Monday, july 6, 2015 2 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

Sanctity Of Truth

NIGERIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

Vol. 2 No. 502

Monday, July 6, 2015

/newtelegraph

@newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com

12 pages of international new york times

PPPRA cuts fuel import for third quarter

l29 oil marketers listed for allocation licences Adeola Yusuf

he third quarter import allocation for fuel has been approved and is due for release this week, New Tele-

graph has learnt. It was gathered that the Federal Government, through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), has reduced the volume of

imports by 13 per cent of the about 1.5 million metric tonnes released for the second quarter of 2015. PPPRA had earlier issued a permit of three million litres for

the first quarter of 2015. A source said representatives of fuel importing, marketing and trading firms were at the headquarters of PPPRA in

N150

}23

Business

NNPC faces fresh hurdles over Port Harcourt refinery

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

}21

NASS crisis: Plot to unseat Ekweremadu thickens

lPolice summon Saraki's deputy over 'doctoring' of Senate rules }2 lWe're not involved, says APC

QuickRead

Four 'sins' that nailed Keshi }51

Left: Wreckages of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents. Right: Soldiers at the scene of the blast in Potiskum, Yobe Stateâ&#x20AC;Śyesterday.

Suicide bomber kills six in Yobe church S'East govs demand relocation of Boko Haram }3 suspects

lBuhari, Saraki, Dogara condemn attack lTroops slay 600 terrorists in one month

News

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Plot to unseat Ekweremadu thickens Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

he plot to unseat Senator Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President may have

begun as the police have summoned him to appear to defend his alleged role in the "doctoring" of the Senate Standing Rules used in electing him and Senate President Bukola Saraki. The police, in a letter

dated July 1 and signed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department) at the Force Headquarters, Mr. Dan'Azumi Doma, invited Ekweremadu to

appear before him today. It was learnt that Ekweremadu was suspected to have masterminded the doctoring of the Senate Standing Rules, which was used for his election and that of Saraki.

All Progressives Congress (APC) senators and chieftains opposed to Saraki and Ekweremadu's elections had alleged that the standing rules were doctored. They have vowed to force Ekweremadu out

He praised the efforts of the officers and men of the military and other security agencies at the battlefront and urged them "not to cave in to terrorism, as their sacrifices shall not go unrewarded by the Nigerian state." Dogara also commended Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for visiting Borno and Adamawa states last weekend where he reiterated the Federal Government’s desire to rebuild the region. Meanwhile, troops have killed about 600 insurgents in the last one month, it was learnt yesterday. A report by PRNigeria, an agency that handles publicity for the military, said the troops had also intensified the anti-terror campaign in the NorthEast that has disrupted many planned attacks. “While the terrorists have engaged in guerrilla tactics of using vulnerable girls and young men for suicide attacks on soft targets, we ensure that their fighters do not escape as they continue to meet their Waterloos in the hand of the troops,” the agency quoted a top security officer as saying. In their desperation to create fear among the citizens, the terrorists are now deliberately target-

of office, a suggestion which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to which he belonged to has criticised. But a source close to Ekweremadu yesterday denied the allegation, saying that as an ordinary senator on June 9 when the Senate was inaugurated and the presiding officers were elected, the Deputy Senate President was an ordinary senator that had no power to swing anything. The source described the police summon as part of a larger plot by the APC to put pressure on Ekweremadu to resign, having realised that the governing party lacks the two-thirds majority needed to impeach him. However, the PDP yesterday accused the APC of being behind the police summon, a suggestion, which the governing party rejected. PDP also expressed the fear that the nation is at the verge of sliding into dictatorship where the personal freedom of Nigerians might be obliterated. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, at a press conference in Abuja, said some key leaders of the party had been under threat since the emergence of the leadership of the National Assembly, which did not go the way of the leadership of the APC, particularly, the election Ekweremadu as Deputy President of the Senate. According to Metuh, since President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that Ekweremadu’s election is ‘unacceptable’ to his party, the Senate has been under intense pressure from APC leaders to force the Deputy Senate President to resign. "However, having failed to get him to resign, the APC has now engaged in heinous plots to force him out of office, a design, which totally negates the independence of the legislature and the spirit and letters of the constitution of Nigeria," Metuh said. He added that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, acting on instructions, had invited the Deputy Senate President with a view to arresting him over "phantom charges as a build-up to incarcerate him, create a vacuum in the Senate and pave the way for the imposition of APC preferred senator to take over his position."

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

L-R: Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah; his wife, Felly; Chief of Administration, Defence Headquarters, Rear Admiral Austin Oyagha; Chief of Policy and Plans, Naval Headquarters, Rear Admiral Johnson Olutoyin; Commandant, Defence College, Rear Admiral Patrick Agholor; Chief of Operation, Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen. Ebiobowei Awala and Chief of Policy and Plans, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Ugo Buzugbe, at a service to mark the Nigerian Army Day celebration in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO-NAN

Suicide bomber kills six in Yobe church Philip Nyam, Anule Emmanuel and Hassan Jirgi

ix persons were killed yesterday at a parish of The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Potiskum, Yobe State, by a suicide bomber suspected to be a member of Boko Haram. The suicide bomber, who disguised as a member of the congregation, struck around 9:30a.m. during the church service. It was gathered that he mingled freely with other worshippers and was behind the pastor, thereby making it difficult for anybody to suspect him. An eyewitness, Kiyari Ali, said he counted six bodies that were recovered from the rubble of the church. He said: "We were at the scene to assist and I counted the dead bodies; in fact, I saw six bodies on the spot." "People were just going to the church when the bomber entered, otherwise the casualty figure would have been higher," said a Red Cross official, Hassan Alhaji Muhammad, who visited the scene of the blast. A source at the Potiskum General Hospital, where the dead and the in-

jured were taken to, said six people were brought in dead to the hospital and their bodies had been deposited at the morgue. The state police command confirmed the incident, saying no arrest has been made. Yesterday's attack on the church drew immediate condemnations from President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara. The president, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, expressed disappointment and sadness over the bomb attack at the church. He also regretted the unfortunate loss of lives in the attack and commiserated with all those who lost loved ones in the incident. According to the president, the resumption of attacks by terrorists on places of worship is an act which government will not fold its arms to look. "Nigerians are a very religious people and President Buhari believes that the terrorists who wantonly attack our places of worship have wilfully declared war on all that we value, and must therefore be confronted with all our might and collective resolve," the statement added.

The president reaffirmed his administration’s total commitment to doing everything possible to eradicate Boko Haram, terrorism and mindless extremism from Nigeria in the shortest possible time. On his part, Saraki, in a statement by his media office, sent his condolences to the families of the bereaved. He said: "My heart is with individuals and families who were directly or indirectly affected by this ungodly, sadistic and evil act. "Sending Nigerians to untimely grave can never be the solution to any religious, political or economic grievances. "Besides, the Federal Government has demonstrated enough political will to engage any group in dialogue aimed at bringing these vicious and sad attacks to a final stop. "The recent position of the Federal Government that it would not oppose negotiation with the insurgents 'if the Boko Haram terrorist group opt for it' ought to be seen as an olive branch extended to the sect by the present administration. And I urge them to take advantage of that opportunity to drop their weapons." He commended the military for its timely re-

sponse and urged troops to do all in their power to prevent more dastardly attacks in future. Dogara also expressed concern over the killings and bombing of churches and mosques by Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East. In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan, Dogara said the motive of the terrorists was to instil fear in the minds of Nigerians by engaging in mass killings of hapless citizens. He condemned the bombing of worshippers in Potiskum, describing it as "barbaric, inhuman and wicked." The speaker said he was deeply worried over the "new dimension" taken by the terrorists as exemplified by the increasing spate of mass murder by the Boko Haram insurgents in recent days. "I want to use this medium to call on all men and women of faith, Christians and Muslims alike, to intensify prayers to God as Nigeria is in dire need of divine intervention from the almighty God. "With God on our side, there is no challenge that is insurmountable. I have strong conviction in my heart that this too, shall pass away," he said.

News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Gbajabiamila rejects new offer, insists on House leader Philip Nyam Abuja

he leadership crisis rocking the House of Representatives persisted at the weekend

as Speaker Yakubu Dogara's main challenger, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has rejected an offer to head the 8th House Committee on Constitution Review. New Telegraph reliably gathered that Gbajabiamila turned down the

offer at a peace meeting held at the weekend in Abuja to reconcile the opposing groups in the House. A member of the House privy to the development disclosed that at the meeting, the former Minor-

S’East govs demand relocation of Boko Haram suspects to Abuja Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

overnors of the South-East states under the aegis of the South-East Governors’ Forum yesterday charged the presidency to relocate the 43 Boko Haram suspects in Anambra State to Abuja. At a joint news briefing in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the governors stated that Abuja has adequate security to contain such high profile criminals. Governor Rochas Okorocha, who spoke on behalf of the governors, called on the presidency to take a second look at the relocation of the 43 Boko Haram suspects to Anambra State, saying the development has only created fear and anxiety in the region. Okorocha noted that the apprehension of the people was genuine and, as such, was an issue of concern to the governors of the region. Okorocha said: “This reminds me of our experience during the Ebola crisis; no local government agreed to our siting an Ebola centre in their domain. So, we brought the Ebola centre to the Government House where we can directly supervise it. In the same way, if there is any better place to keep the Boko Haram suspects, it is Abuja where there is maximum security facilities to contain them and protect the people.” The governors also urged the Federal Government to consider and compensate South-Easterners who were displaced due to the activities of the Boko Haram sect; those who lost their loved ones, businesses and sources of livelihood in the North. The Forum also resolved to establish the South-East economic hub, which would promote commercial activities, trade and industry. “We have resolved to work together as one people. We have been able to separate politics from governance and our focus is to better the lot of our people and elevate the fortunes of our region,” Okorocha said. At the meeting, Gov-

ernor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State was nominated as Chairman, Committee for the Establishment of the South-East Economic Hub. Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State was also in attendance.

Ebonyi State was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, while the Anambra State governor on whose domain the 43 suspects are being kept, was conspicuously absent, without any representation.

ity Leader declared that making him chairman of the Constitution Review Committee of the House would amount to denying him the position of leader as compensation for loss in the election of speaker. The lawmaker said that all entreaties by the Dogara leadership to convince Gbajabiamila fell on deaf ears. The source explained that the Constitution Review Committee is exclusively reserved for the deputy speaker, but because of the pressure being mounted on Dogara to name Gbajabiamila as leader, he decided to cede the chairmanship in place of Majority Leader. He explained that "if

he had accepted it, the deputy speaker will head no committee, making his office almost empty." "As you are aware, the House alone will vote N2 billion while another N2 billion from other sources will be added, bringing it to a total of N4 billion within the next four years. "The deputy speaker as it is cannot step down for anybody and if Gbajabiamila insists to hold onto the position of the majority leader, it will only lead to a serious crisis," the source said. He added: "The House leadership configuration will be tilted to one side of the country because out of the six positions,

the South-West alone will have two positions which are that of deputy speaker and majority leader. "So, the question to ask now is: what will happen to other zones of the country if only the SouthWest occupies two positions out of six and we have six zones in Nigeria? "Another issue is whether because of one person, the federal character principle will be jettisoned." It will be recalled that Gbajabiamila had led a group of lawmakers to President Muhammadu Buhari last week Wednesday where he made a presentation on why the leadership crisis had lingered on.

L-R: Senate President Bukola Saraki; Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II; United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle and his wife, Pamela, during the US Independence Day celebration in Abuja...at the weekend.

How APC govs compelled Oyegun to write Saraki, Dogara Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

overnors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were said to have compelled the National Chairman of the party, Chief John OdigieOyegun, to write letters to the presiding officers of the National Assembly over the principal officers. A National Working Committee (NWC) member of the party told New Telegraph that the letters sent to the leadership of the National Assembly nominating some legislators to occupy principal offices of the Senate and House of Representatives were not the decision of the party executive. According to him, the APC governors had met with President Muhammadu Buhari after which eight of them came to the party secretariat and asked Oyegun to write

to the leadership of the National Assembly with the instruction on those who should be principal officers. The letter to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, were at variance with the decisions of the caucus of both chambers. While the Senate had elected its principal officers with Senator Ali Ndume emerging as Senate Leader over Senator Ahmed Lawan, the preferred candidate of the party, the House was yet to elect its principal officers. However, the Speaker had made it obvious that the choice of the party, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, as House Leader would not confer fair representation in the House as the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Lasun, is from the South-West. The inability of the

leadership of the party to have the presiding officers of the Assembly implement its letter led to the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) last week Friday. The meeting emphasised party supremacy. The source described the much-emphasised party supremacy as a fluke. He said that party supremacy must be based on the provisions of the party's constitution, resolutions of the party caucus, NEC or the national convention. He said: "Here, you cannot find any of the party supremacy being canvassed rooted on any of the organs of the party. “The letter written to Saraki and Dogara by the APC National Chairman on the principal offices of both chambers of the Assembly was the position of some APC governors and cannot be said to be

the position of the party. Therefore, the violation is not a violation on party supremacy. "The governors are trying hard today to resolve the crisis they also engineered to create. It would be difficult because the governors were polarised on the directives to write such letter." According to the source, if the former Lagos State governor and national leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu, had listened to the NWC, Gbajabiamila and the party wouldn't have been in the present crisis. “The party had told Tinubu to allow Saraki contest the Senate Presidency since he had shown interest a very long time. It was suggested that the party will prevail on Dogara to accept the position of Deputy Speaker with Gbajabiamila as the Speaker. But instead of Tinubu to accept this propo-

sition, he rather plotted the mock elections that produced Senator Ahmed Lawan, his preferred candidate as Senate President and Gbajabiamila as the Speaker, House of Representatives,” he said. According to him, the mock elections were not the creation of NWC members as only a few members of the party leadership were there. Members of the NWC that conducted the mock elections were: OdigieOyegun; National Secretary, Alhaji Mala Mai Buni; Deputy National Chairmen, South and North, Mr. Segun Oni and Senator Shuaibu Lawan respectively; National vice chairmen, North-East and South-West, David Lawal and Pius Akinyelure respectively. "These were the people that conducted the mock elections against the position of the other NWC members," the source said.

Travel Advisory

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

International Flight Schedule Air France

Destination Abuja- Paris Paris-Lagos Paris-PHC PHC-Paris Paris –Abuja Lagos –Paris

Flight No. AF 513 AF 3822 AF514 AF513 AF514 AF3849

Departure 23.55hrs 10.55hrs 11:00hrs 21:20hrs 11:00hrs 23:55hrs

Arrival 6:05hrs 17:15hrs 19:15hrs 6:05hrs 17:00hrs 6:20hrs

Amsterdam-Lagos Lagos-Amsterdam

KL587 KL588

13:15hrs 23:05hrs

20:00hrs 05:50hrs

KLM

ARIK AIRLINES

Lagos-London London-Lagos Lagos-New York

W3 101 W3 102 W3 107 (Mon, Wed , Fri) New York-Lagos W3 108 (Tues,Thurs, Fri) Lagos-Johannesburg W3 103 Johannesburg-Lagos W3 104 Lagos-Douala - (Tues, Wed ,Thur) Douala-Lagos - (Tues, Wed, Thur) Lagos-Accra Accra-Lagos

Abuja-Accra Accra-Abuja Lagos-Freetown Freetown-Lagos Lagos-Banjul Banjul-Lagos Lagos-Dakar Dakar-Lagos

-(Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun) -(Mon, Wed, Fri) -(Daily) - (Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri,Sat) -(Tue,Wed, Fri,Sat,Sun)

BRITISH AIRWAYS

London-Lagos Lagos-London Abuja-London Abuja-London

07:00hrs 20:05hrs 20:10hrs 11:45hrs

Lagos-Cairo Cairo-Lagos

MS 876 MS 875

14:25hrs 08:30hrs

22:20hrs 13:30hrs

EGYPT AIR

KENYA AIRWAYS

16:00hrs

Lagos-Kigali

11:15hrs

16:45hrs

10:45hrs 09:35hrs 11:10hrs 13:25hrs 07:20hrs 17:00hrs 08:05hrs 13:35hrs 18:00hrs

hrs 14:44hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs

AWB 201 (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) AWB 202 (Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun)

14:00hrs

17:30hrs

22:35hrs 15:10hrs

06:00hrs 21:20hrs

17:00hrs 06:00hrs 08:00hrs 17:00hrs 08:00hrs 15:20hrs 21:00hrs

hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs

01:00hrs

hrs

3:00hrs 14:00hrs

8:00hrs 19:00hrs

EK 7821 (Sun-Sat) EK 7822 EK 7831 EK 7811 EK 761

21:30hrs 14:40hrs 07:35hrs 14:20hrs 23:55hrs

07:40hrs 01:05hrs 12:50hrs 19:45hrs 10:30hrs

Lagos-Doha Flight Doha-Lagos Flight

QR 1414 (daily) QR 1415

14:55hrs 07:20hrs

23:45hrs 13:35hrs

Lagos-Atlanta Atlanta-Lagos

DL053 DL 054

22:15hrs 5:15hrs

05:32hrs 16:15hrs

Lagos-Houston Houston-Lagos

UA 143 UA 142

10:10hrs 19:10hrs

6:05hrs 15.15hrs

Lagos - Addis Ababa ET900 Addis Ababa - Lagos ET901 Abuja - Addis Ababa ET910 Addis Ababa - Abuja ET911 Enugu - Addis Ababa ET930 Addis Ababa - Enugu ET931 Kano - Addis Ababa ET930 Addis Ababa - Kano ET931

13:15hrs 09:00hrs 13:40hrs 09:40hrs 12:00hrs 09:20hrs 14:05hrs 09:20hrs

20:25hrs 12:15hr 20:10hrs 12:20hrs 20:50hrs 11:15hrs 20:50hrs 13:20hrs

Lagos-Madrid Madrid-Lagos

IB 3337 IB 3336

22:55hrs 16:00hrs

5:25+1hrs 20:20hrs

Lagos-Casablanca Casablanca-Lagos

AT738 AT 737

06:25hrs 02:15hrs

09:55hrs 6:00hrs

air maroc

20.45hrs 09:50hrs 09.20 hrs 06:30hrs

12:30hrs

Lagos-Dubai Lagos-Dubai Dubai-Lagos Dubai-Lagos Abuja-Dubai

IBERIA

Abu Dhabi-Lagos

EY 0672 (Sunday) (Monday) (Saturday) EY 955

19:35hrs 23:45hrs

MEA 571 MEA 572

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES

Lagos- Abu Dhabi

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

12:30hrs 18:00hrs

to Lagos)

UNITED AIRLINES

17:00hrs 4:40hrs

KQ 533 KQ 534

11:55hrs 5:50hrs 14:35hrs 06:00hrs

DELTA AIRLINES

11:00hrs 22:40hrs

Lagos-Nairobi Nairobi-Lagos

17:55hrs 00:00hrs 09:00hrs 22:40hrs

QATAR AIRWAYS

VS 652 VS 651

18:30hrs 05:15hrs 05:30hrs

BA075 BA074 BA 082 BA 083

EMIRATES AIRLINES

Lagos-London London-Lagos

12:00hrs 21:30hrs 23:50hrs

Middle East Airlines (Two flights weekly (Tues & Friday)

Lebanon-Lagos Lagos-Lebanon

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

RwandAir

Kigali-Lagos

Turkish Airlines

Lagos-Istanbul Nairobi-Lagos

332 333

Air Côte d'Ivoire Lagos to Abidjan Abidjan to Lagos

HF 851 (Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sun) HF 852 (Mon,Wed, Thurs, Sat)

ASKY AIRLINES

Destination Lome to Abuja Abuja-Lome- Kinshasa Kinshasa-Abuja Abuja-Lome Lome-Lagos Lagos-Libreville Libreville-Kinshasa Kinshasa-Libreville Libreville-Lagos Lagos-Lome Lome-Lagos Lagos-Libreville Libreville-Brazaville Brazaville-Libreville Brazzaville-Lagos Lagos-Lome

10:10hrs

10:50hrs

19:20hrs

21.50hrs

Flight No. KP 032 (Tue-Fri) KP 032 ( Tue-Fri)

Departure Arrival 14:00hrs 15:55hrs 16:30hrs 18:15hrs

KP 033 (Wed-Sat) KP O33 (Wed-Sat) KP O40 (Sun-Sat) KP 040 (Sun-Sat) KP 040 (Sun-Sat) KP041 (Tue-Sat) KP 041 (Tue-Sat) KP 041 (Tue-Sat) KP O44 (Tue-Fri) KP 044 (Tue-Fri) KP 044 (Tue-Fri) KP O45 (Wed-Sat) KP 045 (Wed-Sat) KP 045 (Wed-Sat)

8:20hrs 10:35hrs 13:00hr 14:40hrs 17:00hrs 7:15hrs 9:35hrs 11:55hrs 13:10hrs 14:50hrs 17:10hrs 07:00hrs 09:20hrs 11:40hrs

10:00hrs 12:20hrs 14:00hrs 16:30hrs 18:45hrs 08:55hrs 11:25hrs 12:45hrs 14:10hrs 16:40hrs 18:50hrs 08:40hrs 11:10hrs 12:30hrs

Local FLIGHT SCHEDULE ARIK AIR

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

AZMAN FLIGHT SCHEDULE

WEEKLY SCHEDULE Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Abuja 10:30am Abuja-Lagos 12:40pm

Lagos-Abuja/Kano 4:00pm Abuja-Kano 5:45pm Kaduna-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kan 10:10am Kano-Abuja/Lagos 12:40pm Abuja-Lagos 1:00pm Abuja-Lagos 2:40pm Lagos-Kaduna 5:00pm WEEKEND SCHEDULE SATURDAY Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Abuja 10:30am Abuja-Lagos 1:00pm Lagos-Kano 4:00pm Kaduna-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kano 4:00pm Sunday Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kano 10:30am Kano-Abuja/Lagos 1:20pm Abuja-Lagos 2:40pm Lagos-Kaduna 5:00pm

FIRST NATION AIRWAYS

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

(SAT) 16:15 (SUN) 14:45 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:50 (SAT) 18:20 (SUN) 16:50

AEROCONTRACTORS

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

MEDVIEW AIRLINES

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

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

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Central Bank of Nigeria www.cbn.gov.ng

P RE S S RELEA S E

Further Explanation On Selective Forex Restriction

CBN Replies The Economist

The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to your recent article titled “Toothpick Alert” in the print edition of The Economist Magazine of July 4th 2015. First, the article seems to ignore the fact that the exchange rate is simply a price that is essentially determined by the forces of supply AND demand. The CBN believes that the 48% decline in oil prices may not be transitory and made bold policy changes including closure of the subsidized Official FX Window, which resulted in a 22% depreciation in the currency, the Naira. Because the Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on imports and the exchange rate pass-through to inflation is high, we believe that this adjustment is optimal at this time. Contrary to the article’s argument, adjustments to a sharp decline in supply of US Dollars cannot all be borne by an indeterminate depreciation, without considering the full impact on the Nigerian economy. The demand side also has to be considered, not just in response to the pressure on the Naira but as an opportunity to change the economy’s structure, resuscitate local manufacturing, and expand job creation for our citizens. Take rice imports, for example: why should we keep allocating scarce FX to rice importers when vast amounts of paddy rice of comparable quality produced by poor hardworking local farmers across the rice belts of Nigeria are wasted, and farmers are falling deeper into poverty while we export their jobs and income to rice producing countries? Few decades ago, Nigeria was one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil but today we import nearly 600,000 Metric Tonnes while Indonesia and Malaysia combine to export over 90 percent of global demand. Under these circumstances, the CBN will do the little it can to protect the jobs and incomes of local farmers, using some of the same principles Western Economies use to justify the protection of their farmers through huge subsidies. More also, if the article believes the CBN should adjust to reflect the current parallel market rate, why was this suggestion not made in the week following the inauguration of President Buhari when the same rate fell sharply to under N190 per Dollar? The CBN does not panic and will not take desperate measures to satisfy few misguided interests in the market. The CBN believes that Nigeria cannot attain its full potentials by importing anything and everything. For far too long, this trend has significantly weakened the operating capacities of our industries, but now is a good opportunity to begin a reversal. Although the article hastily derides this idea as lacking in economic foundations, it is the same principles upon which many other countries do not allow importation of certain products. Furthermore, it appears condescending to suggest that the list of items seemed “to have been drawn up by someone wandering around a house and a building site”. On the contrary, items were only included after thorough and exhaustive discussions at the highest policymaking body of the Bank, with the strategic national interest of Nigeria. Like other oil-exporting countries, Nigeria is grappling with its share of the aftermath of the oil price decline. Despite this, our economic fundamentals remain strong. Inflation is still within the CBN’s single-digit band, the exchange rate has stabilized around N197 per US Dollar for the last 5 months, GDP expanded by 4 percent in the first quarter of 2015, and 469,070 new jobs were created in the same quarter. With ingenuity and productiveness, we believe that Nigerians will seize this opportunity and use it for the greater good of the country. As we transition into a new administration in Nigeria, we must continue to ensure policy stability at all times.

Ibrahim Mu’azu,

Director, Corporate Communications

News

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

How Buhari caused the confusion in INEC Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

nvestigations have shown that President Muhammadu Buhari deliberately created the confusion that trailed the successor of Prof. Attahiru Jega as acting chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Jega, who retired on June 30, had handed over to Ambassador Mohammed Wali as acting chairman. This was later reversed by the president by 7p.m. that same day. Buhari had, in a statement by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi, appointed Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari as acting chairman in place of Wali. A source at INEC told New Telegraph that Jega had written two letters to the president informing him (Buhari) of his retirement on June 30, which was duly acknowledged by the presidency. "He told us that he wrote to the president on June 25th, which was acknowledged, and a reminder on June 27th. It is only the presidency that can explain why no

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST LAGOS

ABUJA

PORT HARCOURT

KANO

ENUGU

IBADAN

CALABAR

MAIDUGURI

ONITSHA

29 C 23 C Thunder Storms

32oC 22oC Partially Cloudy

22oC 18oC Storm

35oC 24oC Mostly Sunny

31o C 23oC Thunder Storms

30o C 22oC Thunder Storms

28o C 23oC Thunder Storms

37o C 24oC Isolated Storms

30o C 23oC Thunder Storms

appointment was made before Jega handed over to Wali. "But if I were Jega, I would have sought an audience with the president instead of writing to him," the source, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed. He, however, agreed that the acknowledgement of the receipt of the first letter by the presidency "could mean that the president has no intention of appoint-

ing somebody or that the president accepted whoever he (Jega) would handover to." Although he denied any ripple effect over the appointment of Zakari as acting chairperson, the source agreed that "there is a problem with the reversal." He could not, however, expatiate further. According to him, sections 153 to 159 of the constitution specify how

succession in "executive bodies, which includes INEC, could be filled in event of vacancy," adding that "in most cases, most senior person is appointed to act." The appointment of Zakari as INEC Acting Chairperson is vehemently opposed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party, over the weekend, maintained that the acting chairper-

son has relationship with the presidency. "President Buhari, in appointing Mrs. Zakari, failed to take into cognisance the moral call to detach himself from the operations of the electoral body, thereby completely eroding the independence of the commission," the party said in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh. PDP added that the

Acting Chairman of INEC was once a staff of Afri-Project Consortium, a company which is allegedly associated with Buhari, and had also worked as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Social Development and later, that of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) under an unnamed "current APC governor of the North-West."

L-R: Executive Director, Enterprise Risk Management, Heritage Bank Plc., Jude Monye; Executive Director, Ivory Banking, Mrs. Mary Akpobome; star prize winner, Heritage Bank Training School Graduating set, Chioma Ekwonu; Managing Director, Heritage Bank Plc., Mr. Ifie Sekibo and Executive Director, Lagos and South West, Corporate Banking, Ola Olabanjo, at a dinner in Lagos…at the weekend. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

29 oil marketers listed for allocation licences Buhari, Saraki, Dogara CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Abuja last Friday to pick up their approvals. But they were told to hold on for a final clearance, which is expected to be done this week. The fuel imports are approved for all the five major oil marketers and about 24 independent marketers. The source, which sighted the list, identified some of the private marketers that were given import allocations to include Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, MRS Oil and Gas, Heyden Petroleum, Techno Oil Limited, NIPCO Plc, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, Forte Oil Plc, Conoil Plc, Oando Plc, Folawiyo Oil and Gas, and Total Nigeria Plc. PPPRA spokesperson, Mr. Lanre Oladele, did not pick calls when New Telegraph contacted him by phone yesterday neither did he reply to a Short Messaging System (SMS) seeking clarification on the volume approved in the allocation. New Telegraph, however, gathered that the reduction in volume and number of beneficiaries was due to the gross underutilisation of the second quarter allocation and reduction in volume of requests submitted

by marketers. "The underutilisation, on its own, is a product of subsidy controversy. This was expected because marketers on their own have trimmed down requests due to challenges, which the subsidy controversy has posed to their ability to fulfill their imports obligation," he said. Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MOMAN), Mr. Obafemi Olawore, had earlier hinted of an imminent reduction in volumes and number of permits due to requests by oil marketers for lower allocations because of rising import costs and the uncertainty over how the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would handle the issue of fuel subsidy. “For the second quarter, all major marketers reduced their requests for allocation because they have stagnated on meeting first quarter allocations,” he said. "The approval of the minister is needed, but the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has sent the approval to the PPPRA. They must have secured the nod of the Presidency before

this," another source said, adding that the PPPRA has also resolved to issue allocations on time. About 36 oil firms were previously accredited for the exercise in the second quarter and they included Oando Plc, which won the biggest allocation of 135,000 tonnes, while Total Nigeria Plc and Folawiyo Oil and Gas got 90,000 tonnes allocation each. The business of fuel importation before November 2011 was an all-comers’ affair, resulting in manipulations and malpractices that swelled subsidy claims to about N2 trillion. A total of 128 companies were engaged in fuel importation in the old regime, thus providing an opportunity for the abuse of the system. However, in the first import permit in the first quarter of 2012, the number of participating companies was reduced from 128 to 42, before it was further slashed to 39 in the third quarter of 2012 and beyond. The volume of imported products also dropped from 5.036 billion litres in the first quarter of 2012 to 4.20 billion litres in the third quarter.

condemn attack on worshippers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

ing remote villages where their former members who had renounced the sect membership were taking refuge. On the guerrilla tactics employed by the terrorists, the security source said: “The major challenges we face is that of suicide bombers who might be operating with insiders within the communities. There is no way, as security personnel we can identify potential terrorists or suicide bombers from their faces or movements. Some of them look as innocent as new born babies.” The officer, therefore, urged the residents to muster the courage by exposing suspects, strange objects or movements to the relevant authorities. The source added that since the emergence of new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, no single territory in Nigeria is being occupied or proclaimed by the terrorists as their Caliphate even as their leaders are either being killed, captured or on the run. One particular senior military source disclosed that “both the army and

air force personnel are not relenting in the battle to rid the region of terrorism and are daily dealing ruthlessly with the enemies by killing them and destroying their vehicles, especially in Borno State.” It was, however, learnt also that relentless campaign against the Nigerian military by Amnesty International (AI) was a serious nuisance as it dampened troops’ morale. “Nonetheless, very senior officers and military psychologists have revved up their efforts in assuring combatants that AI reports were meant exactly to achieve that same negative objective of dampening morale and so, they must never allow the enemies of Nigeria to win," a source disclosed. The Nigerian Air Force continues to conduct their regular missions, while soldiers conduct raids on suspected terrorists’ hideouts; “but nobody is allowed to even carry phones when going on such operations, much less cameras so that AI and its cohorts will not have further negative evidence against troops defending their nation and its citizens."

News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Melaye alleges conspiracy to remove him Chukwu Davaid Abuja

or supporting Senator Bukola Saraki in his quest for the Senate Presidency, Senator Dino Melaye might have incurred the wrath of some influential members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Melaye yesterday in Abuja alleged that the national leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, and the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), had united against him in his case at the election tribunal.

Melaye told journalists that a senior journalist in Abuja close to Tinubu had allegedly forwarded the legal brief filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi to Adoke, asking the former AGF to look for a Judge in the Court of Appeal that would offer assistance. The senator representing Kogi West declared that he had no regrets over his role, leading to the emergence of Saraki as the President of the Senate. He said: "I have no regrets supporting Senator Saraki and my electoral victory was ordained by God and not by man. Therefore, no mortal can reverse it; in God I trust. No matter how desperate

they might be. "I am privy to an electronic mail sent to Adoke by an Abuja-based senior editor who is close to Tinubu in which he forwarded the court papers filed by Smart Adeyemi at the tribunal to Adoke. In the said e-mail, Adoke was told to look for a trusted Justice in the Court of Appeal who would be useful for Adeyemi." However, Tinubu described the allegation as nothing but a “kitchen of malicious lies.” Speaking through his Media Adviser, Mr. Sundar Dare, Tinubu said: “This is another lie from their kitchen of malicious lies. They are all over the social and traditional media

Police summon Ekweremadu over ‘doctoring' of Senate rules CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

“We are aware that some APC senators opposed to the emergence of Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively, met last week and concocted a petition accusing the Deputy Senate President of altering the Senate Rules on the process of election of the presiding officers. "Apart from the fact that the Nigerian constitution clearly guarantees the two chambers of the National Assembly the powers to regulate their proceedings without external interferences, we note that the petition by this group of senators who enjoy the sympathy of some APC leaders lacks merit as Senator Ekweremadu or any other senator-elect prior to the inauguration of the Senate and the election of presiding officers, could not have been involved in the process of producing the 2015 Standing Rules of the Senate which was strictly done by the bureaucracy under the Clerk to the National Assembly. "Furthermore, Senator Ekweremadu was not in any way involved in the process other than being nominated for the position of the Deputy Senate President and could not have been privy to the secret ballot procedure adopted by the National Assembly bureaucracy, which has been widely adjudged as transparent and credible," Metuh added. He alleged that certain officials at the Indepen-

dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were given instructions by some APC leaders to alter some electoral documents and records in order to create the impression that Ekweremadu did not file proper documents for the general elections to eventually pave the way for his removal. According to Metuh, the plot is a conspiracy to tarnish Ekweremadu’s image and open him to public ridicule. "In line with the above plot, the APC has been having secret meetings with some judges and lawyers to procure injunctions to prevent Senator Ekweremadu from playing his role as the Deputy Senate President. "The PDP hereby states and in very clear terms too that the government and APC leaders should be held responsible should any harm come upon the Deputy Senate President or any of our party leaders for that matter. We state this because information available to us indicates that there are also plans to compromise security around the Deputy Senate President to make him vulnerable and open for sponsored violent attacks," he added. But rebutting the allegations, the APC described the PDP's claim as "outlandish statement containing all sorts of imaginary claims." In a statement in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it neither wrote a petition to the police nor was it

aware that any petition was written against the Deputy Senate President. ''However, if, as the PDP claims, the petition concerns alleged altering of the Senate's Standing Rules on the process of electing presiding officers, that is a clear case of forgery which the police have a duty to investigate. Questioning the right of the police to carry out their duties in this regard amounts to intimidating the security agency. ''Forgery is a crime that is being regularly investigated by the police, and it beggars’ belief that such investigation will now be interpreted to mean that Nigeria is descending into dictatorship or that democracy and the enjoyment of personal freedoms are now endangered. These claims by the scaremongering PDP are far-fetched and preposterous,'' APC said. APC said if there was a petition against Ekweremadu, he should honour the invitation by the police to clear his name, adding that no one is above the law. ''President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly said that at every point, the law must be supreme and everyone must respect the law, if the nation's democratic system is to survive. Extrapolating a police invitation of anyone, no matter his status, to mean the onset of dictatorship is itself an invitation to lawlessness and anarchy, which permeated the long, but ineffective rule of the PDP,'' the party said.

spewing lies and planting stories. We are not about that. Nigerians are not as gullible as they think. “He is aligned with people who want to kill APC and we wish him luck. But they will not succeed because the party belongs to the Nigerian people. This blackmail like other ones will not work. It cannot stick.” Tinubu also denied any deal with the former Attorney-General of the Federation. "Adoke? Who is he? Tinubu cannot recall when last he saw him or even spoke with him. Dino should look elsewhere for people to blackmail," he said. The Election Petitions Tribunal in Lokoja, the state capital, had upheld the election of Melaye, who was elected on the platform of the APC to represent Kogi West Senatorial District in the March 28 National Assembly election.

The tribunal had dismissed the petition filed by the former chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in the 7th Assembly, Smart Adeyemi, for lacking in merit. Delivering judgement in the suit, Justice Akon Ikpeme described the petition by Senator Adeyemi, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as “incurably defective.” According to Justice Ikpeme, who was Chairman of the three-member tribunal, the petition ran contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended). The judge held that election petition matters were time bound and do not permit resorting to time wasting, adding that replying out of time as stipulated in the Electoral Act was a sign of abandonment and, therefore, could not be entertained.

She said that findings proved that there was no alternative to dismissing the petition from the petitioner, having gone through all the processes and seen that the reply to preliminary objection was filed out of the stipulated time and that pursuing the matter would be a mere academic exercise. “In the final analysis, we find and hold that this petition is incompetent for the reason that the reply to the preliminary objection was out of time on the matter which this tribunal is not vested with jurisdiction to continue,” she said. Adeyemi had taken Melaye to the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Lokoja, citing alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election as well as the result declared by INEC on March 28. The conclusion of the judge was that "the case be dismissed as abandoned."

News

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

he Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has criticized the Federal Government for its lukewarm handling of the lingering scarcity of premium motor spirit (PMS) in the country. NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who spoke with New Telegraph yesterday lamented that government was yet to find a lasting solution to the problem despite the hardship it is subjecting the ordinary Nigerian to. He said government must settle down to begin to address the myriad of economic and security challenges facing the country, noting that the absence of government structures in the last 30 days has worsened the situation.

national

monday, july 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

NLC blames FG for fuel scarcity "Government has not been proactive because this thing has been re-occurring although it would be given that they have not put their structures in place because if you want to engage government who do you engage, the structures of government are not in place. What I'm saying in essence is that what needed to be done is for government to holistically look at the issue and then try towards providing lasting

solution because we have suffered through this process for the past four, five years." He said He said because the government has failed to muster the will to address the problem once and for all, activities of oil marketers have continued to disrupt socio-economic life of Nigerians. His words: "It is really unfortunate that few people, the cabal, the marketers have demonstrated that they want to subject

Nigerians to hardship and invariably we have also said that the best way to address this issue is to have a holistic approach to addressing the challenge of our capacity to refine for domestic use. For us, it is a problem that has been bedeviling our society. Less than three weeks ago, we experienced the same thing. So for whatever reason, I don't think Nigerians deserve all of this. I think it is high time

the whole issue in the oil and gas sector was addressed and that people try to understand the issue and get things done once and for all. Whether we like it or not, people power their businesses using either diesel or petrol and any time you have dislocation in the supply chain, a lot people's businesses are disrupted and a lot of man hours are wasted especially small and medium scale enterprises. This, for me, is unac-

BoT chairmanship: No cause for alarm — APC chieftain

Diversification: Dangote challenges local investors

member of the Board of Trustees BOT of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Sam Nkire, has assured party members that the election of the party’s BoT Chairman will be peaceful and free of rancour. Nkire, who made the remarks in Abuja at the weekend, said: "APC Board of trustees is a congregation of elder statesmen, whose primary assignment is to resolve crises within the party and not to create any.” He said that disagreements among APC leaders could amount to opening up more flanks for those he described as "enemies" of the party to take advantage of". The consummate politician claimed that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is working day and night to ensure that APC did not form government at the federal level, any time soon by causing unnecessary crisis in the national assembly. The one- time National Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) further claimed that some of his old friends within the PDP had boasted to him that, “it will be difficult for APC to form government at the federal level."

A L-R: Airtel Nigeria, Grace Henshaw; Regional Operations Director, Lagos Region, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Oshinlaja; Divisional Head, Bank Wide Operations, Keystone Bank, Uchenna Okwodu; Divisional Head, Telcoms, Keystone Bank, Yetunde Jayesimi; Head, Retail Shops and Franchise, Airtel Nigeria, Tolulope Tope Awofeko, at the Airtel-Keystone Collocation in Lagos… recently

Lagos boat mishap: Pupils’ death linked to illegal sand dredgers Muritala Ayinla

he last may not have been heard of the Lagos boat mishap tragedy as the residents of riverine communities have linked the death recorded in the incident to the activities of illegal sand dredgers and vandals in the communities. They also appealed to the state government to provide another boat to easy their transportation on the water, saying that the only wooden canoe that ferries them across the river had been damaged in the incidents. Many of them said that their children might not go to school again unless there is another boat.

The residents who were still very angry over the loss of the pupils, argued that perpetrators of both acts have continued to operate freely without governments’ interference and have no regard that for other waterways users in the area, urging the state and Federal Government to address the problem to forestall recurrent of the ugly incident. But speaking New Telegraph, The Baale of Igira Village, Chief Salam Matimiloju explained that “few years ago at that point of the accident, the water wasn’t as deep as it is. In fact a six-foot tall person can stand at that point and his head would be noticed.”

Auto crash claims five on Benin-Auchi-Abuja road Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

multiple road accident on Saturday night claimed the lives of five persons and several others seriously injured in the process along the

cepted and we can't continue in this shackle of circle. Government must muster the necessary will to be able to address this issue once and for all. There are a lot of options on the table that are possible. This is the issue that has been well canvassed, the issue of taking petroleum products to nearby refinery, government pays the transport, refine them and bring them back and distribute same to the major marketers without necessarily using intermediary and people that will hold us to ransom at every given opportunity. Let the government also realise that this thing is not only about economy but about security and wellbeing of the citizens because each time we have this kind of situation people are subjected to a lot of hardship and then people go to do the extreme.

single lane Benin –AuchiLokoja-Abuja express road in the state. The ugly incident, which caused hours of traffic gridlock, involved two heavy duty trucks, two Audi cars, one Honda, a Hilux van, a Mercedes Benz car and another long

trailer. Both passengers and motorists were trapped at the popular Okhuo village in Uhumwonde council area of the state, near a dangerous spot known as "Aso Rock" that is reputed for several armed robbery attacks on the route.

Presidency disowns alleged Buhari’s daughter's twitter comments Temitope Ogunbanke

he Presidency has disowned the unauthorised and unexpected tweets by an account falsely linked to Zahra Buhari, one of the daughters of President Muhammadu Buhari. The Presidency, in a statement signed yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the tweets by @ Zahra_Buhari handle is not from the President’s daughter and therefore the tweets from the handle should be disregarded. Shehu stated that Zahra's authentic handle is @ZmBuhari and any handle other than this on Twitter should be considered as fake and therefore fraudulent. The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Presidency has been drawn to unauthorized and unexpected Tweets

by an account falsely linked to Zahra Buhari, one of the daughters of President Muhammadu Buhari. “Following enquiries by a few foreign missions on the raging online controversy about unsavory comments against some foreign leaders purportedly made by her, we wish to state categorically that Zahra is indeed on Twitter but the offending handle @Zahra_Buhari has stopped being her own for a long time since it was compromised by hackers. “Tweets by this handle are therefore not her own and should be disregarded and considered as the work of hackers seeking to cause mischief between this country and other friendly states.” Shehu also disclosed that neither the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari nor the other children are presently on Twitter, Facebook or the various other platforms.

s the nation's economy comes under pressure due to the paucity of funds occasioned by the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has challenged private investors to rise up to the challenges by initiating fresh investments in in manufacturing and agriculture. The business mogul, who lamented the over dependence on oil to the detriment of other viable sectors, urged Nigerian and international businessmen to lead in the task of diversification of the economy, stressing that that is the only viable option to the current economic quagmire. Addressing some business executives in Lagos on the new initiatives of his pan-African conglomerate, Dangote stated that it had become apparent that Nigeria needed to move away from a monolithic economy that thrives only on trading of oil and gas. He explained that the situation in Nigeria in which states government could not meet their obligation to pay salaries and Federal Government not having enough to meet its needs, called for concerted efforts to take drastic step that will move the economy away from its present one sector dominance to other areas like agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

NEW TELEGRAPH monday, july 6, 2015

Akande spoke like a sincere leader, says APC Group

he Action Group of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has risen in stout defence of the former Interim Chairman of the ruling party, Chief Bisi Akande, saying his recent utterances on the crisis bedevilling the party at the National Assembly were those of a sincere leader. The group, through a statement by its spokesperson, Segun Dipe, said the ramrod qualities of Chief Akande qualify him to see when things are skewed towards failure and was right to have called the people involved to order. "Here is the man who steered the ship of our party through the turbulent waters from conception to birth. He did so with sincerity of purpose and great sacrifice that even President Muhammadu Buhari, a man of few words, not given to praise-singing, confessed that he respected Akande's patriotism while acknowledging how he led the interim party "with dexterity and integrity." Party Chairman Chief Odigie Oyegun also admitted that he saw in Chief Akande trustworthiness and sincerity.

