Only last week, reports have it that some of the coaches are owed up to 7months while some are being owed close to 12months.

Olympics: D' Tigers storm China for Stankovic Cup F' Eagles hit Sudan Wednesday

igeria's senior national basketball team, D'Tigers, on Saturday left the Los Angeles camp in the United States with a 19-man delegation of 13 players and six officials to Beijing, China to participate in the Stankovic Cup. The competition which begins on Tuesday is part of the training programme to prepare the African

champions for the Olympic Games which commences on August 5 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Captain of D'Tigers, Olumide Oyedeji who disclosed this on phone yesterday said the 13 players heading to China included returnee Ekene Ibekwe who was part of the team to the 2012 London Olympics. Also on the trip were

Ebi Ere and Josh Akognon, both of whom were part of the team to the 2006 World Championship in Japan as well as Daniel Nwaelele. Key players of the Afrobasket squad who are yet to join the camp are the Aminu bothers of Alade and Al-Farouq. Al-Farouq is currently in Nigeria running his 2016 Aminu Basketball Clinic.

Former Udoji Utd stars storm Enugu for Bazuaye, Anijekwu

ormer players of defunct Udoji United FC of Onitsha have concluded plans to play a novelty football match aimed at raising funds for the families of their deceased former teammates and coaches. The novelty game which is billed for the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu on July 30 has received the backing of the club's former proprietor, Oscar Udoji. A United States of America-based former striker of the

club, Ikem "Potential" Udeh told the media in Lagos that the game was being put together to help the families of their deceased former teammates and coaches. He added that the event would also bring together the former players of the club who have since moved on in life. "We are putting together the novelty game in Enugu for two reasons. The first is for it to serve as a fund raising event and for a kind

of re- union for those of us who played for Udoji United. Today, our coach back in the days, Willy Bazuaye is no more, just like Herbert Anijekwu, Kalu Umar, Charles Nduka and a host of others. We feel we should come together and see what we can do for their families. That is the main reason we are putting together the novelty game on the 30th of July at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu," Udeh said.

Dalung on jamboree!

espite shambolic preparations of Nigeria’s athletes ahead of Rio 2016 Olympics, sports minister Solomon Dalung has continued to indulge in jamboree. Sports pundits are worried the country’s is heading for a disgraceful outing at the Olympics as athletes are yet to be called to camp

Dalung ...yesterday in France

just few weeks to the start of the games but the minister is certainly going to incur more wrath after he posted on his Facebook account a picture of himself at the venue of the quarterfinal match of the ongoing Euro Championship between France and Iceland on Sunday. The minister who spotted a green polo shirt and a pair of trousers with his traditional beret was photographed at the Stade de France in Paris shortly before the start of the game. Accompanying the picture was a post that read: “Just arriving the National Stadium of France in Paris for UEFA quarter finals between France and Iceland. Multi choice owners of Super Sports sponsored some African Ministers to watch the tournament. The match will commence at 0900hrs local time here. Can you predict the winner?”

Emmanuel Tobi

igeria’s Flying Eagles are expected to storm Khartoum on Wednesday for the 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifying match against their Sudanese counterparts billed for this weekend. The match earlier fixed for Friday, July 8, has now been moved to Sunday, July 10 by the Sudanese Football Federation. The Flying will depart the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight on Wednesday, July 6. The Emmanuel Amuneke – tutored side has played over 20 friendly matches since starting its camping in Abuja on April 9, drawing only two and losing none. The team will tackle a Sudanese side that is yet to kick a ball in the qualifiers following the withdrawal of second round opponents, Malawi. The Flying Eagles will take on City Strikers of Abuja on Tuesday at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Abuja in their last friendly game before departing for Sudan. Coach Amuneke, while ad-

dressing the boys at the weekend after their 8-0 thrashing of Oyah Sports FC of Suleja in a friendly, described the match in Sudan as ‘the mother of all battles’ and warned that the team must maintain high level of discipline and focus to surmount this final hurdle. "Let me first congratulate you for the performance today. I am impressed with your approach to the game from start to finish. I hope we all realise the enormity of the task ahead, as we must remain focused and disciplined to achieve our aim of picking one of the seven tickets to the continental soccer showpiece," he said.

