Monday, june 22, 2015 2 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

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Vol. 2 No. 488

Monday, June 22, 2015

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12 pages of international new york times

Banks, customers groan over forex squeeze Ayodele Aminu

he illiquidity in the foreign exchange market occasioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) currency trading restrictions is giving correspondent banks sleepless

nights and making it increasingly difficult for banks’ customers to meet their forex obligations through the official market, New Telegraph has learnt. A bank’s chief executive, who confirmed these developments, said at the weekend that the

forex controls were also affecting the lenders. He added that the dearth of forex in the market has worsened since last February when the Central Bank scrapped the official bi-weekly forex market (Dutch Auction System – DAS)

and adopted random interventions, which seldom meet all banks’ legitimate demands. In addition to this, he explained, is the reduction in forex inflow from the oil firms, which usually sell their dollar earnCONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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Money Line

Corporate govern ance code: proceed with FRC to public hearing

Stock Watc

International Breweries: Weake by operational ned challenges

Insurance

NAICOM restate s need for CEOs' succession plans

Business

Interview

Fiscal, monet ary tandem –Nzekw policies must move in e

42-43

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Nigeria’s Inter density hits net 51%

Nigeria’s Interne t subscriptions grew by 32 per year to 86.9 cent year-onmillion in April year, represe this per cent on nting a density of 51 a million, New population of 170 Telegraph has learnt.

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The Business

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ayodele aminu

Deputy Editor

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Bayo akomola

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Asst. Editor (Insuranc

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Wole Shada re

Atiku: Evil men want to hijack Buhari e)

tony Chukwu

Asst. Editor (Moneynyem Market)

Dele alao

Industry & Agric

Editor

Dayo ayeyem Property Editor

adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market

Editor

abdulwahab

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Finance Editor

Kunle azeez

Senior Correspon

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Chuks Onuanyi Energy

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Johnson adebayo

Asst Productio

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lSays Saraki, Dogara's emergence just politics

Quick Read

Amaechi: Wike's probe, a }48 witch-hunt Scramble for posts, PIB top agenda as N'Assembly resumes }6 Editors decry non-payment of workers' salaries }9 Seven SANs offer free services to monarchs against Okorocha }47

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; former Anambra State Governor, Senator Chris Ngige; Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) United States chapter, Mr. Anthony Isama and others, during the celebration of 2015 Father's Day in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

President moves into Aso Rock }3

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Congratulations!

His Excellency, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Executive Governor, Nasarawa State

My family and I wish to congratulate Your Excellency, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura on your election as the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State. This is a true attestation of your ability by the people of Nasarawa State to take the state to the next level. We wish you a successful tenure in office. Signed

Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, MON Chairman,

Slok Shipping

News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Atiku: Evil men want to hijack Buhari Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

s the crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the leadership crisis in the National Assembly rages, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has warned against allowing people with dangerous agenda of hijacking the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. He said the recent outcomes of the National Assembly elections, contrary to insinuations, were products of interplay of politics, which was itself in constant motion, urging the party to put the crisis behind it and move on. Atiku, in a statement yesterday, urged members

of the APC to emulate the unity of all the presidential contestants after the party's Lagos primaries and support the president to form his government and get to work. "In politics, it is a mistake to expect fixed outcomes. As the president has done, let's all come to terms with what has happened in the interest of the system and move on. "Suffice it to say that the new administration should be allowed a smooth take-off and be allowed the atmosphere to deliver. On this, I stand with President Buhari," Atiku said. Atiku, in the statement by his Media Office, debunked claims that he masterminded the rebellion against the party that led to the defeat of its

consensus candidates in the two chambers of the legislature. Besides, he dismissed claims of his purported plot to hijack the party and the National Assembly towards actualising his presidential ambition in 2019. He described the claim as a product of the imagination of those promoting it and asked Nigerians to ignore such an insinuation. He spoke against the backdrop of the defeat of APC's candidates, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila for the Senate presidency and House of Representatives speakership. The duo was defeated by Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara who had defied the party to vie

for the posts. The victory of Saraki and Dogara has plunged APC in crisis as the party battled to contain the fallout. He denounced the increasing determination of some people to draw a wedge between him and the president over the matter. "It has become crystal clear even to the blind that the motives of these hatchet men who are desperate to take every available newspaper space are to insult, vilify and calumniate the former vice-president. "We cannot allow liars, denigrators and blackmailers and their sponsors to use Atiku as platform to ingratiate themselves with President Buhari and hijack his presidency under the pretext of loving him

Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega (left) with the Chairperson, EbonyLife TV, Ms. Mo Abudu, during a programme in Lagos…at the weekend. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

President moves into Aso Rock Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday moved into his official residence in Aso Rock, Abuja. His wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari had, on Thursday night, moved the first family to the Presidential Villa after having been convinced that construction giant, Julius Berger, had completed renovation on both the residence and the office. Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, have been living and working outside the seat of power since their inauguration on May 29 in order to allow renovation to be car-

ried out on their official quarters and offices. Sources confirmed to New Telegraph that Buhari came into the Villa briefly on a private visit yesterday afternoon in company of a few aides. He later returned in the evening to settle down at the residence. Buhari, who returned to Abuja from Katsina State on Saturday, began the movement of his property to the seat of power yesterday evening. Heavy trucks on Thursday night were sighted moving luggage into the president's residence. While Julius Berger handled the renovation of the physical structure, including changing of tiles, broken glasses, toilets

and other house fittings, another private company whose name could not be ascertained at the time of going to press, handled the replacement of furniture and other necessary appliances. Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, had confirmed to our correspondent in a telephone interview earlier that the president would have no choice but to move into the apartment and office when the renovation has been completed. The two leaders have been moving in and out of the presidential villa since their inauguration on May 29. While the president operated from the Defence

House in Maitama District, Osinbajo lived in a private apartment in Abuja city. Both former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, did not fully pack out of their official residences to allow Julius Berger commence renovation on time. Osinbajo is yet to pack with his family members into the seat of power. With the movement, Buhari will today begin holding of official functions inside the Presidential Villa. The president is expected to host governors of the 36 states of the federation tomorrow where the leaders will discuss the crisis of non-payment of salaries by some states and the need for bailout.

more than anyone else. These political ventriloquists are hiding behind the cover of anonymity to achieve their sinister agenda of making Atiku the fall guy in the unfolding political developments," he added. Atiku also warned the party leaders against constituting themselves into opposition to Buhari. He told party chieftains to bury their differences and support the Buhari administration. According to the former vice-president in the statement signed by Head of his Media Office, Mr. Paul Ibe, it will be dangerous for any individual or group in the governing party to constitute themselves into an opposition even before the constitution and take-off of Buhari's government. He described the developments in the polity as interplay of forces and interests that are dynamic, adding that they must, however, not be promoted to the point of threatening democracy and the new administration. While acknowledging that it is legitimate and desirable for individuals or groups to seek to pursue their interests, Atiku said it must be done with the benefit of sustaining democracy and promoting equity, fair play and justice in mind. "Anything to the contrary may jeopardise our hard-earned democracy and constitute a clog in the wheel of the new administration," Atiku stated. According to him, because of the historic nature of the mandate of Buhari and the arduous challenges ahead to deliver on making Nigeria work, it is important, especially for APC members to rally behind him in the quest to enthrone good governance that will spur security, stability, economic and social development, job creation, as well as infrastructure renewal to engender a better life for Nigerians. Atiku, while restating his unalloyed commitment to the Buhari administration, pledged to back this commitment with all assets at his disposal. "Not only did Atiku Abubakar congratulate Buhari after his emergence as the presidential candidate of the APC at the party’s national convention in Lagos, he also handed over his best assets to the Buhari Presidential Campaign. The former vice-president enthusiastically handled the diplomatic assignment of seeking endorsement for Dr. (Akinwunmi) Adesina as the President of the African Development