Idris Salisu Gusau

uspected Cattle rustlers have again launched fierce attacks on the village of Chigama in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State killing at least, 38 people and carted away unspecified number of cows and other animals. An eyewitness, a resident of Chigama village, who narrowly escaped the attack narrated to New Telegraph on the

Ibadan

s the five-year tenure of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Isaac Adewole, expires by November this year, no fewer than 12 professors are jostling to take over from him. The outgoing Adewole has been adjudged to have run a generally peaceful tenure, noted for transformation and maintenance of industrial peace among the unions on campus. Of the 12 candidates, only Professor A. Adedeji

Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

n an apparent reaction to the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) latest policy on foreign exchange restriction placed on the importation of some 41 items, there has been a gradual mark up in prices of consumables, a market survey by New telegraph has revealed. For instance, rice, a major popular consumable in all Nigerian

Gunmen kill 38 in Zamfara

telephone that, a formidable group of the hoodlums numbering about 50 had on Saturday invaded the village and killed 38 people and leaving many injured as well as large number of houses set ablaze. According to the eye witness account, the hoodlums who entered the village from the forest around 3:30 pm, started shooting sporadically on people, a situation that

made many people to run into bushes and nearby villages for their dear lives. He added that he lost some of his family members, including his father and a younger brother. He explained further that, after the hoodlums had left after an operation that lasted between 3:30pm to 4am on Sunday, he came out from the bush where they have taken refuge and on reaching the village he was opportune

to be among those that prayed for the funeral of the 38 people, who were killed by the gunmen including his father and the younger brother. Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state Command, Sanusi Amiru, said there was attack by the hoodlums but did not explain the actual number of people killed. He added that, normalcy has already being restored

after a team of both mobile police and the army reached the village. It could be recalled that Zamfara State has since 2011 been reported on the activities of the cattle rustlers attacking many villages and towns in across the 14 local government areas. Their activities has left hundreds of people killed while they carted away thousands of animals and destroyed many farmlands.

L-R: Head,Treasury, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Kolade Ojo-Osagie; hip hop musician, Panshak Zamani (Ice Prince); Executive Director, Corporate Services, Skye Bank Plc, Mrs. Abimbola Azu; Chief Operating Officer, Centre Spread Advertising Limited, Mr. Wale Akintunde and Head, Corporate Communications, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Rasheed Bolarinwa, during the launch of the bank’s new television and radio jingles in Lagos…at the weekend. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

12 professors jostle for UI VC post Sola Adeyemo

News

national

is an external person, who is not of the University of Ibadan. Others are Professors O.O Layiwola (Institute of African Studies), O.O Akinyinka (Pediatrics), F.O Egbokhare (Linguistics and African Languages), Arinola O. Sanya (Physiotherapy ), B.O Fagbemi (Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology), L. Popoola (Forest Resources Management), A.I Olayinka (Geology), A.I Oluleye (Industrial and Production Engineering), O.D Olaleye (Virology), A.E Falaye (Aquaculture and Fisheries Management) and A.A.

Agbaje (Political Science). It was also gathered that two other persons joined the list having 'searched' despite not applying for the position but are considered 'fit' for the job. Chairman of the 'University of Ibadan Community Forum 2015', Professor Nelson Fashina, had at the inauguration said that the forum put together by all the unions in the premier university will host a platform during which the candidates will interact with the university community towards a democratic emergence of a new Vice Chancellor.

Forex restriction: Prices of rice, vegetable oil, other consumables rise homes irrespective of brand has added a new price, a development most traders that spoke to our correspondent attributed to the difficulty in sourcing dollar for the product import. A major distributor of rice at Ibrahim Babangida Central Market at Suleja in Niger State that spoke with our correspondent on condi-

tion that her identity be protected, said the mark up in price of rice cuts across all brands. For instance a 50 kg of Mama Africa brand previously sold for N8,300 is now N10,000; BGS Thailand brand hitherto selling for N8.100.50k currently goes for N9.800 while India mama's special was selling N8 000 but now sells for N9.200.

CBN to enlist Customs in enforcement of foreign currency law Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the collaboration of the Nigeria Customs Service has stepped up the fight against across boarder foreign currency trafficking. The CBN said over the weekend that it would apply the full weight of law on any offender. That might include an outright forfeiture of the fund or jail term of two years. The stern warning by the apex bank underscores sustained battle being wage by the bank to stabilize the Naira against major international currencies as well as protecting reserves against further dwindling. Stating this yesterday in a statement issued by the bank's Director of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Mu'azu, the bank noted the increase in trafficking of

huge sums of foreign currency across borders, noting that the practice negates, the extant dictates of Section 2 (subsection 3-5) of the money laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended) which categorically states that:" transportation of cash or negotiable instruments in excess of US$10,000.00 or its equivalent by individuals in or out of the country shall be declared to the Nigerian Customs Service.” It also, cites (subsection 3)of the law which declares that "the Nigerian Customs Service shall report any declaration made pursuant to subsection (3) of this section to the Central Bank of Nigeria", while (subsection 4) states that " any person who falsely declares or fails to make a declaration to the Nigerian Customs Service pursuant to section 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, F34, LFN, 2004 is guilty of an offence.

I was not arrested in London, says Suswam Tunde Oyesina Abuja

ormer Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswan, yesterday said that he was not arrested in London for wife beating. Speaking through his lawyer in Abuja, P.H Ogbole, Suswam, however, called on his friends and families to disregard publications claiming that he was arrested in the United Kingdom for wife beating. While threatening to take legal action against those behind the falsehood, Suswam described the publication alleging that he beat his wife as a calculated attempt to smear his image with mud. There have been reports on social media alleging that the former governor was arrested in London by the metropolitan police for allegedly beating his wife. He was reportedly released on bail. He, however, denied all the allegations which he said were handiwork of his enemies.

MONDAY,JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Metro

Man attacks wife with cutlass for not disowning daughter WILD A man went berserk after futile attempt to stop his daughter’s marriage

Uchenna Inya Abakaliki

man, Nwajioha Ogbonna, of Ndu-Ochigbo Nkaleke community in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State allegedly attacked his wife, Agnes, with machete for acknowledging their daughter who disobeyed him and married a man he did not approve of. Before the incident at the weekend, Ogbonna’s first daughter had found love in Mr Friday Mbam and both agreed to marry after dating for a while. This, however, did not go down well with Ogbonna, who reportedly vowed not to allow Mbam marry his daughter. He also went to a Customary Court to secure ruling to stop the planned mar-

riage but the court did not grant his prayers. Ogbonna had accused Mbam of having affairs with one of his wives and warned him to stay clear of his family. Immediately the court ruled against Ogbonna, his daughter moved to Mbam’s house while her father disowned her.

He also warned Agnes not to allow his daughter to enter their house since she insisted on marrying Mbam. Mbam later brought the bride price to Ogbonna. But his wife’s father rejected the bride price and asked him to pay it to the customary court which allowed him to marry his daughter.

N200m loan scam: EFCC invites 120 Ogun teachers Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may today grill about 120 teachers in Ogun State over an alleged N200 million loan scam. The anti-graft agency, it was learnt, has already invited the affected teachers through the state Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) and would interrogate them at its office in Lagos. The teachers, mostly in secondary schools in Abeokuta South Local Government Area, allegedly obtained loans running into about N200 million from First Bank Plc since 2011 and defaulted in repayment. But the teachers denied ever taking loan from First Bank, adding that majority of them never had accounts with the bank. It was gathered that the development has since last week generated controversy between the teachers and TESCOM over whether or not to honour the EFCC invitation.

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun

Sources said the teachers have been grouped into six batches, with the first batch, comprising 20, billed to appear before the EFCC today. It was learnt that a vehicle has also been arranged to convey the teachers in batches from the State Secretariat, OkeMosan, Abeokuta to Lagos. One of them said the teachers staged a protest to the Head of Service, Mrs Modupe Adekunle, on Friday following an unsatisfactory meeting with TESCOM officials. The teacher, who did not want to be named, disclosed that the Head of Service subsequently held a meeting with their spokesman, Noah Sodeinde, on the imper-

ative of honouring the EFCC invitation notwithstanding the claims of innocence by all the teachers. He added: “We suspect that a fraud has been perpetrated somewhere. Many of us don’t have accounts with the bank, yet they said we took loans and failed to repay. How can that be? Some of the affected teachers have retired while others are still in service. EFCC should beam searchlight at the bankers. “This issue has been on for some time. They (TESCOM) just sent text messages to invite us recently. They called others on phone. They said we are going to EFCC to respond to allegation that we took loans and did not repay. They said they will arrange bus to carry us to EFCC.” It was learnt that many of the teachers were kicking against honouring the EFCC invitation because of the apprehension that they might be detained over the matter despite their innocence. Efforts to get Adekunle and TESCOM acting Chairman, Otunba Timothy Adebowale, to react to the matter were not successful yesterday. But a source at TESCOM said there was no cause for alarm, adding that the state Ministry of Justice was aware and had made arrangements to provide the teachers with lawyers that would defend their cause. The source said the list of the affected teachers was not generated from TESCOM and that it became imperative for the teachers to honour the EFCC’s invitation to enable them to effectively clear their names.

Agnes has repeatedly told Ogbonna to allow their daughter marry a man of her choice. This created friction in the family. When the daughter delivered a baby, she decided to visit her parents’ house, but Ogbonna directed Agnes to ask her to leave immediately. But she insisted that her daughter would stay in the house and rest as a woman who just delivered a baby should be properly taken care of. Annoyed, Ogbonna reportedly dashed inside his room, brought out his machete and cut his wife four times. He thereafter surrendered himself to the police at Ugbodo Divisional Police Station, Ebonyi Local Government. Policemen at the station declined comment on the issue but Agnes is receiving treatment at a private hospital in Abakaliki.

OOU crash: Police may declare driver wanted Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

olice in Ogun State may declare wanted the runaway driver of a truck which killed 12 persons, including students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, on Sagamu-Benin Expressway penultimate Friday. Indications to this emerged yesterday even as the seven-day ultimatum given by aggrieved students of the institution for the police to arrest the driver expires today. A DAF truck laden with container had on June 26 crushed a Mazda commercial bus conveying some passengers, killing 12 people and leaving one person injured. The truck driver, whose name is yet to be ascertained, fled the scene immediately after the incident and has not been arrested by the police. Enraged OOU students went on the rampage last Monday and vandalised 11 trucks and goods worth millions of naira at a private manufacturing company near the accident scene. The students alleged that the truck which killed their colleagues and other victims belonged to the company and also gave the police a seven-day ultimatum to apprehend the driver. But the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, said on the phone yesterday that efforts were ongoing to arrest the driver and bring him to justice. Adejobi said the police would explore all available means to get the driver and declare him wanted after following due process.

Metro 11

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY,JULY 6, 2015

Four arrested for Ikorodu bank robbery P

File picture of the burnt vehicles during the bank robbery

cash running into millions of naira. Thereafter, the robbers also set ablaze the three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) which they stole before the operation. However, while investigating the robbery, Aderanti had reportedly sought the assistance of the former Officer in-charge of SARS, SP Abba Kyari, who has been transferred to the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Kyari, who reportedly coordinated the investigation from his new office, detailed

an advanced tracking team lead by DSP James Okeke to pick three other suspects from their locations in Ikorodu. It was learnt that the suspects confessed to the crime and said that they spent their proceeds to buy exotic cars and landed properties. The cars were also recovered by the police. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said that details of the arrest would soon be made public.

Cholera kills 10 in Ebonyi communities Charles Onyekwere Abakaliki

t least 10 people have been confirmed dead following an outbreak of cholera in five communities of Ezza North Local Government Area and Ozibo village in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. About 20 other victims of the disease have been hospitalised and are now receiving treatment at undisclosed hospitals. The affected communities are Umuezeoka, Umuezeokaoha, Eka, Umuoriuzo and Ozibo. Already, about 30 persons have been reported to have died of cholera outbreak in Ebonyi State since February when the first case was recorded at Edomia village in Ebonyi Local Government. Piqued by the development, the

newly constituted Ebonyi State Executive Council, during its maiden meeting at the weekend, ordered immediate intervention by relevant agencies of government in the communities where there have been incidents of cholera outbreak. The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Emmanuel Onwe, said the council also ordered the relevant environmental agencies to immediately deploy personnel to ensure immediate removal of waste and ensure cleanliness of the environment. Onwe said at a press briefing at the Government House shortly after the meeting that the government would commence reconstruction of the Meat Market/ Gunning Road in Abakaliki City Centre to make the place clean and conducive for business. The commissioner explained that the council ordered that salaries of civil ser-

vants be paid immediately, adding that the administration would be run like a business such that avoidable expenditures would be stopped. He added that the council resolved to maximise the economic potential of the state to raise its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). According to him, the government will also commence construction of overhead bridges at Akanu Ibaim Roundabout, Presco Junction and Vanco Junction in the state capital, Abakaliki. The state Epistemologist, Dr Francis Onwe, confirmed the cholera outbreak. He expressed worries that even after they had contained the earlier outbreak, it occurred in other places. The epistemologist, who administered drugs on the victims at a private hospital at Onueke in Ezza South Local Government Area, urged them to ensure that they keep their environment clean.

NSCDC personnel held over suspect’s death in custody Umar Abdullahi Sokoto

he Sokoto State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested six of its personnel in connection with the death in custody of a 38-year-old man, Jamilu Abdullahi. The state NSCDC Commandant, Muhammad Musa, said those arrested included the Divisional Officer and his men from Sokoto South Division where the deceased was detained. Musa promised that justice would be done in the case and any officer found wanting would not be spared.

Teenage cultists rape girl, attack others Caleb Onwe Abuja

Taiwo Jimoh olice have apprehended four persons suspected to be members of a notorious gang which launched vicious attacks on banks in Ikorodu area of Lagos on June 24. It was gathered that police were informed of soldiers in Ondo State who intercepted one of the suspects during a stop-and-search. According to information, the suspect was on his way to his hometown at Okitikpupa in Ondo State. When the man was stopped, bundles of new N1,000 notes with bank seals were found in his bag. The soldiers, who were also at alert on the manhunt for the robbers, contacted the Lagos State Police Command on the development. The former state Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, immediately demanded the transfer of the suspect to Lagos for further interrogation and subsequent arrest of the others. It was gathered that suspect initially claimed that he learnt of the robbery and went to Ikorodu to get his own share of the loot. However, his statement changed while being interrogated by the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS), Lagos. During the attacks on the banks, witnesses said the robbers made away with

City Briefs

The commandant also said that preliminary investigation showed that Abdullahi died when he smashed his head against the wall and the burglar proof of the cell because he was allegedly intoxicated. He also denied the claims by the family of the deceased that he was killed while being tortured by the NSCDC officials. But the commandant said the late Abdullahi was arrested by men of the division on May 25 following a complaint by one Amina Muhammad, a neighbour of the deceased. According to him, Muhammad alleged that the deceased threatened to kill her with a knife following a disagreement between them.

File picture of NSCDC officials on parade

group of suspected teenage cult members have reportedly raped a 13-year-old girl and attacked others at Gbagalape community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The boys said to be four and within the age bracket of 14 to 16 years, allegedly attacked a group of young girls who were washing clothes at the stream at the weekend. A witness, Ibrahim Kabiru, who claimed he was going to the stream to wash his motorcycle, said he saw some girls who were running. He added that when he asked them what happened, they told him that they were accosted by some boys who threatened to kill them if they refused to comply. Kabiru said that before he got to the stream, the assailants, who heard the sound of his motorcycle, had taken to their heels, leaving their victim. The residents of the community have in recent times expressed concern over the activities of youth cult members. More worrisome to them is the fact that the suspected cult members are said to have established links with students of the Junior Secondary School in the community and are notorious for raping women and forcibly initiating teenagers into their fraternity. Commenting on the activities of the cult members, a female teacher at the Junior Secondary School, Gbagalape, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the existence of cult groups in the school. According to her, the school authorities have had to invite the police to provide adequate security in the school during one of their final exams. This, she said, was to avert a rumoured clash between rivalry cult groups in the school.

Abductors free mother, hold daughter Dominic Adewole Asaba

52-year-old woman, Felicia Mordi, of Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, who was abducted by five gunmen on June 29, has been reunited with her family. The victim was kidnapped alongside her daughter, Ogor Mordi, 13, in their Hyunda ‘Jeep’ on the fateful day. One Emmanuel Utomi of Iwegbuniki Street reported at the police station in Ogwashi-Uku that the woman and her daughter had been abducted. The state Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Celestina Kalu, said at the command headquarters in Asaba yesterday that policemen raced to the scene. She said: “On receiving the information, men of the Anti-Robbery Patrol Team attached to the division visited the scene and went on the trail of the hoodlums. “However, due to pressure mounted on the hoodlums by the action of the police, the said Mrs Mordi Nkechi Felicia was released unhurt by her abductors along with her Hyundai ‘Jeep’, while her daughter, Mordi Ogor, is still being held hostage.” Kalu said efforts had been intensified to track down the hoodlums and rescue the girl.

12 News Yekeen Nurudeen ABUJA

ollowing recent pronouncement by the Federal Government that it was willing to engage the insurgent Boko Haram group in a negotiation towards a possible cease fire, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari to tread softly on any further truce moves. HURIWA specifically warned the President against falling into the traps of what it described as multiple layers of fraudulent Boko Haram peace negotiators some of whom have global wide network. In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA urged President Buhari to be extremely circumspect in entering any future negotiations whether conditionally or unconditionally until a proper investigative and forensic vetting of the so called mediators are carried out in compliance with global best practices. It stated that the warning became necessary following several botched peace moves in the last couple of months under the immediate past administration, including the high profile but sensationally fake peace agree-

national

monday, july 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

HURIWA warns Buhari against fake Boko Haram negotiators ment purportedly brokered by the President of Chad, Mr Idris Debby and announced by Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshall Alex Badeh. The pro-democracy and civil society group stressed that Federal Government must involve INTERPOL and possibly solicit technical partnership with the Federal Bureau of Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America

to determine the credibility and genuineness of any claimants who come up with offers to mediate a truce between Nigeria and Boko Haram terrorists. It warned Nigeria to be wary of becoming the fall guy for the second time, just as the group is opposed to capitulation to financial inducements as a precondition for peaceful negotiations of any truce with elements of Boko Haram since the terrorists are

much more motivated by erroneous ideology than monetary benefits. “Fraudulent mediators are only interested in cornering to their accounts and those of the Nigerian government's insiders' accounts illicit financial profits to be made through their eventual engagement to negotiate truce with Boko Haram. These fake Boko Haram negotiators have their partners in the highest echelons of the Federal gov-

ernment,” HURIWA said. It also backed the decision of the Federal government to launch an all-outwar on the terrorists but advised that in line with the Presidency's stance to adopt carrot-and-stick approach towards the final resolution of the terrorist’s invasion and destruction of the North Eastern Nigeria, the interests of the thousands of victims of the violence must be uppermost.

ABUJA

s the effects of global warming continue to ravage many parts of the world, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between a Nigerian outfit, Trevari Group and development partners, under the aegis of NH3, has been signed to help mitigate such effects on the country. Signing the MoU in Abuja at the weekend with technical partners from the United States of America (USA), Canada and Denmark, Innocent Owoicho Obande, who is the Executive Vice Chairman of Trevari NH3 Limited, explained that the partners were bringing technologies to help Nigeria provide lasting solutions to waste management. The technologies, according to him, would help the country to create job, generate electricity, and provide fertilizer and drinkable water from

Appolonia Appolonia

oncerned by the new wave of bombings resulting in killing and maiming of innocent citizens in Borno State, the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Lagos State Chapter, has urged the Federal Government to be more alive to its responsibility in safeguarding life and property by curtailing the activities of the terrorist group, Boko Haram. In a communiqué issued at the end of its July Congress signed by its Chairman, Mrs Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu and Secretary, Uche Akwuobi, NAWOJ condemned the rising spate of Boko Haram activities. On Thursday, July 2, Boko Haram extremists killed 97 people who were praying in mosques in Kukawa, Borno State.

Ekweremadu’s foundation disburses N23.5m Chukwu David ABUJA L-R: South African singer and United Nations’s MDG Envoy for Africa, Yvonne Chaka Chaka; a participant, Ms. Amina Doherty; President, African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Erelu Bisi Fayemi and Queen of Buganda Kingdom, Uganda, Sylvia Nagginda, at a panel on African Women and Philanthropy at the African Grantmakers Network Conference, Arusha, Tanzania…at the weekend

Nigeria signs MoU for 185bn NUP urges Buhari to create Pension Affairs Ministry Adegoke made the ap- be made up of honest NiSola Adeyemo Euro climate change fund peal yesterday in Ibadan, gerians who have fears of IBADAN Yekeen Nurudeen

NAWOJ charges Buhari to curb Boko Haram, safeguard life

waste that have hitherto been problematic for the country to manage. He explained that the MoU would qualify the country to benefit from the 185billion Euro set aside by European nations to combat global warming, noting that the fund is open to developing countries that have projects on renewable energy that would make the world safe. Obande disclosed that Nasarawa and Enugu states are the two states where pilot projects of renewable energy, fertilizer production would commence as governments of those states have already keyed into the projects. “In a nutshell, the technology has to do with collection of waste. You would all agree with me that as you move around Abuja towards Keffi, the filth on the road is not a very good image for our country. “And if you move around many states in our country, they constitute menaces that are not good for us."

s a way out of the prevailing financial problems being faced by ex-civil servants in the country owing to mismanagement of pension funds by some officials charged with administration of pensions, the National Vice President (SouthWest) for National Union of Pensioners (NUP), Alhaji Lateef Adegoke, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to create a Federal Ministry for Pension Affairs.

Oyo state capital, while speaking with journalists on the plight of pensioners in the state and across the country in general. Such a step, he said, will alleviate the current sufferings of pensioners, some of who, according to him, had died due to financial challenges occasioned by non-payment or late payment of their pensions. The NUP leader explained that the new Ministry being called for by the pensioners should

God and who are ready to comply with President Muhammadu Buhari government's non tolerance for corruption. His words: “The national executive of NUP, in our congratulatory letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, enumerated some suggestions to him on how to stop the current hardships being faced by pensioners across the country. Among our suggestions is the call for creation of Federal Ministry of Pension Affairs."

Shell kicks off campaign against oil theft T he Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) has kicked off the second phase of its grassroots campaign against crude oil theft and illegal oil refining activities in Ogoni land. The first phase of the campaign in 2014 reached over 7,000 persons from Eleme, Gokana, Khana, and Tai local government areas. “The 2015 campaign

is targeted at Ogoni youths for whom we have designed some alternative empowerment programmes such as the Ogoni LIVEwire which in January trained 105 Ogoni youths in different skills and offered them start-up funds and support,” said the Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor.

“We are therefore focusing on raising awareness among the youths on the environmental, socio-economic and health risks associated with crude oil theft and sabotage of pipelines,” he added, noting that the initiative was in collaboration with the Rivers State Government and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

he Ikeoha Foundation, founded by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has given out N23.5 Million in bursary awards and scholarships to indigent students. According to a press statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, the students were drawn from the five Local Government Areas of Enugu West Senatorial District as well as Enugu North and Igboeze North Local Government Areas. He gave the bursary awards and scholarships at the 2015 edition of the Ikeoha Foundation Adult Literacy Day and 2014/2015 Scholarship and Bursary Award Ceremony held at the Government Field, Awgu, Enugu State, on Saturday. The statement hinted that this was also done on a day the Foundation graduated 198 adult learners with the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mrs. Cindy Ezeugwu, announcing that the Foundation had established 32 Adult Literacy Centres in the Senatorial District and provided basic education to over 10,000 adult learners who had either graduated or were still studying.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Interview

Buhari’s supporters are most corrupt Nigerians – Okurounmu

16, 17

Politics

Row over performance WALE ELEGBEDE looks at the resurgence of banters between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari after 30 days in office

or many Nigerians, the ascension of office by President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29 was a salvaging point for the country which has hitherto been in the grip of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for 16 years until March 28 when Buhari trounced former President Goodluck Jonathan at the polls. With the euphoria of the swearing-in over, the enthusiasm and anticipation to see the president hit the ground running started mounting. On a daily basis after the well-attended presidential inauguration, many Nigerians were keeping tab on the activities of the president to know what he is up to in his daily itinerary. Within a blink of an eye, it’s already 30 days and Nigerians are already divided on what constitutes their assessments of the take-off of President Buhari. While some see it as satisfactory, others clearly considered it as the same order in a different platform. No doubt, the burden of expectations from Nigerians on Buhari is huge especially with his pre-election promise to stamp out the twin vices of corruption and insecurity and to ensure the

AYODELE OJO

DEPUTY Editor, POLITICS ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

Buhari

evolvement of a virile economy that would give a new lease of life to massive employment. Although 30 days seem so short a period to judge an elected public official running a four-year term, the tradition of counting days in office for office holders have gradually become part of Nigeria’s democratic tradition, hence the reason why critics, stakeholders and commentators taking on the new government and faulting it over the failure of the president to unveil his ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff, replacement for the Service Chiefs, Special Advisers as well as a handful of critical appointments. The tradition of performance assessment based on days spent in office was popularised by the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was able to accomplish much within his first 100 days in office. Since Nigeria’s democracy is fashioned after the United States model, the first days in office have been used to predict how each

administration, since President Olusegun Obsanjo was elected in 1999, has fared.

Metuh and his masters can only rue the missed opportunities... They have a long road of regrets to travel

PDP fires the first salvo Questioning the pace of the Buhari-led government, the PDP, which is the leading opposition party, rose from the ashes of ignominious defeat it suffered last March and described the president’s 30 days in office as all motion and no movement. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said the Buhari administration is finding it difficult to locate its bearing and even take off and face the challenges of governance at the centre resulting in 30 days of all motion and no movement, adding that such a scenario does not augur well for the polity. “We urge Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful suggestions to President Buhari and the APC because with what we have seen in the last 30 days, the present administration is finding it very difficult to get its

bearings right while showing no inclination towards implementing its numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the centre. “We are deeply worried that the president, who promised to unveil his cabinet two weeks after his inauguration, has not been able to decide on key appointments such as ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff and advisers in key sectors of the economy. “This is more so as the delay has brought government business in ministries, departments and agencies to a dangerous standstill with coordination of important policies vested on ministers and the SGF now in tatters while the system drifts. This situation also creates loopholes through which overzealous persons around that president can connive with unscrupulous elements in the bureaucracy to siphon public resources in addition to possibly misleading the president to violate due process by spending beyond and outside his statutory limits.” Linking its alleged inaction of the president to the parlous state of the economy, the PDP said: “The situation is taking its toll on the economy sector, which has in the 30 days witnessed unprecedented decline with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments including activities in the money and capital market sectors. Under President Buhari, the stock market has lost over N238 billion while the All-Share Index fell by 849.87 basis points as at June 19. “While we remind the president and the APC that their campaign promises are bonds which must be fulfilled, we urge him to use the next 10 days to set up his government by naming his ministers, the SGF and advisers in critical sectors as Nigerians did not vote for a sole administrator but for a democratic government,” the PDP stated. Presidency rates Buhari high Rebuffing PDP’s tag on Buhari’s 30 days government as inertia, the Presidency said the Nigerian “Augean stable” left behind by the PDP government was being cleaned of filth, adding that such effort requires scrupulous and painstaking planning. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Politics

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

PDP, APC flex muscles over Buhari C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

Adesina said the Buhari administration is naturally contemplative of its every move because all sectors of “national life was devalued” by the PDP government. Adesina said: “It is amusing to read what Metuh considers a 30day appraisal of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. “He wants Nigerians to join hands in prayers for the government, so that things would begin to move. What he does not know is that Nigerians had long formed such coalition. “The Buhari administration is naturally contemplative because there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the way PDP ran the country, particularly in the immediate past dispensation. “That is why the Augean Stable is being cleaned now, and it requires scrupulous and painstaking planning. “Across all sectors, our national life was devalued, and it takes meticulousness and sure-footedness to repair all the breaches. “This, the Buhari administration will deliver. Metuh talks of people round the President conniving with bureaucrats to syphon money from the treasury. “This must be deja vu, as it was the pastime of the immediate past administration, and the enormity of the sleaze will be evident when stolen money, to the tune of billions of dollars, is recovered, and returned to the national treasury soon. “Metuh and his masters can only rue the missed opportunities to make salutary impact on the lives of Nigerians. They have a long road of regrets to travel.” Buhari’s performance index Speaking with newsmen in Lagos last week on Buhari’s first month performance rating, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the president has eight achievements

Mohammed

Metuh

to his name in the first 30 days of assuming office. According to Mohammed, the APC government has both motion and movement, adding that the performance of Buhari in tackling insecurity under one month far outweighs what former President Jonathan did throughout his five years in office. “The Buhari administration got the handover notes from the former government just four days before the inauguration, hampering its efforts to have a clear understanding of the situation on the ground before taking the necessary measures to address it. “The Buhari administration has hit the ground running in the area of security. The president had hardly been sworn into office than he embarked on a shuttle diplomacy to rally Nigeria’s neighbours to act as a common front against the terror group Boko

Adesina

The 30 days witnessed unprecedented decline with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments

Haram,” Mohammed noted. The APC publicity secretary said the Buhari administration has recorded major gains in certain sectors, including security and terrorism war; the fight against corruption; and restoration of Nigeria’s pride in the comity of nations. “Since President Buhari’s election on March 28, Nigeria has been moving fast to regain its deserved place in the comity of respected nations. Leaders who once shunned Nigeria have been inviting, in droves, President Buhari to visit their countries. The latest is United States President Barack Obama, who will play host to our President at the White House on July 20th. “The election of the immediate past Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adeshina, as the President of African Development Bank (AfDB) is yet another indication

that Nigeria is regaining its lost glory under Mr. Buhari,” he said. Speaking at another platform over the weekend, Muhammad said the description of Buhari as being slow is a perception, adding that, “this is the first time there will be a transition. He is not slow. I can assure you that in the next few weeks, very soon, there’ll be a rash of appointments.” Mohammed said part of the progress the government had made was the directive given to some agencies to pay monies directly into the federation account and close other illegal accounts. He listed the agencies as Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). Distracted by APC’s crisis? For some analysts, the inac-

Okechukwu: PDP’s assessment is wrong

Yerima: Nigerians are becoming impatient

Osita Okechukwu is the National Publicity Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP)

Shettima Yerima is the President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF)

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is wrong on their perception because President Muhammadu Buhari has a 48-month mandate and we have just used a month out of that which is about 2.08 per cent, which is not enough percentage to assess the work of a president. Even if it is, his major pledge to Nigerians is to provide security and fight corruption and he has initiated that process. It will be very unfair

for anyone even if you don’t like him to say that he has not moved to fight the insecurity in the land. He had to continue to consolidate the coalition between us and our neighbours. I understand as well that he had gotten the commitment of foreign powers like the United States to be of help. Don’t forget that the man met a virtually empty treasury and he has to know where those monies are. Why can’t

Okechukwu

the PDP tell us where the money went to? If Buhari appoints everybody and there is no money in the coffers, what can he do? President Buhari’s 30 days in office was satisfactory regardless of what the PDP says. He is not a lousy type who will go to the rooftop to say what he has done. For example, he has said that all the federal income generating agencies must have one single account. So, the NNPC, Customs, Inland Revenue, NPA would not be running different accounts but a singular account. I think it is a major achievement. He has also supported the probe in the oil sector. The PDP should know that Buhari doesn’t want to use the principle of immediate effect because they are the same people who will criticise him as being a dictator.

he sympathy that Nigerians have for President Muhammadu Buhari is gradually waning and our people are becoming impatient. One would have expected that with the programmes, campaigns and promises, they should have a blueprint of what to do to move this country forward. Nigerians cannot wait any longer after one full month and nothing has started and there is no sign of anything positive happening from this government. All what they are busy saying is that they met an empty treasury.

Yerima

We are running out of patience because 30 days is not a joke in the life of a nation especially with the precarious state of our economy. We are not comfortable with all these cries of empty treasury; this is not what they told Nigerians that they want to do. As at now, we don’t know what their programmes or blueprint for the different sectors look like. The party should not even be the issue

of diversion especially when it comes with an acronym of CHANGE. Unfortunately, when they were talking about change, Nigerians didn’t bother to ask them what sort of change they are bringing, we were really carried away. They gave us promises that were never documented. They should begin to work because we need action. The country is at the verge of collapsing, Nigerians are hungry and they need to survive. I want the president to exercise caution with all these Greek gifts from the United States; they have an interest. We must be ourselves internally and not become subservient to these people. The enthusiasm is going down and they should put their acts together. It seems they don’t have a roadmap and there is no propaganda to do again.

Politics

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

tion of the president cannot be divorced from the internal bickering rocking his party, the APC. For those in this line of thought, Buhari is trying to tread cautiously with his decisions and deeds because he knew that Nigerians saw him as the emblem of change in the party and would not want to squander the goodwill he commands from all parts of the country. The APC has been embroiled in the National Assembly leadership crisis and this has led to formation of caucuses and groups within the party. Though there are series of efforts to resolve the crisis, the body languages of the gladiators, however, depicts that the wrangling is far from being over. Those who have signpost the president’s first month in office with the internal strife in his party believed that the National Assembly leadership crisis if not quickly doused, may even escalate by the time the president reel out his list of ministers. To them, this dysfunction is one of the reasons why Buhari is still keeping the cabinet list close to his chest. In a statement credited to the former interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, the president and APC governors should commence a joint damage control effort to salvage the party from the internal crisis so that the change the APC promised Nigerians will come to fruition. Jonathan’s 30 days rating The scenario of the first 30 days in office between former President Jonathan and the incumbent, President Buhari, is not the same. While the former had been in an acting capacity prior to his formal ascension as elected president in 2011, the latter came into Aso Rock as a fresh face, although he was once a military Head of State. Two common denominators between Buhari and Jonathan are that they both ascended power in May 29, 2011 and no sooner had both of them took over power that they embarked on foreign trips to

solicit and engage the support of the international community for Nigeria. In his speech after he was sworn in on May 29, Jonathan promised to transform the economy and fight for an improved quality of life for all Nigerians through a six-point agenda. On June 27, 2011, Jonathan forwarded 34 ministerial nominees to the Senate for approval and he was able to constitute his cabinet four weeks after, though in batches. Appointments so far The president has made nine appointments namely: DirectorGeneral of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura; Acting Chairman, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari; Director, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Mordecai Danteni Baba Ladan and Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris. Others are: Chief Security Officer, Bashir Abubakar; State Chief of Protocol, Mallam Lawal Abdullahi Kazaure; Aide De Camp, Lt.Col. Muhammed Lawal Abubakar; Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu. The 2019 race Though the race for the next general elections is still early, the underground tone for the fireworks between the different parties and gladiators are centred on the race for the 2019 election. While the APC is seeking to consolidate and cement its pedigree among Nigerians as the party of choice, the PDP which is gradually coming out of his mourning mood is tactically warming its way back into the political glare which it once controlled. In days to come, the toxic relationship between both parties will come with interesting nuances but as it is now, Nigerians are still the deciding factor in the whole equation.

Shehu: Nigerians’ll soon reap benefits of Buhari’s presidency Mallam Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will rather not talk about the things President Muhammadu Buhari is doing because they are feeling the heat. So far he has concentrated his energy for laying a solid foundation in international framework in fighting Boko Haram which they (PDP) have allowed to fester for more than six years. They are worried about the president’s direction on the war against corruption by which he is going to recover billions of dollars stolen by leaders under the PDP administration especially in the last couple of years. So, when the PDP people say

Buhari is not doing anything, it is because they want to take attention away from the key agenda issues of the Buhari’s Presidency. Very soon, because there is a growing international support for these two causes; war against corruption and loot recovery and war against terror, Nigerians will begin to reap the benefit and we will ask the PDP to address Nigerians by then on this matter.

Shehu

Buhari’s own party, the All Progressives Congress, has recognised the growing public disenchantment and pleaded for patience. “Nigerians are right to demand even a faster pace. Nigerians are right to ask that a government be quickly put in place,” party spokesman Lai Mohammed told reporters at a June 30 press conference in Lagos, the commercial capital. “All we ask for is a little more patience, a little more understanding.”

Buhari

Buhari: From Change Champion to ‘Baba Go Slow’

igerian President Muhammadu Buhari took office a month ago on a wave of hope that he would quickly deal with a deepening economic crisis and an Islamist insurgency in the North. So far, he hasn’t met those expectations. While Africa’s biggest oil producer has been hit by a 40 per cent fall in petroleum prices in the past year that has slowed economic growth and weakened the currency, Buhari, 72, has delayed naming a cabinet until September. As the momentum of being the first opposition candidate to win power at the ballot box fades, critics are mocking him as a sluggish elderly man, or “Baba Go Slow.” Buhari has acknowledged the crisis, saying last month that his government is facing severe financial strain, with a treasury that’s “virtually empty,” and his party is calling for patience. Yet his lack of urgency in tackling economic woes could leave Nigeria badly adrift, said John Ashbourne, an economist at Capital Economics in London. “Every week that Nigeria goes without a cabinet increases the chance that it will face a dangerous shock – whether a revenue collapse or a currency crisis,” Ashbourne said by phone Tuesday. “Leaving the federation without a finance minister would be a questionable choice at the best of times; doing so during a period of economic instability is difficult to explain.” Investor Displeasure Nigeria’s currency, twice devalued in the past year in an attempt to cope with lower oil income, has weakened 7.7

per cent against the dollar this year on the interbank market. The International Monetary Fund estimates that growth will slow to 4.8 per cent this year from 6.1 per cent in 2014. The naira was trading at 198.85 against the U.S. dollar at 2.38 p.m. in Lagos. The Nigerian Stock Exchange Index hit its 2015 peak of 35,728.12 on April 2, the day after Buhari was declared the election winner. Since then it has fallen 8 per cent. The cabinet delay won’t please investors, said Alan Cameron, an economist at Exotix Partners LLP. They’re expecting tighter fiscal policy, a currency devaluation and a greater focus on tax collection after the drop in oil prices, he said. “There was initially some hope that Buhari would be able to tackle these changes more quickly and with more credibility, but the time line has now been pushed back,” Cameron said by phone from London. “It’s going to be a difficult pill to swallow for foreign investors.” Inertia Concern The Central Bank has banned importers from using the foreign-exchange market to buy certain goods as it seeks to stabilise the naira and hold on to external reserves, which are down 16 per cent this year to $29 billion. “Even what little could have been achieved so far, such as the nomination of ministers, has not been addressed, and there is a sense of inertia,” Folarin GbadeboSmith, managing director of the Centre for Public Policy Alternatives, a Lagos-based research group, said by phone Wednesday.