Amuneke

Okagbare, Ogunlewe arrive for Olympics trials

ver 50 foreign-based athletes mostly from Europe and the United States of America have arrived in the country ahead of this week’s All-Nigeria Championships billed for Sapele, Delta State. This year’s championships which will serve as the Olympic trials to select the athletes to represent Nigeria in Rio is expected to be keenlycontested as athletes across the world have paid their way through to get a chance to fight for places in the squad being planned by the Athletic Federation of Nigeria. “Yes, the athletes have started arriving; to show

the zeal they have to represent this country, over 50 of them paid for their flight tickets to be part of this year’s championships,” AFN's Head of Media and Communication, Olukayode Thomas, said in a press statement. Thomas further con-

Okagbare

firmed that the cream of Nigerian athletics will be present in Sapele including Queen of tracks and one of Nigeria’s medal hopeful in Rio, Blessing Okagbare, as well as the likes of Gloria Asumnu, Seye Ogunlewe among others. As earlier announced, the All-Nigeria Championships will be closely followed by the Confederation of Africa Athletics Grand Prix, Warri Relays on Saturday July 9 at the same venue. Already, teams from South Africa, Botswana, Ghana and other parts of the world have signified their interest to be part of the Warri Relays.

INTERNATIONAL SPORT

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Lewis Hamilton wins in Austria after Nico Rosberg collision

ewis Hamilton passed Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg as they collided on the last lap in a thrilling finish to win the Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton passed Rosberg for the lead around the outside of Turn Two, Rosberg damaging his front wing and dropping to fourth at the flag after the contact. The win will be a relief to Hamilton, who might have thought pit errors and questionable strategy could cost him. It reduces Hamilton's deficit to Rosberg to 11 points in

the title race. There will be controversy at Mercedes about the move that decided the race. Hamilton was on the outside and alongside heading into Turn Two but Rosberg held him out wide, delaying his turn-in, and they collided as Hamilton tried to turn in. He was pushed off the track but the collision had damaged Rosberg's front wing, which sparked along the track as Hamilton passed the German, who then lost further places to Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Buffon laments Euro exit

Portugal happy to win ugly –Danilo

anilo Pereira has said his Portugal side are ready to make history and claim a first-ever major international tournament trophy - they face Wales in the Euro 2016 semi-finals. Portugal midfielder Danilo has said he prefers "playing ugly" and still being in Euro 2016 to the idea of "playing nice football and being at home right now." Although Portugal have failed to win any of their five matches at Euro 2016 within 90 minutes, they are into the last four of the tournament and will take on Wales for

a place in the final. Coach Fernando Santos and his players have been criticised by some for their performances -- but Porto player Danilo, speaking at a news conference, said that did not concern him. "I prefer playing ugly and being where we are than playing nice football and being at home right now," he said. "We have an ambitious group of players. Criticism gives us more motivation. It's not easy, we see things in the news, but criticism motivates us. The critics make us determined to prove them wrong."

Danilo (right)