Bank on behalf of President Buhari and would be available for any other assignments as the president pleases. "Make no mistake about it, Atiku Abubakar holds Buhari in the highest esteem, and would always remain loyal to him, and support him in every endeavour to succeed as president. "We, the members of the president's own family, need to lead in this direction for others to follow for the good of our nation and its peoples," he added. Meanwhile, the secrecy surrounding the president's ministerial list has continued to cause anxiety among APC leaders. New Telegraph gathered that Buhari’s ‘guarded attitude’ regarding the ministerial list angers party chiefs who believe that it negates an earlier agreement that the party would play a major role in the choice of ministers before the cabinet list is sent to the Senate for confirmation. An APC senator confided in our correspondent that the ‘guarded attitude' of the president over the ministerial list has caused disappointment among leaders of the party The senator, who made allusions to the outcome of the June 9 elections at the National Assembly where persons other than the party’s choices emerged as presiding officers, regretted that "not much appears ready to change under President Buhari." “From the way we are going, not much appears ready to change under this man (Buhari). How do we preach change and change our commitments almost immediately? “We promised to do things differently whereby the party will take charge and give direction rather than a few elements who form a cabal around the president taking charge like it was done under the 16 years of PDP. But the signs and signals are to the effect that a few persons have escaped with our collective victory. “Before the election, the leadership of the APC outlined a governance policy framework; how to pick ministers, the criteria to be adopted and the role the party will play. “It was agreed among them that whoever wants to serve as a minister under the APC government must be made to pass through an integrity test as it was integrity that ushered us to power. “But what are we seeing today? I can tell you that no party leader has an CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Lagos, Abuja busiest airports in 2014 - NBS Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

he National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has rated Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos the busiest airport in the fourth quarter of 2014 with a domestic passenger traffic in excess of 1.8 million. A traffic passenger report released by the NBS also rated Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja as the second busiest with 940,872 passengers on domestic route. The Lagos figure represents an increase of 74,225 passengers or 7.32 per cent from the preceding quarter. The first quarter of 2015, however, saw a sharp decline in MMA’s domes-

tic passenger traffic. The Lagos airport recorded loss of 191,617 passengers representing 17.61 per cent than the preceding quarter. Also, Abuja with the second highest number of passengers travelling domestically recorded a decline of 176,503 passengers or 18.76 per cent in first quarter of 2015. “Yet this was still a rise year on year of 63,120 passengers or 9.00 per cent relative to the 701,249 passengers that travelled in Q1 of 2014. Abuja’s share of total domestic passenger traffic increased to 33.80 per cent in the opening quarter,” the report stated. Similarly, Port Harcourt continued to hold the third highest volume of passenger traffic with 329,499

passengers in Q4 of 2014, declining by 64,406 passengers or 19.55 per cent in Q1 of 2015 to 265,093 passengers. Its share of the total, however, increased only marginally from 11.10 per cent in Q4 of 2014 to 11.72 per cent in Q1 of 2015. For the closing quarter of 2014, highest quarterly growth was recorded in Makurdi with a 111.07 per cent rise of 281 passengers from Q3 of 2014. Year on year, Abuja, Ilorin and Kano saw positive growth in the first quarter of 2015; Kano represented the greatest increase of 19.38 per cent, representing 9,377 more passengers. In the same vein, the highest number of international passengers for both Q3 of 2014 and Q1

of 2015 were recorded in MMIA, Lagos. With 852,049 passengers or 71.36 per cent of the total in Q4, passenger numbers declined by 153,320 or 17.99 per cent in Q1, to 698,729 or 48.22 per

resident Muhammadu Buhari has been advised by his transition committee to end a fuel subsidy programme and privatise Nigeria's four refineries, senior sources in his party told Reuters yesterday. Africa's top oil producer and biggest economy heavily subsidises gasoline and relies on imports for the bulk of its domestic demand due to an underperforming refining system.

Atiku: Saraki, Dogara's emergence just politics idea of how the ministerial list looks; all party leaders without exception do not have an idea of who the president wants to bring on board in a government people staked their lives to put in place. “This is troubling because if the party will have no role to play in this circumstance, it then means that like what a colleague of mine said last week, we have entered a ‘one chance bus’. I hope the sealed-lip attitude that disgraced the party on June 9 will not repeat itself again”, he said. It was gathered that each time leaders of the APC asked Buhari about the ministerial list, ‘his response has been casual and non-committal.’ A prominent northern leader of the party, who pleaded for anonymity

because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the APC was working to avoid the pitfalls, which led to the collapse of the PDP. “We are looking at a situation where the party will direct the affairs of government in line with our manifesto. Recall that this was largely the case during the Second Republic. “But since 1999, what we have seen is the rise of individuals whose personal interests took precedence over the general interest of the party and the people. “The APC cannot afford to let this happen because we have a social contract with the Nigerian people who voted for the party based on the promise to bring about change in the polity,” he said. A leading member of the party and former governor of old Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, also said