Government Change Buhari is facing a unique situation because his victory over the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, ended 16 years of rule by the Peoples Democratic Party, his spokesman Femi Adesina said. “This is not a normal changeover, it is from one government to another,” he said. Buhari, who previously governed Nigeria as military ruler in the 1980s, has moved more quickly in the fight against the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, which has waged a violent six-year campaign in the North. He ordered the army to move its headquarters from Abuja, the capital, to the North-Eastern city of Maiduguri, the scene of some of the worst fighting, and has travelled to neighbouring countries such as Chad and Niger to discuss cross-border military cooperation. It’s the “one area in which the Buhari administration has hit the ground running,” Mohammed said. Yet, while troops from Nigeria and Chad have largely dislodged Boko Haram from its self-declared caliphate in the North-East this year, the insurgents have stepped up hit-and-run attacks. Corruption Fight Buhari will also have to deal with shortcomings in his own army, which Amnesty International said last month should be investigated for war crimes, including unlawful killings. In a step toward meeting his campaign promise to attack corruption that has crippled Nigeria for decades, Buhari disbanded the board of the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The National Economic Council (NEC) on Monday set up a four-member panel to probe its accounts. Even some opposition lawmakers say Buhari needs more time. “His approach may be different, but I am patient, I will give him some time,” Ben Murray-Bruce, a PDP senator, said in a June 29 interview in Abuja. Where Buhari has come up short is communicating a sense of engagement to the public, said Gbadebo-Smith. “He doesn’t say anything about anything,” he said. “The public would be satisfied with signals that say we are doing something about this, we are on top of this.” •Culled from Bloomberg

16 Politics

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari’s supporters are most corrupt Nigerians – Okurounmu Senator Femi Okurounmu was in the National Assembly between 1999 and 2003 on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). A former Secretary-General of Afenifere, he was appointed the chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on National Conference in 2013. In this interview with KUNLE OLAYENI, the elder statesman speaks on the raging controversy in the National Assembly, among other sundry issues. Excerpts: As a former lawmaker, what do you make of the recent happenings in the National Assembly? I think what is happening now in the National Assembly is what a lot of informed politicians could have predicted and many of us had foreseen it and predicted it. So, we are not surprised that it is happening. If you remember the way the All Progressives Congress (APC) was formed; the APC was formed largely by some dissenters from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), particularly those who did not want former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest for a second term because they thought it was the turn of the North to have the Presidency. They even believed that Jonathan was an impostor, that he should have allowed a northerner to occupy that position after the death of late President Umaru Yar’Adua. They believed that the North had been kept out of power for too long and they believed it was time for the North to get back to power. So, a lot of the northerners who joined the APC left the PDP for that reason because there was no way they could persuade Jonathan not to run and there was no way they could become the candidate of the party if Jonathan still wanted to run. So, they felt the only way they could get back the Presidency was to change parties from the PDP, particularly if the APC was prepared to field a northerner. The northern components of the APC consisted of people whose objective was to get Presidency back to the North. But the southern components of the APC were people who felt they wanted to have power, particularly the leadership of the southern components in the person of Bola Tinubu. He wanted

federal power, he saw it as a way to extend his power base and expand his field of influence. The only thing that these two groups had in common was to get power. The Tinubu faction, which I call the southern components of the party, and the northern components all had the common agenda of getting power but they had different visions, goals and objectives. Like a gang of pirates who decided to hijack a ship; they hijacked the ship but having hijacked the ship, they wanted to go in different directions. They don’t have a common destination; some want to go east, some want to go west in steering the ship. So, what is happening in the National Assembly is basically a contest for the control of the party between the northern wing and Tinubu wing. The northern wing wants power consolidated in the hands of northerners, people who are loyal to the pursuit of northern interests and who would ensure that power is effectively in the hands of the North. The Tinubu wing wants power in the hands of those who are loyal to Tinubu. And what does this portend for the nation’s interest? Of course, the national interest is not served by this contest. The national interest is not served when you don’t have a party. We’ve always said that a political party should be people with common

Okurounmu

Those who surrounded him (Buhari), who funded him… are among the most corrupt in this country. So, he would first of all send them to jail

agenda, common vision for the country, common purpose, common philosophy and that is why many of us said the APC was not a political party from that point of view. I don’t belong to any political party. I’m neither APC nor PDP but I’ve always said it that the APC is not a political party. They are not coherent in terms of where they want to go, they don’t have a common vision for Nigeria, each of them has his own personal agenda as I’ve analysed. So, it doesn’t augur well for the country. People are talking of change, that mantra of change was sold to us by the Tinubu wing, which controls virtually the media particularly in the South. So, to justify their wanting to grab power, they sold us the mantra of change and all of us bought that mantra of change. For the northern wing that wanted power for the North, it’s not change that really was their concern but their concern was to just get the northerners back in power. So, it is those of us in the South who were expecting change; the northerners were pursuing a different goal and different objective to get power back to the North. What is your view about the emergence of the principal officers in the Senate and the House of Representatives; did it follow due process? Of course, it followed due process because the National Assem-

bly is supposed to elect its own leaders. They are not supposed to accept leaders imposed from outside by anybody. The senators should elect their leaders; the election should be by members of the House, not by anybody from outside telling you that this is who should be your leader. Did you mean the party does not have a role to play in who becomes what in the National Assembly? You see we are not in a parliamentary system, we are in a presidential system. A presidential system is basically different from a parliamentary system. The party can advise its members. After all, every party has members in the Senate and House of Representatives. So, each party can advise its members who to vote for. It is within the right of the parties to advise their members who to vote for when it comes to election of leadership. But it is the House that will vote for who their leaders would be. It is not anybody from outside that would write them that this is who should be your leader. The National Assembly has been forced into one month recess; how do you think the crisis can be resolved? They have one month recess so that they can resolve the crisis. So, I’m sure during that one month, the two parties would have consultations among one another and they should be able to resolve

Politics 17

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Okurounmu

it within that one month. Incidentally, the three arms of government – executive, legislature and judiciary – have been headed by people from the northern extraction. What effect do you think this could have on the nation? You see, people should think ahead; this would teach us that we must think and put on our thinking caps at all times. We shouldn’t just be sold propaganda to all the times and just swallow it. We all know that the judiciary has always been in the hands of the northerners for so many decades now and will continue to be because it has been lined up for a northerner to succeed the next and succeed the next. So, the judiciary is almost permanently in the hands of the northerners. So, that’s why we should have put on our thinking caps in buying this mantra of change. We voted for Muhammadu Buhari, so he’s our president and we cannot complain. The National Assembly as I have said, it is their prerogative to elect their leaders. We cannot elect leaders for them. These are all things we should have thought about. When one individual tries to impose his will on the nation, it cannot work. When Tinubu thinks his own choice must be the Senate President, his own choice must be the Speaker, his own choice must occupy the various offices; we are not in a colony. We are all supposed to be free, democratic people. No individual can colonise the whole country and take all of us for a ride. Tinubu is overreaching himself. He should allow democracy to work. What he practises in Lagos – it may work in Lagos and even work in the South-West, but it cannot work for the whole country. You said before the conduct of the last general elections that former President Jonathan was the logical choice for the Yoruba to vote for as presidential candidate. With the reality on ground, does it validate

your position? Well, I think our best choice should have been to vote for President Jonathan. With President Jonathan in power, at least all the three arms of government will not be in the hands of northerners. At least, the South would still be controlling the Presidency. And with Jonathan in power, we would have had the chance to restructure the country along the lines already suggested by the national conference and all the recommendations of which he had promised to implement. It is this fear of domination by one section that is causing crisis in the country and that is what has led to all the recommendations of the national conference so that we can once and for all lay to rest these woes of sectional domination. All these recommendations are there in the recommendations of the national conference. Unfortunately, Tinubu opposed the national conference, Buhari opposed the national conference and now you see what we have. In spite of that, former President Jonathan handed over the report of the national conference to his successor. Would you advise President Buhari to pursue the implementation of the report? As people who honestly believe that that is the way forward, we shall continue to even put pressure on Buhari to implement that report. Many states of the federation are unable to pay workers’ salaries. How did Nigeria get to this situation? Well, it doesn’t require an economist to tell us how we got to this situation. Number one, we know the price of oil has been going down. I think oil is slightly above $50 per barrel compared to when it used to be above $100 per barrel. And that is the biggest source of our revenue. So, we have had a big drop in revenue. And at the same time we are having that big drop

No individual can colonise the whole country and take all of us for a ride. Tinubu is overreaching himself

in revenue, we were still operating a blown up government that we were operating when the revenue was coming in. Imagine we had 40 ministers in government. Each minister had a chain of advisers, special assistants and so on. These are all parasites on public resources. Good governance does not need all these people. The United States of America has only 15 ministers. Their constitution even stipulates it and spells them out. The 15 ministers run the United States and even run the world. So, why do we need 40 ministers to run Nigeria? And look at the National Assembly. We know what their salaries are because that is fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). We know what their official allowances are because these also are fixed by RMAFC. That is all we know. But this is not all they take. How much do they take? If these were all they take, if the salaries and allowances are all they take, Nigerians would not be complaining so much. But every quarter, they put in the budget what they give to themselves. I think the minimum is about N55 million for members of the House of Representatives to about N60 to N70 million for Senators. They justify that by saying they need that to run their offices. They don’t tell the public how much they are taking home every quarter. Did this happen when you were in the Senate? No, it did not happen. When did it begin to happen? It began to happen after Obasanjo’s attempted third term – when Obasanjo started bribing legislators so that they can vote for him and allow him to have a third term. It was then all this liberty and licences started in the National Assembly and decided to budget all this horrendous amount of money for themselves.

When we were there, we did not do that. If you look at all the monies that senators and Reps take away; a senator in Nigeria takes more than twice what Obama, the United States president, takes home. So, we are just wasting our money. These people are just looting and fleecing us. Good governance does not require all that. You can cut down the whole governmental structure, you can reduce it. When I was a commissioner in Ogun State under late Chief Bisi Onabanjo, we were only 12 commissioners. I don’t know how many commissioners they have in the various states now. Some states have as many as 40 commissioners. What are they doing? And governors also have advisers in addition to these commissioners and assistants and all these redundant officials. For what? Onabanjo had 12 commissioners and three advisers; that was all and we gave better governance to Ogun State than any subsequent governor has given since he left. So, those in governance have to re-examine the structure of their government, the structure of the Federal Government, the structure of the state governments, the expenditure patterns of the National Assembly, the salary structure has to be re-examined. By the time we save all this money, we will reduce our expenditure. There is the leakage through corruption. A lot of money leaks out through corruption. Today, if the government budgets N100 for a project, what really goes on that project cannot be more than N10 to N20 out of the N100 budgeted. The remaining goes to the people’s private pockets. The wealth that should be used to take care of the welfare of Nigerians goes into private pocket to create a few privileged, super rich people, whereas poverty is spread to the ordinary people. And the whole political class is guilty of this, CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion A fresh suicidal tendency Dominik Umosen

otwithstanding talk that the reason for failure by President Muhammadu Buhari to name his cabinet is the need to clear the Augean stable that the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), allegedly left behind, this period should provide the private moment that our returnee head of state needed to re-strategise and re-position the country to meet with the aspirations of its founding fathers. And the aspirations of exasperated citizens. As we are aware, the president clinched the job after four attempts. His insistence on this ambition to rule the country again eventually paid off. Lest we forget, due credit must be given to the zoologist from Otueke, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who quickly conceded defeat in the 2015 presidential election, thereby defusing tension that would have trailed controversy from that exercise. Enduring the rigours of four consecutive presidential elections therefore presupposes that he was convinced of his inspiration for doing so; not just running for office for the sake of it or as an opportunity to ego-trip. If he endured this much, just to get the job, credit goes to his love for the country which is borne out of respect for the sacrifice of some compatriots, including friends and relations, who died to safeguard the Nigerian project. For the sake of the huge responsibility of making his country workable, the prayer of every patriotic citizen should be that the president does not only succeed in re-fixing the country. He comes with a coherent idea of how to go about it which, in the final analysis, means deviating radically from the well-worn hypocrisy of preferring to scratch the surface or pretending that the country is not faced by fundamental problems of nationhood. Let me make it clear: if there is the assurance of sincerity and willingness on the part of the

Why do we prefer this irrational and morbid reluctance to address fundamental issues whose resolution will undoubtedly strengthen the unity of the country? president to confront this nation’s demons so that Nigeria can begin to think and act like a responsible nation for once, he can revv the auto-pilot for as long as it is required, without intervening variables like ministers and advisers some of who may not even share his dream of restoring respectability and dignity to the country. Agreed that many folks have fretted about the president’s reluctance or inability to appoint ministers, a month after his inauguration. The explanation, whether you agree with it or not, is that the rot left behind by the last administration is so huge that adequate care must be taken before fresh mistakes are inadvertently made. I can live with that, even if I do not believe this political claim! If there is the assurance of seriousness and sincerity on the part of the leader, we can continue to gravitate on auto-pilot so long as there is the certainty that a fundamental issue like the enduring bogey of mutual suspicion, instead of genuine cooperation between the federating nationalities will eventually be addressed, 55 years after the

country’s independence. Failure to address this nagging issue by successive administrations, both military and civilian, invariably stymied and robbed the country of internal cohesion, dynamism and sustainable growth. For example, at the 2014 Silverbird Man of The Year Award, yours sincerely asked former head of state, Gen Yakubu Gowon why he signed the Aburi Accord, an agreement with the late Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu he never intended to honour, just like former president, Olusegun Obasanjo signed an agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that his government never kept or intended to keep. Instead of answering my innocent probe straight away, the former head of state advised that I should wait for the answer in his yet-to-be published memoirs. I brought in this diversion to illustrate the enduring hypocrisy and morbid aversion by successive administrations to discuss the national question which has become entrenched in the National Conference Report of 2014; a reluctance which has forced the country to swing like a yo-yo. Why do we prefer this irrational and morbid reluctance to address fundamental issues whose resolution will undoubtedly strengthen the unity of the country? What inspired the hare-brained irrationality of unilaterally suspending the constitutional principle of derivation as basis for revenue allocation, for instance? Other vexatious instances abound indicative of how the country bounced along until discontent forced the administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan to organize a national conference which former senate president, David Mark described as the only viable option open to government to douse tension in the country. Ignoring that report while wasting time on inconsequentials, mirrors our unseriousness as a nation and reinforces our tendency towards selfdestruction. If President Buhari really loves this country, he should prevent the country from relapsing into fresh suicidal tendencies.

Dear President Buhari Thomas Ashaolu

he 2015 elections have come and gone. Expectations are high. Personally, I believe these are not for magical revamping of economy nor supernatural restoration of the security. Of course, one is praying that you obtain urgent Divine assistance in these sensitive areas. But in general terms, what Nigeria needs so desperately now is moral rebirth and ethical re-orientation. I see this administration as a civilian arrangement with a difference and an opportunity for Nigerians to be re-directed to a path of self realisation and a new beginning. I dare to posit that God has been quite magnanimous to us. Much wealth (including human) have been squandered, are being mismanaged and have remained untapped. We are indeed the architects of our own predicaments. Let's just consider two sectors- agriculture and education. AGRICULTURE - Traditionally, Nigeria is an agrarian economy. Should we blame God for dropping so much cocoa, rubber, oil palm, coffee, cotton, cassava, yam and ground

nut etc on our soil? Haven't Malaysian risen through oil palm seed taken from us, erstwhile Ghanaian economy stabilized through cocoa and Cote D'Ivoire surviving on coffee? Perhaps, we should blame our indolence and parasitic culture on sudden discovery of crude oil towards independence. God forgive our profligacy! To resuscitate agricultural productivity as a way of re-structuring the Nigerian economy, concerted efforts must be made to lure our youth and skilled agriculturists back to the rural areas. A great army of our unemployed graduates would readily become millionaires by exploiting boundless opportunities locked up in our rural communities through modern farming, processing, packaging, marketing and distribution. Our academics should also be motivated to pride themselves with researches to showcase innovative methods of agricultural practices and user application of products. The outputs of our farms either as staple food or inputs for manufacturing are sure to defy global social and economic challenges for a long time to come. No serious nation would dare trade off such areas of comparative advantage. I believe it's

not too late to re-assert ourselves as a nation if only we are prepared to utilize and develop our long neglected potentials. EDUCATION - As a follow-up to my piece in the 'New Telegraph' newspaper of April 23 on this subject, it is worth reiterating that we must tackle the rot called 'education' in Nigeria headlong. We have long neglected genuine intellectual and mental training of our youth for mock certification and pampering. The looming danger is our production of a coming generation of mentally deficient but socially upscale drivers of the economy. While our smaller neighbours are carting away academic laurels in regional examinations and providing avenues for seekers of standard education among our populace, ‘giant’ motherland is busy multiplying institutions on mere basis of 'population' and politics. Unfortunately, many so-called teachers and lecturers should rather have been taught by their more intelligent students. A State Government once took the initiative of sanitizing teaching efficiency but regrettably bowed to 'political exigencies'. Quite unfortunate that we continue to shy away from compelling truths! What's more, self-succession syndrome in

employment is already perpetuating mediocrity in the ivory towers. Except underlying bastardisation of this nature is addressed and thorough purging carried out, billions of dollars would continue to be pumped down the drain under the cover of interventions in education. Truly, facilities in our schools require to be upgraded with teaching and learning environments made more conducive but all these would only be worthwhile on assurance that quality teaching and learning are themselves realisable within the system. On a final note, my humble advice is that your administration need to first convocate a short conference of like-minded stakeholders with unimpeachable integrity, to diagnose the ills in these critical sectors and come up with strategies for a sustainable way forward. Having just assumed power, genuine sectorial diagnosis is much more ascertainable now. Only then would your administration be sure of heading towards achieving definite goals rather than spending with iteration, in response to pressures. Let's do it right now for the sake of posterity. •Ashaolu (bioashaolu@gmail.com) wrote in from Lagos.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

EDITORIAL

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

A media partner of

Sanctity of Truth

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

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

Nigeria’s most authoritative newspaper in politics and business

Sagamu-Benin deathway

t is no longer news when precious human lives are lost in traffic accidents all over our country. The attraction most of the time is the background of victims. Very Important Personalities no longer travel by road, they fly even when distance does not really favour the aeroplane as alternative. Penultimate Friday, eight students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University[OOU], Ago Iwoye , Ogun state lost their lives in a ghastly crash on the notorious Sagamu –Benin Expressway. The undergraduates had boarded a Lagos bound bus which was crushed by an articulated vehicle around, Ilishan. Driver of the bus, Lukman Adekeye, who also died in the crash, was on the right lane when suddenly the heavy duty vehicle emerged against traffic. Among the dead were future lawyers, accountants and other professionals who could have risen to leadership positions in their different fields. Aminat Adebayo, Olatunji Dairo, Mariam Ogunnoiki, Eunice Odubanjo, Latifat Pampam, Christiana Asade, Elizabeth Aribiola and Oluwatobi Adams passed on as a result of the recklessness of yet another driver. There was a lone survivor whose name is just the exact opposite of weeping. Laughter Akinbo Ibukun, a part three Chemistry student, was lucky to escape death. The university campus was thrown into mourning and students were incensed when a private hospital, where the bodies of the victims were deposited asked for quite some money before their remains would be allowed to be evacuated from the morgue. The mourners, forced

their way into the mortuary and took away the dead bodies. The students also descended on a company suspected to own the vehicle that caused the accident. Workers ran for dear lives as the mourners broke through their fence. About eleven vehicles were damaged. Some of the buildings were also not spared. Ogun state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, visited the crash site with a promise that the fleeing driver who should be charged with mass murder ,instead of manslaughter, would be arrested. Accompanied by a retinue of officials including Deputy governor, Yetunde Onanuga and Head of service, Mrs Modupe Adekunle, the governor was also at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital Ilishan, to cheer up Laughter Ibukun. Amosun sounded tough. “We need the capacity to address this menace. We will look into the Federal Highway code and domesticate it. We will even make it more potent and endeavour to criminalise traffic offence. The highway

The alarming rate of accidents on that route should bother any sane government

lawlessness which has pervaded our nation is more pronounced in this state because the Expressways predominantly lie within our corridors. We feel this lawlessness every day. A sane mind does not need to be told to desist from driving against traffic,” he said. For authorities and students of the university this is yet another sad period. Over four years ago, they were in similar mood when a bus plunged into the river just before the main campus. Many of the passengers who perished in that crash were students. Most of the bodies never came afloat till this day. A few survived and the story then was that the driver tried to avoid an old woman who suddenly emerged from nowhere. The alarming rate of accidents on that route should bother any sane government. The Sagamu–Benin Road is perhaps the busiest road in the country. It connects the entire South and some parts of the North. It is the major route to Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Anambra, Enugu, Benue, Imo, Rivers, Ebonyi, Cross River, Abia and Enugu states. The volume of traffic therefore is so high that caution must not be thrown to the winds. For donkey years, the Federal Ministry of Works has refused to manage the road effectively. It takes the grace of God to ply that route and stay alive. There are no signs to show that vehicles have to divert at certain points. Many drivers cash in on this to follow any side of the road that suits them. Thousands of lives have gone due to this dereliction of responsibility by government.

During the first half of our neo- democracy, over 300 billion naira was alleged to have been budgeted to rehabilitate the road. It sounded like the more money that was earmarked, the worse for travellers. Virtually nothing was done as the road collapsed most of the wet season causing not just pains but untimely and unnecessary death. It is worrisome that some of the notable works ministers under the democratic dispensation came from the South-South geo political zone. Reckless driving is another contributory factor. In the 21st century, it sounds absurd that some drivers blame the devil for some of the crashes. Fact is , the drivers are the real demons. When many of them soak their brain in alcohol, they zoom faster than a low flying aircraft. The Federal Road Safety Corps[FRSC] once threatened to sanction Toyota Hi ace drivers who formed the fatal habit of roasting passengers ,due to over speeding. While we condemn reckless driving and the corollary loss of lives and property, the Federal government should also share part of the blame for not putting proper checks in place. There is the Police Highway patrol division. Their job should go beyond stopping flashy vehicles and obstructing the free flow of traffic. The road blocks they mount have also caused more deaths. Government must therefore wake up to its responsibility of not only maintaining the Sagamu- Benin Road, the relevant laws against reckless driving must be applied. Enough of this bloodletting on our raods.

DAILY TELEGRAPH PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief

Funke Egbemode

Editor n Yemi Ajayi

Editor, Saturday n Laurence Ani

Editor, Sunday n Emeka Madunagu

Deputy Editor n Emeka Obasi

Deputy Editor n Ayodele Ojo

General Editor n Iyobosa Uwugiaren

News Editor n Geoffrey Ekenna

Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz

Bureau Chief, Washington DC n Marshall Comins

Editorial Coordinator, Europe n Sam Amsterdam

Bureau Chief, Abuja n Onwuka Nzeshi

Business Development Manager n Taiwo Ahmed

Sales/Circulation Manager n Oyebanji Abiodun

Head, Graphics n Timothy Akinleye

Head, Admin. n Robinson Ezeh

Politics

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

‘Tinubu can’t turn Nigeria into a colony’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

including those crying change, change, change. It is a crime of the entire political class. If only people knew this, they would know that those that are crying change are just deceiving us. When we have a new crop of people in government, are they going to reduce their salaries, are they going to reduce their allowances, are they going to cut down all other privileges? But the Senate President

has set up a committee in that regards. Likewise some state governors have reduced their salaries and number of ministries in their states… I prefer they don’t reduce their salaries. Let them reduce their invisible take-home that they put in the budget and refuse to disclose. But what institutional processes can be put in place to check all these excesses of the political class? If the president needs to check it, the president

can check it. It’s up to the president; provided the president himself will first of all straighten out the Presidency. Once he streamlines his own expenditure, streamlines the number of advisers he would take, streamlines their pay and all their privileges, sells all the unnecessary aircraft and so on, reduces his privileges to the minimum; once he has done that, he will have the moral platform on which to stand to get everybody to toe the line. What he

requires is for everybody to toe the line. And once Nigerians see that the president himself has set the example, nobody is going to deviate from that line. What are your expectations from President Buhari? I expect him to fulfil all the promises he made to us. I expect him to fight corruption; in fact that is the most important thing. Corruption is the greatest problem of this country. I think his greatest challenge is fighting corrup-

tion because in fighting corruption, those who would first of all put in jail are all those who supported him to get to power. All those who surrounded him, who funded him, who carried him around are among the most corrupt in this country. So, he would first of all send them to jail, not minding who they are. When he has done that, I am sure this country would be one of the best in the world. Then, he can feel free to send every corrupt person to jail and no-

body will complain. But if we take the example of when Umaru Yar’Adua was in office and the people having dinner with him every night were the Iboris and Odilis; they were always having dinner with him at the State House and they were the most corrupt people of the Obasanjo regime. Obasanjo had files on them but Obasanjo made them to fund Yar’Adua’s campaign and said they should go and drop their own ambition. So, they funded Yar’Adua’s campaign and when he got there, he couldn’t do anything to them. That has always been the problem of every president because it is the corrupt people who get you there and when you get there and you want to fight corruption, it means you have to first of all get all those who got you there and that is the problem Buhari has now. If you want to fight corruption – I don’t want to name names but he must first of all get all those corrupt people who put him there. There are calls for the merger of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). Do you support such proposition? Those agencies are toothless bulldogs. They are as effective as the president wants them to be. They are just there for decoration. How many former governors have they put in jail? The ICPC may put some lowly clerks in jail, maybe some local government staff. But former ministers, governors who have stolen billions, how many have they put in jail? House of Representatives members, Senators, who stole billions; all the probes of the National Assembly that revealed that people stole billions and billions, how many of them have been put in jail? The EFCC will take them to court, once they take their bail, for the next 10 years, the case is in court and you won’t hear anything. That’s virtually the end. So, Buhari should put an end to that impunity by ensuring that when people are corrupt, no matter how highly placed, they are charged to court, the case is disposed of speedily and the people are punished and Nigerians see that they are punished. Then, everybody will know that they cannot be corrupt. Corruption is the biggest problem.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Forex controls hurt businesses, says StanChart

Airline Services and Logistics: Out of the woods

Stock Watch

Insurance

Growth in assets signals positive future

Why government must tackle corruption at all levels –Ekewenu

42-43

Money Line

Interview

Business What's news

N1trn eluding mobile money operators –Investigation Most non-bank mobile money operators licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to drive the cashless economy scheme are finding it difficult to take their own bite from Nigeria’s juicy market potential valued at over N1 trillion, New Telegraph has gathered.

p.22

‘70% accidents in Nigeria caused by oversight deficiency, negligence’ Statistics from the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) shows that 70 per cent of air crashes in Nigeria are linked or related to negligence or oversight deficiency on the part of government agencies and regulatory bodies.

p.22

L-R: Managing Director, YTGO Limited, Mr. Richard Morgan; Managing Director, Pinnacle Project Managers, Mrs. Abigael Oyewobi; Branch Manager, John Street, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Dipo Akinyemi and Africa Strategy Adviser, Lancaster University, Dr. Akanimo Odon, at a workshop supported by the bank in Lagos.

P’ Harcourt Refinery: NNPC faces fresh hurdles REFINING COST

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Marine crude supply jacks up refining cost in Port Harcourt, Warri refineries

Bayo Akomolafe

Asst. Editor (Maritime)

Sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insurance)

Tony Chukwunyem

Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dele Alao

Industry & Agric Editor

Dayo Ayeyemi Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

Abdulwahab Isa

Adeola Yusuf

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is currently facing fresh hurdles over its promise to deliver refined petroleum products from the 210,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) capacity Port Harcourt Refinery in July, New Telegraph has learnt. Our correspondent gathered that except a miracle happens,

Finance Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst Production Editor

the marine supply contracts, which the corporation signed last year with marine transporters for crude supply to the installation, will make the promised delivery date unachievable. These contracts, which have constituted financial constraint to the delivery date, are expected to jack up the cost of crude refining at the refinery by over $2 per barrel. "The contracts will erode the full cost of production from the refinery and they are now liabilities to the full realisation of the July dream," a source at the refinery said. He added that the same fate would befall the Warri refinery "because the two facilities have contracts for crude supply through vessels.”

The NNPC resorted to the new but cost-inflating crude supply contracts after the previous contracts for supply through pipeline between the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), authorities of the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company collapsed. This newspaper had exclusively reported last July that

210,000 barrels Total volume of refined products the Port Harcourt Refinery is expected to deliver this month

authorities of the two refineries had since abandoned the PPMC pipelines for the new marine crude supply contracts. The NNPC confirmed the new contracts for marine crude supply operations in a document, blaming the neglect of the old contracts on activities of pipeline vandals. Former Group Managing Director, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, told this newspaper on the sideline of a capacity building workshop for energy editors and correspondents in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, last year, that the supply of crude oil through the pipelines to refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri had been grounded by the activities of CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE May 2015.................................9% April 2015................................8.7% March 2015.............................8.5%

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

EXCHANGE RATE (BDC as at July 3)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N231 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N350 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N246

l Foreign Reserves – $29.157bn as at 2/07/2015

Source: CBN

EXCHANGE RATE (Interbank as at July 3)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N200.00 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N307.65 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N223.50

Business | News

MISCONCEPTIONS Many mobile money operators have some misconceptions about their licences Kunle Azeez

ost non-bank mobile money operators licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to drive the cashless economy scheme are finding it difficult to take their own bite from Nigeria’s juicy market potential valued at over N1 trillion, New Telegraph has gathered. Investigations be our correspondent revealed that majority of the nonbank licensees have been facing some challenges preventing them from visibly and actively rolling out services in the country to tap into the N1 trillion market potential. As part of the cashless economy initiative of the apex bank in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, about 20 organisations have been issued mobile money licences to operate in Nigeria with majority of the licensees being non-bank organisations. “I think that part of the problems that the mobile money operators, especially those that are non-bank, have is such that, after obtaining the licences, they started finding it difficult to raise the needed capital that would allow them roll out services,” Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Communications, Mr. Ike Nnamani, told New Telegraph. “They needed to invest in people and resources and for some these is no business case for them after

NNPC faces fresh hurdles CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

vandals. The Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, he said, “now depend on marine transport for crude supply.” Capacity utilisation of the refineries, he said, is 60 per cent of the plate capacity, which is “not because the plants cannot take more but because we have challenges of crude supply, so we have to go through marine.” He explained: “If you don’t have a pipeline that supplies your crude continuously you cannot maximise the volume put in. So, if you have to go through marine and alternative sources, you are constrained based on the volume that those systems can deliver.”

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

N1trn eluding mobile money operators –Investigation obtaining the licence.” Speaking in an interview, Nnamani argued that “from the outset, some of the non-bank operators were reluctant to run the share model, which is the right kind of model that is good for them in a country such as ours, where infrastructure has been in a prostrate state.” He noted that while ex-

perts have estimated that over 150,000 mobile money agents were required for effective mobile money operations nationwide, a venture that can be built jointly by the operators through collaborations as partners, “most of them have busied themselves building their respective agents in silos, resulting in limited operation coverage and lack of visibil-

ity and resultant lack of scale.” Consequently, he said that most operators now have licences, which they are not putting into use, which is a setback to our cashless economy progress. “At the beginning, we advised the licensees on this danger of operating in silos, but they could not see the hand-writing

on the wall. So, the market is there, but the potential huge market has been eluding most of them,” he said. When contacted, Chief Executive Officer, E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), Mrs. Onajite Regha, linked the inability of most mobile money licensees to be visible to lack of robust national

mobile network agent across the country. She also attributed the poor network to why most Nigerians have not been able to fully embrace mobile money. “One of the major problems we are facing around mobile money adoption in Nigeria is the lack of agent network. We CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, FIDSON Healthcare Plc, Dr. Fidelis Ayebae; Managing Director/CEO, SAM Pharma Limited, Mr. Ashwin Dayalani; former Managing Director, Neimeth Pharma Plc, Mr. Sam Ohuabunwa and Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Mr. Okey Akpa, during the association’s World Press Conference in Lagos. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

‘70% accidents in Nigeria caused by oversight deficiency, negligence’ SHOCKING Failure of controllers to properly monitor the airways also liable for accidents Wole Shadare

tatistics from the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) shows that 70 per cent of air crashes in Nigeria are linked or related to negligence or oversight deficiency on the part of government agencies and regulatory bodies. This damning verdict was buttressed by chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Noggie Meggison at the Nigeria Leadership Initiate Forum on safer skies for Nigeria held in Lagos at the weekend. Meggison, had in his paper titled: “Aviation Safety: Operators’ perspective,” listed such man-made mistakes to include

the ADC plane inside the Ejinrin River, Lagos, which was caused by air traffic controllers’ error on November 7, 1996 and the ADC crash in Abuja in 2006 caused by wind shear. Others are Associated plane crash three years ago after the airplane had remained on ground for 24 months, Wings Aviation crash, which was attributed to bad route chart by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the confusion by air traffic controllers among other crashes. It would be recalled that ADC Flight 86 was enroute to Lagos airport at flight level (FL) 240 (approximately 24,000 ft(7,300 m) altitude). At the same time, an aircraft operated by Triax was on its way from Lagos to Enugu at FL160. The Lagos air traffic controller cleared the crew of Flight 86 to descend, but erroneously thought that he had earlier cleared Flight 86 to descend to 10,000 ft(3,000 m) and that it was below the Triax aircraft. The descent from FL240 caused

Flight 86 to conflict with the Triax flight at FL160. The Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) sounded an alert but when the crew took evasive action, they overcompensated and it rolled too far; the pilots lostcontrol and within 16 seconds the aircraft was upside down and diving towards the ground at near-Mach 1 speed. The inverted aircraft disintegrated on impact near Imota (Ejinrin) at 17:05 local time. Given these developments, Meggison urged the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ensure that it has autonomy to regulate the aviation industry. He also decried the over bearing influence on the actions and activities of the regulatory body by the Ministry of Aviation. His words, “They must have enough trained and capable technical hands to carry out the oversight of the airlines, crew and service providers. They must also be able to carry out oversight functions on all

without fear or favour, to any airline, company or citizen regardless of their political, partisan, zonal, religious or affiliations to the government”. The expert regretted that the failure of air traffic controllers to properly monitor the airways is also one of the causes of aviation accidents, adding that urgent employment of technical youths to assist in the oversight function is speedily required in the sector. Meanwhile, Director, Consumer Protection of the NCAA, Adamu Abdullahi, has listed the challenges of the Nigerian air transport industry to include absence of primary aviation legislation, which has to empower NCAA in carrying out its oversight functions. He noted however, that few years ago, the Civil Aviation Act 2006 was enacted (repealing the CAA 1964) and the Act came into force on November 14th of the same year, giving the NCAA autonomy for safety and economic regulation of the Nigeria aviation industry.

INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

In collaboration with

Sanctity of Truth

Alex’s indoctrination took place amid a rustic isolation.

Feeling Alone In America, Drawn to ISIS PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREA BRUCE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI

Alex, a 23-year-old Sunday school teacher and babysitter, was trembling with excitement when she told her Twitter followers that she had converted to Islam. For months, she had been growing closer to a new group of friends online who were teaching her what it meant to be a Muslim. They were telling her about the Islamic State and how the group was building a homeland where the holy could live according to God’s law. One in particular, Faisal, had become her nearly constant companion, spending hours each day with her on Twitter,

Skype and email. Alex began leading a double life. She kept teaching at her church, but her truck’s radio was no longer tuned to the Christian hits on K-LOVE. Instead, she hummed along with the ISIS anthems blasting out of her turquoise iPhone. “I felt like I was betraying God and Christianity,” said Alex, who asked to be identified only by a pseudonym she uses online. “But I also felt excited because I had made a lot of new friends.” The Islamic State is making a relentless effort to recruit Westerners into its ranks, eager to exploit them for their

“I felt like I was betraying God and Christianity. But I also felt excited because I had made a lot of new friends.” outsize propaganda value. Through January this year, nearly 4,000 Westerners were thought to have traveled to join jihadists in Syria and Iraq. The Islamic State’s recruiting effort is carried out by an enormous cadre of operators on social media. The terrorist group maintains a 24-hour online operation, and sympathetic volunteers and fans who pass on its messages and viewpoint make it effective, reeling in potential recruits, analysts say.

Alex’s online circle — involving several dozen accounts, some operated by people who directly identified themselves as members of the Islamic State or whom terrorism analysts believe to be directly linked to the group — collectively spent thousands of hours engaging her over more than six months.

Enticing the Lonely To get to Alex’s house from the nearest town, visitors turn

off at a trailer park and drive for a little over a kilometer past wide, irrigated fields of wheat and alfalfa in rural Washington State. “It gets lonely here,” Alex said. She has lived with her grandparents for almost all her life: When she was 11 months old, her mother, struggling with drug addiction, lost custody of her. Her therapist says that

Continued on Page 26

After Same-Sex Ruling, Evangelicals Face a New Reality By MICHAEL PAULSON

WEST CHICAGO, Illinois — The tone of the worship service was set at the start. An opening prayer declared it “a dark day.” The sermon focused on a psalm of lament. In between, a pastor read a statement proclaiming the church’s elders and staff “deeply saddened.” In Chicago, as in several other cities around the United States, Sunday, June 28, was marked by jubilation, the annual gay pride festivities made more celebratory by the Supreme Court decision two days earlier legalizing same-sex marriage. But here at Wheaton Bible

INTELLIGENCE

Russia’s cultural clash with the West. PAGE 24

Church, a suburban evangelical congregation that draws 2,600 people to its five weekend worship services, it was a day of sorrow. “I came in with a great sense of lament, because of what happened on Friday,” the church’s teaching pastor, Lon Allison, told worshipers before reading a statement declaring, “We cannot accept or adhere to any legal, political or cultural redefinition of biblical marriage, nor will we conduct or endorse same-sex ceremonies.” The dramatic shift in public opinion, and now in United States laws, has left evangelical Protes-

The Reverend Wilfredo De Jesús of New Life Covenant Church said the Christian church has been at odds with the culture for 2,000 years.

tants, who make up about a quarter of the American population, in an uncomfortable position. Out of step with the broader society, and often derided as discriminatory or hateful, many are feeling under siege as they try to live out their understanding of biblical teachings, and worry that a changing legal landscape on gay rights will inevitably lead to constraints on religious freedom. But the challenges are not only external. To a degree that is rarely acknowledged in the public square, many evangelical churches are also grappling

Continued on Page 27

JOSHUA LOTT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

WORLD TRENDS

MONEY & BUSINESS

ARTS & DESIGN

In Argentina, wanting power to last. PAGE 25

Hurdles in India for low-cost airline. PAGE 29

‘Wolfpack’ brothers create new lives. PAGE 34

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

Sanctity of Truth

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

O P I N I O N & C O M M E N TA RY Of all the places where conflict could erupt, space might seem the least likely, except in movies. But increasingly, it is becoming a contested environment posing new dangers. The United States sees this as a vital security issue. “Potential adversaries understand our reliance on space and want to take it away from us,” a senior Defense Department official, told Congress in March. And while everything from control of nuclear weapons to weather forecasting to cellphone use could be affected, the United States “is not adequately prepared for a conflict” in space with countries like China and Russia, he said. The specific concern is the security of thousands of satellites and vehicles, like the international space station, that orbit Earth. America has long dominated

ED I T O R I A L S O F T H E T I M ES

Preventing a Space War space, but many other nations also have valuable assets in orbit. Satellites enable the Defense Department to locate enemies on the battlefield, verify arms control treaties and ensure early warning if an adversary targets the country with an intercontinental ballistic missile. In the Cold War, the United States and Russia engaged in limited testing of antisatellite, or ASAT, weapons. Now China, and to a lesser extent Russia, are actively developing such offensive capabilities, including jammers,

lasers and cyber weapons that could damage satellite operations. A turning point came in 2007 when China conducted its first successful ASAT test by blowing up one of its own weather satellites. The hit unleashed more than 3,000 pieces of debris into space and fed suspicions about China’s intentions. Suggestions by Chinese experts that, in a conflict over Taiwan, Beijing might be able to shoot down an American early warning satellite only deepened American concerns.

Preventing conflicts in space will require more diplomacy. China, which has shown little interest in focusing on the issue, agreed during recent talks in Washington to hold regular discussions on space cooperation and avoiding satellite collisions. Some concrete progress on these issues would be helpful when President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping of China hold a summit meeting in the fall. China and Russia have proposed a legally binding treaty that would ban the use of force

or weapons in space, but most experts consider such a pact unverifiable. A more practical course would be for them to work with the United States and the European Union to establish norms for responsible behavior, including not to test ASAT weapons. A United Nations-convened meeting planned for this month should aim to approve a code of conduct proposed by the Europeans, whether or not Russia and China sign on. The Obama administration is ready to invest more. Officials say an additional $5 billion will be spent over five years on projects like anti-jamming technologies. The Defense Department is also looking to build satellites with greater resiliency. All of the major powers have much to lose if the potential for conflicts in space escalates further.

INTELLIGENCE/ROGER COHEN

Counterrevolutionary Putinism Talloires, France For much of the 20th century Russia was a revolutionary state whose objective was the global spread of communist ideology. In the 21st century, it has become the pre-eminent counterrevolutionary power. The escalating conflict between the West and Moscow has been portrayed as political, military and economic. It is in fact deeper than that. It is cultural. President Vladimir V. Putin has set himself up as the guardian of an absolutist culture against what Russia sees as the predatory and relativist culture of the West. To listen to pro-Putin Russian intellectuals these days is to be subjected to a litany of complaints about the “revolutionary” West, with its irreligious embrace of same-sex marriage, radical feminism, euthanasia, homosexuality and other manifestations of “decadence.” It is to be told that the West loses no opportunity to globalize these “subversive” values, often under cover of democracy promotion and human rights. Putin’s Russia, by contrast, is portrayed in these accounts as a proud bulwark against the West’s abandonment of religious values, a nation increasingly devout in its observance of Orthodox Christianity, a country convinced that no civilization Send comments to intelligence@nytimes.com.

ever survived by “relativizing” sacred truths. Beyond Putin’s annexation of Crimea and stirring-up of a small war in eastern Ukraine (although large enough to leave more than 6,000 dead), it is this decision to adopt cultural defiance of the West that suggests the confrontation with Russia will last decades. Communism was a global ideology; Putinism is less than that. But a war of ideas has begun in which counterrevolution against the godless and insinuating West is a cornerstone of Russian ideology. To some degree, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey shares Putin’s view of the West. China, meanwhile, finds uses in it. Gone is the post-Cold War illusion of benign convergence through interdependence. Something fundamental has shifted that goes far beyond a quarrel over territory. Putin has decided to define his power in conflict with the West. The only question is whether he has limited or allout conflict in mind. This Russian decision has strategic implications the West is only beginning to digest. It involves an eastward pivot more substantial than President Barack Obama’s to Asia. Putin is now more interested in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose core is China and Russia, than he is in cooperation with the G-8 (from which Russia has been suspended) or the European Union.

INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY NANCY LEE Executive editor TOM BRADY Editor ALAN MATTINGLY Managing editor The New York Times International Weekly 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018

EDITORIAL INQUIRIES: nytweekly@nytimes.com SALES AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: nytweeklysales@nytimes.com

OLGA MALTSEVA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Vladimir V. Putin has set himself up as Russia’s guardian in a culture war. A girl in St. Petersburg posing with a picture of the president displayed among portraits of Olympic athletes. China reciprocates this interest to some degree because a Moscow hostile to the West is useful for the defense of its own authoritarian political model and because it sees economic opportunity in Russia and former Soviet Central Asian countries. But China’s fierce modernizing drive cannot be accomplished through backward-looking Russia. There are clear limits to the current Chinese-Russian rapprochement. As a senior European official attending a conference organized by Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs put it, Russia’s is a “loser’s challenge” to the West, because it has given up on modernization and globalization, whereas China’s is potentially a “winner’s challenge,” because it is betting everything on a hightech, modern economy. Of course, being irrational and quixotic, losers’ challenges are particularly dangerous. Putin has gobbled a chunk of Ukraine after it pursued a trade pact with the European Union. He has said he’s adding 40 interconti-

Russia’s conflict with the West goes deeper than politics. nental ballistic missiles to Russia’s stockpile. He has increased flights of nuclear-capable bombers. The message is clear: We’re leaning in on nukes. How should the West respond? It cannot alter the appeal of its values to the world — witness the hordes of people dying in the attempt to get into the European Union. (Rich Russians have also been pouring into the West in search of the rule of law.) So what Russia sees as Western “subversion” (like the tilt of sane Ukrainians toward Europe) will continue — and it should. The West must protect the right of peoples in the East-West in-between lands. The citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and other states have the right to attain Western prosperity through Western institutions if they so choose. Poland

and the Baltic states, now protected by membership of NATO, are inevitably magnets to them. This new protection should borrow from the policies behind the Cold War protection of Germany: firmness allied to dialogue. The West, in the words of Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s defense minister, has been “excessive” in its caution. Holding NATO exercises in Latvia, creating a new 5,000-strong rapid-reaction NATO “spearhead force,” and moving 250 tanks and other equipment into temporary bases in six East European nations is something. But the permanent and significant deployment of heavy weapons in the region is needed to send a message to Putin, as is greater European defense spending, and a clear commitment to maintain sanctions as long as Ukraine is not made whole with full control of its borders. In the end, the very Western ideas and institutions Putin demeans will be the West’s greatest strength in the long looming struggle against Russian counterrevolution.

THE NEW YORK TIMES IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE FOLLOWING NEWSPAPERS: CLARÍN, ARGENTINA n DER STANDARD, AUSTRIA n LA RAZÓN, BOLIVIA n FOLHA, GAZETA DO POVO AND JORNAL O POVO, BRAZIL n GUELPH MERCURY, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR, TORONTO STAR AND WATERLOO REGION RECORD, CANADA n LA SEGUNDA, CHILE n EL ESPECTADOR, COLOMBIA n LISTIN DIARIO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC n SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, GERMANY n PRENSA LIBRE, GUATEMALA n LA REPUBBLICA, ITALY n ASAHI SHIMBUN, JAPAN n DIARIO DE YUCATÁN, EL NORTE, EXPRESO, NOVEDADES DE TABASCO, REFORMA AND SÍNTESIS, MEXICO n EL DIARIO, MEXICO AND UNITED STATES n EL NUEVO DIARIO, NICARAGUA n NEW TELEGRAPH, NIGERIA n CORREO, PERU n MANILA BULLETIN, PHILIPPINES n TODAY, SINGAPORE n EL PAÍS, SPAIN n UNITED DAILY NEWS, TAIWAN n THE OBSERVER, UNITED KINGDOM n THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS AND U-T SAN DIEGO, UNITED STATES

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Sanctity of Truth

WORLD TRENDS NEWS ANALYSIS

Refugees have swelled the population of Wau Shilluk, a northern village in South Sudan, to more than 39,000 from 3,000.