Transfers

Batshuayi

Chelsea complete Batshuayi deal

helsea have signed Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi from Marseille. The 22-year-old moves for a reported £33 million fee and has signed a five-year contract. Batshuayi becomes incoming head coach Antonio Conte's first signing. Batshuayi joins compatriots Eden HazItaly goalkeeper, Buffon (left) ard and Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea. In swapping Stade Velodrome for gutted Gianluigi Buffon devastated Buffon rued his side's Stamford Bridge, he makes the same struggled to believe Italy failure to make the most of their move Didier Drogba did 12 years ago. bowed out of Euro 2016 de- opportunity after Germany also spite Germany missing three pen- struggled from the spot. alties in the shoot-out. "Everyone has their own reaJonas Hector converted the sons to cry," the captain told Rai winning spot-kick as Germany Sport. "I'm sorry because we declaimed a 6-5 shoot-out win after served it for the group that we the 1-1 draw in Bordeaux on Sat- are, for what we have made people urday. believe. Simone Zaza, Graziano Pelle, "It's rare for a team to miss three Leonardo Bonucci and Matteo penalties and then that's still not Dar mian failed to convert for enough to win." Antonio Conte's men as they Bonucci had cancelled out Mewere beaten in the quarter- sut Ozil's opener in the second half final. of regulation time before Italy held Unable to hide his emotions, a out to get to penalties. homas Meunier has followed Grzegorz Krychowiak in joining Paris Saint-Germain, signing on a deal until 2020. Paris Saint-Germain have completed Frenchman being indeja vu about it. their second signing of the day, bringvolved in a long -- or However, Jo Wilfried Tsonga ing in defender Thomas Meunier on a rather very, very long -made sure he did not end up four-year-deal from Club Brugge. fifth set epic against John Isner on the losing side as his comThe Ligue 1 champions had earlier at Wimbledon had a feeling of patriot Nicolas Mahut did announced the capture of midfielder six years ago after he saved a Grzegorz Krychowiak from Sevilla, match point to beat the Amer- and Meunier follows him in making ican marathon man 6-7(3) 3-6 the move to the Parc des Princes, sign7-6(5) 6-2 19-17. ing until the end of the 2019-20 season. A backhand volley finally carried Tsonga into the fourth round after four hours and 24 minutes of nerve-jangling drama, with the fifth set alone lasting two hours and eight ottenham have minutes. tabled a £38 Isner had a match point million bid on Tsonga's serve while lead- for Inter forward ing 16-15 but the Frenchman Mauro Icardi, acblasted a forehand winner to cording to Corriere stay alive and 16 minutes later, dello Sport. Icardi he was the one leaping into the The 23-year-old Tsonga air in celebration. has been the focus of a £29 million offer from Atletico Madrid, with Diego Simeone making contact with Icardi’s wife in order to seal a deal. However, reports in Italy suggest that Spurs chiefs are prepared to outbid the La Liga side, as Mauricio Pochettino continues his search for a new striker. ermany coach Joachim "It was a game on a very high Low insisted his team tactical level from both sides," deserved their win over he said. Italy in the Euro 2016 quarter"I think we were superior. The finals on Saturday, but feels they Italians' strength was in the cenorussia Dortmund has accepted should have wrapped it up in tre and we did well to contain a bid from Manchester United normal time. them. I didn't think they would for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, with Jonas Hector netted the win- score but the penalty was unforthe midfielder set to become Jose ning spot-kick after Manuel tunate. Mourinho's third signing. Neuer made two saves as Low's "Of course it was lucky in Dortmund said it was agreeing to sell men claimed a 6-5 shoot-out the end but through the game the 27-year-old Armenia international victory after a 1-1 draw in Bor- we were superior, we had two or to the 20-time English champions as deaux. three more chances than them. he had only one year remaining on his They may have needed penal"We could have won the game Dortmund contract. ties, but Low felt Germany were when Mario Gomez was alone Mkhitaryan has not yet agreed on perunquestionably the better of the in front of Buffon but he saved sonal terms, passed a medical examinatwo teams. very well." tion or received a British work permit.

Wimbledon: Tsonga in marathon win over Isner

Hamilton

Meunier seals PSG switch

Tottenham make £38m bid for Icardi

Germany were superior, but lucky against Italy – Low

Dortmund accept Man United's bid for Mkhitaryan

SPORTS

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Rio 2016 Olympics coutdown

Iheanacho urges NFF to push harder Ajibade Olusesan

anchester City striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, believes all doors are not closed on his Rio 2016 Olympics dreams as he revealed that football authority in Nigeria was still discussing with his English Premier League outfit.

There were reports that City's new manager Pep Guardiola had turned down Nigeria’s request for the release of the player for the Olympics but Ihenacho said at the weekend that discussion was still on-going. He revealed his strong desire to represent Nigeria at the Olympics and wanted agreement to be reached between the

Musa to complete Leicester deal Tuesday Ajibade Olusesan

uper Eagles winger Ahmed Musa will complete his move to English Premier League champions Leicester City tomorrow (Tuesday), New Telegraph can report. Musa has been training with his Russian side CSKA Moscow since after the holiday but was not involved in the team’s pre-season match against FC Yenisey Krasnoyarsk, fuelling speculation that a move was in the offing. However, CSKA Moscow coach Leonid Slutsky confirmed on Sunday that his prized Nigerian international would travel to England tomorrow to finalise his dream move to England. “Musa will on Tuesday fly to England for his move to the champions of the EPL,” Slutsky told Russian newspa-

Musa

per Rossiyskaya Gazeta . Musa has been linked with Foxes for months and was closed to joining the team last January but his suitors failed to meet CSKA’s price tag. The Russian champions have started planning for life without their Nigerian forward and hope to complete the signing of a foreign player in the coming days. “Soon a good striker will come to CSKA, a foreigner. I am not going to call the surname, I think it will be announced next week,” added Slutsky.