A President Who Seems Not Ready to Leave By JONATHAN GILBERT

BUENOS AIRES — After nearly eight years in office, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina will step down in December. But even as voters weigh their options for a new leader, their departing president has other plans. Mrs. Kirchner appears to be seeking Cristina to retain influFernández de Kirchner ence. Argentines vote on August 9 in open primary elections to decide the presidential nominee of each major party or alliance. To avoid splintering her party, the Front for Victory, Mrs. Kirchner, 62, effectively chose its nominee in June by endorsing Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires Province. Mrs. Kirchner “is trying to continue as leader even though she is leaving government,” said Rosendo Fraga, an Argentine political analyst. Mr. Scioli, 58, needed Mrs. Kirchner’s endorsement to secure the support of the Front for Victory’s voters, who make up about 30 percent of the electorate. Mr. Scioli has clashed with Mrs. Kirchner’s supporters, who see him as being too close to corporate interests. Just a few months ago, he was promoting business-friendly policies. The president’s populist political movement, known as Kirchnerismo, has driven the expansion of social benefits, and a string of nationalizations, including pension funds, an oil company and an airline. These and other policies, including heavily taxing agricultural exports and enacting a law to curb media conglomerates, have pitted Mrs. Kirchner’s government against Argentina’s business establishment. She has also refused to pay off foreign hedge funds, which are suing the country over unpaid debts from a default in 2002. Mrs. Kirchner had expressed support for another candidate, Florencio Randazzo, head of in-

By MIKE IVES

LAO CAI, Vietnam — National flags rustled on both banks of the Red River, but nothing else was moving at this normally bustling border crossing. One trucker said that seven of a dozen trucks parked bumperto-bumper along a narrow road leading to the crossing had not moved for two months. Another complained it was costing him nearly $7 an hour to keep his cargo of chicken wings refrigerated. Political ups and downs typically do not have major effects on overall trade ties between Vietnam and China. But they have profound effects on the small traders near Vietnam’s 1,300-kilometer border with China.

terior and transportation. But that all changed as Mr. Scioli sought Mrs. Kirchner’s support, and apparently acquiesced to her demands. He has called for the government to maintain its central role in the economy and has hinted that he would not be conciliatory to corporations. “Scioli is going to be completely under the thumb of Cristina,” said Melanie Russo, a 22-yearold university student, using Mrs. Kirchner’s first name, as most Argentines do. The Argentine Constitution bars Mrs. Kirchner from running for a third consecutive term, although she will be allowed to run in four years. Before the death of her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner, in 2010 at 60, the couple had expected to stay in power by swapping places. “The president will continue to be the figurehead of Kirchnerismo, so it’s naturally an option to contemplate,” said Eduardo Jozami, 75, a human rights activist. Crucially, Mrs. Kirchner’s popularity is on the rise. Her approval rating at the end of May was 40 percent, according to a Buenos Aires polling company, up from 30 percent in February. “Scioli’s not making the decisions anymore; we have to start looking for something new,” said Luis Ulloa, 32, a municipal government administrative worker. Mr. Ulloa said he was now placing faith in Mauricio Macri, the leader of Republican Proposal, a center-right party, who is the opposition front-runners. If Mr. Scioli wins the presidency, Mrs. Kirchner is likely to preserve considerable influence over his government through her loyalists in Congress. Some of Mrs. Kirchner’s supporters recently gathered at the presidential palace, singing, “The woman boss is not leaving.” For many Argentines, that would be a welcome situation. “She’s built a stronger state,” said Juan Carlos Giannantonio, 65, a used-book seller who likes Mrs. Kirchner’s focus on lifting Argentines out of poverty. “And now she’s within the centrifuge of power, she can’t step out for a place on the margins.”

TYLER HICKS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

In South Sudan, Even Worse By MARC SANTORA

MALAKAL, South Sudan — In places where the fighting is fiercest, no one even counts the dead. Nearly half the population of the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, is in danger of going hungry. New atrocities are reported almost every day. And more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes. “There is no more country,” said John Khamis, 38, who has spent much of his nation’s existence sheltered in a camp on a United Nations base. It has been less than two years since a struggle between the nation’s leaders plunged South Sudan into chaos, inflaming ethnic tensions that almost immediately tore this new country apart. Despite repeated attempts at peace, some of the deadliest fighting of the civil war has erupted in the last few months. “Survivors report that boys have been castrated and left to bleed to death,” said the director of Unicef, Anthony Lake. “Girls as young as 8 have been gang raped and murdered.” Even Colonel Phillip Guarang, the spokesman for the military, the South Sudanese Liberation Army, acknowledged that the conflict was pointless. So many people are seeking refuge that in one village north of the city of Malakal, Wau Shilluk, the population has exploded to more than 39,000 from 3,000. For more than a month, no aid could get there because of the fighting. International aid groups had

to cancel repeated trips in midJune because of shelling and clashes. Finally, aid workers went despite the risks, but on the way back gunmen shot at one of the boats . Tens of thousands have sought refuge in United Nations camps, which were never built to house refugees. Here in Malakal, more than 7,000 have arrived in the last two months, swelling the camp’s population to more than 30,000. With families piled on families, much of the camp has become an open sewer. United Nations officials say they face an impossible choice: open their doors to the desperate, or let people die. This is a far cry from what international officials envisioned when the decades of war between northern and southern Sudan ended and a peace treaty was reached in 2005. In 2011, South Sudan voted to separate from Sudan, and the leaders of the new nation’s two largest ethnic groups — the Dinka and the Nuer — joined in forming a government. Then, in December 2013, President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, accused his former vice president, Riek Machar, a Nuer, of plotting a coup. The two had a history of hostility dating back decades, and their personal struggle set off a new round of violence. The fighting spread from the capital and has been most intense in regions where there are oil fields. The majority of the nation’s budget comes from oil. “They were very close to taking the oil fields,” Colonel Guarang said of the rebel advance.

Feud at Sea Is Felt at Inland Border In May, for example, a 245-kilometer highway from Hanoi was extended to the border in Lao Cai, the provincial capital, and officials from both countries met to discuss plans for creating an economic cooperation zone here. But just a few days later, Chinese and Vietnamese defense ministers met to discuss border management, and local traders said the result was a clampdown on cross-border trade. “Traders on the borders don’t care about the national interest,” said Alexander Vuving, a Vietnam expert at the Asia-Pacific

Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. “They may have that sense of ‘We are proud of being independent,’ but their first interest is their business.” That goes for Nguyen Duy Manh, a trader who says he used to smuggle beef and seafood into China, and fruit, vegetables and cigarettes back into Vietnam. “If we sell everything we have to China, then Vietnam won’t develop, and that’s very bad,” Mr. Manh said. “But a lot of workers aren’t thinking about politics. They just think about how much money they can earn.”

The relationship between Vietnam and China hit a low point last year after China moored an oil exploration rig off Vietnam’s central coast. The tension has lingered as Beijing has built islands in parts of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations. The two nations’ mutual dependence and misgivings go back centuries. China ruled northern Vietnam for more than a millennium, and the China-Vietnam border was closed after a short border war in 1979. The border reopened in 1991,

To get there, the rebels had to take Malakal. The fighting raged just outside the camp. Villages were torched; hundreds of thousands fled to the bush; and untold numbers of civilians were killed. Government forces also began an offensive in Unity State, with reports suggesting that they had reached Mr. Machar’s hometown, Leer. “Eyewitness accounts reported targeted rape and killing of civilians, including children,” according to the United Nations. It has accused all sides of abuses. While exact figures cannot be determined, activists say tens of thousands of people have been killed since 2013. “For more than 17 months, women, men and children have been senselessly suffering through an entirely man-made catastrophe,” the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said in late May. “And now, over the past few weeks, the opposing parties have actually managed to make a terrible situation much, much worse.” Dak Ongin, 54, remembers the day peace was declared in South Sudan in 2005. “I was hoping that peace would last forever,” he said, sitting atop a pile of trash at the United Nations compound. In the distance, beyond the barbed-wire fence, lay his home in Malakal, and an untold number of dead relatives and friends. Mr. Ongin no longer expects peace. He said, “If the government keeps misbehaving, we will tear down this fence and take back the town ourselves.”

and trade increased economic growth on both sides, Yuk Wah Chan, an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong, said in an email. As dawn broke over Lao Cai’s downtown on a recent weekday, Ha Thi Huong, a trader working near the bridge that is a pedestrian crossing to China, was racing to finish selling a shipment of mangoes. She had sold five 50-kilo crates around 3 a.m. to traders who smuggled the fruit into China under cover of darkness, she said. But now it was almost 7 a.m., and the mangoes in her last two crates were going soft in the heat. “If people here couldn’t trade with China for a few days, we’d all be out of work,” Ms. Huong said.

Sanctity of Truth

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

WORLD TRENDS

A Woman Feeling Alone in America, Drawn to ISIS sense of isolation. In early February, a number of other Twitter users read Alex’s timeline and recognized the signs of her growing radicalization. They threw her lifelines. “I know they seem sweet,” wrote @KindLadyAdilah. “They are grooming you. If you went there you would die or worse.” “Can I just ignore them?” Alex asked, “I swear I have, like since last night, cutting off ties is hard and they gave me stuff.” @KindLadyAdilah advised her to stop accepting their gifts.

Continued from Page 23 fetal alcohol syndrome, which has left Alex with tremors in her hands, has also contributed to a lack of maturity and poor judgment. After dropping out of college last year, she was babysitting two days a week and teaching Sunday school for children at her church on weekends. At home, she spent hours on social media and streaming movies on Netflix. Her grandmother, 68, who raised eight children and grandchildren, described her as “a lost child.” Then on August 19, her phone vibrated with a CNN alert. James Foley, a journalist she had never heard of, had been beheaded by ISIS, a group she knew nothing about. Shocked, she logged on to Twitter to see if she could learn more. “I was looking for people who agreed with what they were doing, so that I could understand why they were doing it,” she said. “It was actually really easy to find them.” She found people who openly identified as belonging to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and took the time to politely answer her questions. “Once they saw that I was sincere in my curiosity, they were very kind,” she said. “They asked questions about my family, about where I was from, about what I wanted to do in life.” An ISIS fighter named Monzer Hamad, stationed near the Syrian capital, was soon chatting with her for hours every day, their interactions giddy, filled with smiley faces and exclamations of “LOL.” “did you think of what i said aboyt islam,” he asked in one message sprinkled with typos. What happened next adheres closely to a manual by Al Qaeda in Iraq, the group that became the Islamic State, titled “A Course in the Art of Recruiting.” A copy was recovered by United States forces in Iraq in 2009. The pamphlet advises spending as much time as possible with prospective recruits, keeping in regular touch. The recruiter should “listen to his conversation carefully” and “share his joys and sadness” in order to draw closer. Then the recruiter should focus on instilling the basics of Islam, making sure not to mention jihad. Hamad told Alex to download the “Islamic Hub” app on her iPhone. It sent her a daily “hadith,” or saying by the Prophet Muhammad. Alex’s iPhone began vibrating all day with status updates, notifications, emoticons and Skype voice mail messages. “I was on my own a lot, and they were online all the time,” Alex said. She occasionally pushed back, questioning how the jihadists could justify beheadings. But she had already developed doubts about the Islamic State’s portrayal in the media. Hamad seemed to know a lot about the Bible. He explained to her that Christ was a man who deserved to be revered as a prophet. But he was not God. The discussion unmoored Al-

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREA BRUCE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

‘‘It gets lonely here,’’ Alex, 23, said of living with her grandparents in rural Washington State. She found comfort in a group of online friends who guided her to convert to Islam. ex, who went to see her pastor. She wanted to know whether the idea of the Trinity that Christians believed in meant they were polytheists. The pastor ushered her out after 15 minutes, she said. The next time she attended service, Alex did not stand when the pastor invited the congregation to take communion. “what you do not know is that i am not inviting you to leave christianity,” Hamad wrote, when she relayed what she had done. “Islam is the correction of christianity.” Two days later, Alex wrote: “I can agree that Muhammad and Jesus are prophets not God.” He responded: “so what are you waiting for to become a muslim?” Soon after, though, his Skype icon went gray. Day after day, she looked for him, but he was gone. By the last week of October, Alex was communicating with more than a dozen people who admired the Islamic State. One of her new Muslim “sisters” sent Alex a $200 gift certificate to IslamicBookstore.com. She and others chose books for Alex and mailed them to her home, including a Quran and a study guide. Among the people who picked up where Hamad left off was a Twitter user called Voyager. In November, he asked for her

email address and told her his name was Faisal Mostafa and that he lived in Stockport, near Manchester, England. Soon they began chatting on Skype, cameras turned off in keeping with Muslim rules on modesty. He typically came online when it was 3 p.m. for Alex, which meant Faisal was chatting with her from around 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. his time. The conversation remained platonic, she said, ranging from gardening tips (“Try planting purple asparagus”) to dietary advice (“Try bitter melon tea to lower blood glucose”). Other times, though, they discussed the details of an uncompromising Muslim life.

The Conversion As Christmas arrived, Alex asked Faisal what it would take to convert. He explained that all she needed to do was repeat the phrase “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger” in the presence of two Muslims. Faisal said she could post her declaration of faith, known as the Shahada, on Twitter, and two people who read it would count as her witnesses. The night of Dec. 28, as her family watched television, Alex closed the door. She sat on her bed, a crucifix on a shelf beside

her. For a moment, she thought she might throw up. She logged on to Twitter. Faisal acknowledged her declaration right away. So did another online friend, who went by the screen name Hallie Sheikh. Within hours, Alex had doubled her Twitter following. “I actually have brothers and sisters,” she posted. “I’m crying.” Months later, the Hallie Sheikh Twitter handle came to public attention: That account had briefly interacted with Elton Simpson, the gunman who opened fire on a contest to draw the Prophet Muhammad in Texas, an attack dedicated to the Islamic State. Starting in January, packages began arriving on the stoop of Alex’s home, bearing the Royal Mail logo and Faisal’s address in England. Inside were pastel-colored hijabs, a green prayer rug, and books that took her into a stricter interpretation of Islam. The only person who knew of her conversion was her cousin, who was starting to flirt with the idea herself. Together they went to the Dollar Store and bought two toilet plungers. In a park, they put on their hijabs and used the handles to spar in an imaginary sword fight. But Alex felt increasingly distressed about lying to her family. And as her secret grew, so did her

Applying Pressure Alex’s virtual Muslim community began making more demands. They told her she needed to stop following people who were “kuffar,” or infidels. When a Twitter user who openly supported the Islamic State accused Alex of being a spy, others began blocking her. She offered to provide her Twitter password to anyone who wanted to examine her messages. “To whom it may concern,” she wrote. “A bunch of people thought I was a spy and I’m not, honest. I’ve been a Muslim since December 28th and I took the Shahada on Twitter and I’m about 92% sure that being Muslim saved my life.” Faisal interceded on her behalf. He introduced her to the administrator of the @InviteToIslam account. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors jihadist propaganda, the account belongs to a radical Islamist group based in Birmingham, England, that is in regular contact with ISIS fighters. The @InviteToIslam administrator arranged for Alex to do “a Skype verification.” After an interrogation about her online contacts and intent, she was cleared. “Your a nice person with a beautiful character,” Faisal wrote her three days after the ordeal. “In many ways ur much better than many so called born muslims.” He added: “getting someone 2 marry is no problem Inshallah.” He later elaborated: “I know someone who will marry you but hes not good looking, 45 bald but nice muslim.” Their talk increasingly began revolving around her traveling to “a Muslim land” that Alex understood to be Syria. Faisal suggested she meet him in Austria and offered to buy her the ticket, she said. It was only then that Alex searched his name on Google, she said. She learned that a man named Faisal Mostafa who ran his own Islamic charity called the Green Crescent, with the same address that the packages to her had come from, was originally from Bangladesh, in his 50s and married with children. Over the past two decades, Mr. Mostafa has twice been suspected of plotting terrorism in Britain, but got convicted only of firearms possession, receiving a four-year sentence. On March 25, 2009, he was arrested during a trip back to Bangladesh after the police raided

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Sanctity of Truth

WORLD TRENDS the orphanage run by his charity. Investigators determined he had been running a bomb-making factory. He was repatriated to Britain in 2010 after a nearly one-year detention in Bangladesh.

Family Intervention On a sunny morning in late March, Alex’s grandmother decided to confront the man she believed was trying to recruit Alex to ISIS. The family gathered in the living room, Alex’s computer propped on the coffee table, with a Times reporter and videographer watching. Her grandmother logged in using Alex’s Skype ID. No answer. Many tries and an hour later, he answered: “Salaam aleikum. Can you hear me?” Alex’s grandmother identified herself. “I can hear you,” she said. He hung up. Alex’s grandmother typed out a long Skype message to him. “You need to know she is very important to us,” she wrote. “Why would you EVER think that we would let her leave us under the circumstances you were asking?” She added: “What are you thinking? We have raised her 24 years to be a faithful Christian woman. Not to be brain washed by you.” After a few minutes, he replied: “I understand you may consider us being radical Muslims whatever that maybe? Well please don’t believe everything on fox news!! “We don’t agree with terrorism AT ALL … You have my word but also the word of her friends IN NO way will we ever try to make her harm others or do anything which is illegal.” She typed: “Nothing you say explains the offer of a trip to Austria, the free ticket, the offer of a marriage deal with an old, bald man.” He replied that the marriage offer was “a joke.” Then he promised he would not contact Alex again. Alex agreed to hand over the passwords to her Twitter and email accounts. Her grandmother changed them to prevent her from using them. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents came to the house and downloaded Alex’s electronic communication history after her family contacted the agency. After the online showdown with Faisal, Alex and her grandparents left for a vacation, seeking to reconnect. Alex found she could not stay away from her online friend for long, though. Even though she had come to feel she couldn’t trust him, she still missed his companionship. Waiting until her grandparents were out clamming on a windy beach on the Washington coast, Alex logged into Skype. Faisal wrote her right away, and months later they are still exchanging messages. “I told her I would not communicate with you,” he wrote. “But I lied.”

The Computer Within Many scientists resist the notion that the brain is a computer, Gary Marcus wrote in The Times, because they don’t see the brain as a “serial, stored-proLENS gram machine.” Computers have programs, or applications loaded into memory, and then employ algorithms, which execute steps to solve a problem. The skeptics say people don’t download programs and our nerve cells are much slower than the transistors that power modern computers. Then there is the digital-analog divide. But Professor Marcus argues that many digital computer switches have analog components and most early computers were analog. Scientists aren’t sure if our brains are analog or digital, or some mix of the two. “Neural systems like the amygdala that modulate emotions appear to work in roughly the same way as the rest of the brain does, which is to say For comments, write to nytweekly@nytimes.com.

that they transmit signals and integrate information, and transform inputs into outputs,” he wrote. “As any computer scientist will tell you, that’s pretty much what computers do.” The workings of the brain may be mysterious but aren’t magic. “If the heart is a biological pump, and the nose is a biological filter, the brain is a biological computer,” he wrote, “a machine for processing information in lawful, systematic ways.” There is also new research into how the brain perceives the world, upending the idea that humans have a “stream” of consciousness, Gregory Hickok reported in The Times. Physiologists discovered brain waves in the 1920s, measuring electrical currents on the surface of the scalp with electroencephalography (EEG). Later research found a spectrum of alpha waves, delta waves and so on that correlated with mental states. Recently, scientists have begun “exploring the possibility that brain rhythms are not a reflection of mental activity but a cause of it, helping shape perception, movement, memory and even consciousness itself,” Professor Hickok wrote. “What this means is that the brain sam-

MICHAELA REHLE/REUTERS

Electroencephalography shows brain waves, which may cause mental activity. ples the world in rhythmic pulses, perhaps even discrete time chunks, much like the individual frames of a movie.” It may be those frames from the movie of life that lead to biases when it comes to hiring, a task that many believe requires the human touch, Claire Cain Miller reported in The Times. Making conversation and reading social cues would seem to stymie a machine, but computers have proved useful in the recruiting process. Employers “make hiring decisions, often unconsciously, based on similarities that have nothing to do with the job requirements — like whether an applicant has a friend in com-

mon, went to the same school or likes the same sports,” Ms. Miller wrote. A new wave of start-ups say that software can do the job more effectively than people can. Computer robots are moving into careers that were once thought to be safe from our machine overlords. With emotion-detection software, an “embodied avatar kiosk” (robot) interviews visitors at the United States border and in tests does much better than humans in catching those with invalid documentation, Zeynep Tufekci reported in The Times. “Yes, the machines are getting smarter, and they’re coming for more and more jobs,” Professor Tufekci wrote. “Not just lowwage jobs, either.” Computers shift the balance of power in favor of employers. Workers are encouraged to acquire more skills, or to trust that human intuition will somehow protect them. But new machines have altered that equation. “We don’t need to reject or blame technology,” Professor Tufekci wrote. “This problem is not us versus the machines, but between us, as humans, and how we value one another.” TOM BRADY

Evangelicals Face Reality With Ruling On Gays

‘‘We won’t marry two men,’’ said the Reverend Wilfredo De Jesús of New Life Covenant Church in Chicago. Sunday services at the church.

Continued from Page 23 with internal questions. Especially in and around large urban areas, pastors increasingly report that some openly gay and lesbian Christians are opting to worship in evangelical congregations and that heterosexual worshipers are struggling over the church’s posture because friends or relatives are gay. “There is a growing desire on the part of some, even within the church, to combine their Christian faith with the acceptance of homosexual practice,” the Wheaton Bible statement acknowledged. The result has been a change in tone and emphasis — but not teaching or policy — at many churches. Almost all evangelical churches oppose same-sex marriage, and many do not allow gays and lesbians to serve in leadership positions unless they are celibate. Some pastors, however, now either minimize their preaching on the subject or speak of homosexuality in carefully contextualized sermons emphasizing that everyone is a sinner and that Christians should love and welcome all. “Evangelicals are coming to the realization that they hold a minority view in the culture, and that on this issue, they have lost

JOSHUA LOTT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

the home-field advantage,” said Ed Stetzer, the executive director of LifeWay Research, which surveys evangelicals. A handful of evangelical churches have changed their positions. City Church in San Francisco, for example, has dropped its rule that gays and lesbians commit to celibacy to become members, and GracePointe Church in Tennessee has said gays and lesbians can serve in leadership roles and receive the sacrament of marriage. But in an era when most Americans, including a majority of Catholics and white mainline Protestants, support same-sex marriage, among white evangelicals just 27 percent are in favor while 70 percent are opposed, according to the Pew Research Center. “Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s ethical,” said the Reverend Wilfredo De Jesús, the senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church, an Assemblies of God megachurch with nearly 20,000

members in the Chicago area. “We won’t marry two men,” he said. “That goes against our beliefs.” He, like others interviewed, noted that over 2,000 years of Christian history, the church has often been at odds with the culture. “We’re prepared to go to prison, or whatever occurs, but the church cannot change,” he said. Fa’Darryl Brown, 34, a gay man who worships at a New Life affiliate in Chicago, said his local pastor had described homosexuality as a sin, but “I just see the subject of sexuality as one that we may have to agree to disagree on. It doesn’t mean that I can’t sit under his ministry.” At The Chapel in Libertyville, Illinois, which draws about 6,000 worshipers each weekend across eight campuses, the pastor, Scott Chapman, said he did not support same-sex marriage but “we have a substantial number of folks in our church in that lifestyle.” “We want to be a place that

loves everybody and is open to everybody,” he added. After The Chapel’s Saturday evening worship, Kevin Woodside, 51, a member, said he felt uncomfortable watching news coverage of the Supreme Court decision and seeing the angry signs held by some opponents. “It’s hard to look at that as a Christian response to this,” he said. At Wheaton Bible, Mr. Allison said that when he was delivering the statement at that Sunday service reiterating his church’s opposition to same-sex marriage, he guessed that 5 percent to 10 percent of those present disagreed. “It’s not a sad day,” said one church member, who asked not to be quoted by name while disagreeing with a church leader preaching in the next room. “It’s a happy day.” Claudia Velazquez, 21, said, “I don’t agree with legalization, but I do respect the human beings.” And, she added, “At the end they’re a creation of God, too.”

Sanctity of Truth

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

WORLD TRENDS

Cousteau’s Famed Ship Lies Derelict in a French Port By ALISSA J. RUBIN

CONCARNEAU, France — In its day, the Calypso was more than an oceanographic research vessel. It was the constant companion of the famed French explorer Jacques Cousteau, as the ship and its captain sailed from the Red Sea and the Amazon to Antarctica and the Indian Ocean. Now, all that can be seen of it is a skeletal frame, extending outside a warehouse in this small port town on the coast of Brittany in western France. It is difficult to recognize it as the same boat that starred in award-winning films and televised adventures from the mid-1950s to the 1980s. Over those years, the Calypso and Mr. Cousteau turned into icons of a vibrant ecology movement as they pursued sharks, sea sponges and shipwrecks across the globe. Today, the Calypso rots in the warehouse where it was brought to be repaired in 2007. Weeds curling among the wooden beams of its frame, the ship is now a symbol of how Mr. CousAurelien Breeden contributed reporting.

teau has faded in the collective memory and how neither the French government nor his heirs have found a solution for its restoration. Mr. Cousteau was as much showman as scientist, and he astutely recognized that to get funding, scientific research had to appeal to a popular audience. By refining underwater filming, he did just that, creating a wealth of documentation of life beneath the oceans’ waves. But he left little clear direction about what should become of the vessel when he died at 87 at his home in Paris in 1997. Still in use in 1996, the Calypso was in the Singapore harbor when a barge accidentally rammed into it, sinking the boat. It took days to bring it to the surface and much longer to bring it back to France. Although the Cousteau Society, a nonprofit environmental organization founded by the explorer, set out to restore it after Mr. Cousteau’s death, there have been lawsuits and disputes that have left the boat’s wooden frame weathering and its famous false nose with an underwater chamber rusting away.

The neglect is hardly surprising, said Gérard D’Aboville, the captain of PlanetSolar, a solar-powered research vessel. The government has never shown much enthusiasm for preserving the country’s ships, he said. The register of historic monuments lists 43,000 buildings and 1,400 pipe organs, but just 133 boats. The Calypso’s chances for government sponsorship have also diminished as its fame recedes into memory. “If you ask the younger generation in France, they don’t know about it at all,” Mr. D’Aboville said. The practice of chopping a boat into bits for recycling strikes many as an insult to a boat like the Calypso that has such an illustrious history. No one was talking about such a dire option when the boat arrived in Concarneau for a complete restoration in 2007, and crowds thronged the quays to see it towed into port. The Cousteau Society handed out red caps in memory of those worn by Mr. Cousteau. “When we learned that the workshop had succeeded in obtaining the order for the renovation of the Calypso, it was greet-

DMITRY KOSTYUKOV FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

ed with great joy and pride,” recalled Bruno Quillivic, the deputy mayor for ports in Concarneau, referring to the workshop of Piriou Naval Services, one of the largest employers here and one of France’s biggest shipbuilders. All went well, initially. But by the beginning of 2009, the Cousteau Society decided the renovations were inadequate and stopped payment. Piriou stopped working on the boat and a series of court actions ensued. A judge ruled in favor of Piriou, saying the Cousteau Society needed to pay the shipbuilder 273,000 euros, about $300,000, and to remove the boat from the Concarneau warehouse. Piriou said that if the Cousteau Society

failed to remove the boat by midMarch, it would take steps to auction off the Calypso. That date has come and gone and no sale has taken place. No city or country has offered the boat a home. And the Cousteau Society has said only that it is in discussions with Monaco, where Mr. Cousteau had directed the Oceanographic Museum. On the docks at Concarneau, in the shipyards, and among the fisherman, there is little dispute about the right way to pay respect to the Calpyso: It should be sent to the ocean floor. Jacques Scavennec, a 70-year old sailor, spoke firmly: “It must be sunk 3,000 meters deep and not spoken of anymore.”

TV Show Sympathetic To Jews Stuns Egyptians

GANGI JOURNAL

(Kind of) Giving Away Houses

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

GANGI, Sicily — Looking for a home? One Sicilian town has an offer that is hard to refuse: It is giving away houses. But there is a requirement. The properties in Gangi, a picturesque central town that straddles the Madonie Mountains, are generally dilapidated, some abandoned generations ago. Anyone who acquires one of the properties has just four years to restore it and make it livable. But the offer has already lured dozens of holiday home hunters, and brought fresh opportunities to local builders and tradesmen while energizing tourism. “For our Sicilian mentality, Gangi was considered to be too far from the sea” to be attractive for tourism, said Giuseppe Ferrarello, the mayor of the town, which lies between Palermo and Catania. The initiative, he said, “set in motion a mechanism that was previously unthinkable for a city in the center of Sicily,” where towns have shrunk in tandem with the region’s dwindling economic prospects. Gangi had a population of about 16,000 in the 1950s, the mayor said. Today it is home to about 7,000. Periodic waves of emigration from Gangi began at the end of the 19th century, driven by agents for trans-Atlantic ocean liners selling the prospects of a better life in

Jacques Cousteau’s research vessel, the Calypso, was brought back to France to be repaired in 2007, but a legal dispute has left it to rot in a warehouse.

GIANNI CIPRIANO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

A land promotion is spurring Gangi’s building industry. America, said Marcello Saija, the director of a network of emigration museums in Sicily. Ellis Island records show that about 1,700 Gangi residents landed in New York between 1892 and 1924, he said. Starting in the 1930s and 1940s, Argentina became the preferred destination. Many family homes left behind were the so-called pagglialore typical of this town. The squat, tower-like structures housed donkeys on the ground floor with the paglia, or straw. Chickens and goats were kept on the middle floor. The farmer’s family lived on top. These are among the houses that the city has made available, with the local government acting as broker of sorts. “The bureaucracy is what worries people most, but we don’t sell a house and leave people alone,” said Alessandro Cilibrasi, a real estate agent who assists the municipality in the initiative. More than 100 houses have been given away or sold for less than market prices. Gangi has avoided some regulations on

pricing by not buying any of the homes outright, acting only as a mediator between owners and buyers. About half of the new owners are Sicilians looking for weekend homes, like Michele Di Marco, a Palermo entrepreneur who was attracted by the town’s relaxed rhythms. “I am a lover of these towns that personify what was best about Sicily in days gone by,” he said. The others are primarily Italian, though there are also buyers from several European countries, and one from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. There is a sizable waiting list for the remaining 200 houses. Priority is given to those who want to start an economic enterprise, Mr. Ferrarello said, citing Wendhers S.R.L., a Florence-based firm that received two free houses and bought another seven to create a 22-suite hotel in the historic center. “We did this for our children, because we love our territory,” he said. “And we want our children to stay here and not leave.”

CAIRO — The scene is Cairo’s Jewish Quarter in 1948, and Laila Haroun has news for her parents. Her brother, Moussa, has left to settle in the new state of Israel in spite of the war with Egypt and its Arab allies. “Your son is a traitor!” Laila shouts. “You gave birth to him as an Egyptian Jew, not an Israeli Jew.” Her revelation sets up the central conflict in the Egyptian television series “The Jewish Quarter,” which has astonished Egyptians with its sympathetic treatment of Egypt’s Jews and its depiction of their fierce anti-Zionism. The villains are the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Laila’s love interest is a Muslim military officer viewed as a hero in the Jewish community. The military’s real-life role in expelling Egypt’s Jews under President Gamal Abdel Nasser is omitted completely. The series is a stark turn from the overt anti-Semitism that has dominated Egyptian television for decades. And the series is stirring fierce debate here about Egyptian identity. Some have praised “The Jewish Quarter” for celebrating the more pluralistic ethos that prevailed under the British-backed monarchy, seeing the Egyptian Jews in the series as personifications of a more liberal culture destroyed by Nasser’s 1952 coup. Others have assailed the series in frankly anti-Semitic terms, for “making the Jews look better Merna Thomas contributed reporting.

than the Egyptians,” as one viewer complained on the Facebook page of the filmmakers. Islamists and others have argued that the broadcast of the series reflects President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s tacit alliance with Israel against the forces of political Islam since his ouster of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood two years ago. Fewer than a dozen Egyptian Jews remain in Cairo, and the leader of their community, Magda Haroun, faulted the first episodes for omitting a Torah from the synagogue and for overstating the wealth of the Jewish community of the 1940s . Leftists gripe that the series falsely labels their communist predecessors as secret Zionists. Historians say that the Nasserite, pro-military nationalists of that era and the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood leapt together to the forefront of the fight against the new state of Israel. But the series omits the role of such nationalists in persecuting and ultimately pushing out many of Cairo’s Jews. Instead, it blames the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood almost exclusively. Lucette Lagnado, an Egyptian-born Jew whose memoir, “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit,” describes her family’s forced flight from Cairo, said the popularity of the series reflected a desire to return to the more harmonious ethos of that earlier era. But as for omitting Nasser’s role, she said, “That is a problem, isn’t it, for those of us who suffered directly under Nasser?”

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

Sanctity of Truth

MONEY & BUSINESS

Iceland Faces a Final Test as It Lifts Capital Controls By JENNY ANDERSON and CHAD BRAY

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — After Iceland imposed capital controls during the global financial crisis, the move helped stabilize the country’s banking system, putting the economy on a path to recovery. As Iceland now unwinds those controls nearly seven years later, the government is trying to prevent a mass exodus of money and keep the country from backsliding. It is a pivotal moment for a country that came to symbolize the financial crisis, after its three main banks imploded in 2008. While some economists point to Iceland as a case study of how to manage tumult, its ability to successfully lift capital controls will test that strategy. Capital controls have worked for Iceland, perhaps in part because of its size. A tiny island nation with just 320,000 people, it was crushed spectacularly in the crisis but also bounced back fast. Its economy has recovered nicely, although problems remain. Iceland’s economy is expected to grow 2.7 percent this year. Unemployment is 3.1 percent, lower than in both the European Union and the United States. These results stand in stark contrast to Greece and other countries in southern Europe, which use the euro and do not have their own currency to manage. As Greece still scrambles to deal with its debt problems, concerns are rising that the country will have to exit the currency union. It is rare to have capital controls imposed for such a long time. In 2013, Cyprus expected to institute them for a little while, as it faced a run on its banks during

MATT CARDY/GETTY IMAGES

Iceland is trying to prevent a mass exodus of its currency as it lifts its emergency measures. Reykjavik, the capital. the sovereign debt crisis. It just unwound them this year. In Iceland, they were meant to last six months. Instead, they have lasted almost seven years. “They are more adhesive than anyone expects them to be,” said Lee C. Buchheit, an adviser to the Icelandic government who works at the law firm, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. “They are their own self-justification.” Although the government is trying to ensure an orderly return to normalcy, its plan is untested. In 2008, the country’s three main banks failed in a matter of days, sending the economy and the Icelandic krona into a down-

ward spiral. The combined assets of the banks were in excess of $185 billion, or 14 times the size of Iceland’s economic output. The market capitalization of the stock market fell by 90 percent. When Kaupthing Bank, Glitnir Bank and LBI collapsed under $85 billion of debt, insolvency proceedings began in late 2008. But the creditors held such a large stock of Icelandic kronur that completing the proceedings would risk severely devaluing the currency. The capital controls, imposed that year, were put in place to prohibit money from leaving the country and exacerbating the already severe crisis. While

they have worked broadly, the restrictions have had painful side effects, discouraging new investment and increased the cost for companies to borrow money. To prevent a large capital flight, the government has given a large group of creditors an ultimatum. Creditors can cut a deal with boards overseeing the estates of the failed banks by the end of the year and give up a portion of the money owed. Otherwise, they will face a one-off tax of 39 percent. Iceland is essentially asking creditors to give up 900 billion kronur, or about $6.8 billion, in claims against the bank estates and Icelandic residents. After-

Airline Encounters Obstacles And Competition in India By MAX BEARAK

DELHI — When the fast-growing Malaysian carrier AirAsia wanted to expand, India looked like the ideal frontier. The country had hundreds of millions of potential fliers, many in second- and third-tier cities that have just a few flights a day. With one-way airfares as low as $20, AirAsia aimed to capture chunks of tourism and holiday traffic from India’s slow trains. Then, AirAsia discovered the difficulties of doing business in India. It has contended with red tape and regulations for new entrants that have added significant cost and complexity to its operations. Competition has proved fierce, and persistent price wars cut deeply into profits. After its first year in operation, AirAsia India has just 1 percent of the country’s domestic passenger market. While initially focusing mainly on smaller, underserved cities in south India, the airline has started flying routes from the country’s largest, Delhi. “We realized that we need to be more

AirAsia encounters high taxes on fuel and price wars. visible, both to fliers and to policy makers,” said Mittu Chandilya, chief executive of AirAsia India. AirAsia has focused on keeping costs low and wringing out extra revenues by selling inflight meals and entertainment and charging fees for checked bags and seats with extra legroom. AirAsia exported the model from its home in Malaysia to the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, trying to capitalize on the fast-growing economies in the region. Among Southeast Asia’s budget carriers, it accounts for more than a third of all seat capacity, studies show. The expansion has faced setbacks. AirAsia left Japan in 2013 after an impasse with its joint

SAMI SIVA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

After one year, AirAsia India has only 1 percent of the domestic passenger market. Mittu Chandilya, the chief executive. venture partner All Nippon Airways. Late last year, the carrier faced its first major crisis, when a plane carrying 162 people crashed into the ocean off the Indonesian shore. Mr. Chandilya acknowledges that he misjudged India’s stringent regulatory environment. Taxes on aviation turbines are higher than almost anywhere in the world. Every airline is required to fly to remote regions, where flights often run half full. And new entrants are prohibited

from flying lucrative international routes until they are five years old and have at least 20 aircraft, the so-called 5/20 rule. AirAsia has also had to go head-to-head with IndiGo, which commands almost 40 percent of the market, according to government statistics. On each new route opened by AirAsia India, IndiGo has followed, setting off a price war. Mr. Chandilya has been pushing for reforms, like lowering the tax on aviation turbine fuel. Each

ward, those creditors will be able to move any money recovered out of Iceland. Another group of overseas creditors, who hold about 300 billion kronur in short-term debt and other assets, will have the option to participate in currency auctions or to exchange their debt for longer-term government bonds denominated in kronur or euros. “It is a well-thought-out and credible plan to get rid of the capital controls as quickly as possible,” said Jon Danielsson, a professor at the London School of Economics. “It puts the interests of the economy first while being fair to foreign creditors.”

Indian state controls its own taxes on aviation turbine fuel, and in many places it is kept as high as 30 percent. More than half of AirAsia India’s operating costs are fuel-related. High taxes extend to maintenance and Indian airlines often take their aircraft to nearby countries for work. AirAsia India plans to send its planes to Malaysia or Singapore for servicing. “I talk to ministers and policy makers about how they can help the industry and promote growth, but it is very difficult to get them to understand that reducing these taxes will probably boost their states’ economies,” he said. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has put forward a proposal to ease the 5/20 rule. To inaugurate the Delhi hub in May, government officials and investors were flown over northern India before circling over the Taj Mahal, and then returning to Delhi. The flight also represented the entry of AirAsia India’s fourth plane into its fleet. “When our first plane landed there, I made sure we could park it right between two of IndiGo’s planes,” Mr. Chandilya said. “I wanted their passengers to see us. We’re taking on the big dog. We’re now inside IndiGo’s fort.”

Sanctity of Truth

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

MONEY & BUSINESS

Marketers Chase Millennial Crowd By HILARY STOUT

The makers of Tic Tacs had a problem. After 18 months of internal study, they had concluded that the all-important millennial generation might not be content with a mere mint. So a new and more amusing Tic Tac is arriving at store shelves — the Tic Tac Mixer, which changes headed — out from the younger flavors as it melts on the tongue. part of their life stage to where From cherry to cola, for example, they’re in their first profession, or from peach to lemonade. they’re getting married, having It’s yet another play in the milchildren and influencing more spending,” said Christine Barton lennial mania that is overtaking of the Boston Consulting Group. all manner of businesses. Not But Ravi Dhar of the Yale since the baby boomers, those School of Management said the born between 1946 and 1964, attributes that businesses were came of age has a generation ascribing to millennials — inbeen the target of such fixation. But this has a 21st-century cluding a dependence on technolstyle of urgency — with constant ogy — applied to the population micropandering, psychographic as a whole. “How people shop and analysis, a high-priced shadconsume information, that’s realow industry of consultants and ly changing beyond the millennistudy after study. als,” he said. All cater to a generation viewed The research firm Forrester as people born from about 1980 to recently issued a report titled: 2000, whose youngest members “The Kids Are Overrated: Don’t aren’t even out of their teenage Worry About the Millennials.” years. It noted that baby boomers Goldman Sachs is researching were more affluent and bigger what millennials are naming their spenders, unhip though they babies. GameStop, a maker of vidmay be. “ W h i le some eo games, promotes businesses must its “insider knowltarget millennials edge” of the generbecause of the naation. Even coffee — an industry that ture of their prodwould seem to have ucts, most do not a hold on the generneed to,” the report said. “When such ation — is working companies do pine up strategy. for twenty-some“The reality is that Gen M-ers things, they resemdrink more speble the desperation of a nerdy teenager cialty coffee than who, smitten with any other generaa prom queen, fortion,” wrote Heather Ward, a research lornly asks, ‘Why analyst. “As spedoesn’t she love me Tic Tac added more back?’ ” cialty coffee profesflavors to its line of Brittany Nicole sionals, how do we Miller celebrated make sure we are candy to appeal to her 29th birthday giving them the atyoung people. in May. Her age tention they need?” makes her the tarshe continued in a paper prepared for the Specialty get of much of the corporate afCoffee Association of America. fection, a fact that she says she But some analysts and conhas experienced “ad nauseam.” Ms. Miller is divorced and sumers have begun to ask, what works as a massage therapist about the rest of us? After all, the and a model. She lives with two millennial generation has less male roommates (who are not wealth and more debt than otha couple) in a rented townhome er generations did at the same in Danville, California, and she age, thanks to student loans and likes to buy vintage clothes. In the lingering effects of the deep some ways, she is a stereotypical recession. Though millennials millennial; in others, she is not. are hailed as the first generation “It can be a little overboard, the of “digital natives,” the over-40 generalizing,” she said. (and 50 and 60) sets have become Jason Dorsey, who at 36 considpretty adept when it comes to smartphones and other devices. ers himself among the older milStill, this most coveted genlennials, founded the Center for Generational Kinetics in Austin, eration is huge — about 80 milTexas, five years ago and is often lion strong in the United States invited to speak about his generalone, larger than any other demographic group. And it reation at conferences and events. The center, which advises corpocently crossed a milestone: As of March, there are more millenrate clients in many industries, focuses its research efforts on nials in the American work force “generational context,” he said, than Generation Xers or baby “not generational silos.” boomers, according to the Pew Really, he and others say, milResearch Center. The consulting firm Accenture estimates that lennials are probably just a leadmillennials will spend $1.4 triling indicator of where life is headlion annually by 2020, and they ed for everyone. are expected to inherit about $30 “Definitely we want to be inclubillion in the coming years. sive of millennials,” he said, “but “Why you’re seeing the fervor we don’t want to forget the people now is just where millennials are who brought us to the dance.”

With less cash to spend, the young still get attention.

YANA PASKOVA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Gap is closing stores as rivals like H&M and Zara lure customers. A Gap in Manhattan.