two parties as soon as possible. “If your country wants you to play for them you surely have to go, but it’s not up to me to decide,” said Iheanacho. “If they allow me to go, I will go, but they haven’t concluded that yet so I don’t know. It’s not left for me to decide if I am going to the Olympics or not.” Iheanacho will meet Guardiola at training on Monday (today), and says he is happy to play anywhere for the new manager. He faces heavy competition to win a regular place in City’s line-up, with new £13.8 million signing Nolito able to play in attack, as well as Bony and first-choice forward Sergio Aguero. But the teenager believes that he can persuade Guardiola to give him a chance as City seek to improve on last season’s fourth-place finish. “Everyone knows Pep and what he can do. I think he is a great manager and will bring many things to this team. “I can play number 9, 10, 7 and 11 as well so I can play in different positions. Anywhere I can fit in, I will play. “I am happy with what I did last season and now I have to work really hard this season to get something for the team and work for the team as well."

U-23 Eagles lose again as Mexico beat Nigeria Ajibade Olusesan

ational U-23 team has continued their uninspiring build-up to the Olympics with another loss as they went down to a 1-0 defeat in the hands of Mexico in a warm-up match on Sunday. The team has had a torrid time recently with a raft of poor results and their confidence level was further punctured when Marco Bueno’s 65th minute header led to another defeat. The home team, who

Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Hon. Silas Agara’s (left) investiture as the ‘Pillar of Sports in Nasarawa State’ by the Sport Writers Association of Nigeria during the North Central Zonal Meeting held on Friday in Lafia.

Goal '16 Charity football holds August 6

ll is now set for the Goal '16 Charity football fiesta billed for August 6 at the Citybridge Sportsplex, City Park, Wuse II, Abuja. Goal’16 is a charity football tournament initiated to emphasise the need for assimilation of the less-privileged into the society. The event is an embodiment of ‘The GOAL Initiative’, which was birthed to support less-privileged children and promote the development of the ability of the youths in

Nigeria. This year’s edition will be the third following two successful ones. Goal’16 has been reinstated to express the full idea behind the Goal initiative; as such, it will feature series of activities that connotes 'Togetherness', which will involve the children from four orphanages in Abuja, as well as the whole society. The event is to feature soccer matches, between teams from the respective orphan-

Iheanacho (right)

ages and the society, as well as Abuja Food Bazaar powered by Abuja eats. There will also be many side attractions for the spectators to indulge. Uber Nigeria is an official supporter as they'll be offering rides to and from the event at discounted rates. It promises to be a fun-filled event as well as an impactful one. Donations made will be used to provide for the immediate needs of the orphanages and help them set up means to generate funds.

won Olympics football gold in London four years ago, came close to doubling their lead in the 83rd minute. The first half of the friendly was cagey and ended goalless at the Estadio Victoria in Aguascalientes. The young El Tri side were the livelier of the two teams after their goal even though Nigeria could have drawn level late on. Mexico have now won three and lost one of their preparatory matches in defence of their title in Brazil. Nigeria coach Samson

Siasia played his settled first team from the Rio Olympics qualifiers with Belgiumbased midfielder Sodiq Popoola and Saturday Keigo the only new faces. Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi and Tunisia-based Junior Ajayi led the attack with Keigo and Ndifreke Effiong forming a new central defence pairing in the absence of the injured Segun Oduduwa. South Africa-based goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi was a late substitute for Emmanuel Daniel.

NOC commends SFAN, Army on Olympic Day celebration

resident of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Engr. Habu Gumel, has commended members of the Sports For All Commission led by Prince Henry Amike for the successful conduct of the 2016 edition of the Olympic Day celebration held across the country on Saturday, July 2. Gumel who spoke through NOC’s Secretary General Tunde Popoola said he was overwhelmed

by the turn out at this year’s programme and the enthusiasm shown by Nigerians which proved they were really interested in healthy living which is one of the high points of the Olympic Day celebration. The NOC president also commended the Nigerian Army for mass turnout at the event as their presence provided more than the needed security for the programme.