Foreign Brands Become Dominant By HIROKO TABUCHI and HILARY STOUT

At 8:50 on a Wednesday morning, more than 20 shoppers hovered in front of H&M’s new global flagship store in Manhattan, eager to get inside. Directly across the street, a Gap store was also preparing to open. A lone woman stood in front, handing out fliers for a Cuban restaurant. One by one, Gap, J. Crew, American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch have reported slumping sales, while chic and cheap foreign fast-fashion brands like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara are opening bustling stores. American midmarket fashion has lost its way. Gap — once so cool that the actress Sharon Stone wore one of its turtlenecks, with a Valentino skirt, to the 1996 Oscars — is closing a quarter of its 675 North American stores over the next few years. But the closures represent the latest in a decade of stumbles for a brand that Gap was was. In 1998, its “Khaki Swing” television commercial, all smiles and American optimism, aired to 76 million viewers during the final episode of “Seinfeld.” The brand also became seared in popular consciousness that year as the maker of Monica Lewinsky’s infamous stained blue dress. “We had our moments of glory, but they’re not followed with consistent moments of glory,” Art Peck, Gap’s chief executive, told investors at Gap’s corporate headquarters in San Francisco. “None of us are happy with our performance now.” Once the master of casual clothing, the company is finding that its American customer base has splintered. Luxury is booming; at the other end of the market, discount retailers like T. J. Maxx and Burlington Stores are seeing robust gains. Gap, Abercrombie and their peers are stuck in the middle. The legions of teenagers Vanessa Friedman contributed reporting.

and young adults now turn to juggernauts like H&M, based in Sweden, and Zara, owned by the Spanish company Inditex, which turn out cheaper versions of runway trends in weeks. H&M’s 368 stores in the United States, set to grow by 65 this year, get a fresh shipment of styles daily. Uniqlo, owned by the Japanese giant Fast Retailing, markets basics at low price points, in tens of colors in high-tech fabrics, and offers midprice collections by designers and celebrities. “Back in the ’80s and ’90s, there wasn’t real access to higher-level fashion,” said Kate Davidson Hudson, chief executive of Editorialist, an online fashion magazine. “It was the heyday of business casual, and stores did well selling core staples. But now, everybody sees what’s on the runways on social media

Old formulas and a dying mall culture weigh on retailers. and on blogs, and everybody’s a critic, and shoppers want it as soon as they see it. Brands like Gap just feel very dated.” Sales at Gap stores open for at least a year have fallen for 13 straight months. Gap’s upmarket brand, Banana Republic, has also stumbled, though Gap’s cheaper Old Navy label has done well. At Abercrombie & Fitch, comparable sales have fallen for three straight years, and the brand is in the midst of an overhaul. American brands are also saddled with the remnants of a shopping mall culture that is fast vanishing. Many of Gap’s coming store closures are expected to be at malls that have suffered from declining foot traffic. By contrast, overseas retailers, from the start, are used to operating all of their loca-

tions as high-grossing flagship stores. “The mall doesn’t really exist abroad as it does here,” said William Susman, managing director at Threadstone Partners, a New York consumer and retail advisory firm. A shopper at a Uniqlo in Manhattan, Dhushyanthy Tharan, said she found the selection better than at the Gap. “I love their materials, the cotton and linen, and their style,” she said. Mr. Peck and his team seemed to suggest to investors that Gap’s brands will be trying to get new styles into stores more quickly. But it will be difficult for Gap and other American brands to catch up to the likes of Zara and other fast-fashion retailers, some of whom have been coming under scrutiny lately for their heavy reliance on low-wage factory workers working in grueling conditions, as well as for the environmental toll of throwaway fashion. Most pressing for declining American brands, retail specialists say, is bringing inspiration to their clothing lines. “There’s no creative direction, there’s no creative identity, and the shopper can perceive that,” Ms. Davidson Hudson said. “Gap needs to say: Here are the two silhouettes that we think are important this season. These are the two we’re standing behind. Here’s your perfect pair.” Daniel Kulle, president of H&M in the United States, had this advice for his American rivals: He said that H&M still saw “a huge opportunity to grow, for the next couple of years,” in the United States. “If you don’t keep constantly updating your fleet, if you don’t have the right trends and collections season after season, your customers are just going to go somewhere else,” Mr. Kulle said in an interview. “You have to keep your customers curious,” he said. “Then they have to keep coming into your stores to see what’s new today.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Sanctity of Truth

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Lifesaving Stents Get a Closer Look By GINA KOLATA

Millions of patients have had stents — small wire cages — inserted in their coronary arteries to prop them open. And many are convinced the devices are protecting them from heart attacks. After all, a partly blocked artery is now cleared, and the pain in a heart muscle starved of blood often vanishes once the artery is open again. But while stents unquestionably save lives of patients in the throes of a heart attack or a threatened heart attack, there is no convincing evidence that stents reduce heart attack risk for people suffering from the chest pains known as stable angina. These are people who feel tightness or discomfort walking up a hill, for example, because a partly blocked coronary artery is depriving their heart of blood.

A test is underway to establish the best way to treat angina. And there is a reasonable argument that drugs — cholesterol-lowering statins in particular — might be just as good at reducing such pain. Now, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute is trying to find out whether stents do in fact prevent heart attacks. The answer could change the standard of care for patients who receive a new diagnosis of heart disease. The typical treatment for angina is to thread a narrow catheter up from a blood vessel in the groin to the heart, squirt in a dye that allows a cardiologist to see blockages in arteries on X-rays, and then insert a stent in the blocked areas. Stents are safe but expensive; in the United States, they generally cost more than $10,000. And stents are not always a permanent solution to chest pain. Stents were introduced in the

1990s, and because they relieved pain and were far less invasive than bypass surgery, they became the treatment of choice. Doctors and patients started to believe they also saved lives in stable patients. “The thought was, better to go in and open it up,” said Dr. Harmony R. Reynolds, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York and a principal investigator in the study. “But now meds have gotten so good that it is not clear surgery adds anything for stable patients.” Researchers tried to get an answer with a big study in 2007. But many cardiologists did not believe its conclusion that stents failed to prevent heart attacks and deaths. Skeptics said most patients in the study were at such low risk that it did not matter which treatment they received. They were certain to do well, so the study proved nothing about whether stents worked. Because of the doubts about that study and ingrained habits, medical practice was largely unchanged by its findings. A recent study, which analyzed recorded conversations between cardiologists and patients with stable angina, found that 75 percent of the cardiologists recommended stents and when they did, their patients almost always complied. And, the study found, on the rare occasions when the cardiologists presented both stents and medical treatment as options, none of the patients chose stenting. The new study aims to avoid the methodological flaw in the 2007 study. Patients are not given angiograms, the test in which dye is injected into the coronary arteries, before being assigned a treatment. Instead, they are accepted on the basis of noninvasive tests that indicate blocked arteries and high risk of a heart attack. Their doctors know only that an artery is blocked — not which one or how much — so they are not able to pluck out patients they believe need stents and prevent them from entering the trial. Underlying the debate about

MARK MAKELA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES; BELOW, PETER EARL McCOLLOUGH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The blocked arteries, above, of a patient who had a catheterization procedure, and left, a coronary stent.

the utility of stents is an uncertainty about how and why heart attacks occur. For years, the common notion was they were caused by a plumbing problem. In this view, plaque — pimplelike lumps — partly blocked a coronary artery and grew until no blood could get through, and a stent was needed to open an artery before it closed completely. But a leading hypothesis says there is no predicting where a heart attack will originate. It could start anywhere there is plaque, even if the plaque is not obstructing the flow of blood in an artery. Unpredictably, a piece of plaque can burst open. Blood starts to clot on the area. Soon, the blood clot clogs the artery. The result is a heart attack. Certain plaques, with thin walls and bursting with fat-filled white blood cells, are prone to rupture. A study published in 2011 found only a third of heart attacks originated in plaques blocking

at least half of an artery, as seen on an angiogram. The rest began with the rupture of plaques that appeared to be no problem. According to this view of how and why heart attacks happen, stenting would not be protective because people with atherosclerosis have arteries studded with plaque. The partly blocked area visible in an angiogram is no more likely to be the site of a heart attack than any other with plaque. But statins could work because they change the nature of plaques, making them less likely to rupture. Although stents relieve chest pain, medical therapy can, too, though it may take weeks or months. But proving whether stents make a difference is turning out to be harder than expected. Many doctors and patients have such strong opinions about the value of stenting that recruitment for the new study has been

difficult. Stents have become part of the fabric of heart disease care. “Cardiologists think this is a very important study intellectually,” said Dr. David J. Maron of Stanford University in California who is one of the study’s authors. “But when it comes to their own patients, some cardiologists balk, even though they know we don’t have the answer.” The issue potentially affects many heart patients. “Half the people over 65 have blockages,” said Dr. Gregg W. Stone of Columbia University in New York. And once a stress test or an angiogram reveals a blockage, it can be hard to ignore it. “People believe that if they have a blockage, they have to fix it mechanically,” said Dr. Judith S. Hochman, a cardiologist at NYU Langone and chairwoman of the study. “It seems logical, but in medicine, many things that seem logical are not true.”

When the Mind’s Eye Is Blind, It’s Hard to Picture an Image By CARL ZIMMER

In 2005, a 65-year-old retired building inspector paid a visit to the neurologist Adam Zeman at the University of Exeter Medical School in England. After a minor surgical procedure, the man — whom Dr. Zeman and his colleagues refer to as MX — had suddenly realized he could not conjure images in his mind. Dr. Zeman could not find the condition in medical literature. He was intrigued. For decades, scientists had debated how the mind’s eye works, and how much we rely on it to store memories and to make plans for the future. MX agreed to a series of exams. He proved to have a good memory for a man of his age,

and he performed well on problem-solving tests. His only unusual mental feature was an inability to form mental images. Dr. Zeman then scanned MX’s brain as he performed certain tasks. First, MX looked at faces of famous people and named them. The scientists found that certain regions of his brain became active, the same ones that become active in other people who look at faces. Then the scientists showed names to MX and asked him to picture their faces. In normal brains, some of those face-recognition regions again become active. In MX’s brain, none did. Yet MX could answer questions that would seem to require

Some people’s imaginations are missing the images. a working mind’s eye. He could tell the scientists the color of Tony Blair’s eyes, for example, and name the letters of the alphabet that have low-hanging tails, like g and j. These tests suggested his brain used some alternate strategy to solve visual problems. Since then, scientists have surveyed other people who say they cannot summon mental images — as if their mind’s eye

were blind. Many of the survey respondents differed from MX in an important way. While he originally had a mind’s eye, they never did. Reported in the journal Cortex, the condition has received a name: aphantasia, based on the Greek word phantasia, which Aristotle used to describe the power that presents imagery to our minds. If aphantasia is real, it is possible that injury causes some cases while others begin at birth. Thomas Ebeyer, a 25-year-old Canadian student, discovered his condition four years ago while talking with a girlfriend. He was shocked that she could remember what a friend had been wear-

ing a year before. She replied that she could see a picture of it in her mind. “I had no idea what she was talking about,” he said. He was then surprised to discover that everyone he knew could summon images to their minds. Like many other survey subjects, he could count his windows without picturing his house. “It’s weird and hard to explain,” he said. “I know the facts. I know where the windows are.” Dr. Zeman is trying to ascertain how common aphantasia is. He has sent the questionnaire to thousands of people and wants to hear from more. He can be reached at a.zeman@exeter. ac.uk.

Sanctity of Truth

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Good Hygiene Counts for Animals in the Wild By NATALIE ANGIER

Northern flickers have a poor division of domestic labor. Among these tawny, 30-centimeter woodpeckers with downcurving bills, the male flickers are more industrious housekeepers than their mates, according to a new report on their sanitation habits in the journal Animal Behavior. Researchers already knew that flickers, like many woodpeckers, are a sex role reversed species. The fathers spend more time incubating the eggs and feeding the young than do the mothers. Now scientists have found that the males’ parental zeal also extends to nest hygiene: When a chick makes waste, Dad is the one who usually picks up the unwanted presentation and disposes of it far from home. “It takes away microbes, removes smells that might alert predators, and makes the whole nest much cleaner,” said Elizabeth Gow, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia and an author on the new report. “It’s an important aspect of parental care that we often forget about.” The new work reflects a growing interest in what might be called animal sanitation studies — the exploration of how, why and under what conditions different species will seek to stay clean, stave off decay and formally dispose of the excreted and expired. Nature may be wild, but that doesn’t mean anything goes anywhere, and many animals follow strict rules for separating metabolic ingress and egress, and avoiding contamination. Researchers have identified honeybee undertakers that specialize in removing corpses from the hive, and they have located dedicated underground toilet chambers of African mole rats. Among chimpanzees, hygiene often serves as a major driver of

cultural evolution, and primatologists have found that different populations of the ape are marked by distinctive grooming styles. The chimpanzees in the Tai Forest of Ivory Coast will pick a tick or other parasite from a companion’s fur and then squash it against their forearms. Chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest of Uganda prefer to daintily place the fruits of grooming on a leaf for inspection, to decide whether the dislodged bloodsuckers are safe to eat, or should be smashed and tossed. Budongo males, those fastidious charmers, will also use leaves as “napkins,” to wipe their penises clean after sex. Serious sanitation work can be time-consuming and dangerous, as the new study of flickers revealed. Baby woodpeckers deposit their waste in fecal sacs, the mess contained in a gelatinous outer coating “like a water balloon,” Dr. Gow said. “It makes for easier removal from the nest.” The little birds can be prodigious sac factories. Where human parents may change 50 to 80 diapers a week, flicker parents remove the same number of fecal sacs a day, each time venturing some 90 meters from the nest and risking exposure to predators like hawks. Dr. Gow determined that father flickers performed about 60 percent of the sanitation runs, spent up to an hour a day on the task and, in the event of the untimely death of a mate, were happy to let the sacs stack up. “When they’re really strained,” Dr. Gow said, “and the options are remove fecal sacs or feed the kids, they’ll feed the kids.” Good hygiene is a matter of context. Luigi Pontieri of the Centre for Social Evolution at Copenhagen University and his colleagues study the pharaoh ant. Unlike most ants, pharaoh ants don’t build structured nests or defend territory. “They’ll live

ANDREW RAE

wherever they can, in places other ants avoid,” Dr. Pontieri said. “They’ll live in trash, in layers of old food, in electric plugs, between the pages of books. You can even find a colony inside a mealworm, which they ate their way into.” Sometimes, Dr. Pontieri said, “it can be really disgusting to work with these ants.” Delving into the secrets of the ants’ capacity to stay healthy no matter where they roam, the researchers discovered that the insects seemed to resist disease

in part through a kind of vaccination program. As the researchers reported in the journal PLOS One, when the ants were given a choice between nesting in clean soil or soil littered with the corpses of pharaoh ants killed by fungal disease, the living ants chose to nest with the fouled fallen. Uninfected cadavers didn’t hold the same appeal; the pharaoh ants wanted dead comrades with spores. “We think the ants were actively seeking small doses of the pathogen,” Dr. Pontieri said. “It

Plumbing Reality’s Debt To a Cosmic Lucky Draw By GEORGE JOHNSON

The Large Hadron Collider sprung back to life in June, smashing subatomic particles with nearly double the energy used to discover the Higgs boson, a landmark in understanding the makeup of the physical world. With the Higgs out of the way, researchers are setting their sights on more exotic fare: signs of a new physics that not only describes the universe but explains why it is the way it is. Four fundamental forces rule reality, but why is the number not three or five or 17? Matter is built from a grab bag of particles whose masses differ so wildly that they appear to have been handed out by a punchdrunk God. The proton weighs 0.9986 as much as the neutron, and each is more than 1,835 times as massive as the electron.

These values, like all the others making up the spec sheet of the universe, seem so arbitrary. Yet if they had been slightly different, theorists tell us, the universe would not have given rise to intelligent life. Rejecting the possibility that this was nothing more than a lucky accident, physicists have been looking for some underlying principle — a compelling explanation for why everything could only have unfolded in this particular way. That is not how we ordinarily think of human history. With every event, forking paths of possibilities branch out into the future. Pick one of the multitude that didn’t become real, and we might be living in a very different world. But physics isn’t played that way: If a number called alpha,

JON KRAUSE

which governs the strength of electromagnetism, were infinitesimally larger or smaller, stars could not have formed, leaving a lifeless void. Alpha’s value seems no more predictable than digits randomly spit out by a lottery machine: 0.0072973525698. One of the greatest mysteries of physics, the physicist Richard Feynman called it, “a magic number that comes to us with no understanding by man.” Other values, like the mass of the Higgs boson, or the strength of the force that binds together the cores of atoms, appear to be

just as finely tuned. Bump the dials just barely, and nothing like our universe could exist. String theory was so mesmerizing when it rose to prominence three decades ago, w ith its extra dimensions and pretzel geometries, that it seemed almost certain to be true — a tightly woven description, when ultimately deciphered, of a universe just like our own. Instead, string theory spiraled off in another direction, predicting a whole multitude of other universes, each with a different physics and each unobservable except for our own.

might be a way of getting immunized against a disease that could kill them.” African mole rats build lavatories. When one toilet chamber is too full, said Chris G. Faulkes of Queen Mary University of London, the workers will “backfill it, seal it up and make a new one.” Like its human equivalent, a mole rat toilet chamber is also a place to primp, and a freshly relieved animal will mark its recent visit with a touch of anogenital fluid daubed on the bathroom floor.

Maybe some of the other universes have spawned different kinds of conscious beings, made from something other than atoms and just as puzzled (in some unfathomable equivalent of puzzlement) as we are. Or maybe the whole multiverse thing is an elaborate way of saying that there are endless ways that this Universe (singular and with a capital U) might have unfolded. For years now theorists have been torn between those who reject the multiverse as “a copout of infinite proportions,” as Natalie Wolchover and Peter Byrne wrote last year in Quanta, and those who insist the idea is too powerful to be wrong, even if there is no way to verify that any of the other universes exist. Plenty of multiverse skeptics remain open to some version of string theory, one that doesn’t require redefining what counts as real. Maybe, lurking still hidden in the thicket, is a magic equation, showing that this universe is, after all, the only one that can be.

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

Sanctity of Truth

AMERICANA

Black Churches Are Still Targets of Racial Hatred Mourners at an African Methodist Episcopal church in Washington prayed for the Charleston, South Carolina, shooting victims.

By RACHEL L. SWARNS and CAMPBELL ROBERTSON

In Atlanta, former slaves sang their hallelujahs in an abandoned railroad boxcar. In Lincoln County, North Carolina, they called out to Jesus in a building made of old pine poles. Near Cartersville, Georgia, they raised their voices to the heavens from a roofless barrel shop. After the Civil War, African-Americans abandoned the white congregations where they had prayed as slaves and created their own centers of worship. What emerged after Emancipation is what the African-American scholar W. E. B. Du Bois and others have described as the “first social institution fully controlled by black men in America.” Black churches ran schools, offered burial assistance and served as clearinghouses for information about jobs, social happenings and politics. They also embodied their communities’ political aspirations. And before long, they became targets. In 1870, as the Ku Klux Klan battled to return African-Americans to subservience, nearly every black church in Tuskegee, Alabama, was engulfed in flames. Ninety-three years later, during the civil rights movement, a bomb killed four young girls in a black church in Birmingham, Alabama. So when the Reverend Henry A. Belin III heard about the recent mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, he was not surprised. “You attack the center, whatever you think is going to hit at the heart,” said Mr. Belin, the pastor of the Bethel First A. M. E. Church in New York. “The black church has been the heart.” Even at a time of waning atKate Pastor and Jada F. Smith contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES

tendance, the church remains an important institution for African-Americans. In 2014, 79 percent of African-Americans identified themselves as Christian, a rate that has dipped in recent years but remains higher than other ethnic groups, according to the Pew Research Center. The churches have always extended their mission beyond Sunday services. In the 19th century, they became vital community engines. More than 100 of the first black men to be elected to legislative office in the United States were ministers, according to Eric Foner, a history professor at Columbia University in New York. During segregation, churches became places where black men and women found leadership opportunities denied to them elsewhere. Some became springboards for politicians and head-

Places of worship also serve as hubs of hope and leadership. quarters for protest movements, most recently in connection with the issue of police brutality. The deacons of small clapboard churches that dot the Southern countryside have become soldiers in the fight to improve public health, organizing walking clubs and healthy potlucks in places ravaged by heart disease and diabetes. And churches still serve as efficient communications hubs, as evident from the political figures who shuffle in and out of pews at election time. In New Orleans, black churches became

channels to share information when residents were scattered and their homes destroyed by the floodwaters after Hurricane Katrina. “It’s not just African, it’s not just American, it’s not your runof-the-mill religious experience,” said the Reverend Dwight Webster, of the Christian Unity Baptist Church in New Orleans. “It’s what was needed to help a people survive.” Heidi Beirich, director of the intelligence project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said hate groups remained aware of the church’s significance. “It’s a symbol of the black community,” she said. “If you want to harm black folks, it’s an obvious easy target.” Even as the church has evolved, racial violence has been a perennial companion. The killing of the four girls in Birming-

Grifters, Killer Gators and ‘Florida Man’ By LIZETTE ALVAREZ

MIAMI — Dangling into the sea like America’s last-ditch lifeline, the state of Florida beckons. Hustlers and fugitives, million-dollar hucksters and harebrained thieves, all FLORIDA scheme and Miami revel in the Sunshine State. It’s easy to get in, get out or get lost. This cast of characters has provided a diffuse, luckless counternarrative to the sun-kissed state that tourists see from their beach towels. But recently there arrived a digital-era prototype, @_FloridaMan, a composite of Florida’s nuttiness unspooled, tweet by tweet, to the world. With pithy headlines and links to real news stories, @_FloridaMan offers up the “real-life sto-

A place in the sun that draws hustlers and tourists alike. ries of the world’s worst super hero,” as his Twitter bio proclaims. His more than 1,600 tweets — equal parts ode and derision — are a favorite for weird-news aficionados. Yet, two years since his 2013 debut, the man behind the Twitter feed remains beguilingly anonymous. (The one false note is his avatar: The mug shot belongs to an Indiana Man.) His style is deceptively simple. Nearly every Twitter message begins “Florida Man.” What follows, though, is almost always a pile of trouble. Some examples: n Florida Man Tries to Walk Out of Store With Chainsaw

Stuffed Down His Pants. n Florida Man Impersonates Police Officer, Accidentally Pulls Over Real Police Officer. The number of @_FloridaMan’s followers is about 300,000. “Weird stories happen everywhere, but they usually come to a logical conclusion” the Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen said of the character of the state. “It’s not just shooting fish in a barrel,” said Mr. Hiaasen, who writes novels full of Florida Men, “but shooting mutated, deranged, slow-moving fish.” Mr. Hiassen cited the car thief who had been caught by the police in the parking lot of a casino by the Everglades. The thief had the bad sense to try to escape by plunging into a pond behind the casino. “As soon as he hits the water, he gets eaten by an alligator,” Mr. Hiaasen said. “This is the way things must be here.” In fairness, there is also

ham was only one of more than 300 such church bombings in the 1960s, according to “Black Church Arson in the United States 1989-1996,” which appeared in The Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies in 1999. The violence continued. From 1989 to 1996, more than 200 black and multiracial churches in the country were burned, according to a congressional hearing held in 1997, the article said. The shooting in Charleston has resurrected fears. Pastors said they were thinking of hiring security guards. “In churches all over the country people are asking, ‘Do we need someone at the door, someone who is a little bit more questioning?’ ” said Barbara D. Savage, author of “Your Spirits Walk Beside Us: The Politics of Black Religion.” “This is an example of how terrorism works.”

A Twitter account that offers up ‘‘reallife stories of the world’s worst super hero.’’

@_Flor1daWoman, the only person @_FloridaMan follows. And while far less prolific, she is no less wacky: n Florida Woman Arrested For Tying Boyfriend Up With Cellophane. n Florida Woman Tells Police She Knew Truck Was Stolen, But She Didn’t Know It Was “That Stolen.” Roy Black, a lawyer who has represented his fair share of Florida Men and Women — the

kind loaded with money — said he had put some thought into why Florida breeds its own brand of crimina ls. He said it is partly the polarized nature of the state — very poor to very rich, very liberal to very conservative. It is partly the state’s partying culture — spring break, half-naked people. And it is partly the legions of immigrants from Cuba, South America, Central America and Haiti who sometimes import their old-country vendettas. “Where else do you get retired torturers from Argentina?” Mr. Black asked.

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

Sanctity of Truth

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

ARTS & DESIGN

Early Digital Flotsam Finds New Life as Art By ALEX WILLIAMS

In Noah Baumbach’s recent movie, “While We’re Young,” Josh and Cornelia, aging Generation X Brooklynites (played by Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts) who are desperately trying to reclaim their youth, are struck by what passes for home décor in the loft of their new on-trend young friends Jamie and Darby (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried). The young couple proudly displays a library of movies on VHS tapes, along with music cassettes. “It’s like their apartment is full of everything we once threw out,” Cornelia says with wonder. The tech detritus of the 1980s and ’90s is finding a second life as a new generation of artists, designers and nostalgists is repurposing the early-digital-era flotsam of its youth as art, home décor and jewelry, along with plenty of iro-

Designers give high-tech detritus a second life as art. ny-laced kitsch. “We’re just to the point where we can look back at the VHS tape and realize how cool it was,” said Erika Iris Simmons, a 31-year-old Chicago artist who works under the name Iri5, fashioning portraits of luminaries like Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe not with a brush, but with swirls of tape from old audio and VHS cassettes. To Ms. Simmons, cassette tape recalls a more tactile association that children of the ’80s and ’90s once had with their gadgets. Chris McCullough, 40, a Los Angeles architectural designer who creates art for his spaces, renders portraits of cultural icons like James Brown using audiocassettes like mosaic tiles. Not only are cassettes inexpensive and abundant, he said, but they resonate with audiences his age. “Cassettes represented the

ABOVE, EMILY BERL FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

A portrait of Jimi Hendrix, with swirls of cassette tape, by Erika Iris Simmons; and a Sony PlayStation lamp, by Jeff Farber.

first popular portable music medium you could share and personalize yourself,” Mr. McCullough said, before services like Spotify made music “ever disposable.” Old Nintendo peripherals themselves can also function as art, or at least eye-catching home décor. Jeff Farber, 36, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, sells pop-art-style desk and floor lamps fashioned from vintage PlayStations and Nintendo 64s on his Etsy shop Woody6Switch, which are intended to celebrate an era when gadgets, even cheap plastic ones, had a certain staying power. “When I was a kid, technology advanced much more slowly than it does today,” Mr. Farber said. “Like a beloved pet, you took care of it and it gave you joy and entertainment for many, many years.” By contrast, he added, “today’s technology advances and upgrades are so fast that a device you buy today can become virtually obsolete in a matter of months, so there is no real time to fall in love with it the way you could in those golden years of video game infancy.” There is certainly no shortage of the stuff. As the life cycle of the electronic gadget shrinks to a virtual eye blink, the mountains of electronic trash continue to rise, expected to surpass 70 million metric tons this year, from about 19 million in 1990. An art installation set to open at the Brookyln Museum, which has been shown in London and Miami, comprises 14 vintage game cabinets painted in collaged imagery and Day-Glo patterns, and reprogrammed with smirky, interactive games that satirize gentrification and pollution. But there is an undeniable element of Gen X nostalgia at work, too. “It celebrates and builds on the loss of these somewhat sacred spaces we found growing up going to arcades at the mall,” said Patrick Miller, 39, who helped create the installation. “You could be a hero or a villain in these spaces and be transformed in the games before walking back out into the normal, and sometimes boring teenage, world.”

CHRISTIAN HANSEN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Angulo brothers, from left, Mukunda, Bhagavan, Govinda, Narayana, Jagadisa (now Eddie) and Krsna (now Glenn), who were confined in an apartment, are the subject of ‘‘The Wolfpack.’’

Clan ‘Breaking Out’ in Film By CARA BUCKLEY

Much has changed in the Angulo family since Crystal Moselle finished filming her documentary, “The Wolfpack.” After being locked up in their Manhattan apartment by their domineering father for most of their lives, all six Angulo brothers freely journey outside. They have friends, jobs and Facebook pages. They traveled to the Sundance Film Festival, where the film won the grand jury prize; visited their mother’s family in Michigan; and filmed an art movie. One has moved out, another has a girlfriend. Four have lopped off their long hair. The youngest two have changed their names. Yet for all these bright spots, the film raises questions about their past. “Of course I feel nothing good about it,” said Narayana Angulo, 22. “What I can say is, I do not wish that for any family in the world.” Ms. Moselle, 34, spotted the six brothers, then ages 11 to 18, wandering in the East Village five years ago. She asked if they were brothers. Shyly, they replied that they were, adding, “We’re not supposed to talk to strangers.” But curiosity overcame them after they learned that Ms. Moselle was involved in film. She began filming them as they re-enacted scenes from their favorite movies, like “Reservoir Dogs” and “The Dark Knight.” She found their creativity astounding: They used construction paper, cereal boxes, paint and even yoga mats to create elaborate costumes and sets. Half a year later, Ms. Moselle learned why the brothers were such avid film fans: They had spent most of their lives cloistered in a four-bedroom, 16th-floor apartment in a public housing complex. Since moving into the apartment with his wife, Susanne, and their brood in the mid-90s, their father, Oscar, fearful of drugs and crime, had forbidden his family from venturing out. People were ill-intentioned

Mukunda in his homemade Batman costume. Govinda, Narayana, Mu k u n d a , Krsna and Jagadisa. It was Mukunda who defied his fat her’s orders in April 2010, and sl ipped outside wearing a mask modeled on the one worn by Michael Myers in “HallowMAGNOLIA PICTURES een.” Discomfited shopkeepers called the police, and dangerous, Oscar told them. who picked Mukunda up and, afThey lived on welfare, with only Oscar going out for food. ter he would not respond to their “When you’re young, you don’t questions, took him to Bellevue know why things are the way Hospital Center, believing him to they are,” said Govinda Angulo, be mentally ill. He was returned who is 22 and Narayana’s fraterhome a week later. Mukunda’s escape was a nal twin. “You just accept it.” turning point for the family and Susanne, who home-schooled prompted the other brothers, and the children, said she felt powereventually their mother, to follow less against her husband’s dicsuit. The siblings refer to this tums. “I felt like I didn’t have contime as their “breaking out.” trol over my choices,” she said. Govinda has moved to an Yet Oscar liberally supplied his apartment in Brooklyn. The rest family with movies — classics, of the family, Oscar included, still live together, yet, save for Bhagavan, none of the boys talk to their father anymore. “I want to move forward, and I don’t want to move back,” said Mukunda, 20, who is a freelance production assistant. “I feel if we start going back to the old way of talking, I won’t be able to move forward with my life.” The brothers seem to be thrivblockbusters and independent ing. Bhagavan teaches Jivamukfilms — which became the boys’ ti yoga and is a dancer at the window onto the world. Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory. The singular path of the AnGovinda works as a freelance camera assistant and director of gulos began in the late ’80s, photography. Narayana works when Susanne Reisenbichler, at the New York Public Interest a free spirit from the Midwest, Research Group. met Oscar, an aspiring PeruviNone of them seemed to have an musician. They fell in love, major qualms about having exand their firstborn was Visnu, a developmentally challenged posed their lives to the world.. girl, followed by the six boys. “You know, we still have a long Hare Krishna devotees, the way to go,” Narayana said. “But parents gave the brothers SanI am more hopeful than ever that we’ll all be able to make it out of skrit names, and from oldest to where we’ve been.” youngest they are Bhagavan,

Breaking free of a domineering father to create new lives.

Business | Money Line

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Forex controls hurt businesses, says StanChart

INFLATION Inflation is likely to remain a problem Stories by Tony Chukwunyem

Trigger bond market sell-off

tandard Chartered Bank’s June Business Sentiment Index (BSI) showed that business sentiment in Nigeria fell marginally by 1.1 per cent m/m to 60 .7, its lowest level since February, the lender has said. In a report made available to New Telegraph, the bank attributed the development to the reduced supply of foreign exchange in the market. It said: “We believe that the softer BSI for June indicates ongoing economic challenges. Inflation is likely to remain a problem. Despite weak demand, with firms re-

porting some difficulty in passing price increases on, input prices reached a new series high in June. Rising costs continue to pressure margins. “Moreover, businesses still point to weak FX availability as a constraint on activity. The current conditions’ assessment for the ‘effect of the naira exchange rate’ remains in deeply contractionary territory – despite picking up to 21.7 in June from 16.8 in May. This implies that

FX availability is hurting businesses.” Consequently, the lender predicted that “given the introduction of further FX controls by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in late June – a period not yet covered by the survey – we expect to see further deterioration in businesses’ assessment of FX availability when the July BSI data is published.” Significantly, bank executives, financial analysts and other industry

stakeholders had also warned that the forex curbs would constrict business and hurt the economy. As part of ongoing measures to conserve external reserves and stabilise the exchange rate, the CBN recently listed 41 items, including rice, private jets, foreign securities and Indian incense, which it said cannot be funded in the interbank foreign-currency market or by the use of export proceeds. According to

CBN issues new directives on Form ‘M’ registration

ollowing its addition of 41 items to the list of imports that cannot be funded in the interbank foreigncurrency market or by the use of export proceeds, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued new directives on the registration of Forms ‘M’ for the affected items. In a circular to authorised dealers and the general public, the banking watchdog stated that with effect from July 3 2015,

tificate (marine/cargo) and written confirmation from the authorised dealer showing source of funds (and) evidence of source of funds.” It also directed authorised dealers to submit hard copies of such Forms ‘M’ to its Director, Trade & Exchange

“Forms ‘M’ to be established on Nigeria Single Window for Trade Portal for items ‘Not Valid for forex’ should be accompanied with the following documents in addition to other regulatory permits where applicable: Proforma Invoice from the supplier; insurance cer-

Department before validation for necessary approval. The CBN, however, stated that the new measure, “will not impede smooth flow of existing process as we will ensure that all approvals are granted with forty-eight hours of receipt.”

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 9 13 10.77 US$60.42 US$29,157,103,039

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 May, 2015 4/6/2015 Mar 2015 10/6/2015 2/7/2015

Source:CBN

Description 13.05 16-AUG-2016 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 10.00 23-JUL-2030

TTM

Price

1.12 1.82 3.99 4.61 6.57 8.70 15.06

FGN Bonds 98.50 100.34 103.07 102.00 106.45 96.77 68.00

NIBOR

Tenor (Days) Call 30 90 180

Rate (%) 5.8750 14.2194 15.6070 17.2538

Bid Yield

14.51 14.84 14.95 14.91 14.81 14.86 15.56

Change (%) -1.96 ▼ 0.41▲ -0.67▼ -0.72▼

Change (%) -0.01▼ 0.11 ▲ -0.08▼ -0.02▼ -0.02▼ 0.06 ▲ 0.00 ↔

Price 98.65 100.49 103.37 102.30 106.75 97.07 68.30

Tenor (Months)

Offer Yield 14.36 14.74 14.85 14.82 14.74 14.80 15.49

NITTY

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Rate (%) 10.3349 11.9673 13.5907 13.6130 14.1418 14.4189

Spot ($/N)

Offer 197.71

Change (%) -0.01▼ 0.11 ▲ -0.08▼ -0.02▼ -0.02▼ 0.06 ▲ 0.00 ↔ Change (%) -0.11▼ -0.15▼ 0.09 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 0.13 ▲ 0.20 ▲

Money Market

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) 10.98 11.29 0.01 ▲ Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 9.17 24-Sep-15 11.23 11.55 0.01 ▲ 10.77 11.35 0.34 ▲ Overnight (O/N) 9.67 17-Dec-15 11.02 11.63 0.34 ▲ 12.63 14.34 0.51 ▲ 02-Jun-16 12.88 14.66 0.51 ▲ Bid 197.61

Change (%) -0.04 ▼

NIFEX

Bid Spot ($/N) 198.9000

Offer 199.0000

Change (%) -8.33▼ -9.08▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

CBN Clearing Rates of June 26, 2015 Spot ($/N)

195.90

196.90

-0.03 Source: FMDQ

analysts, the introduction of that policy has triggered further decline in the value of the naira. Despite this development, Standard Chartered forecast that the BSI may see some recovery in the months ahead. “We believe that a recovery in H2-2015 is plausible. This is consistent with our thinking that 2015 will be a ‘year of two halves’ for the Nigerian

economy, with a weak H1 giving way to more robust activity in H2. The strength of the future expectations indicators in Nigeria suggests that businesses remain optimistic on the likelihood of an economic turnaround. Most future expectations indicators are holding up well above the 50 breakeven level, suggesting businesses continue to anticipate the resumption of stronger growth even now, despite the economy’s many challenges,” the lender stated.

Sterling Bank partners FSD on human capital devt

s part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive towards supporting skill acquisition among youths to prepare them for self-employment, Sterling Bank Plc has signed a partnership agreement with Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD), a reputable vocational training institution to provide training programmes for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Under the pact, Sterling Bank will sponsor the training of NYSC corps members in various vocations during the course of their service year in alignment with its expressed purpose of enriching lives. The bank, according to a statement, has so far funded the training of about 100 NYSC members in various vocations during the pilot stage through the NYSC-SAED (Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development. The lender has also equipped a 20-seat ICT laboratory of the FSD, which will provide all participants with rotational access to free ICT training. Sterling Bank said that the need to support

the development of skills among the youth has become inevitable given the growing rate of unemployment in the country. “We believe that the steps we have taken so far would help in ameliorating the problem of unemployment in the country and support other initiatives such as the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) and the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOU-WIN) introduced by the government to checkmate the relatively high rate of unemployment in the country.” The lender noted that entrepreneurship through the growth of SMEs remains pivotal in the growth of any nation. SMEs have played and continue to play significant roles in the growth, development and industrialisation of many economies. In the case of Nigeria, SMEs have performed below expectation due to a combination of inadequate capacity in terms of skill and access to required funds. This according to the statement, “is why Sterling Bank has taken the bull by the horn because the solution lies in broad based partnerships for maximum impact”.

LAPO Institute holds Microfinance devt confab

he maiden annual conference on Microfinance and Enterprise Development organised by the LAPO Institute, a centre for capacity development, research and advocacy, will take place today and tomorrow in Benin City. According to a statement by the Institute, the forum, which is aimed at promoting microfinance and enterprise development in Nigeria and Africa in general, will be declared open by the Managing Director

of LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited, Dr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe. Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, is expected to be the special guest of honour at the conference that will see academia, practitioners and stakeholders in development to examining the current state and challenges bedeviling the microfinance industry and how to ensure that it becomes a veritable instrument for enhancing social inclusion and accelerated national development.

Business | News

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

noted that we didn’t have sufficient agent network in some locations that we visited as E-PPAN during our cashless policy sensitisation programmes last year. “In a number of locations, the agent network that we have been complaining about is a challenge because when we introduced mobile payment, we found the readiness to adopt it, but we found that we didn’t have agents round.” She stressed the need for the Federal Government to also encourage wider mobile network by telecoms operators so as to ensure fidelity in transactions by mobile money users. Also speaking with New Telegraph, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS), Mr. Adebisi Shonubi, had asserted that most mobile money licensees were not able to roll out because “they have lost focus.” Shonubi said that nonbank mobile money operators were issued licences to serve as transaction channels and as agents for deepening financial inclusion in rural areas across the country. He said that this category of mobile money licensees had turned away from their mandate of driving financial inclusion in the rural communities as they now operate in the cities to compete with the same customers being targeted by the big commercial banks. He also attributed the development to ‘misconception’ and ‘misunderstanding’ of the objective of the licences given to the mobile money operators. Shonubi stated: “I think a lot of the mobile money operators have some misconceptions about their licences. Some of them believe that they got a banking licence. Yes, you get a financial licence, but mobile money is not banking licence. “In essence, they are transaction companies. For instance, customers have the balance with the bank, but we are creating a platform for them to transact on it through mobile money.” He also explained that most of the licensees picked up the licences because it was cheap without knowing what to do with them. “So, because of the initial low cost of getting the licence, a lot of people ran into it without understanding that it is a retail business and retail business takes a long time to go. So, many of them were not adequately capitalised. For that reason, they always look for the closest

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

‘N1trn eluding mobile money operators’ thing they can hang on to do their business. “That means that rather than go to the village and there are only 100 people there, they chose to start doing their businesses in the cities, where there are thousands of people, half of whom already understand what the technology is, since most of them have smart phones and mobile money operators considered this easier for them to do business,” the NIBSS boss expelained.

“Unfortunately, that is the same people the banks are targeting. What you now find is that ‘rivalry’ because everybody is targeting the same audience and that is not the original intention when they were being given licence.” Shonubi noted that mobile money operators were given licences to encourage other people to come into the financial space, using wallets for payment, “not the same customers that the banks are targeting who already

have bank accounts using their phones and applications that the banks have given them. That is why it appears they are in rivalry.” He, however, said that with the ongoing measures being taken to ensure that mobile money operators are able to leverage a shared agency networks being supported by the CBN, the licensee would be able to focus on their raison deter of driving financial inclusion in the country.

“I hope with the way they are now working together to create a shared agency network, it would be easier for me to now go to village, create one agent network and all other mobile money operators can connect to that agent and I would get paid, because if you don’t allow other mobile money operators to connect to that agent platform, you will never create enough business for that agent to begin to see the business as profitable,” he said.

Shonubi also stressed the need for mobile money operators to create a niche for themselves to be able to offers services that are not exclusively provided by the banks. “There is absolutely nothing that a mobile money operator can do that banks cannot do, as long as a bank sees that person as its customer, So, as long as the mobile money refuses to create a niche for itself, it is going to remain a big issue in the industry,” he added.

Business |Stock Watch

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

OUTLOOK Firm banks on expansion to boost bottom-line Chris Ugwu

t is no doubt that after the deregulation of airline services in the country, the sector has witnessed a new era of growth and advancement. The deregulation regime offered an increased interest and investment in Nigerian’s aviation industry. As more airlines entered the market, old fleets were replaced with new ones – a development that boosted confidence the nation’s aviation. Besides, the services offered by airlines improved as marketdriven innovations came to bear to attract more passengers. The results of these were the emergent of varieties of services to suit all categories of air travelers, which had never happened in the industry. Despite the improvement and innovation accompanying the deregulation and privatisation of airline services in Nigeria, there are some challenges still prevalent in the system. These include inadequate stand for airline users, flight information and public address systems echoes, poor customer relations, flight delay, missing luggage and personal items and security issues. These challenges and others have indeed hampered the activities of some airline services in the country. While some companies were able to successfully weather the storm, notwithstanding the difficulty in business environment, others were not. Airline Services and Logistics Plc got its fair share from the stiff competition faced by the sector, which led to dwindling fortune of the company that manifested in the 2013 financial year. Although the firm recorded better performance in 2012, it reported a huge drop in profit during the full year 2013 and also recorded drop in profit in the first, second and third quarters of 2014, as the company remained under attack from both declining revenue and rising cost induced by harsh competitive environment. Market analysts had predicted that the company’s profit and revenue were likely to decline further in full year 2014 following a disappointing start for the year. But contrary to expectations, the company made a reversal and returned to profit in the full year ended 2014. However, because investors were being cautious on taking investment actions recently due to uncertainty of the nation’s economy, market sentiments for the shares of the company plummeted. The share price, which closed at N2.08 per share on August 31, 2013, has remained stagnant. At the close of work on Friday, it also stood flat at N2.08. Financials From a profit peak in 2012, Airline Services & Logistics 2013

Airline Services and Logistics: Out of the woods

Revenue firmed up to N971.912 million as against N804.993 million recorded in 2013, accounting for 21 per cent.

Dele-Cole

FY results showed a monumental drop in bottom line. The group had recorded a turnover of N3.50 billion against N3.83 billion in 2012, a decrease of nine per cent. The drop, according to the company, was mainly attributable to the effect of the loss in market share due to a new entrant in the industry. A profit of N91 million was recorded in 2013 compared with N493 million in 2012. This indicated a decline of 82 per cent, which was also said by the company to be mainly due to the costs incurred in implementing its strategies for increasing revenue base and the one –off debt recovery that was experienced in 2012. However, total non-current assets increased by 31 per cent. Riding on the back 2013 full year results, the company began the first quarter of 2014 with bad numbers as it recorded 74 per cent drop in pre-tax profit. The group, in a filing with the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), posted a profit before tax of N25.302 million for the first quarter ended March 30, 2014, as against N95.757 million during the comparable period of 2013. This translated to a drop of 74 per cent. Turnover also fell by eight per cent from N873.154 million in 2014 to N804.993 million during the period under review. The poor showing continued in the second quarter following a 67 per cent decrease in profit after tax. The company posted a profit

Share price movement of Airline Services and Logistics 2014 Aug 31

N2.08

Sept 30

N2.01

Oct 31

N1.83

Nov 30

N1.58

Dec 31

N1.70

2015 Jan 31

N1.67

Feb 28

N2.10

Mar 31

N1.70

Apr 30

N2.20

May 30

N2.34

June 30

N2.08

July 3

N2.08

The company made a reversal and returned to profit in the full year ended 2014

after tax of N22.788 million for the half-year ended June 30, 2014, as against N69.571 million during the comparable period of 2013, indicating a drop of 67 per cent. Its revenue dropped by seven per cent from N1.756 billion in 2014 to N1.628 billion during the period under review. The trend continued in the third quarter of the current year as the company’s net earnings also dipped by 36 per cent. Profit after tax during the nine months ended September 30, 2014 stood at N50.877 million in contrast to N79.295 million posted in 2013. This represented a drop of 36 per cent. Revenue also dropped by four per cent, from N2.658 billion in 2013 to N2.555 billion in 2014. However, the company made a reversal for good numbers, as its financial results for full year ended 2014 improved. Profit after tax stood at N171.954 million for 2014 as against N90.389 million reported same period of 2013, accounting for an increase of 90 per cent. Its revenue grew by two per cent to N3.554 billion in 2014 from N3.501 billion in 2013. The company also began the 2015 financial year on a promising note with a 285 per cent growth in profit after tax. It recorded a profit after tax of N97.514 million during the period under review from N25.302 million in 2013, representing an increase of 285 per cent.

Operational challenges Chairman, Airline Services & Logistics Plc, Dr. Patrick Dele Cole, had, at the18th Annual General Meeting (AGM), said that 2013 was a tough year for the company. He said: “As is expected with competition, we lost part of our market share to the new entrant in the Nigeria in-flight catering industry.” Cole noted that the management was committed to pursuing the implementation of measures to improve earnings with plans to develop the company strategically. Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Richard Akerele, said: “From the results point of view, 2013 has to be characterised as one of the most trying years, especially when compared with 2012, which was one of the best years on record. “Whilst much of this downturn can be attributed to your company’s determination to invest in the future by expanding into other regions of Africa, developing new facilities back at home and diversifying our revenue base into areas such as oil and gas, other factors such as competition from international players and possibly most important of all, the lack of an encompassing and cohesive strategic government policy that would on one hand provide for planned growth and on the other support local service providers has in no small measure had an impact on this company and the industry at large.” Future outlook Cole said that the company has continued to take major steps to lead the group towards a successful future by actively pursuing the venture into oil and gas catering business, setting up catering unit in Rwanda and expanding the operation in Abuja in preparation to meeting its short term medium term targets. “I am convinced that we will make a substantial progress in 2014 towards achieving our targets,” he said. Conclusion The importance of airlines services in the enhancement of the movement of passengers and freight in Nigeria and world over cannot be overemphasised. However, the laudable policy interventions that brought in deregulation and globalisation have impacted positively on the airline services in Nigeria. No doubt, it brought a new paradigm of competition and innovation, which have impacted on service delivery among the airline operators in Nigeria. These are expected to translate to improved profits for companies that play in the aviation sector such as Airline Services and Logistics.

Insurance

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Half Year Report

Growth in assets signals positive future Sunday Ojeme

ix months into year 2015, the insurance industry has progressed basically along the same policy direction as stipulated in the extant law guiding its operation. However, the industry set the year rolling in the month of February when the commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, opened up on a new mechanism through, which the industry could boost its not too impressive premium rating, which is still far too low compared to the resources available in the country. Driving MDRI At a seminar in Benin City, Daniel disclosed the need for the Federal Government to make the possession of insurance certificates compulsory for those bidding for government contracts. The directive, which is however, not new, is part of the regulator’s plan to drive the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI). Part of the success plans is for the government to use the various law enforcement agents such as the Police, the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), the Federal Road Safety Corps among others, to compel people to buy the compulsory insurances launched in the six geopolitical zones of the country since 2011. Performance Within the period, some of the operators were able to declare their results, which have seen them recording growth and losses in different aspects of their operations while others have made claims payments to policyholders who suffered losses. The half-year also created room for the regulator to intervene in the management of one of the underwriters, International Energy Insurance, when it dissolved the board and ensured that it was reconstituted with new management almost immediately. In June, the regulator made available some statistics, which showed an impressive performance as the assets of the industry rose to over N700 billion. It was revealed that the assets grew from N347.1 billion in 2007 to N711.4 billion in 2015, representing an increase of 104 per cent. The industry performance also saw the gross premium income growing from N100 billion in 2007 to N302 billion at the end of 2014, an increase of over 200 percent. The total liability to date was N422.7 billion. Shareholders’ fund stood at N352.5 billion, whereas net profit of the industry was N28.430 billion. Conquering IFRS Contrary to what obtained it the past, the June revelation also confirmed the operators’ gradual inclination to preparing their accounts according to the rules of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which had been their undoing in the past. While they struggled to prepare the accounts and forward same to the regulator in the past, it was revealed

DG, PenCom, Chinelo Ahonu-Amazu

Daniel

DG, PTAD, Nellie Mayshak

that 40 companies successfully made theirs available to the commission, thereby escaping the penalty that has seen a number of them paying heavy fines running into millions of naira.

of the year has witnessed almost a zero protest action by pensioners. What used to be a weekly occurrence appears to have died down gradually basically due to Federal Government’s ability to implement series of promises to the aged retirees.

challenges that had bedeviled the sector in the past have been well taken care of. The agency also successfully conducted a supplementary verification exercise for all unverified police pensioners who retired on or before June 2007. The supplementary exercise came on the heels of post verification analysis, which revealed that 3,326 police pensioners on PTAD’s payroll did not turn up to be captured. The removal of unverified police pensioners from PTAD’s payroll is to clean up and give credibility to the police pensioners. Between December 2014 and March 2015, PTAD went to all the geopolitical zones to verify and capture all police pensioners.

Lamentation The period provided another opportunity for operators to rue the premium losses in the industry when the Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, Mr. Godwin Wiggle, decried the N60 billion premium losses annually to fake motor vehicle insurance certificates. The insurance brokers, under the aegis of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), were also very active through series of engagements and awareness creation especially during disasters. Exit of an astute regulator Of all that happened during the period, the exit of Daniel as the Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM obviously remains the most significant in the industry. The astute administrator, who is expected to bow out this month, assumed the leadership of the commission in 2007. Daniel, who combined experience and administrative skills to regulate the industry, recorded a number of successes in an industry that suffers public apathy. Among his firsts are the implementation of compulsory insurances; fight against fake insurance; ‘No premium No Cover’ policy; implementation of IFRS; market development products, including micro insurance and Takaful under the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI), among other reforms. Pension Unlike in the past, the last six months

Police verification With the Pension Transition Administration Directorate fully in charge, the

Statistics showed an impressive performance as the assets of the industry rose to over N700 billion

PenCom’s awareness campaign On the part of the National Pension Commission, the drive to ensure more workers are registered formed part of its activities during the period. Although the assets have increased over the years to N4.7 trillion, PenCom and the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) under the aegis of Pension Operators Association of Nigeria still lament the low participation in the scheme by a large number of employers and employees. While the campaign to get more workers registered is on, the pension regulator has also prepared a programme to meet with potential retirees across the six geo-political zones within the period and beyond. Conclusion However, current developments in insurance and pension operations indicate that the industries, which suffered apathy and maladministration in the past, will in no time take a turn for the better if the momentum with which they are being driven at the moment is sustained.

Business | Insurance

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

FAKE Over 90 per cent of insurances are not genuine

he Nigeria Police Force has expressed concern over the excessive premium losses to insurance racketeers in the country. Divisional Police Officer, Sabo Police Station, Mary Ubangha, said this at the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) Members' Evening in Lagos. She advised stakeholders to devise means of reducing the huge insurance loss to fake paper racketeers. Ubangha, who spoke on the theme: “Police Concern on Insurance Fraud,” said that the Police were concerned because over 90 per cent of insurance purchased at the licensing offices were fake. She said that the Police were burdened with the rot going on in the industry, with premiums losses running into billions of naira annually. Ubangha’s declaration came barely three weeks after the Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers’ Association, Mr. Godwin Wiggle, revealed that the industry loses about N60 billion premiums on fake motor vehicle insurance alone annually. The occasion also provided an opportunity for the President of NCRIB, Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu, to call on the government for a quick intervention into the spate of road carnage

Police fret over rising cases of fake insurance across the country. Speaking on the recent fatal crash that claimed the lives of university students in Ogun State, Shoderu urged the Federal Government to find solutions to the ugly situation. The nation was plunged into deep mourning two weeks ago as eight students of Olabisi Onabanjo University were lost to avoidable accident. He described the accident as terrible and shocking, saying that death has again depleted

some of the nation’s future leaders. Shoderu also said incidents of accidents involving articulated vehicles was adversely affecting the nation’s economy as goods and properties worth billions of naira went down in inferno. “The unfortunate part of these incidents was that most of the affected properties and lives involved were not adequately insured. “Although, insurance may not prevent death, the trauma of dependants after the loss of breadwin-

posed Code of Corporate Governance which draft was recently issued by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). He noted that the code had been generating some ripples, adding that the proposed 10 years tenure for managing directors in the code was inimical to broking operations. He observed that the NCRIB was quite proactive on the matter and would ensure that the interests of its members are fully protected. To drive home his seriousness, he revealed

that the Council made a strong representation at the Public Hearing held by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) in Lagos, adding that the mandate of the NCRIB was to protect and preserve the existence of all members. In his remarks, the Managing Director of Old Mutual Nigeria, Mr. Wale Quadri, said the company recorded a profit of N500 billion for 2014 financial year. Old Mutual sponsored the Members’ Evening. He said the company was able to hit the huge profit because of its investment in customercentric products. He said Old Mutual had continuously invested in customers’ delight with zero tolerance to fraudulent practices.

L-R: Business Development Manager, Technology Distribution Mobile, Stomo Ekwegh; Vice President-Retail Yudala, Stanley Uzoechina; Country Manager, YEZZ Mobile Nigeria, Adeola Awesola and Chief Operations Officer, Konga Nigeria, Mark Russel, during a media launch of YEZZ mobile phones in Lagos. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

SA Insurance pays N566m claims to policyholders

ners, could be avoided if insurance has been given its rightful place,” he said. He urged government to inculcate the culture of insurance in every citizen as a tool to manage risk. “Government should also partner insurance industry to enforce all the compulsory insurances. “Like I always say, everything worth having, worth insures,” he said. In another development, the president vowed to defend and protect the interest of its members to ensure that they are not emasculated by the pro-

he Group Managing Director, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, Bode Akinboye, said the underwriting firm paid out claims totaling N566.65 million to some of its policyholders who suffered losses. The claims, according to a statement, covered the first quarter of 2015. According to the breakdown, Standard Alliance paid N278.64 million, while its life subsidiary, Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited, doled out the remaining N288.01 million. The claims were paid on losses spread across fire, marine, motor, oil and gas, general accident and engineering classes of general insurance, as well as the group and individual life policies. The managing director, who underscored the importance the company’s attachment to prompt claims settlement, said,“we recognise the fact that the survival or ac-

ceptance, progress and reputation of any underwriting company are a function of its consistent ability to respond to claims issues promptly and that is why we give any claims reported all the prompt attention to the satisfaction of our affected policyholders.” He explained that the company’s ability to settle claims to the tune of N566.65 million at a time the insurance business patronages were not impressive owing to the nation’s focus on the general electioneering activities “clearly demonstrates the organisation’s financial strength to manage any size of risk brought to it by the insuring public at any time.” Some of the major beneficiaries of the claims settlement, according to him, included Karina International Limited, Compact Manifold & Energy Services, Eagle Haulage Nig. Ltd, St. Paul’s Church, Hydrochina Huadong Engineering and DSC International, among others.

Accounts: Five underwriters to pay N21m fine

ollowing their failure to submit their annual accounts before the June 30 deadline, five insurance companies are to pay a minimum of N21.6 million as fines. Failure to forward details of accounts to the regulator before the deadline attracts N5,000 per day. According to the details released by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Alliance & General insurance; Alliance & General Life Assurance; NICON Insurance Limited; Spring Life Assurance and Unic Insurance Plc failed to forward their 2013 account details to the commission before the stipulated date.

This is coming even as the regulator has confirmed the approval of the 2014 accounts of 35 other insurers who forwarded their accounts before the end of last month. Those which accounts have been approved include Wapic Life Assurance Ltd, Wapic Insurance Plc, Custodian & Allied Ins. Ltd, Custodian Life Assurance Ltd, Law Union & Rock Insurance Company Plc, Mansard Ins PLc, FBN Insurance Ltd, Oasis Insurance Plc, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, UBA Metropolitan Life Ins. Company, Zenith Life Assurance Company Ltd, and Zenith General Insurance Company Limited.

Others are Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc, Royal Exchange General Insurance Ltd, AIICO Insurance Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Prestige Assurance Plc, Continental Reinsurance, NSIA Insurance, NEM Insurance Plc, Leadway Assurance Plc, Equity Assurance Plc, Unity Kapital Assurance Plc, Lasaco Assurance Plc, Regency Alliance Plc, ARM Life Insurance, Niger Insurance, Staco Insurance Plc, Union Assurance Plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, KBL Insurance Ltd, Unitrust Insurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, and Mutual Benefits Life Assurance Plc,

Business | Financial Market News

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

3-Jul-15

The DQL contains data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial market (the “Information”). The Information does not constitute professional, financial or investment advice. We attempt to ensure the Information is accurate; however, the Information is provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE” basis and may not be accurate or up to date. We do not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information, neither do we accept liability for the results of any action taken on the basis of the Information.

Bonds FGN Bonds

Price

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description ^13.05 16-AUG-2016 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 ^15.54 13-FEB-2020 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

16-Aug-13 27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 13-Feb-15 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14

13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493

581.39 476.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 233.73 600.00 599.99 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 324.50

16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34

1.12 1.82 2.07 2.16 2.91 3.99 4.31 4.61 6.57 8.70 13.41 13.89 14.38 15.06 19.04

14.51 14.84 14.90 14.90 14.94 14.95 14.97 14.91 14.81 14.86 16.11 16.27 16.46 15.56 14.85

14.36 14.74 14.81 14.82 14.87 14.85 14.85 14.82 14.74 14.80 16.05 16.21 16.37 15.49 14.80

98.50 100.34 91.27 90.01 90.26 103.07 75.34 102.00 106.45 96.77 93.94 79.35 56.60 68.00 82.97

98.65 100.49 91.42 90.16 90.41 103.37 75.64 102.30 106.75 97.07 94.24 79.65 56.90 68.30 83.27

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,838.17

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,412.60

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

2.10 112.22 116.70 66.49

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

1.00 1.43 1.80 2.01

2.94 1.42 1.00 1.00

17.17 16.08 15.83 15.90

100.07 99.86 104.32 100.87

Agency Bonds FMBN ***LCRM

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

297.52

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

302.98

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.16

4.44

15.87

99.38

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.24

3.23

16.78

99.05

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

2.60

30-Jun-16

0.74

4.46

18.50

97.03

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

3.96

30-Jun-16

0.75

3.48

17.52

98.64

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.80

1.00

15.83

91.14

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

21.24

30-Jun-17

1.28

1.00

15.51

98.05

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.50

1.79

16.71

94.65

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.88

1.80

16.66

95.94

Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR

NIGER

14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018

04-Oct-11

14.00

9.00

04-Oct-18

1.89

1.00

15.86

97.08

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR†

*EKITI

14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018

09-Dec-11

14.50

12.40

09-Dec-18

2.07

1.00

15.90

97.65

Bb-/Agusto

*NIGER

14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018

12-Dec-13

14.00

9.21

12-Dec-18

2.08

4.78

19.68

15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019

14-Feb-12

15.50

27.00

14-Feb-19

2.06

1.00

15.90

99.29

02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12

15.50 14.50 14.75

15.09 80.00 24.74

02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19

2.50 4.39 2.56

2.02 1.00 1.00

16.94 15.96 15.92

97.19 95.47 97.67

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR

*ONDO

90.99

BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

*GOMBE LAGOS

15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019

BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019

BBB-/Agusto

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

10-Oct-13

14.75

10.78

10-Oct-20

3.00

1.82

16.76

95.57

Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020

27-Nov-13

13.50

87.50

27-Nov-20

5.40

1.00

15.88

91.55

A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro

KOGI

15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020

31-Dec-13

15.00

5.00

31-Dec-20

5.50

1.00

15.87

96.88

‡ /Agusto A-/GCR

*EKITI *NASARAWA

14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

31-Dec-13

14.50

4.30

31-Dec-20

3.34

1.00

15.96

96.49

06-Jan-14

15.00

4.56

06-Jan-21

3.18

1.00

15.95

97.82

99.79

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

440.84 418.11

Corporate Bonds BBB+/Agusto BBB-/Agusto

*UPDC

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

17-Aug-10

10.00

2.50

17-Aug-15

0.12

1.00

11.49

*FLOURMILLS

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015

09-Dec-10

12.00

9.38

09-Dec-15

0.43

1.00

14.82

98.83

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.42

06-Jan-16

0.27

2.63

16.35

99.47

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

1.24

1.00

15.47

97.25

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

1.31

1.34

15.88

98.07

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

2.24

1.00

15.91

94.63

BBB-/GCR

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.56

30-Nov-17

1.48

1.88

16.59

102.48

Nil

*C & I LEASING *DANA#{r}

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

5.40

09-Apr-18

1.52

1.00

15.74

100.28

A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.54

09-Sep-18

1.69

1.00

15.79

102.96

1.69

1.00

15.79

100.22

AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR

*TOWER

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.70

09-Sep-18

A+/Agusto; A/GCR

UBA

14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

30-Sep-18

3.24

3.00

17.95

90.51

BBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.10

18-Oct-18

1.79

2.29

17.12

97.94

BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR

*LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

17-Feb-12

18.00

0.36

17-Feb-19

1.87

6.11

20.97

95.83

Nil

*DANA#{r}

16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

2.50

2.16

17.08

97.84

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

5.37

2.76

17.64

91.86

BBB/GCR

FCMB

14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021

20-Nov-14

14.25

26.00

20-Nov-21

6.38

1.80

16.60

90.90

A/GCR

UBA

16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021

30-Dec-14

16.45

30.50

30-Dec-21

6.49

1.00

15.79

102.60

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

16.29

0.10

30-Sep-24

9.24

1.00

16.00

101.32

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

13.25

15.44

30-Sep-24

9.24

1.00

16.00

86.91

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

178.07

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

169.23

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

2.61

1.00

15.92

88.13

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

3.83

1.00

15.98

87.02

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

24.95 21.84

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value ($mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

6.00

5.79

103.51

104.49

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.98

4.63

100.39

101.37

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

6.31

6.14

100.43

101.44

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,521.62

Corporate Eurobonds B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

5.98

101.25

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

7.51

99.50

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

11.18

10.18

89.75

92.00

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

7.72

7.14

95.03

96.65

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

7.14

97.06

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

10.22

9.54

95.38

97.46

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

FIRST BANK PLC ACCESS BANK PLC II FIRST BANK LTD

8.25 AUG 07, 2020 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021

07-Aug-13 24-Jun-14 23-Jul-14

8.25 9.25 8.00

300.00 400.00 450.00

07-Aug-20 24-Jun-21 23-Jul-21

9.28 10.40 9.53

9.28 10.13 9.53

95.25 95.22 92.33

95.25 96.40 92.33

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.59

9.94

91.13

93.88

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

3,650.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

3,489.83

**Treasury Bills^ DTM 13 20 27 34 41 55 62 69

FIXINGS Maturity 16-Jul-15 23-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 6-Aug-15 13-Aug-15 27-Aug-15 3-Sep-15 10-Sep-15

Bid Discount (%) 5.45 9.71 8.99 9.64 11.38 11.10 11.62 12.01

Offer Discount (%) 5.20 9.46 8.74 9.39 11.13 10.85 11.37 11.76

Bid Yield (%) 5.46 9.76 9.05 9.73 11.53 11.28 11.85 12.28

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 5.8750 14.2194 15.6070 16.2779

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

4.25

O/N Tenor Call 1M

4.50

REPO

Rate (%) 3.50 3.75

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M

198.48 201.81 202.13 202.87 204.24 205.60

198.58 201.93 202.28 203.37 205.31 207.21

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

16-Aug-13 27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 13-Feb-15 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14

13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493

^13.05 16-AUG-2016 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 ^15.54 13-FEB-2020 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

(N'bn) 581.39 476.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 233.73 600.00 599.99 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 324.50

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34

1.12 1.82 2.07 2.16 2.91 3.99 4.31 4.61 6.57 8.70 13.41 13.89 14.38 15.06 19.04

14.51 14.84 14.90 14.90 14.94 14.95 14.97 14.91 14.81 14.86 16.11 16.27 16.46 15.56 14.85

(%) 14.36 14.74 14.81 14.82 14.87 14.85 14.85 14.82 14.74 14.80 16.05 16.21 16.37 15.49 14.80

Bid Price

Offer Price

98.50 100.34 91.27 90.01 90.26 103.07 75.34 102.00 106.45 96.77 93.94 79.35 56.60 68.00 82.97

98.65 100.49 91.42 90.16 90.41 103.37 75.64 102.30 106.75 97.07 94.24 79.65 56.90 68.30 83.27

Business | Financial Market News

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,838.17

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,412.60

Foreign portfolio transactions down by 23% Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11

17.25 0.00/16.00

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

2.10 112.22

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16

1.00 1.43

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

2.94 1.42

17.17 16.08

100.07 99.86

4.78

19.68

90.99

1.00

15.90

99.29

2.02 1.00 1.00

16.94 15.96 15.92

97.19 95.47 97.67

1.82

16.76

95.57

1.00

15.88

91.55

1.00

15.87

1.00

15.96

96.49

1.00

15.95

97.82

Agency Bonds

FMBN

PLUMMET

***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Domestic investors’ confidence falls

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto

KADUNA

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

‡ /Agusto

EDO

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

Stories by Chris Ugwu

NIGER oreign Portfolio Invest*EKITI Bb-/Agusto ment (FPI) *NIGER transac‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR tions at the *ONDO Nigerian BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE Aa-/Agusto; Stock ‡ /GCR LAGOS(NSE) Exchange BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *OSUN decreased to N79.77 billion BBB-/Agusto *OSUN Aa-/Agusto; ‡$0.41 /GCR LAGOS (about billion) in May A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro KOGI 2015, down 23.26 per *EKITI cent from ‡ /Agusto A-/GCR 2015. *NASARAWA April TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE A report obtained from TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION the NSE’s website said that Corporate Bonds domestic investors *UPDC conceded BBB+/Agusto Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR†

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016

about0.00/16.50 9.68 per cent of trading LCRM II 19-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 to foreign investors as domestic transactions decreased from 49.75 per cent to 45.16 per cent, while FPI transactions 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 increased from 50.25 per cent 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 to 54.84 per cent over the same 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 period. 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 Consequently, total trans14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 actions 14.00 decreased DELTA 30-SEP-2018 by 29.69 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 per cent from N206.86 billion 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 to NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 in April N145.45 billion in 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 May, while foreign portfolio in15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50inflows LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 vestors’ accounted for 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 26.12 per total transac14.75 cent OSUN II of 10-OCT-2020 27-NOV-2020 tions. 13.50 TheLAGOS outflows accounted 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 for 28.72 of the total 14.50 per EKITI IIcent 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 transactions in May 2015. In comparison to the same period in 2014, the report noted10.00 that total FPI transacUPDC 17-AUG-2015

tions decreased by 13.16 20-Apr-12 0.00/16.50per 06-Jul-12 0.00/16.50 cent, whilst the total domestic transactions fell by 40.16 per cent. According to the 12.50 report, 31-Aug-10 FPI outflows outpaced 13.00 inflows, 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 14.00 which was consistent with the 30-Jun-09 15.50 same period in 2014. Overall, 19-Apr-10 10.00 30-Jun-10 13.75 there was a 27.86 per cent de30-Dec-10 14.00 30-Sep-11 14.00 crease in total transactions in 04-Oct-11 14.00 comparison to the same period 09-Dec-11 14.50 14.00 in 2014. 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 15.50 On a monthly basis, the Ex02-Oct-12 15.50 change 22-Nov-12 polls trading 14.50 figures 12-Dec-12 14.75 from major 10-Oct-13 custodians 14.75 and 27-Nov-13 13.50 FPI. market operators on their 31-Dec-13 15.00 According 31-Dec-13 to reports, 14.50high06-Jan-14 15.00 lights the domestic composition of transactions on NSE between January and May 2015 showed that total10.00 domes17-Aug-10

BBB-/Agusto

*FLOURMILLS

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015

09-Dec-10

12.00

9.38

09-Dec-15

0.43

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.42

06-Jan-16

0.27

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

Transcorp plans $1.57bn to boost power capacity by 2018 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

ransnationalFSDHCor14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 25-Oct-13 14.25 5.53 25-Oct-16 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 30-Sep-10 13.00 20.00 30-Sep-17 UBA poration of Nigeria 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 BBB-/GCR 30-Nov-12 18.00 0.56 30-Nov-17 *C & I LEASING (Transcorp) Plc plans MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 09-Apr-11 16.00 5.40 09-Apr-18 Nil *DANA MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 09-Sep-11 18.00 2.54 09-Sep-18 A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR *TOWER to spend $1.575 billion to MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 09-Sep-11 16.00 0.70 09-Sep-18 AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR *TOWER quadruple capac14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018 A+/Agusto; A/GCR its power 30-Sep-11 14.00 35.00 30-Sep-18 UBA 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 BBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR 18-Oct-13 15.75 2.10 18-Oct-18 *LA(MW) CASERA ity to 2,500 megawatts MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 17-Feb-12 18.00 0.36 17-Feb-19 BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR *CHELLARAMS over the next three years 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 01-Apr-14 16.00 4.50 01-Apr-19 Nil *DANA 15.25 14-NOV-2020 A+/Agusto; A-/GCR a quarter 14-Nov-13 15.25 comparable 2.05 period of 14-Nov-20 NAHCO 2013. and provide of all years ago asNAHCO partIIof a privati- ferent parties at different 14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 20-Nov-14 14.25 26.00 20-Nov-21 BBB/GCR FCMB power generated in Africa's sation that meant to end points of the transaction," Transcorp had reported 16.45was UBA I 30-DEC-2021 A/GCR 30-Dec-14 16.45 30.50 30-Dec-21 UBA STANBIC 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR 30-Sep-14 16.29 89 per cent 0.10 biggest economy. STANBIC IBTC decades 182D the company said in an of T.bills+1.20 blackouts inIAthe growth in30-Sep-24 pre-tax 13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR 30-Sep-14 13.25 15.44 30-Sep-24 STANBIC IBTC According to Reuters News, country. email. profit for the nine months TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 178.07 Transcorp, which also has inTranscorp said it expected "Our target is to be re- ended September 30, 2014. TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 169.23 terests in hotels, oil and gas, the contribution of its power sponsible for 25 per cent of The group’s PBT for the Supranational Bond business10.20 to group revenue to the capacity11-Feb-13 has the capacity to generate generated in billion, IFC 11-FEB-2018 AAA/S&P IFC 10.20 period stood 12.00 at N9.7 11-Feb-18 11.25 percent AFDB 1-FEB-2021 Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P 12.95 01-Feb-21 89 per cent in610 MW and intends AfDB to raise rise to 60-65 this year Nigeria over10-Jul-14 three years." 11.25 representing TOTAL 24.95 that toOUTSTANDING 850 MW by VALUE the end of from 25 per cent last year. Transcorp had reported a crease on PBT of N5.15 bilTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 21.84 the year. Nigeria broke up its mo- 14 per cent slide in pre-tax lion achieved for Q3 2013. Outstanding Value TheRating/Agency group's TranscorpIssuernopoly on power generation profit for theIssue financial year Gross revenue for Date the Description Date Coupon (%) Maturity ($mm) Ughelli Power subsidiary, and distribution two years ended December 2014. group stood at N31.4 billion, FGN Eurobonds Nigeria's largest gas-powered ago by privatising the sector According to a notice from which represents 167 per cent 6.75 JAN 28, 2021 BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P 07-Oct-11 500.00 28-Jan-21 generating company, had cain a bid to attract foreign in- the Exchange, the statement6.75 growth from third quarter BB-/Fitch; FGN vestors, but the amount 5.13 JUL 12,of 2018 12-Jul-13 500.00of N11.8 billion. 12-Jul-18 pacity of financial position as at the5.13 2013 results BB-/S&P of 342 MW in 2013. BB-/Fitch; Total operating expenses Nigeria, which has a popu- power produced has stagperiod under12-Jul-13 review showed6.38 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 500.00 12-Jul-23 BB-/S&P lation of 170 million people, nated at about half of total profit before tax declined for the group TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 1,500.00 of N9.3 billion to N7.731 billion in 2014 as increased has installed power capacity capacity. by 41 per cent year TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 1,521.62 that fluctuates between 6,000 Transcorp said that it also against N9.032 billion record- on year from N6.6 billion as Corporate Eurobonds 2013.19-May-16 MW to a little more than 7,000 expects to expand7.50 through ed a year earlier, indicating a7.50 at 30 September MAY 19, 2016 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC I 19-May-11 500.00 acquisitions this 7.25 year, MW , but experiencesACCESS severe drop of 14 per cent. Total assets for the25-Jul-17 group JUL 25, as 2017 B+/S&P BANK PLC 25-Jul-12 7.25 350.00 6.88 MAYthat 09, 2018 B/Fitch; B/S&P shortages FIDELITY BANK PLC 02-May-18 well as new projects electricity that are However,09-May-13 the group’s6.88 grew by300.00 6 per cent from 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC 08-Nov-13 6.00 400.00 08-Nov-18 crippling economic growth. revenue more than douwill start operations in three N149.454 billion for full year 6.25 APR 22, 2019 B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC 22-Apr-14 6.25 500.00 22-Apr-19 nine The conglomerate DIAMOND was one years to serve Nigeria’s bled during21-May-14 the period to8.75 2013 to N157.8 8.75 May 21, 2019 B/Fitch; B/S&P BANK PLC 200.00 billion for 21-May-19 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 B-/Fitch; B/S&P 07-Aug-13 300.00 07-Aug-20 months ended 30 September in contrast8.25 of several companiesFIRST to BANK buyPLC growing demands for energy. N41.338 billion 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC II 24-Jun-14 9.25 400.00 24-Jun-21 2014. government power assets two "We are speaking to difto N18.825billion during the 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK LTD 23-Jul-14 8.00 450.00 23-Jul-21 A-/Agusto

A/GCR

#{r}

B-/S&P

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

The DQL contains **Treasury Bills^

14-Aug-21

Linkage Assurance reports 22% PAT drop 1.00

1.24

1.48

99.79

14.82

98.83

16.35

99.47

15.47

97.25

1.34

15.88

98.07

1.00

15.91

94.63

2.24

11.49

1.00

1.31

96.88

2.63

inkage 16.59 Assurance Plc 102.48 has recorded 21.55 per 15.74 100.28 1.00 15.79 102.96 cent decrease in 100.22 profit 1.00 15.79 after tax for the financial year 3.00 17.95 90.51 2.29 December 17.12 31, 2014. 97.94 ended 6.11 20.97 95.83 According to a notice97.84 from 2.16 17.08 91.86 the 2.76 Nigerian 17.64 Stock Exchange 1.80 16.60 90.90 (NSE), of 102.60 finan1.00 the statement 15.79 101.32 cial1.00 position 16.00 as at the period 1.00 16.00 86.91 under review showed profit after tax declined to N324.997 million in 2014 as against N414.282 million recorded a 1.00 15.92 88.13 15.98 87.02 year1.00earlier. This indicated a drop of 21.55 per cent. However, the company’s revenue toPrice N3.054Offer billion Offer Yield (%)rose Bid Price in contrast to N2.689 billion Prices & Yields during the comparable period 5.79 103.51 104.49 of 2013. 4.63 100.39 101.37 reLinkage Assurance had cently 2014 recogni6.14 won the 100.43 101.44 tion of the Industrial Training fund (ITF) for strong commitment to manpower development through enhanced bud5.98 101.25 101.25 get and staff training. 7.51 99.50 99.50 89.75had said 92.00the A10.18 statement 7.14 95.03 96.65 recognition was an annual 7.14 97.06 97.06 programme to deepen human 9.54 95.38 97.46 9.28 95.25 95.25 resource development among 10.13 95.22 96.40 organisations in the country . 9.53 92.33 92.33 1.88

1.52

1.00

1.69 1.69 3.24 1.79 1.87 2.50 5.37 6.38 6.49 9.24 9.24

2.61 3.83

Bid Yield (%)

6.00 4.98 6.31

5.98 7.51 11.18 7.72 7.14 10.22 9.28 10.40 9.53 10.59

9.94

3,650.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

the 1.00 7 year period). 15.83 104.32 1.00 15.90 100.87 Domestic transactions on the other hand, according to the report, started at N3,556 billion, representing 85.2 per 4.44 15.87 99.38 cent3.23in 2007,16.78 but decreased 99.05 4.46 18.50 97.03 significantly to N1,137 billion, 3.48 17.52 98.64 representing 42.5 per cent 1.00 15.83 91.14 of 1.00 15.51 98.05 total transactions in 2014 (a 1.79 16.71 94.65 1.80 decline16.66 95.94 sharp of 42.7 per cent 1.00 15.86 97.08 in the 7 year period). 1.00 15.90 97.65

tic116.70 transactions decreased1.80 by 19-Apr-17 66.49 06-Jul-17 27.51 per cent from January2.01to 297.52 May 2015. 302.98 The institutional composition of the domestic market, 8.50 31-Aug-15 0.16 which was about 2.16 30-Sep-15 33.69 per 0.24 2.60 30-Jun-16 cent at the end of January0.74 in3.96 30-Jun-16 0.75 creased to 56.93 per cent at 1.80 the 57.00 19-Apr-17 21.24 30-Jun-17 1.28 end of May, whilst the retail 25.00 31-Dec-17 2.50 30.81 30-Sep-18 1.88 composition decreased from 9.00 04-Oct-18 1.89 66.31 per cent to 43.07 per cent 12.40 09-Dec-18 2.07 12-Dec-18 the study 2.08 in 9.21 the same period, 27.00 14-Feb-19 2.06 stated. 15.09 02-Oct-19 2.50 80.00 22-Nov-19 4.39 Total FPI transactions of 24.74 12-Dec-19 2.56 N616 10.78 billion, which 10-Oct-20 accounted 3.00 27-Nov-20 5.40 for87.50 14.8 per cent of total trans5.00 31-Dec-20 5.50 actions in 2007, increased over 4.30 31-Dec-20 3.34 3.18 the4.56years to 06-Jan-21 N1, 539 billion, 440.84 representing 57.5 per cent of 418.11 total transactions in 2014 (an increase of 42.7 per cent over 2.50 17-Aug-15 0.12

91.13

93.88

3-Jul-15

3,489.83

data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial (the “Information”). The Information does not constitute FIXINGS Moneymarket Market Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) professional,DTM financial or investment advice. We attempt to ensure the Information is accurate; theBidInformation is provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE”Tenor basis and mayRate not(%) be accurate or up to date. We do not guarantee Maturity Bid Discount (%) Offer Discounthowever, (%) Yield (%) NIBOR 13 16-Jul-15 5.45 5.20 5.46 the accuracy,20timeliness, completeness, performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information, neither do we accept liability for the results of any action taken on the basis Bid ($/N) Offer ($/N) OBB 4.25 of the Information. Tenor 23-Jul-15 9.71 9.46 9.76 Tenor Rate (%) 27 34 41 55 62 69 83 Rating/Agency 90 104 118 132 146 153 160 167 174 188 195 202 NA 209 216 223 230 237 244 258 265

30-Jul-15 6-Aug-15 13-Aug-15 27-Aug-15 3-Sep-15 10-Sep-15 24-Sep-15 Issuer 1-Oct-15 15-Oct-15 29-Oct-15 12-Nov-15 26-Nov-15 3-Dec-15 10-Dec-15 17-Dec-15 24-Dec-15 7-Jan-16 14-Jan-16 21-Jan-16 NA 28-Jan-16 4-Feb-16 11-Feb-16 18-Feb-16 25-Feb-16 3-Mar-16 17-Mar-16 24-Mar-16

FGN Bonds

279

7-Apr-16

293

21-Apr-16

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 307

8.99 9.64 11.38 11.10 11.62 12.01 12.19 Description 13.04 13.62 ^13.05 16-AUG-2016 13.51 13.26 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 13.77 9.85 27-JUL-2017 12.20 9.35 31-AUG-2017 13.34 12.22 10.70 30-MAY-2018 13.07 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 12.95 7.00 23-OCT-2019 13.69 13.67 ^15.54 13-FEB-2020 13.69 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 13.69 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 13.70 13.70 15.00 28-NOV-2028 13.70 12.49 22-MAY-2029 13.77 8.50 20-NOV-2029 13.78 13.63 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030

13.30 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034

13.05 18-Jul-14

Bonds

9.05 9.73 11.53 11.28 11.85 12.28 12.54 (%) Coupon 13.47 14.17 13.05 14.12 13.93 15.10 14.57 9.85 12.86 9.35 14.17 12.94 10.70 13.93 16.00 13.87 7.00 14.77 14.79 15.54 14.85 16.39 14.90 14.20 14.95 14.99 15.00 15.04 12.49 15.16 8.50 15.27 15.13 10.00 14.80 12.1493

13.14

15.00

5-May-16

12.69

12.44

14.21

2-Jun-16

12.75

12.50

14.44

335

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

13.39

8.74 9.39 11.13 10.85 11.37 11.76 11.94Date Issue 12.79 13.37 16-Aug-13 13.26 13.01 27-Apr-12 13.52 27-Jul-07 11.95 31-Aug-07 13.09 11.97 30-May-08 12.82 29-Jun-12 12.70 23-Oct-09 13.44 13.42 13-Feb-15 13.44 27-Jan-12 13.44 14-Mar-14 13.45 13.45 28-Nov-08 13.45 22-May-09 13.52 20-Nov-09 13.53 13.38 23-Jul-10

O/N 1M 3M 6M

5.8750 14.2194 15.6070 16.2779

Tenor 581.39 1M 2M 476.80 3M 20.00 6M 100.00 9M 12M 300.00

Description

4.50

REPO

Tenor Call 1M 3M (Yrs) TTM 6M

Outstanding Value Maturity Date (N'bn) NITTY Rate (%) 16-Aug-16 10.3349 11.9673 27-Apr-17 13.5907 27-Jul-17 13.6130 31-Aug-17 14.1418 14.4189 30-May-18

351.30 29-Jun-19 233.90 23-Oct-19 NIFEX 233.73 13-Feb-20 Current Price ($/N) 600.00 27-Jan-22 BID($/N) 198.9500 599.99 14-Mar-24 OFFER ($/N) 199.0500 75.00 28-Nov-28 150.00 22-May-29 200.00 20-Nov-29 591.57 23-Jul-30 324.50 18-Jul-34

Rate (%) 3.50 3.75 Bid4.00 Yield 4.25

(%)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M Yield Offer 6M (%) 1Y

1.12 14.51 14.36 1.82 14.84 14.74 :Benchmarks 2.07 14.90 14.81 * :Amortising Bond 2.16Bond 14.90 14.82 µ :Convertible AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 2.91 14.94 14.87 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 3.99 14.95 14.85 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 4.31 Finance Corporation 14.97 14.85 IFC: International LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management 4.61 14.91 14.82 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 6.57 14.81 14.74 O/N: Overnight 8.70 14.86Company 14.80 UPDC: UAC Property Development WAPCO:West 13.41Africa Portland Cement 16.11 Company16.05 13.89 16.27 16.21 14.38 16.46 16.37 15.06 15.56 15.49 19.04 14.85 14.80

NOTE:

198.48 198.58 201.81 201.93 202.13 202.28 Price 203.37 202.87 204.24 205.31 205.60 207.21 206.28 213.47Price Bid Price Offer 220.29 226.27

98.50 100.34

98.65 100.49

103.07

103.37

106.45

106.75

79.35 56.60 68.00 82.97

79.65 56.90 68.30 83.27

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

NA :Not 91.27 Applicable 91.42 ^ : Market Prices 90.01 90.16 # : Floating Rate Bond ***: Deferred 90.26coupon bonds 90.41

‡ : Bond rating under review 75.64 †: Bond 75.34 rating expired N/A :Not102.00 Available 102.30 {r} :Issuer in receivership

96.77 97.07 NGC: Nigeria-German Company UBA: United 93.94Bank for Africa 94.24

4,838.17 4,412.60

*for the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the duration # Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums Rating/Agency Issuer **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

O/N

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Agency Bonds FMBN ***LCRM

Modified Duration Buckets

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

<3 3<5 >5 Market

Sub-National Bonds

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 Total Outstanding Porfolio Market Value(Bn) 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 Volume(Bn)

03-Apr-12 17.25 FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX 2.10 09-Dec-11 0.00/16.00 112.22 20-Apr-12 0.00/16.50 116.70 Weighting by Weighting by Mkt Bucket Weighting 06-Jul-12Vol 0.00/16.50 66.49 Outstanding Value

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 % Exposure_ 06-Jul-17 Mod_Duration

1.00 1.43 1.80 Implied Yield 2.01

2.94 1.42 1.00 Implied 1.00 Portfolio Price

17.17 16.08 15.83 INDEX 15.90

100.07 99.86 104.32 YTD Return 100.87 (%)

840.52

828.10

26.06

28.30

297.520.26

13.49

14.90

128.0013

1,164.52

5.1150

1,457.67

1,433.72

45.12

49.08

44.50

14.85

125.1158

1,084.68

7.1212

671.50

916.07

28.83

22.61

302.980.45 0.29

42.01

15.27

91.1407

1,098.79

9.1140

2,969.70

3,177.88

100.00

1.00

100.00

15.03

116.0739

1,105.33

4.7521

A/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.16

4.44

15.87

99.38

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.24

3.23

16.78

99.05

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

2.60

30-Jun-16

0.74

4.46

18.50

97.03

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

3.96

30-Jun-16

0.75

3.48

17.52

98.64

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.80

1.00

15.83

91.14

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

21.24

30-Jun-17

1.28

1.00

15.51

98.05

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.50

1.79

16.71

94.65

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.88

1.80

16.66

95.94

42 Business | Interview

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Why government must tackle corruption at all levels â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Ekewenu

A United Nations Ambassador on Millennium Development Goals, Oghenekaro Ekewenu, in this interview with Sunday Ojeme, speaks on the success story of the MDG, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future after a successful election and sundry issues of national interest. Excerpts How would you rate the success of the Millennium Development Goals in the last few years? Has it impacted positively on the life of the average Nigerian or the country? To me, the success rate has been overwhelming. In the last few years, we have grown out from the state of extreme poverty and hunger for children under the age of five. Gender disparity in primary and secondary schools has been eliminated. What used to be nine girls to 10 boys in primary school in 2008 has completely changed to 10 girls in every 10 boys. The rate of child mortality has been well tamed. Now in Nigeria, we are having a record of only 89 children dying before fifth birthday in every 1,000 births. We have also achieved up to 62.2 per cent access to improved source of drinking water. We have been able to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases in Nigeria in the last few years. Also, the knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS and other related diseases grew among young people and most especially young women in all nooks and crannies of the country. Measles vaccination has become more popular in the last few years and the coverage has improved. As at today in Nigeria, over 70 per cent of children under age one have been immunised against measles. In the South-east, we have achieved over 82.4 per cent, South-west 81.2 per cent, Southsouth 80.3 per cent, while in the North-central we have achieved over 77 per cent, North-east 42.4 per cent and North-west 35.4 per cent. In the last few years, the new millennium goal of universal access to reproductive health has been achieved. More women

The agricultural sector can be explored to create jobs

Ekewenu

are now accepting the method of contraceptive and ante-natal care coverage has grown rapidly. In the light of the new political dispensation in the country, what should be the priority of government at different levels for workers? First, I wish to take it boldly from the experience in my state, Delta, where the governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, stands for prosperity for all, irrespective of class, tribe and religion. That is how it should be all over the country. The priority for workers should be prosperity in all fronts. Issue of minimum wage should be addressed; workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; efficiency to

service and variables to bring the efficiency of workers should be the focal point. Moreover, for a country that is blessed with so many resources outside oil, there should be enough job openings. Youth empowerment programme that will seek to channel and harness the latent power of this demography can be applied to tackle unemployment, utilising programmes that is both hailed and recommended by the World Bank. The agricultural sector can be explored to create jobs by increasing the agriculture yield across the country and put on the farm settlement scheme across the state just as it was in the time

of Awolowo. How best can government tap into the success of the MDG to improve on the welfare of the citizens? Fight internal corruption and work to improve their revenue. We must understand that we are still developing as a nation. To me, it all depends on the ability for each state government to generate money outside the Federal Government. With that, no government will lack and Nigerians, including pensioners, will be happier. How about social security for the unemployed and the aged? As I said earlier, we are still

Business | Interview

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Millennium Development Goals Founded 2000 Objectives To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger To achieve universal primary education To promote gender equality To reduce child mortality To improve maternal health To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases To ensure environmental sustainability

developing. Check how long it took countries currently doing that to get there. I believe that we are going to get there, especially now that we have a better electoral process. We have so much to achieve. So, we must run before flying. Unemployment remains a major problem in the country, leading to Nigerian youths moving to other countries in droves. How do you think government can check this? The problem of unemployment can be tackled if government put things in the right perspective. While I am not against citizens of any country travelling overseas for greener pastures, I am, however, not in support of them going there to either enslave themselves or sub- Ekewenu ject themselves to danger. To take care of unemployment, government at different levels can begin to open up channels to encourage local investment and also attract foreign investors. Take for instance the options that are being worked out in Delta State by the governor. Other states can begin the process of encouraging investments in small scale businesses. If it is properly laid out, many youths would be captured and would want to remain in the country instead of travelling to a foreign country where their safety cannot be fully guaranteed. Opportunities abound in this country. Right now, Delta State is Opportunities looking beyond oil. That means abound in a lot to the economy of the state and it is a programme other this country. states should emulate to enhance Right now, their revenue instead of looking towards Abuja all the time for alDelta State location. If things are well laid is looking out by state governors like it is happening in Delta, the revenue beyond oil so generated will go a long way in creating jobs and stabilising the state and, to a large extent, the country. Above all, the Federal Government must honestly tackle corruption at all levels. Imagine what happened in South Africa during the xenophobic attacks. Such is completely unacceptable. Humanity condemns such attacks. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t attack innocent people simply because you feel threatened, not because they are criminals, but just because they have been able to lift their heads above you through hard work. It was, indeed, regrettable and should not be allowed to happen again. And you could see the body language of the South African president himself; it shows a kind of an un-

fortunate and regrettable event. The UN is fully on the matter and I can assure you that justice will be done. Are you of the opinion that those who lost their businesses to the attacks should be compensated by government? In the rule of peace, justice is fundamental. We must first consider justice before moving forward in this matter and in doing that, all those who lost their businesses to the attack should be compensated. As a diplomat, what do you think should be done to guard against such in future? As I said earlier, in the rule of peace, justice is fundamental. As soon as the victims get justice, the next phase is seeking understanding with the people. What I mean is considering the cultural perspectives and traditional attitude of the host community. There should also be the need to speak with both the host community and the foreigners diplomatically, using global standard of peace keeping. During the process, grounds will be shifted, but what is more is that deliberate efforts will be made by government to tame such occurrence after dialogue and agreement has been reached by all parties. What is your take on the 2015 general elections, bearing in mind series of alarming predictions before the exercise? Permit me to first congratulate Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations, on the success of the March 28 presidential election in

particular. The peaceful outcome of the exercise is a blessing for our beloved country. I give kudos to Professor Attahiru Jega, the immediate-past Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for his exceptional, brilliant and transparent performance. In Attahiru Jega we found the hope of a new Nigeria. What we are celebrating today would have evaporated and disappeared into thin air, but for the calmness, sense of mission and thoroughness of Jega and his working team. I equally acknowledge the patriotism and sense of leadership of former President Goodluck Jonathan for having the inner mind and eye to appoint Jega who has proven to be the right man for the job; and for allowing him the free hand needed in doing the delicate but important national assignment. President Jonathan further demonstrated his high level of patriotism and leadership in view of his calm disposition through out the course of the electioneering exercise and crowned this when he conceded defeat when it became glaring that his opponent had won the contest. The rare action in this part of the globe was most crucially necessary to douse the fear across the nation at the period. That was probably the most difficult decision ever taken by the president of the federal republic but, trust me, that was the wisest and most profitable as well. It was a display of true statesmanship. Now that the presidential and

other elections have come and gone, what advice do you have for all contestants? I congratulate all the candidates who contested different positions from presidential to the states houses of assembly. It is not always about winning. I know that participation is always the beginning of a long journey in the wilderness of politics. I further congratulate the winners as I implored the losers not to be disillusioned. Losers who felt genuinely concerned and doubtful about his loss should address the grievance through the recognised channel instead of instigating crisis that will not take the nation anywhere. Losers of today can be winners tomorrow.