SPORT

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Pat Ekeji’s Corner patrick.ekeji@yahoo.com 08159364282 (sms only)

Our potential, limitations and the real deal

ach time I remember the nar- of July, I watched the President of rations in the book, ‘’From our Athletics Federation lament on Third World to First’’, I keep one of the television stations, the asking myself why we are still state of readiness of his sport as the where we are today. The story is Olympic Games approach. This corabout the turn-around of Singa- roborates what the coach in boxing pore by one man, Lee Kuan Yew, said about his preparing the only that country’s pioneer, democrati- boxer that Nigeria shall present at cally elected Prime Minister in 1959. the Rio Games; ‘’we train with bares Singapore is a culturally diverse but hands’’ he moaned. I was there besignificantly Moslem country. Lee fore and I understand their frustraKuan Yew served stepped down in tion. It is a terrible feeling seeing 1990. Singapore was one of Britain’s your Athletes crumble against their many colonies and inherited from opponents obviously because they her colonial ‘’master’’ all the nega- have not been properly exposed tives just like we did, but unlike us, due to a systemic national characLee kuan Yew recognized the poten- ter which correction and control is tials and limitations of his country, far beyond the management of the he worked out the real deal and sports officers. drove his country to achieve it. By The possibility of TEAM NIGEall development indexes, Singapore RIA posting respectable results at ranks amongst the very highly de- Rio 2016 is out of contention and veloped countries in the world. By the reasons are not far from the way, she is not an oil endowed why it was so in London country. That book is indeed a 2012.Thereafter there will must read for our students in the be high pitched calls for study of national develscape goats, then opment policies. How the ‘’committee’’ I am tempted does this concern issues will make recomto stop my of sports development in mendations but our country? Here is it. nobody will listen lamentation on The dictionary of the counsports because and because sports development in try would have to our country is replete find a way out for after all I was part with the cliché ‘’Nigepriority real sector and parcel of the ria has the potentials to challenges, then of be one of the best in the course there will be administration world’’ or ‘’giant in the changes in chairs, sun’’ or ‘’the giant of dance steps, sysAfrica’’ and so on. We have had a tem alignments, and the sighs and number of conversations on the way ‘pains’ of poor performance at the forward which includes of course Games would become drowned in ‘’uncountable’’ number of commit- the face and shadow of strategizing tee reports on sports development, for 2019. the last of which was that of the Sometimes I am tempted to stop Presidential Retreat on Sports in my lamentation on sports because October 2012. Be this as it may, all and after all I was part and parcel cannot be completely said about our of the administration for a con‘’great potentials’’ to achieve world siderable length of time. But I am class performances and continuous encouraged by the fact that within positive image for our country but I my limits, and in the midst of the am convinced that there is absolute ups and downs, heaves, sighs and need for us to pursue excellence in hiccups, I influenced land mark those sports where our athletes, even changes in sports administration with very defined and limited pre- which hopefully shall out live curcompetition training and exposure, rent challenges in that sector. othhave consistently achieved podium erwise, it shall take a much longer performances at the highest levels time to recover. My adversaries may of completion whether at regional, not be pleased to read this from continental or global. These sports in me but that is the fact, that is the the male and female categories are; truth. It is not about my person, it Track and Field (sprints, jumps -long is about the success of Nigeria in and tripple), Boxing (male and female), the sport sector. As I wrote earlier Football, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, in one of my columns, the Olympic Weightlifting, and Wrestling. Included Games is a measure of the level of also are male and female categories in seriousness of any country that power-lifting of sports for the physical- chooses to participate. So is the ly challenged. The potentials we have Winter Olympics or indeed any of are embedded in our youth population the World Sports Championships. even if these are largely limited by the Good performances of countries at ‘’severe drought’’ in sports technology any Olympic Games are traceable in facilities, equipment and training. to appropriate political, economic So what is the Real Deal? It is that and financial management imputes we must first recognise our limita- over a medium to long term peritions as well as the fact that we just ods. These factors must be properly cannot achieve the desired goals planned and integrated by both the with the current manner of man- immediate and remote personae. aging and funding sports. I know Conversation continues after Rio that we just cannot. Yesterday, 1st 2016.