Place of birth: Ugono Orogun, Ughelli North LGA, Delta State Date of birth: Nil Engagements: Ambassador, Millennium Development Goals; Chief Executive Officer, Karokewenu Limited; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Municipal Youth Vanguard of Nigeria. Passion: Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, infant and maternal mortality and related disease.

Business | Capital Market

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034

Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015

Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at July 3, 2015 Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary (Bonds)

Activity Summary on Board DEBT Federal

Bond Name 13.05% FGN AUG 2016 14.20% FGN MAR 2024 Federal Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Symbol FG102016S1 FG112024S1

No. of Deals 1 1 2

DEBT Board Totals

Current Price 98.00 100.00

Bond Activity Totals

1,192

Value Traded 1,030,830.11 200,520.38 1,231,350.49

1,231,350.49

FINANCIAL SERVICES Other Financial Institutions ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

1192

1,231,350.49

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals

Quantity Traded 1,000 192 1192

HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Healthcare Providers Totals

Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 Crop Production Totals Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034 Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 14 11 25

Current Price 28.99 35.00

Quantity Traded 38,073 111,400 149,473

Value Traded 1,100,701.22 3,965,601.00 5,066,302.22

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 20 20

Current Price 2.39

Quantity Traded 578,260 578,260

Value Traded 1,350,704.85 1,350,704.85

727,733

6,417,007.07

Daily Summary (Equities)

AGRICULTURE Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals

Symbol AGLEVENT TRANSCORP UACN

No. of Deals 1 75 75 151

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

Current Price 1.40 2.70 44.49

Quantity Traded 600Page 7,289,580 585,663 7,875,843

151

7,875,843

44,973,072.91

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 0.75

Quantity Traded 11,412 11,412

Value Traded 8,604.00 8,604.00

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 7 7

Current Price 48.50

Quantity Traded 14,100 14,100

Value Traded 670,398.00 670,398.00

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 10.20

Quantity Traded 8,025 8,025

Value Traded 82,077.88 82,077.88

Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol No. of Deals Current Price DUNLOP

0.50

HEALTHCARE Totals

33,537

761,079.88

Quantity Traded 1,000

Value Traded 500.00

Page

Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals

Symbol CHAMPION GUINNESS INTBREW NB

No. of Deals 14 65 15 69 163

Current Price 5.65 152.00 19.50 144.00

Quantity Traded 202,655 245,586 178,204 164,413 790,858

Value Traded 1,145,556.25 37,402,833.14 3,469,845.64 23,688,576.78 65,706,811.81

Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 15 15

Current Price 190.00

Quantity Traded 45,205 45,205

Value Traded 8,567,610.79 8,567,610.79

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON

No. of Deals 42 25 41 21 29 158

Current Price 3.62 6.64 33.50 3.50 8.00

Quantity Traded 529,117 725,006 194,771 409,886 3,710,591 5,569,371

Value Traded 1,916,932.22 4,807,257.61 6,547,944.75 1,424,860.40 29,696,090.00 44,393,084.98

Symbol CADBURY

No. of Deals 22 37 59

Current Price 35.05 854.00

Quantity Traded 115,272 209,844 325,116

Value Traded 3,946,973.39 178,545,951.88 182,492,925.27

Page

CONSUMER GOODS Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. VONO PRODUCTS PLC. Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

Symbol VITAFOAM VONO Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 21 7 28

Current Price 5.75 1.19

No. of Deals 33 48 81

Current Price 31.94 43.50

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING PLC. Daily Summary as ofBANK 03/07/2015 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC

505 Symbol No. of Deals ACCESS 246 DIAMONDBNK 26 ETI 29 FIDELITYBK 52 GUARANTY 147 SKYEBANK 65 STERLNBANK 7 UBA 157 UBN 36 UNITYBNK 24 24 DailyWEMABANK Summary (Equities) ZENITHBANK 149

Current Price 5.36 4.10 21.75 1.65 26.90 2.28 2.01 4.66 9.35 2.46 0.93 19.36

Value Traded 8,617,243.68 181,730.85 8,798,974.53

Quantity Traded 599,845 199,977 799,822

Value Traded 19,141,549.06 8,332,079.41 27,473,628.47

9,200,270

337,433,535.85

Quantity Traded 9,075,213 1,242,147 289,410 1,812,157 4,388,041 1,779,611 239,500 18,406,667 731,161 1,038,539 1,046,279 15,751,383

Value Traded 48,703,266.20 5,093,255.19 6,268,833.25 2,960,858.03 117,964,378.29 4,093,958.96 483,114.00 86,102,691.24 6,812,301.05 2,544,225.02 982,890.54 305,592,751.40

Banking Banking Totals

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC

Page

Symbol

No. of Deals 962

Current Price

Quantity Traded 55,800,108

Value Traded 587,602,523.17

Symbol

No. of Deals 10 18

Current Price 0.95 1.00

Quantity Traded 939,997 5,647,908

Value Traded 892,997.15 5,496,473.81

Daily Summary (Equities) AIICO CONTINSURE

Symbol CORNERST GNI INTENEGINS LINKASSURE MANSARD MBENEFIT NEM NIGERINS STACO WAPIC

No. of Deals 2 3 1 2 2 4 29 4 2 9 86

Current Price 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.51 2.70 0.50 0.73 0.50 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded 3,000 299,250 1,000,000 140,000 87,428 51,500 2,578,781 427,000 1,200 3,427,751 14,603,815

Integrated Oil and Gas Services Activity Summary on Board EQTY OIL AND GAS Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Published byExploration The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 and Production Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034 SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals

Current Price 1.05

Quantity Traded 30,886 Page 30,886

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Symbol ASOSAVINGS

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 49,219 49,219

Value Traded 24,609.50 24,609.50

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC.

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB

No. of Deals 43 12 260 43

Current Price 2.80 4.00 7.99 3.00

Quantity Traded 2,252,062 742,760 14,360,188 5,613,083

Value Traded 6,293,467.26 2,970,595.85 114,295,849.40 16,763,039.56

Page

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

Value Traded 24,700.00 24,700.00

Symbol EVANSMED FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

No. of Deals 34 3 3 7 14 1 62

Current Price 1.05 3.33 44.00 1.50 1.22 2.21

Quantity Traded 1,992,250 13,800 6,300 207,960 441,310 40,027 2,701,647

Value Traded 2,094,372.50 44,970.00 277,225.00 311,872.80 534,168.62 88,059.40 3,350,668.32

2,751,047

3,375,368.32

Daily Summary (Equities)

Symbol NCR

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 11.02

Quantity Traded 9,529 Page 9,529

Symbol CHAMS

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 1,000 1,000 10,529

95,443.55

Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN DANGCEM DNMEYER PORTPAINT WAPCO

No. of Deals 4 4 2 34 41 2 6 36 129

Current Price 22.50 11.24 41.00 11.50 170.00 0.76 4.90 101.00

Quantity Traded 6,750 5,000 1,800 1,390,905 486,324 16,000 250,726 501,574 2,659,079

Value Traded 150,125.00 53,400.00 70,110.00 15,910,502.77 83,652,641.00 12,160.00 1,227,092.88 50,688,732.62 151,764,764.27

Current Price 1.50

Quantity Traded 16,000 16,000

Value Traded 24,900.00 24,900.00

Current Price 36.00 11.48

Quantity Traded 4,948 1,100 6,048

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol No. of Deals CUTIX

2 2

Symbol BETAGLAS VANLEER

No. of Deals 2 2 4

Value Traded 180,602.00 13,200.00 193,802.00

2,681,127

151,983,466.27

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 190 190

Value Traded 95.00 95.00

No. of Deals

Current Price

Quantity Traded

Value Traded

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 147 147

Current Price 15.70

Quantity Traded 2,625,362 2,625,362

Value Traded 41,082,635.67 41,082,635.67

Symbol BECOPETRO CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 1 7 2 75 13 1 8 107

Current Price 0.50 40.85 2.45 190.00 150.00 50.54 165.00

Quantity Traded 9,760,525 2,622 14,000 408,700 14,290 1,200 597 10,201,934

Value Traded 4,880,262.50 101,759.82 34,160.00 77,738,484.81 2,136,940.00 57,624.00 94,640.92 85,043,872.05

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 342.00

268

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 0.77

9 Value of Traded13

Page Quantity Traded 47,850 47,850

16,298,559.50 16,298,559.50

12,875,336

142,425,162.22

Quantity Traded 10,000 10,000

Value Traded 7,400.00 7,400.00

Current Price 4.75 1.34

Quantity Traded 124,880 Page 194,500 319,380

Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 10 10

Current Price 0.52

Quantity Traded 55,725 55,725

Value Traded 28,642.00 28,642.00

Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC Hospitality Totals

Symbol TANTALIZER

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 20,000 20,000

Value Traded 10,000.00 10,000.00

Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL TRANSCOHOT

No. of Deals 2 1 3

Current Price 3.65 7.86

Quantity Traded 16,000 3,081 19,081

Value Traded 56,320.00 23,015.07 79,335.07

Symbol ACADEMY UPL

No. of Deals 7 1 8

Current Price 0.95 6.03

Quantity Traded 303,301 2,000 305,301

Value Traded 288,135.95 11,460.00 299,595.95

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 550,000 550,000

Value Traded 275,060.00 275,060.00

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 7 15 22

Current Price 2.08 5.00

Quantity Traded 145,000 43,681 188,681

Value Traded 289,180.00 224,970.76 514,150.76

Symbol CAVERTON

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 3.42

Quantity Traded 2,010 2,010

Value Traded 6,532.50 6,532.50

1,470,178

2,060,841.28

2,790

138,545,331

1,545,275,163.88

Quantity Traded 9,300 9,300

Value Traded 14,040.00 14,040.00

9,300

14,040.00

9,300

14,040.00

138,554,631

1,545,289,203.88

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

No. of Deals 2 2

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol

Value Traded 94,943.55 13 of 94,943.55 Value Traded 500.00 500.00

Page

135 Symbol JAPAULOIL

No. of Deals 11 9 20

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SERVICES Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals

EQTY Board Totals

Value Traded 591,135.00 of 13 248,990.00 840,125.00

Page

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 CONSUMER GOODS Totals Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034

Symbol MCNICHOLS

No. of Deals 6 6

ASeM Board Totals

Value Traded 31,331.44 of 13 31,331.44

Symbol REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

Equity Activity Totals

Page

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

Name LOTUS HALAL EQUITY ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Current Price 1.50

2,796

855,750,186.53

Quantity Traded 49,400 49,400

OIL AND GAS Totals

Printing/Publishing Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 ACADEMY PRESS PLC. Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals

Value Traded 1,500.00 149,625.00 500,000.00 71,400.00 247,421.24 25,750.00 1,944,905.56 213,500.00 600.00 1,713,875.50 11,258,048.26

No. of Deals 5 5

100,919,731 Current Price 0.50

SERVICES Totals

Symbol NPFMCRFBK

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

SERVICES Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY FINANCIAL SERVICES Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Value Traded 250.00 112,394,762.70 4,115,709.39 256,833,674.16

No. of Deals 1 1

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 AND GAS PrintedOIL 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034

Quantity Traded 1,516,183 152,715 1,668,898

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Daily Summary of 03/07/2015 Published by TheasNigerian Stock Exchange © FINANCIAL14:50:34.034 SERVICES Printed 03/07/2015

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. GREIF NIGERIA PLC Packaging/Containers Totals

Value Traded 500.00

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals

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

Quantity Traded 1,000

Quantity Traded 500 4,513,118 2,953,992 30,435,703

Symbol UNIONDAC

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Current Price

Daily NESTLE Summary (Equities)

ICT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC.

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034 DN MEYER PLC. PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals

No. of Deals 1

Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals

Current Price 0.50 24.98 1.37

1,530

ICT Totals

Symbol

Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034 Food Products Totals

No. of Deals 1 61 56 476

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Value Traded 798.00 13 1 of 19,594,020.47 25,378,254.44 44,973,072.91

Symbol COSTAIN

Daily Summary as of 03/07/2015 Real Estate Development Totals

Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAYas& of BAKER NIGERIA PLC. Daily Summary 03/07/2015 Printed 03/07/2015 14:50:34.034 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

Symbol ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

Symbol LOTUSHAL15 NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

No. of Deals 1 1 1 3

Current Price 10.57 2,249.00 14.98

Quantity Traded 25 52 15 92

Value Traded 264.25 116,948.00 224.70 117,436.95

ETF Board Totals

117,436.95

ETP Activity Totals

117,436.95

Photo | News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

L-R: Chairman, Arik Air, Sir. Arumemi Johnson; his wife, Dame Mary Arumemi-Ikhide and Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, at the final burial of late Madam Margret Odion Otoide, at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Uromi, Edo State.

L-R: Lead National expert on Technical Regulations on United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) National Quality Infrastructure Project, Prof. Abimbola Uzomah; UNIDO’s expert on co-ordination, Mr. Simeon Umukoro and representative of the Obi of Onitsha, Chief Chilo Asika, during a courtesy call by the UNIDO group to the Obi in his palace in Onitsha, Anambra.

L-R: Former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Diocesan Bishop of Lagos and Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Ephraim Adebola Ademowo; Lord Bishop, Diocese of Ijebu-North, Rt. Rev. Solomon Kuponu and Hon. Justice George Adesola Oguntade, during the Trinity Ordination of the church, in Marina, Lagos. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

L-R: His Royal Highness, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso; Ogun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga and Awujale of Ijebu Land, Oba Dr. Sikiru Adetona, at the wedding reception of Oba Adedapo Tejuoso’s son held in Lagos.

A cross-section of people on queue for free medical care services provided by the Nigerian Army Medical Officers of the 28 Task Force Brigade Mubi, to commemorate the 2015 Nigerian Army Day celebration at the Emir’s Palace in Mubi. PHOTO: NAN

L-R: Plant Manager, Owerri, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited, Harrison Akpobome; beneficiaries of the Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP), Peter Ajaero and Iwu Chiaka, during the presentation of catering items in Owerri.

Palm oil being produced in Okubuchi-Irruan, Boki Local Government Area of Cross River.

L-R: Prof. Alphonsus Ikeotuonye; Mr. Vincent Azogini; Secretary of the Sub-Council, Catholic Knights of Saint Mulumba Gwagwalada, Mr. Shuaibu Ojeya; and Grand Knight of the Catholic Knights of Saint Mulumba Gwagwalada Sub-Council, Mr. Patrick Ozegbe, during a Thanksgiving Mass by the 3rd and 4th Degrees members of Knights of Saint Mulumb, at Saint Paul Catholic Church, Gwagwalada in Abuja.

PHOTO: NAN

News

SURE-P cadets beg Ambode for jobs Muritala Ayinla

isplaced cadets of the Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme, popularly known as SURE-P tasks force have called on the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode to consider them for employments. The SURE-P task force cadets had embarked on battle of supremacy with the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA over the management of traffic on Lagos road until last week when the state government finally demolished their headquateres located on 7 Up bus stop along Lagos- Ibadan Expressway. But the disengaged cadets blamed the coordinators of the Programme for taking advantage of the unemployment situation in the country to defraud them under the pretext of providing them jobs from the presidency.

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SOUTH-WEST

Police warn against patronage of illegal motor parks Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

he Ogun State Police Command, yesterday warned members of the public against the idea of boarding buses at illegal or unapproved motor parks and garages within the state. It said it had recently arrested and investigated some serial rapists, who revealed that they had

picked people from such locations, rape and rob them of their belongings before dropping them at the risk of their lives. This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi. According to Adejobi, the command said it deemed it necessary to sound a note of warning due to some intelligence and concluded investigation reports of some cases

of rape, armed robbery and missing persons reported to the police in the state. He said, "The police command has been able to deduce from its reports that there is a strong link between the commissioning of some these crimes and the patronage of these unapproved parks, particularly those individuals who are fond of getting of getting 'free ride' by the road side or looking for 'cheap ride' along the road.

"The command had recently arrested and investigated some serial rapists, who have made it known to the police, of their gimmicks of picking people by the road side, rape and rob them of their belongings before they would drop drop them off their cars, on speed, in most cases. "They have been charged to court accordingly after the police had got credible and substantive evidence against

them. "The victims of these above stated criminal acts or related crimes, in most cases, fall within the categories of those who are actually looking for 'cheap ride', 'free ride', or patronizing illegal or unapproved parks either within or outside Ogun State." The PPRO, therefore, urged the general public to always patronize government approved parks and garages in all the zones of the state.

New Ekiti monarch to be installed soon –Fayose Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

kiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has said a new Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, will be named and installed within the next 14 days. The governor said this after a meeting with the king makers and other leaders from the community at the weekend at the Government House, Ado-Ekiti. A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday said that 14 king makers were present at the meeting and they explained to the governor how they had voted to select a new Ogoga, stressing that 10 out 14 king makers expressed support for Prince Jimi Adu.

L-R: Dr. Victor Obiakor; his wife, Mirna; wife of the Chairman, Brownsville College, Alaba Kasumu; her husband, Hameed; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; his wife, Bolanle and Mohammed, jointly cutting the cake to officially inaugurate Brownsville College, at Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos…at the weekend

Ekiti PDP faults Awe's meeting with Buhari Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, has faulted the presence of the State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Jide Awe, at the meeting of the party’s state chairmen with President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja.

The PDP said with a murder charge being preferred against Awe, it is worrisome and embarrassing that President Buhari allowed Awe to attend a meeting along other state chairmen of the party, saying that was the height of insensitivity on the part of the president. The party made this known in a statement yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, through the State Pub-

Anglican Church backs resource control, removal of oil subsidy Babatope Okeowo Akure

he Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Akure Diocese has advocated a policy that will allow the 36 states in the country to manage resources in

their domain and pay required taxes to the Federal Government. Also, the Church asked the Federal Government to make a pronouncement on the removal of fuel subsidy, block the leakages in the oil sector so that scarcity of petroleum

can be eradicated in the country. Besides, the church asked the Federal Government to adopt the practice of true federalism that will make federating states develop at their own pace and allow development in all facets of the economy.

licity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo. Awe, is facing murder trial over his alleged involvement in the murder of Mr. Ayo Murphy Jeje and Mrs. Juliana Adewummi in ErinjiyanEkiti in Ekiti State on March 31, 2013. The PDP opined that it amounted to a direct show of support for murder for President Buhari, to have allowed Awe into the Presidential Villa. The statement read; "We heard that President Buhari said he is going to reopen cases of political murders. Yet, the same president allowed into Aso Villa, Jide Awe, who has refused to make himself available for trial for alleged murder even after a Federal High Court in Jos vacated an interlocutory injunction preventing Jide Awe from being arrested and tried for murder.

Group urges EFCC investigation into Aregbesola’s alleged mismanagement Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo.

he Civil Societies’ Coalition for Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEO) at the weekend called on the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged financial misappropriation against Governor Rauf Aregbesola, contained in the petition of Justice Oloyede Olamide, a seving judge of the state High Court. The group, comprising civil societies organisations in the state, after their meeting in Osogbo, charged the EFCC to act fast on the matter to save the state from collapse. Its spokesperson, Comrade Ebenezer Oladapo, in a communiqué made available to newsmen in Osogbo, maintained that all wrongs in the petition written against the governor and his deputy, must be speedily investigated and addressed

by the commission. “At the meeting of the coalition, we identified 12 issues which are realities confronting indigenes of this state and these include non-payment of salaries and pensions for seven and eight months resulting in near total collapse of commercial activities in the state and increase in crimes and death rates. He listed others as “Eviction of many civil servants by landlords for non-payment of house rents turning them into refugees within their own state and a comatose civil service, denied of running cost and funds for capacity building” “A confused school system characterized by gross indiscipline among the students, failure of government to provide instructional materials and grants as well as lack of teachers in key subjects resulting in very poor academic performance in WAEC 2014 results.

NEW TELEGRAPH monday, july 6, 2015

News 47

south - east

APGA chief tasks N’Assembly on leadership crisis Igbeaku Orji UMUAHIA

he candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA) in the last senatorial election in Abia State, Dr. David Onuoha-Bourdex, has urged the leadership of the National Assembly to use the period of its long break to thrash out all issues relating to the leadership crisis in the Assembly. Bourdex stated this, stressing that the work before the 8th National Assembly was enormous and it should not allow the politics of who leads in the two chambers of the federal legislature to linger, saying that it was disappointing to Nigerians who look forward to a new and better way of doing things in the country. In a statement made available to newsmen yesterday, the APGA chieftain argued that instead of trifling with the expectation of the citizens by fighting over issues of personal positions, the federal lawmakers should commence legislations on issues that will be benefitting to the people of the country and learning from the mistakes of the past. Onuoha-Bourdex, said the House of Representatives and Senate should set out critical areas that require immediate attention for the strengthening of the Nigeria federation especially the electoral system.

L-R: Ebonyi State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Elizabeth Ogbaga; Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Sen. Emmanuel Onwe; Special Adviser on Labour Relations, Mrs. Grace Chukwu and Commissioner for Works, Mr. Augustine Nweze, during a press conference on the outcome of the maiden State Executive Council (SEC) meeting …at the weekend.

smuggling

Command goes tough on smuggling, goes on massive seizures Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

he Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone "C" of the Nigeria Customs Service, Owerri, has said it recorded a total of 226 seizures of contrabands worth N1.02 billion in the first half of the year. The Comptroller of the unit, Mr. Victor Dimka, revealed this while briefing newsmen in Owerri, at the weekend on the seizures recorded by his unit within the first half of the year. He said the unit also

Umahi revokes Elechi’s N4.2 bn road contract

bonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, at the weekend announced the termination of the N4.2 billion contract of the Abakaliki – Enugu dualised Road which was awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Company by the administration of Chief Martin Elechi. The governor announced the revocation of the contract during his inspections of projects he inherited from the past administration, to ascertain their various stages toward completion. Governor Umahi said that the termination of the contract was necessary because the State Government did not obtain approval from the Federal Government, the original owner of the road before embarking on the project. He disclosed that he

had started negotiation with the World Bank and Setraco, the company the Federal Government initially awarded the contract, to come back and complete the project. Projects inspected by the governor include the on-going construction of two hostels blocks, a lecture hall and administrative block at the permanent site of the State University, a section of the Abakaliki- Enugu Road from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat to the permanent site of the State University. Others are the Salt City Hotel, the World Trade Centre, the New Secretariat at Ocho Udo City Layout, the on-going construction of internal roads at Ocho Udo City Layout, the Ebonyi State Broadcasting Corporation (EBBC) and the International Market.

Customs seize N1bn goods in six months

l Arrest 129 suspects in six months arrested 129 suspects in connection with the smuggling of various contraband goods between January and June 2015. He said 118 cases are pending in various courts within the zone in respect to smuggling activities. A breakdown, according to Dimka, showed that the unit recorded a total of 63 seizures with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N337.37 million in the month of March, the highest seizure so far with 25 arrests.

This, he said, was against the 37 seizures with DPV of N176.48 million made in January; 40 seizures valued at N136.71 million in February and 37 seizures worth N83.30 million achieved in April. Others are 42 seizures with DPV of N141.23 million made in May and 47 seizures with DPV of N138. 34 million recorded in June. Dimka attributed the massive seizures made in March to an apparent and stronger quest for materialism by the suspects “in

an ever-increasing corruption prone society.” He expressed concern at the persistent cases of smuggling in the country despite stiff penalties on those arrested. He listed 210 vehicles, 990 bales of textiles/ second hand clothing, 126 packages of furniture, and 296 bales of fairly used bags and suitcases worth N456.70 million; N101. 80million; N19.58million; and N30.14 million respectively as some of the items seized.

Call for Ekweremadu’s resignation divisive, says northern elders Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

he calls for the resignation of the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekeremadu, in some quarters has been described by Northern monarchs living in the South-East and SouthSouth geopolitical zones as unnecessary and divisive. Addressing journalists in Umuahia , Abia State, Chairman of Northern Traditional Leaders Council, South-East and South-South, Sarki Yaro Danladi, said Ekweremadu, should be allowed to be because he is the only eye of the Ndigbo in the National Assembly. Sarki Danladi further said that removing

Ekweremadu from his position would amount to sidelining the entire South East zone from the political equation in the National Assembly, a development he said was capable of igniting ethnic tension in Nigeria. The elders observed that a number of Nigerians especially those living outside their regions, were yet to recover from the shocks and effects of previous ethnic clashes in the country. He added that Nigerians were tired of crisis and appealed to the political class not to overheat the already tensed political atmosphere in the country. Danladi who is also the Sarki Hausa of Abia State, appealed to the ruling All Progressives

Congress ( APC) to halt any attempt to unseat the Deputy Senate President as part of its sacrifice for the unity of Nigeria. He said his removal would generate ill- feelings among "the Igbos who are one of Nigeria's tripods and this will only further polarise the country along tribal lines". The elder also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to intervene in the matter and prevail on APC not to take any action that would portray his administration in bad light. On the allegation that President Buhari’s appointments so far were in favour of the North, Alhaji Yaro appealed for calm, saying that it is too early to conclude as appointments were still going on.

Ebonyi LP suspends chairman Igbeaku Orji and Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

he crisis rocking the Ebonyi State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) may have worsened as the party Chairman, Sabastine Obyia, was yesterday suspended for anti-party activities, gross misconduct and incompetence. Consequently, Mr. Odoh Fidelis and Augustine Uguru, have been appointed the acting Chairman and Secretary of the party. In a resolution signed by the 25 State Executive Council members during their emergency meeting, the SEC members said the party members had lost confidence in the leadership of the party under Obyia, following what they called unlawful suspension of the party’s Financial and Organizing Secretaries; Emmanuel Ibe and Augustine Nwankwo respectively. According to the SEC members, the duo resisted Obyia's connivance with some politicians in the state to highjack the party to achieve their selfish ambitions. The party executives further accused the former chairman of romancing with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to frustrate the petitions of various candidates of the party in the last general elections before the tribunal and affirm unalloyed commitment and support to all the candidates of the party at the election petitions tribunal in the state.

48 News

Pirates rape, drown women in Akwa Ibom Tony Anichebe uyo

t the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly sitting weekend, the member representing Mbo state constituency , Mr. Asuquo Ufuo, during his presentation on a matter of urgent public importance, alerted the House on the sufferings of the Mbo people and other surrounding coastal communities in the hands of sea pirates. According to Ufuo, the pirates have continued to unleash terror in the area unabated. He alleged that the pirates recently seized five boats loaded with crayfish, forcefully collected large sums of money from fishermen and raped women in the Effiat community. Most shocking, as the lawmaker narrated, was the case of a woman who upon sighting approaching militants, decided to conceal her money in her baby’s sanitary pad. The lawmaker said after the bandits had concluded dispossessing residents of their monies and set to leave, suddenly returned and asked the woman to surrender her money.

Wike orders payment of pensioners’ three months arrears

monday, july 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

south - south

Okowa: Corruption denied Delta of development Dominic Adewole ASABA

elta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, at the weekend, decried the poor level of development in the state, saying corruption has denied the state of valuable development over the years. He declared an era of zero-tolerance to corruption, charging his new commissioners and other political appointees to block all areas of financial leakages. The governor, who decried the past era of business as usual in the management of govern-

ment activities, said he was determined to curb wastefulness in the governance of the state. To this effect, Okowa directed all ministries, departments and agencies not to use government funds to place adverts for his 56th birthday annivesary, urging well-wishers as well to divert such funds to the empowerment of less privileged persons in their communities. He said honesty, diligence and responsibility in the discharge of governance, which are avowed articles of faith in his administration, remained sacrosanct. Addressing the commissioners and other political

aides at the weekend in Asaba, Governor Okowa was categorical that corruption has grounded the state, starving the state of precious infrastructural development. According to him, the state’s educational system, healthcare system and care for the poor and needy, are the worst hit. He said: “I want to make it crystal clear that this administration has zero-tolerance for sectionalism and nepotism. Given the pan-Delta mandate that brought us here, we cannot afford to do any less. I want to seek the support and partnership of all public office holders to lead the fight against cor-

ruption in their respective offices; that is the only way to retain the trust and confidence the people have bestowed on us. “Corruption starves the state of valuable resources that could be used for infrastructural development, improve our educational systems, boost our healthcare system and take care of the poor and needy, even worse is that anywhere it is allowed to fester, the cost of doing business becomes prohibitive.” He flayed ethnic politics, which he said has remained the worst instincts triggering fears among the ethnic nationalities in the state.

L-R: Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade; Delta State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; Managing Director, Fynefield Petroleum FZE, Mr. Gabriel Ogbechie and Executive Director, Fynefield Petroleum FZE, Mrs. Godrey Ogbechie, at the inauguration of Fynefield Petroleum FZE’s 40 million capacity tank farm in Calabar…at the weekend

Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

he Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has ordered that pensioners in the state be paid the three month pension owed them by the Rotimi Amaechi administration, urging the Accountant General to begin payment immediately. Wike, who gave the directive barely one week after he ordered the two months payment of workers’ salaries after months of waiting and protests, assured the pensioners of regular payment of their pensions. He said it was “callous and insensitive to owe pensioners, who have served the state creditably,” in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on media, Opunabo Nko-Tariah, adding that some of the pensioners even died in penury and out of frustration.

Ayade, Okowa inaugurate N3bn petroleum depot in Calabar employment

Governors want rich Nigerians to help create employment opportunities Clement James Calabar

he governors of Cross River and Delta States, Prof. Ben Ayade and Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, have appealed to wealthy Nigerians to assist government at all levels, to create employment opportunities for youths by establishing meaningful projects in the country. The governors made the appeal at the week-

end in Calabar, Cross River State, when they jointly inaugurated a N3 billion ultra-modern 40 million litres capacity petroleum product depot established by Fynefield Petroleum, at the Calabar Free Trade Zone. Okowa, who spoke first as a special guest, while appreciating the effort of the Managing Director of Fynefield, Mr. Gabriel Ogbechie, said the storage facility will go a long way in not only alleviating the country’s petroleum challenges as experienced in the last few months, but will also reduce the challenge of unemployment. “I have to come from Delta State for the commissioning of this project, because I believe that

this is a worthy effort by a worthy Nigerian, who has come from a humble beginning to this point. This depot will no doubt reduce the country’s current challenge of scarcity of petroleum product and create employment. I thank Gabriel Ogbechie for this worthy effort,” Okowa said. On his part, Governor Ayade lauded Fynefield for establishing the depot in Calabar, assuring the company that his government will make the environment conducive for every investor to recoup money invested in the state. “The story of Gabriel Ogbechie gives Nigerians hope. When you have passion and capacity, you can go far in life."

Pro-Amaechi group accuses Wike of recklessness Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

pro-Amaechi group, the Rivers Leadership Advancement Foundation (RIVLEAF) has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of recklessness in the governance of Rivers State, faulting the governor’s N30 billion loan, as well as his dissolution of some boards. RIVLEAF, which was founded by Alex Wele, who served as Ameachi’s special adviser, also faulted the May 29 swearingin of Wike by the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State. The group’s position came in a statement yesterday. It also described the Wike administration as a “temporary one,” and accused the State House of Assembly of being the Governor’s rubberstamp by approving his loans request, and for being a party to the plot to make mockery of the traditional institution through a proposed bill to review the existing law on traditional rulers. RIVELEAF said: “The swearing in of the Governor of Rivers State… was defective as it was not done according to the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in terms of the acquisition of the jurisdiction. “It is an aberration for the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State to swearin a governor in Rivers State."

Lawmaker worried over non-payment of council workers Chris Ejim Yenagoa

he member representing Yenagoa Constituency 2 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Ebiuwou Koku Obiyai, has expressed concern over the delay in the payment of local government workers’ salaries in the state. Seconding a motion inviting the eight local government council chairmen to the floor of the House to explain why workers in the local government councils were being owed salaries from April to date, the lawmaker said the workers were entitled to their salaries at the end of each month. Obiyai, who is a former labour leader in the state, lamented the untold hardship the local government coun-

cil workers may be facing as a result of their unpaid salaries, saying that salary is the lifeline of every worker. The lawmaker, the immediate past state chairperson of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), urged the council chairmen to ensure that the situation was handled with care to avoid unwarranted industrial crisis in the various councils, even as she appealed to the workers to be calm as the House of Assembly has waded into the matter. The motion, inviting the eight council chairmen, the commissioner for local government and other relevant officers to appear on the floor of the House to explain their roles in the non-payment of workers’ salaries, was moved by the member representing Southern Ijaw Constituency 3, Hon. Daniel Igali.

NEW TELEGRAPH monday, july 6, 2015

Buhari urged to stop gunmen's attacks Musa Pam Jos

outh groups under the auspices of Plateau Youth G17 Peace and Progressive Forum, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate steps to stop the incessant attacks by gunmen in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas of the state or they will be left with no option than to protecting their communities. The group in a statement signed by the Convener, Hon. Dachung Musa Bagos and made available to New Telegraph in Jos yesterday, condemned the killing of two students of Dalo Memorial High School, Foron, by suspected Fulani gunmen. “We call on President Buhari, who is the father of the nation to please talk to these people, we want peace, we don't want war, the youths are waiting for him to stop these killings, but then time is not on our side, we will not fold our hands and watch our communities, innocent children and women, wiped off."

News 49

south north - south

El-Rufai: Yero left Kaduna in debt

Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

aduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday lamented the financial situation of

the state, saying that the immediate past Ramalan Yero administration in the state left the state in debt. The governor said contrary to Yero’s claim that he left N8 billion in the coffers of the state,

he actually left the state in deficit. Nasir El-Rufai, who made this clarification at a press briefing through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan yesterday, was reacting to the claim

of the former Deputy Governor, Nuhu Audu Bajoga that the state was in good state as at the time of their departure. According to Aruwan, “the Yero administration actually left N228, 333,371.67 in its central

L-R: Vicar, St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral, Ven. Jezreel Vandeh; Anglican Bishop of Minna Diocese, Rt. Revd. Daniel Yisa; his wife, Alice and a member, Mrs. Mary Fatima Tswanya, during the cutting of the centenary cake to mark the 100 years of St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral, in Minna... yesterday. PHOTO: DAN ATORI

Al-Makura distributes relief materials to 20 communities

Rep demands rehabilitation Police probe assassination of IDPs in Plateau of 68-year-old politician

Cheke Emmanuel

Jos

LAFIA

asarawa State governor, Tanko Al-Makura, yesterday distributed 20 trucks of relief materials to Alakyo village and 19 other communities affected by the recent communal crisis in the state. Alakyo village is the home of Baba Alakyo, the alleged leader of Ombatse militia group that killed over 85 security operatives in May, 2013. Items distributed included rice, cooking pots, agricultural inputs, household items, clothing and building materials, fertilizer, herbicides and knapsack sprayers, mattresses, roofing sheets, bags of rice, beans, among others. Distributing the items at Government House in Lafia, Governor Al-Makura said his administration is worried by the plight of the affected communities who lost their belongings as a result of the crisis. The governor said that the materials are disbursed in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Musa Pam

larmed by the poor living condition of Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs), in Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas in Plateau State, the member representing Barkin Ladi/Riyom federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Istifanus Gyang, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise the rehabilitation of IDPs following

the series of attacks by gunmen. Gyang, who re-emphasised his position in a press statement issued to journalists at the weekend in Jos, said the issue cannot be overemphasised, considering the plight of the helpless victims who are living in sympathetic condition. He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to include them in the Federal Government’s rehabilitation and resettlement programmes for victims of attacks.

Gay marriage Satanic, says cleric Dan Atori MINNA

he Bishop of Minna Diocese, Anglican Communion, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Yisa, has condemned the United States Supreme Court's ruling that upheld samesex marriage as a legal right, saying such act is Satanic and not of God. Speaking with journalists after the ccentenary thanksgiving service at the St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral in Minna yesterday, Bishop Yisa said gay is not biblical and that neither is it

an African practice and that “if God hates it, we all must hate it.” Condemning samesex marriage approved by the American government recently, Bishop Yisa admonished Nigerians to hold on to the gospel truth. According to him, “We must know the basic truth of the Bible. As far as we are concerned as Nigerians, same sexmarriage is not our portion. Whoever wants to do that in his country, can do that in his free volition, but should not necessarily say that the Bible says so.

Abubakari Abdul Birnin Kebbi

ollowing the assassination of a prominent businessman and politician in Aleiro Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Lemi, at the weekend, authorities at the state police command yesterday confirmed the assassination to newsmen, saying investigation into the incident has commenced. Speaking with newsmen, Police Public Relations Officer, Nafiu Abubakar, said the command has commenced investigation, but that no arrest has been made. He said: “Yes the man was assassinated last night inside his house by gunmen who shot him and ran away. We are still investigating the matter, but up till now no arrest has been made,” he said. The domestic security of late Lemi, Habibu Shehu, who was manhandled by the assassins before they gained access into the house, said they came on motorcycles and were six in number. “He said: “Alhaji came back about 8.30pm from saying his prayers and entered the house. Short-

ly after, six people came on two motorbikes; two of them quickly manhandled me, holding my mouth. The others then entered Alhaji's house and shot him, I could hear the cries of his wife; ‘they have shot Alhaji, come Habibu, come,’ she pleaded. The assassins quickly fled on their motorbikes,” he narrated. Briefing newsmen shortly after the incident, Deputy Speaker, Kebbi State House of Assembly, Hon. Buhari Moahmmed and Alhaji Umaru Kallamu Aleiro, all close associates of the late Lemi, described the incident as tragic and unacceptable to the people of Aleiro and Kebbi business communities. According to another eye witness, Alhaji Kallamu Aliero, who said “the gunmen came into the house after tying down the security man, met him in his sitting room and shot him twice. One in the chest and the other in his shoulder, you can even see the bullet wounds on his body before he was buried,” he said. Meanwhile, hundreds of sympathisers yesterday trooped into the house to condole with the family of the deceased.

account on May 29, 2015, representing the working capital that could be spent. “All other items in the bank balance are committed funds, and are not available to be spent by government. These include counterpart and reserve funds clearly earmarked for specific purposes such as the MDGs, SUBEB, SURE-P and state pensions, and as such cannot be termed available funds by any responsible government,’’ he added. T he gover nor’s spokesman said for this reason, “It is pretty disingenuous to infer that a state that is in obvious dire straits has robust finances or to delude to a conclusion that N8 billion on paper is available in reality.” Aruwan revealed that; “The Ramalan Yero government that Bajoga served also incurred outstanding liabilities of N370 million by May 2015 that effectively leaves the state in deficit as the working capital of slightly over N228m cannot cover the liabilities inherited.”