e was playing against opponents who, earlier that season, had wound him up so badly that it completely put him off his game. Players who 24 hours earlier had spoken to a newspaper to explain, in detail, how this imposter was going to be stopped. The supporters didn't like him. Nothing was going right. And then, taking possession 40 yards out, Ibrahimovic explodes. A dart forward. The acceleration beginning. A quick stepover, round one opponent, speed increasing. Another stepover. Outside another, back inside the same man as he tries to recover and then a shot into the bottom corner from 18 yards. " H e could have passed," recalled one of the opponents he had left trailing in his wake. "But he had read the article. It was as if he was saying, 'Forget it guys. It's me'." Ibrahimovic was not finished. Initial glee, wide smile, on bended knee, waving an arm in mock celebration to show how easy it was. Then something else, more serious, a point to be made. A cup-eared celebration, blowing kisses to the crowd who were already in a state of fury. He was 19. His Croatian mother and hard-drinking Bosnian father were divorced and Ibrahimovic lived with the latter on the outskirts of town, moving regularly to earn Ibrahimovic the nickname 'gypsy', His talent was honed on a small shale pitch outside his mum's flat. For him, football was, has been and remains fun. School was missed, regularly. He would spark fights in training with his poor discipline. It was the same in matches. "He simply did not obey the rules," said Gertten. "There was a really complex aura around him. He was over the top, aggressive. He did dirty things. Parts of the Malmo board wanted to kick him out of the club." Tough upbringing When his mum and dad split, Ibrahimovic went to live with his dad, Sefik. His sister stayed with his mum. The finer points of parenting were lost to Sefik. Frequently, there was beer in the fridge but no food. In the documentary, Ibrahimovic explains with pride how he has learned to cook and fend for himself, all apart from his laundry, which he still took to his mum. Yet, despite the hardship, the bond with his father is strong. The need to please obvious. Remarkably though, Ibrahimovic's mum only found out her son was moving from Malmo to Ajax for a club record 8.7m euros in 2001 after seeing it on a television report. The teenager had asked his dad what he thought of the Dutch giants, but kept the news that discussions had already taken place a secret. "There is a mystery around Zlatan which is hiding some part of him," said Gertten. "It goes back to his childhood. You still love your mum and dad but the child who has a problem at home normally doesn't want to talk about it because they are try-

ing to protect their family. "His dad didn't watch him often but you could see what it meant to Zlatan any time he did. "But his childhood also meant he had to make his own rules. He didn't have the same integration in society as others." If Ibrahimovic likes someone, the bond endures. However, if feelings go the other way, the dislike lingers. Louis van Gaal followed him into the job. Ibrahimovic did not like it, or him. It is why, had Van Gaal remained at Old Trafford, there was no chance the 34-yearold would h a v e moved to United. J o s e Mourinho (Inter Milan) good. Pep Guardiola (Barcelona) bad. "If you treat him with respect he will treat you with respect," said Gertten. "If you don't he will be a complicated man for you." Ibrahimovic's loyalty is underlined by the well-documented scissor-throwing incident involving Mido at Ajax in 2003. After a defeat at PSV Eindhoven, the two got into an argument after Ibrahimovic accused Mido of not passing. In the heated exchange, the Egyptian, who had been cutting the tape from his socks, threw a pair of scissors which narrowly missed the side of the Swede's head. Within 10 minutes, all had been forgiven and the pair were joking about it in a jacuzzi. Ibrahimovic was the first person to publicly speak out for his friend. "I made mistakes in Sweden," he said. "It's a new day. You become older. You grow up." A complex character "I met him a lot during those early years," said Gertten. "In the same year as Ibrahimovic made his debut for Malmo, the papers started with specialist sports sections. He was born for that. There were Zlatan headlines every week for a whole year even though Malmo were in the second division. "In the beginning he was really flattered but suddenly the newspapers were doing conflict stories. "When he got his driving licence he went to the area where the prostitutes were and pretended to be the police and scared away the customers. It was a practical joke. But it got headlines. That was shocking for him. He was upset about it." It is many years since Gertten and Ibrahimovic spoke. The player's advisors were told of the documentary. They did not obstruct its making, neither have they assisted. The material, 15 years old, has been sifted through meticulously, most of it didn't make the cut. What did is compelling. "In that sense, Zlatan's smile has been a lifesaver. The warmth that comes out of that smile makes people want to help him. They forgive him things that weren't too smart. That smile has a magic. It is really strong with him. He can turn everything around with a smile." *Culled from the BBC

From Malmo r e t s e h c n a M toe story of Ibrahimovic Th

On Marble

The masquerade that lacks good performance would always complain about the bad dance floor.

World Record

Sanctity of Truth

First US Gay Governor: Going with a bang… The day he stepped down, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey came out as gay and revealed his adulterous affair with a man. The first and, to date, the only openly gay state governor in US.