Benue revenue agencies to render account Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

enue State governor, Samuel Ortom, has said that his administration would soon demand that revenue generating organisations in the state should render accounts to government. He spoke at the weekend when a delegation from Tombo community in Logo Local Government Area led by Chief Medical Director of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Orkurga Malu, paid him a courtesy call. Ortom said the economic downturn in the country, dictated that the states look inwards and beef up their internally generated revenue, which required that organisations which generate revenue, render accounts and make payments into the common purse. According to him, such organisations include the state teaching hospital, adding that his administration would provide support for them to perform maximally. He said he was aware of the challenges of the community, which he said include insecurity, lack of critical infrastructure, as well as general underdevelopment.

50 WORLD | News

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Bailout referendum: Greek defy EU

pinion polls released after Greece's bailout referendum yesterday showed the 'No' vote ahead, suggesting voters had defied warnings from across Europe that rejection of the creditors' terms would set their country on a path out of the euro. No exit polls were conducted, but three opinion polls by GPO, Metron Analysis and MRB all showed the 'No' camp' ahead by three points. A poll by Marc estimated 49.5 to 54.5 percent of Greeks voted 'No' compared to 45.5 to 50.5 percent voting 'Yes', based on surveys conducted through

the week. The polls were released after voting ended yesterday because of a ban on the publication of polls on the day before a vote is held. Nikos Filis, parliamentary spokesman for the ruling Syriza party said the result of the opinion polls would allow the government to move ahead quickly to reach a deal with creditors. "I think this is guidance for the government," he said after the polls came out. Athens' partners have warned over the past week that a 'No' vote would mean cutting bridges with Europe and driving Greece's crippled financial system into out-

right bankruptcy, dramatically worsening the country's 5-yearlong depression. If confirmed, the result will also deliver a hammer blow to the European Union's grand single currency project. Intended to be permanent and unbreakable when it was created 15 years ago, the euro zone could now be on the point of losing its first member with the risk of further unraveling to come. Greek banks, which have been closed all week and rationing withdrawals from cash machines, are expected to run out of money within days unless the European Central Bank provides an emergency

lifeline. However central bankers warned before the vote that a 'No' would make it almost impossible for the ECB to turn on the taps, leaving the Greek financial system without funds and facing imminent collapse. A 'No' vote would leave Greece and the euro zone in uncharted waters. Unable to borrow money on capital markets, Greece has one of the world's highest levels of public debt. The International Monetary Fund warned last week that it

would need massive debt relief and 50 billion euros in fresh funds. Greece's leftwing government called the referendum only a week ago after it rejected the tough terms offered by international creditors as the price for releasing billions of euros in bailout funds. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras denounced the bailout terms as "blackmail" and declared that a 'No' vote would strengthen the government's hand to get a better deal that would allow the banks to re-open this week.

Tunisia declares state of emergency

Burundi rejects UN mediator

he country's president says additional police and military powers are needed to tamp down militants, who have carried out two mass casualty attacks on tourist sites in the past 4 months. A week after a gunman killed 38 tourists at a beach resort in Tunisia, President Beji Caid Essebsi declared a state of emergency, granting additional powers to the security services and restricting large assemblies. The Saturday move came as Tunisia is coming to grips with its second major terrorist attack in four months. In March a terrorist attack on the National Bardo Museum near Tunis killed 22 people, most of them tourists. But it has also raised concerns that President Essebsi may be walking back the freedoms of movement, assembly, and expression that Tunisians have enjoyed since a three-year state of emergency originally implemented during

Afghan leader refuses to be drawn into lynching sentences row

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, centre, speaks to the media after voting at a polling station in Athens yesterday.

urundi yesterday rejected a second UN diplomat named to help resolve the country's political crisis, saying a critical report about last week's parliamentary elections demonstrated bias. The tiny east African country plunged into tur moil in late April when protests erupted in response to President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term. The opposition boycotted the June 29 parliamentary election and says it will boycott the July 15 presidential vote. The rejection of Abdoulaye Bathily came in response to a

UN report saying its mission in Burundi had observed restrictions on media freedoms, arbitrary detentions and acts of violence around the June 29 vote. Burundi's ruling coalition blamed Bathily for the report. "He has produced a critical report not reflecting reality on the scene, saying that elections of June 29 were not ‘free and credible’, while (the ruling coalition) believe that these elections were 'transparent, fair , free and credible and were held in peace and security,'" it said in a letter to the UN secretary general. The coalition accused Bathily of exhibiting a "lack of

neutrality". Bathily's appointment was announced on June 21. The previous UN mediator, Said Djinnit, left the role after only a few weeks after criticism from the opposition that he was biased in the government's favor, a charge he dismissed. Djinnit remains UN special envoy to the Great Lakes region. Dozens of people have been killed since the crisis erupted in Burundi. In addition, about 140,000 people have fled the country, stoking concern in a region with a history of ethnic conflict, particularly in Rwanda, where 800,000 people were killed in 1994.

UK's Princess Charlotte christened on queen's estate

undreds of royal fans flocked to Queen Elizabeth II's country estate yesterday, hoping to catch a glimpse of Britain's royal family as they gather for Princess Charlotte's christening. Prince William and his wife, Kate, are marking a milestone for Charlotte, their 9-week-old second child, who is to be christened at the 16th-century St. Magdalene Church in Sandringham, near England's eastern coast. The church, close to William and Kate's country house Anmer Hall, is where the royal family traditionally gathers for Christmas service. It is also

where Charlotte's late grandmother, Princess Diana, was christened in 1961.Charlotte, the fourth in line to the throne, is likely to make a rare appearance for the cameras. It's only the second glimpse of the princess in public since she was born May 2. Yesterday's event will see William and Kate appear in public for the first time as a family of four. Celebrity photographer Mario Testino will take official photos of the royal family after the service. Like her elder brother George, Charlotte will be christened in a replica of the intricate lace-and-satin christening gown

made for Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, also named Victoria, in 1841. Since then, until 2008, that original gown had been worn by all royal babies including the queen at their baptism. Following royal tradition, the water used for the christening will be holy water from the River Jordan, where it is said Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Before the ceremony, palace officials announced that William and Kate have chosen five godparents for Charlotte. They included William's cousin Laura Fellowes, Kate's cousin Adam Middleton, and three of the couple's friends.

fghan President Ashraf Ghani declined to intervene yesterday in the case of four men convicted over the mob killing of a young woman, despite public anger over the fact their initial death sentences have been replaced by prison terms. The woman, named Farkhunda, was beaten to death by a crowd and set on fire in central Kabul in March after being falsely accused of burning a copy of the Koran. The softening of the men's sentences has dismayed activists who say it shows that billions of dollars of Western aid designed to boost women's education and

the 2011 “Arab Spring” was lifted in March 2014. ‘‘Tunisia faces a very serious danger and it should take any possible measures to maintain security and safety,’’ Mr. Essebsi said in a nationally televised address Saturday, reports The Boston Globe. ‘‘If attacks like Sousse happen again, the country will collapse.’’ The state of emergency will allow the army to expand its areas of operation, and Essebsi has also pledged to increase police powers and enforce harsher penalties for terrorism related offenses. The move comes as Tunisia attempts to arrest the sudden and profound decline of its vibrant tourism industry, which makes up 7 percent of the country’s economy. The unexpected departure of thousands of tourists in the wake of the beach attack has cost the country more than $500 million, Reuters reports.

role in Afghan society has failed to give them justice and equal rights. Ghani's office issued a statement after the president met campaigners, who voiced anger over the case and complained other suspects were still at large. "The president said that the constitution prohibits him from interfering," the statement said. It then quoted Ghani's legal adviser as saying that there were shortcomings in the penal code, the men had not had access to defense lawyers in the initial proceedings, and the main issue was to determine who struck the final blow.

Wildfires break out in Spain, Portugal

ore than 1,350 residents were evacuated in Spain's northeastern region of Aragon as a wildfire spread through a pine forest amid a lingering heat wave, a local official said yesterday. Five villages were evacuated as flames devoured hills that are 375 kilometers (230 miles) northeast of Madrid, said Javier Lamban, the president of Aragon. The evacuees, who included residents of a retirement home, were transferred

to nearby towns. About 500 firefighters and almost 100 pieces of equipment, including aircraft, were fighting the flames yesterday, which were being fanned by windy conditions and were creating a large plume of smoke. The fire, which broke out Saturday afternoon, has already burned close to 8,000 hectares (19,770 acres) of forest in a remote area, according to Ministry of Agriculture and Environment spokesman Modesto Lobon.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

News

International Sport

Sacking is wrong timing – Owolabi

Wimbledon

Argentina rue Copa América final loss

Williams sisters’ showdown headlines crunch Monday

Sport News

Sport

Musa overwhelmed by Basaksehir welcome party

Did you know? That late Rashidi Yekini scored 37 goals for the Super Eagles in 58 matches

Why NFF sacked Keshi Adekunle Salami

ore facts emerged at the weekend over why the Nigeria Football Federation terminated the two-year contract of former Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi. The NFF on Saturday evening in a release said the coach lacked the required commitment to achieve the federation’s objectives as set out in the coach’s employment contract. The statement read: “… pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4.3 of the Employment Contract between Mr. Stephen Keshi and the NFF (The Contract) and the various clauses therein, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to exercise its option to summarily terminate the employment contract of Mr. Stephen Keshi with the Federation with immediate effect.” However, it was authoritatively learnt that there were four major issues that worked against Keshi leading to his sacking. The first was the appearance of an unlisted player on the Eagles bench during the Nigeria, Chad 2017 Africa Nations Cup qualifier. The coach was verbally queried for this

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami

but his response according to sources was unconvincing. Secondly, the allegation that he applied for the coaching job of Cote d’Ivoire was another big issue. The NFF Disciplinary Committee gave him a fair hearing and Keshi denied ever applying for the job. The Disciplinary Committee which was heavily criticised for embarking on a trip to Abidjan over this issue apparently came back with documents to justify the importance of the trip. New Telegraph scooped that the committee not only had the application letter Keshi sent to the Ivoirians, the body also got a copy of another letter the Big Boss wrote appealing for a withdrawal of his application letter when the heat was on him in Nigeria. NFF chieftains were irked that the documents proved that the Eagles coach lied. The football body is also yet to forgive Keshi for operating at a ‘higher level’ during the Goodluck Jonathan administration. “We followed the due process and gave Keshi a fair hearing before we decided to terminate his contract. We did this in the interest of the country because after evaluating his actions and inactions, we feel he cannot take us anywhere,” NFF vice President, Seyi Akinwunmi, said on Saturday. It could be recalled that the NFF reluctantly engaged

•Four ‘sins’ that nailed him Keshi to continue a couple of months ago due to intense power play and politicking. The Amaju Pinnick-led NFF board had made it known that Keshi was not good enough

Keshi’s sacking at the weekend did not however come as a surprise especially because there is a change of guard in the presidency, where it is believed Keshi derived his backing from.

Keshi

Ekeji backs NFF over Keshi’s sacking

Group Sport Editor

Charles Ogundiya

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Sport Editor

Ifeanyi Ibeh Sport Correspondent

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

for the board as they could not strike a good working relationship. He was therefore given the sack during the 2015 qualifiers but due to “orders from above,” he was recalled.

Ekeji

former Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Dr. Patrick Ekeji, on Sunday said the Nigeria Football Federation had done the right thing by terminating the appointment of Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi. Ekeji while speaking to New Telegraph on the telephone said since the federation had lost confidence in the coach, the right thing to do was to fire him in the in-

terest of the nation. “The NFF has done what they should have done before,” the former Eagles defender said. “They lost confidence in Keshi long time ago, and when you don’t have confidence in your employee there is no way you can work together.” “I have said it before that they should take a decision on time and I am happy they have done that. They should start looking for a new coach immediately and if they already have one, he should

resume without any delay.” The NFF at the weekend terminated the appointment of Keshi as the Head Coach of the senior national team. According to the release by the NFF, Keshi’s appointment was terminated after reviewing the reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF Technical and Development Committee. Keshi led Nigeria to record a 2-0 victory in the opening match of the 2017 AFCON qualifiers on June 13, in Kaduna.

52 News

Sacking is wrong timing – Owolabi

Keshi’s sacking

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

•It was a surprise, says Adepoju

Charles Ogundiya

ormer Nigeria international, Felix Owolabi, has described the sacking of Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, as coming at a wrong time. Owoblow as he was fondly called in his playing days told New Telegraph on the telephone that the timing of the decision to sack the coach leaves much to be desired given that it is happening at a crucial time in Nigeria’s quest to qualify for the 2017 AFCON in Gabon. “It is unfortunate that it happened at a time Nigerians are clamoring for the Super Eagles to qualify for the AFCON,” the former Shooting Stars of Ibadan player said. “Despite their reasons, I don’t think it was the right thing to do; It is very sentimental, disappointing and does not speak well of the Nigeria Football Federation. “This is the time for the federation to put in more effort in ensuring smooth qualification but they have allowed sentiments to affect their judgment.” Speaking further, Owolabi said the NFF had used Keshi as a sacrificial lamb to cover its ineptitude and this might affect the coun-

try’s qualification in the long run. He said it would amount to starting all over again as the new coach would take time to get used to the team. Owolabi said: “Keshi will surely get a new job somewhere but this will surely affect Nigerian football; we are starting afresh again and we have a qualifier in less than three months. “It shows we are not serious, to me it has always been a case of playing cat and mouse; it took the NFF months to employ him as a coach and after engaging him they have now asked him to go. “I believe his case has been settled a long time ago and they were just bidding their time and looking for an excuse to get rid of him.” Another former international Mutiu Adepoju has said the coach’s sacking came to him as a big surprise as he was not expecting it. The former Shooting Stars of Ibadan General Manager said: “It was a surprise to me because I was not expecting it, but that is the way the NFF wants it. “To me now football has to move forward and everyone should move forward because the life of a coach is all about hiring and firing, but the team must move forward.”

Keshi

Exit won’t affect AFCON qualifiers – NFF Adekunle Salami

he Vice-President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Seyi Akinwunmi, has said the sacking of Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, will not affect the team’s qualification for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Assistant Coach, Salisu Yusuf, is now the chief coach of

the Eagles under the supervision of Technical Director, Shaibu Amodu. Akinwunmi stated that the federation had confidence in the ability of Yusuf and Amodu to manage the team pending the employment of another head coach for the Eagles. He said: “We have done what we feel is right and in the best interest of Nigeria.

Keshi has self to blame, says coaches association Adeolu Johnson

Abuja

Nigeria’s Juwon Oshaniwa and Kenneth Omeruo attempting to stop Argentina Gonzalo Higuain at 2014 World Cup

NFF decision, not a surprise – Amiesimaka

former Green Eagles winger, Adokiye Amiesimaka, said on Sunday that he was not surprised at the removal of Coach Stephen Keshi because the current Nigeria Football Federation board never believed in him. Amiesimaka told the News Agency of Nigeria in Port Harcourt that the termination of Keshi’s two-year contract because he applied for the Ivorian job, would not come to many Nigerians as a surprise. ``It is clear that the moment he was employed and after winning the 2013 Africa Cup

of Nations tournament, it was obvious they did not want him. ``Keshi was not wanted by the NFF. After winning the cup, Keshi ran into different problems with the federation. ``Some top NFF officials made it clear that they wanted a foreign coach; they were merely looking for excuse to throw him out,’’ he said. Amiesimaka, a former Chairman of Sharks FC of Port Harcourt, said it could have dawned on Keshi that his employers did not want him. ``I saw it coming, Keshi should have seen it coming, I

The implication is also clear to us and we have solid confidence in the ability of the assistant coach and the technical director to hold on till a new coach is employed. “The NFF is aware that the country missed the last Nations Cup and the decision on Keshi was also taken to ensure we qualify for the 2017 edition.”

am sure other Nigerians too should have seen it coming, he was never their choice,’’ he said. On Shaibu Amodu as replacement for Keshi, Amiesimaka said the same Amodu was removed in the past because he lacked technical depth. ``Amodu qualified the country twice for the World Cup in 2002 and 2010 and was sacked for a lack of technical expertise. ``I believe Amodu is not the real choice, I think they will prefer a foreign coach. Let’s wait and see how things will go,’’ he said.

igeria Football Coaches Association has clearly washed its hands off the issues that surrounded the sacking of Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, saying that he should blame himself for his troubles. The Nigeria Football Federation on Saturday sacked the Super Eagles gaffer following the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee led by Chris Green which launched an investigation into whether the coach applied for the vacant job of the national team of Cote d’Ivoire. NFCA National President Bitrus Bewarang speaking on the development accused Keshi

of running a-one-man show, adding that he has never associated with his colleagues in Nigeria. According to him, “I have tried to speak to national coaches to always associate with their colleagues because they are at the professional level to help the association with some of the finances to achieve some of our programmes. “If they become our members we will stick our neck out for them, that is an advantage of being in the association. Our hands are tied when they are not our members. “Some of the coaches that have been sacked in the past are now asking the coaches association to come to their rescue, how can we do that when they are not our members?” he queried.

I expected the hammer long ago – Keshi Adeolu Johnson Abuja

acked Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi said he expected the axe a long time ago. In a telephone call, the coach said: “I expected this a long ago. It was too obvious that some people were so desperate to get me out at all cost. I wish them the best of luck. I just have to move on. That is the nature of the coaching job.” Sources said that the NFF

had penciled down a foreign coach who is likely to take over the affairs of the national team. However, another source confided that the reservations of the media, which had been against hiring a foreign manager, may also force the federation to appoint one of the former coaches who had handled the Super Eagles in the past (not Amodu Shaibu, head of the NFF technical department) to return to tinker national team.

International Sport 53

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Argentina rue Copa América final loss

rgentina coach Gerardo Martino says his team were unlucky to lose out to Chile in the final of the Copa América on Saturday and claims he is behind his players “to the death” The Albiceleste missed out on the trophy after losing to the hosts on penalties following 120 minutes without a goal from either side in Santiago. “We didn’t play like we do usually and nor did Chile,” Martino said

after the game. “The two teams had more success in neutralising each other than in creating. Argentina didn’t create much and Chile didn’t create much. “I believe the two picked teams to neutralise the other. We played against the team that had scored the most goals and they didn’t create chances. “It’s reciprocal. So it’s unfair to talk about why Argentina didn’t play like they usually do without asking why

Chile didn’t play as they usually do. “We controlled their players in midfield. We also controlled [Jorge] Valdivia and Alexis Sánchez. My recognition for Chile has been from day one, but if you ask me about today’s game, I believe Argentina should have won.”Martino missed out on a trophy at the first time of asking, while his players ended up empty-handed once again after losing the World Cup final to Germany in Brazil last year.

Three deaths, mass looting as Chile celebrate Copa victory

man was shot in Santiago on Saturday night after he confronted a group of students as they celebrated Chile’s historic Copa America success. The host nation beat tournament favourites Argentina on penalties after a tense goalless draw at the Estadio Nacional. Thousands packed into Plaza Italia to celebrate the country’s first piece of silverware while the squad took an open-top bus to a reception with the president at La Moneda Palace. But elsewhere in the capital, a man named locally as Luis Alfredo

Venegas was killed after reportedly leaving his home to speak to the group who were firing a gun. Later, two men, Pablo Mora Bobadilla, 90, and Marco Antonio Panes Calfeque, 48, were knocked down and killed by a vehicle. Three other men were taken to hospital with one suffering life-threatening injuries and the driver reportedly fled the scene. In south Santiago, witnesses claimed up to 100 people attempted to loot a supermarket while there were arrests in the cities of Antofagasta and Valparaiso.

Blatter: Politicians tried to influence Qatar World Cup decision

ifa president Sepp Blatter says former France president Nicolas Sarkozy and ex-Germany leader Christian Wulff tried to influence the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The handing of the competition to the country sparked immense outrage and criticism due to the summer heat in the country and its poor human rights record. Blatter insists there were figures from outside of Fifa who tried to influence the decision to

give the World Cup to Qatar, insisting people like the German and French leaders who wanted to influence the outcome should take responsibility for their actions. Before awarding the World Cup to Russia and Qatar there were two political interventions,” he told Die Welt. “Sarkozy and Wulff tried to influence their voting representatives. That is why we now have a World Cup in Qatar. “Those who have voted for Qatar should also take responsibility.”

Chile players celebrating their triumph at the Copa America...Saturday

Roberto Carlos gets Delhi Dynamos job

eal Madrid and Brazil legend Roberto Carlos has been named head coach of Indian Super League side Delhi Dyamos. The World Cup winner will take over from Harm van Veldhoven for the 2015 season, which begins in October. Delhi finished fifth in 2014,

but Carlos, who managed Akhisar Belediyespor in the Turkish Super Lig last term. will seek to challenge inaugural champions Chennaiyin as he gets to work in what he calls an “interesting project”. “I want to inform you that I am the new coach of Delhi dynamos in India,” the former

Real Madrid full-back posted on his Instagram page. “It is an interesting project of a growing club! I’m very happy to be part of this club!” Meanwhile, Carlos’ former Madrid team-mate Nicolas Anelka was confirmed as Mumbai City’s player-manager for the season on Friday.

Hamilton wins thrilling British GP

Hamilton

ewis Hamilton seized back control of the British Grand Prix af-

ter being overtaken on the first corner to win his fifth race of the season yesterday and strengthen his Formula One title defense. A Mercedes one-two was just as forecast — with Nico Rosberg completing a ninth consecutive double podium for the team — but a thrilling rain-affected race was a riposte to some of the gloomy paddock talk about the predictability of the sport.

“It was exciting for me, the start made it exciting and the English weather helped,” Hamilton said. “It’s an indication for us not to throw our toys out of the pram and say everything is wrong.” Hamilton is the first backto-back Silverstone winner since David Coulthard 15 years ago, thrilling the 140,000-strong home crowd at the central England circuit.

TRANSFERS Mourinho can get best out of Falcao, says Chelsea legend Vidal set for Madrid move

Falcao

ormer Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair is confident Jose Mourinho can revive Radamel Falcao’s career

The Colombia international completed a season-long loan move to Premier League champions Chelsea from Ligue 1 outfit Monaco last Friday. Falcao struggled to make an impression at Old Trafford last season after he scored four goals in 29 games in all competitions for Manchester United. But former Chelsea defender Sinclair is confident that Blues manager Mourinho is the right coach to resurrect the South American’s best form.

“If there’s anybody that can get someone back to their top form, Jose would do that,” Sinclair told talkSPORT. “A big part of the move is the fact that he knows someone like Diego Costa. “His time at Manchester United, he had just come back from a really bad injury and was out for a year before his move to Manchester. “He wasn’t fully fit and he didn’t get the opportunity to play and to be fully fit as he didn’t play regularly enough.”

uventus midfielder Arturo Vidal is set to sign for Real Madrid, according to Chilean newspaper La Tercera. The midfield enforcer has been a key member of the Chile side that went all the way in the Copa America and lifted the trophy after defeat-

ing Argentina on penalties in the final on Saturday evening. And with the tournament now over, reports in his homeland say the 28-year-old just needs to sign the contract and the move will be final, with the two teams having already agreed a fee.

Vidal

De Gea coy over Real links

avid de Gea has confir med he will return to Manchester United for pre-season training in response to continued

speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid. De Gea, formerly of Atletico Madrid, spent his summer holiday in

the Spanish capital but was coy when asked about the prospect of joining Real by Spanish television channel Cuatro.

Sport

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

AAG: Coach hails weightlifters’ impact at Ibadan trials

NPFL RESULTS Enyimba 2-2 Abia Warriors Bayelsa Utd 2-0 Warri Wolves Giwa 2-1 Heartland Kano Pillars 1-0 El-Kanemi Akwa Utd 2-0 Rangers

unday Ikechuckwu, Assistant Coach Weighlifting, Ondo State has hailed the state’s weightlifters, who performed impressively at the just- concluded weightlifting open trials in Ibadan. Ikechukwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Akure that the weightlifters did the state proud by putting up sterling performances at the competition. He said the state won 11 medals made up of three gold, five silver and three bronze medal for the state at the trials. The coach expressed happiness at the thrilling performances by the lifters during the competition. He added that, Shola Fadodun in the 62 kg category, won two gold while Gbemisola Yusuf won a gold and silver in the 75 kg class in the female category. Suleiman Yakubu also won three silver medals in men’s 77Kg class while Fatimah Yakubu won a silver and two bronze medals in the women 53 kg category. Ikechuckwu said the three lifters had been invited to the national camp to prepare ahead of the 11th All Africa Games to be held in Congo Brazzaville, from Sept. 4 to Sept. 19. ``I am happy at the performances of the weightlifters, they prepared for it and they deserved to be commended; I know they will do the country proud if finally selected for the Games,” he said Weightlifters were selected from the 116 athhletes from 22 states that took part in the event. The competition was staged at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Oke Ado, Ibadan.

IfeanyiUbah 1-0 Shooting Dolphins 1-1 Wikki Tourists Sharks 0-0 Nasarawa Utd Lobi 1-1 Sunshine Taraba 0-0 Kwara Utd

Saviour’s hat-trick lifts U-23 Team

G Ifeanyi Ubah’s Abuchi Okereke (left) vying against Shooting Stars’ Joseph Izu...Sunday

Sunshine maintain top position • As Abia derby ends in draw

Charles Ogundiya

fter Matchday 16, Sunshine Stars of Akure maintained their grip at the top of the Nigeria Professional Football League table. The Akure Gunners played a 1-1 draw away to Lobi Stars in one of the league matches played across various centres on Sunday. IfeanyiUbah FC put an

end to coach Gbenga Ogunbote’s five-match unbeaten run since joining Shooting Stars of Ibadan, with a 1-0 home victory, as Akwa United defeated Enugu Rangers 2-0 inside the Nest of Champions, Uyo. League champions, Kano Pillars, beat Elkanemi Warriors 1-0 inside the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano, as Wikki Tourists recorded a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Port Harcourt against home team, Dolphins.

Also in Port Harcourt, despite playing in front of their home fans, Sharks failed to get a victory against Nasarawa United in a drab 0-0 draw. Meanwhile, the Abia derby between Enyimba International and Abia Warriors lived up to expectation as there was not victor no vanquished after 90 minutes. The game ended 2-2 with Enyimba making it nine games without a defeat.

odwin Saviour scored a hat-trick for Nigeria Olympic team against 36 Lion of Lagos in a test match played in Abuja on Saturday. The Flying Eagles forward gave Samson Siasia’s team a first-half lead with a spectacular overhead kick. He then scored two more goals after the interval in a game he played on both wings as well as top striker. Dream Team VI won 4-1 as they step up preparations for a crucial 2016 Olympics qualifier at home against Congo later this month. Saviour scored twice and provided an assist as Nigeria reached the knockout stage of the recent FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand. The exciting 18-year-old forward is under the radar of several Belgian clubs including champions Gent and Genk.

Wimbledon 2015 Williams sisters’ showdown Karlovic confident of Murray upset

headlines crunch Monday

lder sister Venus will directly block Serena Williams’ calendar grand slam path on Monday, in a Wimbledon clash that is both essential viewing and impossible to watch. Serena has won the last three majors. She is riding a 24-match winning streak at the Slams. She currently holds 20 majors, just two short of Steffi Graf’s Open Era record. A five-time champion at Wimbledon, she is the favourite to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish

on Saturday, if she does so she will be the reigning champion of all four majors for the second time in her career, the so-called “Serena Slam”, and she will be one more major away from completing the Grand Slam—she would be the first player since Graf in 1988—which she could do on home soil at the U.S. Open in September. After Venus opened her tournament with a 6–0, 6–0 win over Madison Brengle, Serena and Venus promptly with-

drew from doubles, a clear sign that Venus, also a five-time Wimbledon champion, believes she can make a run at the All White Championship. “She’s playing so well,” Serena said. “I’m practicing next to her every day and I’m in awe of how she’s doing. It’s a little frustrating because I know I have to play her.” The Williams matchup is just one of the 16 fourth-round matches on the schedule for today — eight for the men and eight for the women.

Karlovic

vo Karlovic insists he is feeling good about his game ahead of his clash with Andy Murray at Wimbledon this week. The 36-year-old booked a last-16 tie with Murray after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to become the oldest man to reach Wimbledon’s second week since 1976. Karlovic has now served 136 aces in the tournament but he will be up against it after Murray showed his grit and determination during his win over Andreas Seppi. Karlovic has served

more aces than any other player in the history of the game and he is confident he can pull off a shock win. Speaking ahead of the Murray tie, Karlovic told the Press and Journal: “Whenever you win you feel in good form. I feel good. It will not be easy (against Murray) in the next round, but if I continue serving like this I will definitely have an opportunity. “I know every game is different, so I always try to start serving well, and if it’s a lot of aces then things get easier.

Federer irked by strict dress code

R Between them at Wimbledon, the Williams sisters, Venus (right) and Serena, have 10 singles and five doubles titles

oger Federer has encouraged the All England Lawn Tennis Club to be more flexible with their all-white dress code in future editions of Wimbledon. Traditionally, every player at the competition must comply with a strict dress code that saw the Swiss forbidden from wearing orangesoled Nike trainers in 2013.

According to a stipulation introduced in 1995, competitors must wear “almost entirely white”, with the only exception being a coloured trim of 1cm width. However, Federer, whose boyhood heroes were afforded more flexibility in their attire, feels that the AELTC could be less rigid with the rule. “Little bit maybe, but

I am for all white,” the 33-year-old, aiming for an eighth title at SW19 this year, told BBC Sport. “The thing is when I grew up watching Stefan [Edberg] Boris [Becker] and Pete [Sampras] they had more colour to it, still 90 per cent white but that is the memory I have and now we’re not allowed to have anything.”

Sport News 55

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

I love to play in Grand Slam doubles – Murray After overcoming a shoulder problem to beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the third round of Wimbledon, Andy Murray took time out to speak with BBC Sports about strict dress code his hero, Andre Agassi and sundry issues. What did Seppi say to you to make you laugh at the end? I didn’t really hear exactly what he said, but he said it and then laughed, so I laughed as well. What do you think about Wimbledon’s dress code? It is very strict but I do like that it’s all white because it’s different. We don’t have that the rest of the year and that is one of the things that makes Wimbledon unique. Should the rules of tennis be changed since toilet breaks and medical timeouts are being increasingly used to break up sporting momentum, and the integrity of the sport? Yes, they should be. Why not? They could get rid of the medical time-outs, for sure. You can’t get rid of toilet breaks but you could have them at the end of the set. Normally the toilets are right by the side of the court. Maybe on the outside courts it’s not the case but normally they are right there and there’s no reason for a toilet break to last 10 minutes. But sometimes we play for four or five hours and you’re drinking so many fluids, you can’t get rid of them altogether - what

if someone needs to go? You don’t want to see what might happen on the court! What is your pet preference after dogs? That’s a good question. We talked about having a cat before but none of my family ever had cats while I was growing up. I think with what I do for a living, having cats is actually not a bad thing because they don’t need as much attention as dogs. I had a hamster when I was a kid, called Whisky. He escaped down the floorboards never to be seen again and I was absolutely devastated. Would you ever consider Grand Slam doubles? I would like to. I couldn’t at Wimbledon because the doubles is best-of-five sets. You look at some of the matches, you can be out there for three-and-ahalf or four hours. There’s no way physically I would be able to do that here. But I would like to play because I love the Grand Slams and doing well in the doubles is good. I respect the doubles players, my brother’s one, and often doubles matches can be very exciting, especially in the latter stages of Grand Slams. It is a part of our game that a lot of club players play and I think it should

Musa overwhelmed by Basaksehir welcome party

igeria’s Musa Mohammed has said he is overwhelmed by the special welcome party staged by the fans of his new Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir FK. Thousands of fans decked in the club’s bright orange colours and chanting songs staged a special party to welcome the Flying Eagles skipper into their club. Musa, who was solid in his first full training with his new club, later signed hundreds of autographs and joined in the energetic song and dance. He was later carried shoulder high by the partisan supporters. “I just could not believe how the fans welcomed me, they

made me feel really wanted. It was incredible, I have never experienced anything like this in my life,” the defender told AfricanFootball.com “The fans love their football, in short they are crazy about football, and they always want their club to win. “I want them to keep giving me and the rest of the team such support, which can only make us to do more for the club.” The right fullback will join the rest of the squad in Holland on Tuesday for pre-season training. Musa has signed a threeyear contract with the Turkish Super League club, which will feature in the UEFA Europa League in the coming season.

Murray

be shown more on the TV. Where did you watch Heather Watson’s match against Serena Williams and were you on your feet shouting? I watched it at home. I watched the first set and the beginning of the second, and then I snoozed for 20 minutes and woke up at 5-4 in the second set. Then I watched the whole of the end of the match. I don’t really jump up and scream when I’m watching because of the dogs - Kim was doing that and the dogs were

obi Stars head coach, Justin Tenger has said his side was punished for failing to convert several chances against leaders, Sunshine Stars. The Pride of Benue were held to 1-1 draw by the Akure Gunners in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) match day 16 clash on Sunday at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi. Lobi Stars goal by striker, Obioma Arinze was cancelled by Tunde Adeniji to ensure both sides split the spoils. Tenger however admitted that both sides played gritty football to deservedly earn the point in the encounter. “I think we were punished for being too wasteful in front

going crazy. I normally go very quiet and quite insular when I’m watching matches that I’m into. With boxing I do that as well - individual sports. With team sports it’s different, but with individual sports and when I care about the outcome, I tend to not say a whole lot. Who was your sporting hero growing up? Andre Agassi. I loved watching him when I was a kid. He had a great personality - very charismatic, very different.

‘Lobi paid for missed chances’ of goal in the 1-1 draw against Sunshine Stars. “We could have done far better than we did if we had profited from the chances that came our way. “However, I still believe the outcome was not a disappointing score line given the quality of the opposition. “Sunshine Stars proved that it was not a fluke that they are the league leaders coming into the clash. “I give kudos to my players, too for standing shoulder to shoulder with the Akure side in the clash.

“It was truly a very difficult game and I strongly believe both sides deserved the point in the match. “I’m not disappointed with the result though we could have changed the result if we had been clinical in front of goal. “The result opens new challenge for us as well as area to work on if we are to take our rightful place in the ongoing season,” said the former Akwa United coach to Supersport.com. The point against the Akure outfit has increased Lobi Stars total point to 17 from possible 48 points.

Powell: I want to run faster in my next races

safa Powell continued his immaculate form in the season with a dazzling 9.81 secs to win the men’s 100m at the Diamond League meet in Paris on Saturday. The Jamaican former world record holder got away from the solid field early before easing down in the closing metres on his way to victory. Powell, who won his sixth national title at the Jamaica trials last week, was lowering his seasonal best of 9.84 secs. “It was a great race Mohammed today,” Powell said. “I in action for worked on my start last Nigeria week and it paid off.”

The 2006 Commonwealth Games champion said he could have gone faster had he ran smoother in the last part of the race. “At the end I got too excited and did not run that smoothly, so that means I want to run faster in my next races.” Coming home second was an elated Jimmy Vicaut after the Frenchman equalled the European record of 9.86. American Mike Rodgers earned the third-place finish with a time of 9.99 secs, with Jamaican Nesta Carter, a former training partner of Powell, Powell getting fourth in 10.02.

On Marble

Do not lose focus of the person in front of you; you will surely need him to adjust your pace in life.

World Record

Sanctity of Truth

The fastest time to drink 500ml water is 1.75 seconds, and was achieved by Tim Cocker (UK), during the XFM Breakfast Show in London, UK, on December 9, 2014.

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

– Kingsley Ogbeide-Ihama

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

N150

Essence of Buhari’s second coming

random opinion poll of Nigerians on their impression of the President’s 30 days in office will definitely elicit very interesting responses. Depending on the political leanings or sympathies of those polled, I suspect that a common refrain will centre on commending or condemning the apparent “slow style” of President Muhammadu Buhari. Either way, that would amount to a tacit acknowledgment that Nigerians had expected some “Rambo-like” action after President Buhari drove away from Eagle square on 29th May, 2015. The expectations were justified, if one considers the wave of “Buharimania” that ushered in this administration which some “Buharimanias” have dubbed a revolution. Some also anchored their expectations on the associated characteristics of the Buhari brand especially of the “with immediate effect “specie. Well the Buhari that emerged after 29th May was not the one his supporters were expecting. It was Buhari the man and not Buhari the myth. This Buhari had spent nearly two months after his victory reflecting on the myriad of problems confronting the country and had probably come to the realization that there will be no easy fixes. The problem was how to communicate this reality to his teaming supporters who wanted him to turn water into wine and stones into bread. But President Buhari is no Jesus Christ. So he did the logical thing, and told the people the truth. So this Buhari spoke about the need for Nigerians to be patient with him. He even suggested in another occasion that he wished he was younger since, at 72, there are limits to what his energy level can accommodate. Some of his people did not like the sound of the last part. Some wondered why he bothered to contest if he knew that age could limit his capacity to function as president. His party and handlers rushed into damage control mode. Femi Adesina, his Spokesman explained that the President was speaking from the heart. What he said about his age should be taken within the context of the occasion. He should have added that it was a mere rhetorical flourish for a man who hardly jokes. They need not have worried. Buhari knew what he was doing. He was simply bringing Nigerians down from their high horse of unrealizable expectations to the reality on the ground. The whole drama easily evokes the image of “a similar situation” involving our Lord Jesus Christ and his followers some two millennia ago. The Jews were awaiting the coming of a messiah foretold by their prophets. Every Jew’s dream was to live to see the coming of this messiah who will free them from the bondage of Roman dictatorship and restore their seized territories and dignity. So when Jesus called his twelve apostles, each quickly followed him, proud to be associated with the movement that will finally liberate them from the yoke of Roman rule. They also had eyes on political leadership when Jesus would have

The Blunt Edge CHUKA ODOM Leisure & Puzzle }40 chukaodom@yahoo.com

Buhari

taken over power. So one can imagine their disappointment when Jesus started warning them about the vanity of earthly power; hinting that his kingdom was not of this world. To make matters worse, he revealed that he was going to a shameful death at the hands of the same authorities they expected him to die overthrow. That was too much for Peter who rebuked him for such talk. However, the saving mission of Jesus Christ was accomplished and his kingdom, firmly established in the hearts of all believers. Now president Buhari is our “messiah” but not in the sense Nigerians, like the Jews are expecting. The essence of Buhari is the moral tone he is bringing to governance at the height of corruption and moral decadence in our history. His greatest weapon is not his age or physical strength but his moral authority. If that authority is not damaged by his party or family members, which will be a tragedy, he would have accomplished his mission. And Nigeria will never return to this level of corrupt leadership again. The old saying that if the head of a fish is rotten, then the entire fish is bad is true of leadership. What defines a good leader is the ability to lead by example. If the President is not stealing and it is common knowledge, then I wonder how a minister who does not want to go to jail will attempt to steal. The civil servants who are experts at reading the mood of every leader will also fall inline. And it goes on down to the bottom. I am not suggesting that this will be the end of official corruption, but it will be a great place to start. Of course, some people will attempt to outsmart him but they also know the consequences if they are apprehended. However, the President must realize that

the forces of darkness are not asleep and will attempt to discredit him. His underbelly would not be a chance that he will be corrupted but his inability to deliver on the change he promised. So the President needs to make some adjustments to his “slow style” before he begins to dissipate the confidence Nigerians reposed in him. Mr. President, I suggest you change your thinking in these five areas. 1. “My moral authority will shield me against non-performance, after all it is all about corruption and I am not corrupt”. This is partly true because the major issue is corruption but Mr. President, Nigerians will soon become restive if they cannot see tangible improvements in public utilities and service delivery. If the unemployment numbers continue to rise and the quality of life of the average citizen do not improve. The active social media community will go into overdrive and that may not be good for you and your administration. One online posting yesterday declared that “a corrupt president may after all be better than a confused president”. Strengthen the institutions and let them do the work while you remain the symbol of clean political leadership Nigerians are yearning for. This will take some time but you are the leader best placed, with the possible exception of President Umaru Musa Yar’dua to do this. So workout a cocktail of actions in the short and long term to confront official corruption or at least reduce its prevalence in our public life. To delay the appointment of key functionaries of state so that you can do some work on the structure and system is unworkable. Who will do the work without these people and where will these people come from? I am sure God is not willing to lend you some of this angels. So find a few good people and start with them. 2. “I can run the country for sometime without ministers and key state functionaries”. This is not true. Things will get worse. A lot of people are already taking advantage of the vacuum to complicate your work a lot more. The civil servants are having a field day “treating files” and doing their thing. The former ministers may still be running their ministries from the comfort of their homes. So get started and take control. 3. “I have to resolve this party crisis before I take major decisions”. This is unrealistic. Politicians will always create unexpected crises. Most of them have no interest if the country moves forward or backwards. They will always have one crisis or another in the making. You will be distracted if you spend much time on these “crisis”. Leave them to play their games while you govern the country. At the end of the day, it is you Nigerians voted for, not APC. Besides, the buck stops at your desk. 4. “I can appoint only northerners

into key positions provided they are competent” This is patently dangerous in current day Nigeria. This will sow the seed of your eventual downfall. Nigerians are too sensitive about spread of positions (even where it adds no advantages) to the area beyond the occupant of the office and his immediate family and friends. There is no zone or area in Nigeria that has no competent and honest people who can serve your government. The way you spread these offices will be the first sign of your statesmanship. If the appointments are lopsided, those who campaigned vigorously against you on the basis that you are an ethnic bigot would have won. 5. “I have enough time” No Sir, you have less than 3 years now to go. By the time you spend 2 years in office, the campaign to replace you (if you decide not to run again) or to draft you if you want to run will start in earnest. Government business will be put on hold as usual until 2019 and the mess continues. You can decide to make a difference. We are waiting Sir. THE CARNAGE ON OUR ROADS On June 8, 2015 on this column, I drew attention to the senseless waste of lives on our roads due partly to roadblocks mounted by the military. Shortly after, the Federal government announced the withdrawal of soldiers on “road duty” across the country. The directive was later amended to exclude certain part, of the country where the security is still a challenge. Now that’s a good first step. The federal government should take another step by banning the movement of fuel tankers, trailers and heavy trucks during the day. This initiative of the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano needs to be examined closely and ways sought to make it applicable nationwide. I am sure there are other measures that can help make our roads safer. Let’s explore all options to stop the carnage on our roads. Readers’ reaction is welcome.

HIGH CHIEF EGBIN GENERATES OVER 1000 Mw - News

- Where is the light?

Printed and Published by Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Ltd: Head Office: No. 1A, Ajumobi Street, Off ACME Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja-Lagos. Tel: +234 1-2219496, 2219498. Abuja Office: Orji Kalu House, Plot 322, by Banex Junction, Mabushi, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Advert Hotlines: (Lagos 0902 928 1425), (Abuja 0805 5118488) Email: info@newtelegraphonline.com Website: www.newtelegraphonline.com ISSN 2354-4317 Editor: YEMI AJAYI.