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MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016

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Public arena T he column you write

A moratorium on this National Assembly Anthony A. Kila

n a sane society, there is a level below which no individual or group should be allowed to sink into, hence we have rules for incapacitation and practices of charity and isolation for those who show trends that can hurt our humanity and indeed our sociality. Mercy is what is reserved for the weak and ill ones amongst us; castigation is what we save for our errant ones. When the offender is powerful due to status or capacity then the answer must include rebellion. This body called the National Assembly made up of senators and representatives has clearly dived and gone beyond the minimum level of acceptability for a sane society and something must be done about it. My proposal is a moratorium that limits what they do to a few matters for a period that reflects what the country is going through and what is important for the country. Urbane observers might, from the comfort of their functioning transparent and accountable democracy, consider this proposal radical. They would be wrong. A moratorium on Nigerian legislators is a matter of common sense nothing radical at all. Let us be clear, common sense here must be intended in the most common of ways and as intended by Thomas Paine and Giambattista Vico, no more no less. A bit of context: Maybe it is just their luck or due to perception or real hard but simple facts but it appears this House has made headlines for mainly bad concerns. They started with a clumsy tussle for the position of leadership. They then went to propose an awkward bill perceived as aimed at gaging people on social media. In the middle of all that many legislators left their chambers and offices to go to court with their president. In fairness to them, the tradition of public officials leaving their office to keep the company of a colleague or leader in private trouble is quite a long and sad one, but that is not a justification. Once back in their offices, what these legislators seem to be making headlines for includes allocating money for their own houses and cars. They even had the time to allocate a ridiculous amount of money for wardrobe allowance. Whilst at it, I propose we should sew each legislator uniforms with a budget equal to the amount of money allocated to each Youth Corper. After all, Corpers are in the national service too but unlike politicians they did not choose to serve. In the last one-week alone, Nigerian legislators have made headlines about their visas being revoked by another country on the charges of indecent behaviour (I wasn’t there, but I can assure you, rape here is an exaggerated expression typical of prosecutors). To end the week in style, these legislators decided to deliberate on means and ways to allocate to themselves life pen-

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

Speaker Yakubu Dogara

Presidential aide, Ita Enang

sion and immunity. Things can always get worse, so in the past few days, Nigerian legislators have spent time defending some of their own again from the accusation of forgery. It appears Nigerian legislators come alive only when there is an issue that concerns their immediate constituency. Sadly, their understanding of constituency seems to be made up of their colleagues, leaders and maybe friends and family. These legislators appear so disconnected from the lives of the citizens they represent that I sometimes suspect autism. In defending their turf and the privileges that come with all that, these legislators invoke noble principle such as the need to defend vital tenets of democracy like the separation of powers and fear of the executive dominating the legislative arm of government. Sadly some people follow these views and pronouncements blindly because they are more partisan than citizens and, abstractly because it appears politically appropriate. Well I have some information for all of them: The autonomy and dignity of

the legislative arm of government, like any other arm, descends from and lies within the ability and resolve of that arm to do its duty in the interest of the public it represents. For a legislative arm of government to be worthy of defence, it must be seen to be checking and balancing the Executive from abuse of power, misconduct in office, wastage and misappropriation of public funds and, indeed, policy issues. Regardless of the CVs and all the goodwill they enjoy, the Muhammadu Buhari administration and a lot of those that work on its behalf are not a band of saints and highflyers. In just a year in office, too many things have happened under this administration that the National Assembly could have been vocal about. They could have fought the Executive to a standstill on the issue of the CBN recruitment; they could have led the battle on the issue of the FIRS recruitment; they could have initiated proposals and activities on the economy and its direction. A lot of battles could have been waged on job loss, security, not to mention electricity and petrol. Instead of saying they want life pension like the Executive arm of government, they should propose the abolition of life pension for all politicians. This National Assembly has not been known for articulately fighting any of those issues or courses, so curtailing their freedom and privileges is not a loss for the general public they were elected to represent. The need for the public, right now, is to survive in this harsh economy of low, unstable income and high prices.

So we should place a moratorium on this National Assembly limiting their interventions to only concerns that will affect the general public. Such matters should be restricted to only interests of infrastructure, health, jobs, agriculture and economy. There should be a total ban on discussions about anything that affects members of the National Assembly, as such.

The need for the public, right now, is to survive in this harsh economy of low, unstable income and high prices

•Kila writes from Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies Lagos. Join me if you can @ anthonykila to continue these conversations.

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