as a party, the APC would be guided by the constitution. While responding to a question as to how members of the cabinet would emerge, Onu said the APC was a party, which was determined to do things differently to ensure that Nigerians get value from government. He said: “In forming government, you have to make consultations with the party. We are a party of change; we are a party that is looking forward to building a Nigeria that many of the problems we have today will be solved and we can’t do things the way they were done before; knowing that the way they were done before didn’t give the results that were desired.” APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was not forthcoming when asked

or 10.88 per cent from the preceding quarter, Q4 of 2014, with 4,163,762 passengers travelling, up 227,744 or 5.59 per cent from Q3 of the same year.

Transition Committee to Buhari: End fuel subsidy

L-R: Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Uwais; National Chief Imam, Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria, Fuad Adeyemi and Senator Abubakar Sodangi, during the society’s Ramadan lecture in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

cent of the total. However, a total of 3,710,618 passengers travelled through Nigeria’s airports in the first quarter of 2015, representing a decline of 453,144 passengers

to comment on the issue of the delayed ministerial list and whether or not the party was still expecting Buhari to present the list to party leaders for ratification. “Please why not ask the president? Direct your questions to the president on this; end of story,” he said. Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu was also evasive on the matter. “The president had earlier told the world how he intends to pick his ministers in an interview; I think that settles the matter; no more comments my brother,” he said. The president had, in an interview with a national daily, stated that he was not going to accept ministerial nominations from governors as was the case in the past administration.

The subsidy, which was revealed to have paid out more than $6 billion in fraudulent claims in 2012, is proving to be increasingly costly. Buhari, who was sworn in as president three weeks ago, is considering the recommendations made in the strategy report produced by a 19-member committee formed from his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). "The removal of the fuel subsidy is one of the recommendations of the transition committee," said a senior APC source, who did not want to be named. "The committee also suggested to Mr. President that the four refineries be privatised so that the government stops wasting money on annual turnaround maintenance," he said. A second APC source also told Reuters that these recommendations were contained in the report given to Buhari earlier this month. Buhari's predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, cut subsidies by 90 per cent in the 2015 budget because

government revenues have been hit by the slump in oil prices. Nigeria attempted to end subsidies three years ago, doubling the price of a litre of petrol overnight, in efforts to cut government spending. The move angered citizens who see cheap pump prices as the only benefit they derive from living in an oil-rich country, and led to eight days of nationwide strikes. The government later reinstated part of the subsidy to end the strikes. The prospect of the subsidy removal contributed to fuel shortages in the final days of Jonathan's administration as gasoline importers went on strike, saying they were owed money from the government. Last week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said its four oil refineries would resume production in July. The ailing refinery system generally runs well below capacity, sometimes at just 20 per cent, due to neglect and pipeline sabotage.

Sultan worked for my victory, says Dogara Philip Nyam Abuja

peaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dogara Yakubu, yesterday revealed how the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar, worked for his emergence as Speaker. The Speaker made this known at a Thanksgiving Service held in his honour at the Church of Christ in all Nations (COCIN), Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State. Dogara, who attributed his victory to the mercies of God, also acknowledged the goodwill of the Sultanate, his constituents, the entire state and other parts of the country. "For us who are Christian minorities in the North, we should acknowledge that this victory we are celebrating here today was made possible by the intervention of the Sultan and others. We should know that

there is new thinking in the North. "We owe it a duty to make sure we unite our own part of the country and other parts of the country. My emergence as Speaker is as a result of the support of all major tribes of Nigeria, and all faiths in Nigeria," he said. He called on politicians and all stakeholders in the Nigerian project to seek divine assistance in running the country. He reiterated that there could be no solutions to the myriad of problems dogging the country without God's help. He, however, regretted that proper leaders were lacking to take up the litany of challenges in the country. "The biggest problem we have in this country is a lack of credible leadership. If we have credible leadership in this country, I believe Nigeria can go places," he said.

News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

APC moves to resolve N'Assembly leadership crisis Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

he National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will today meet to resolve the lingering crisis among its members in the National Assembly.

The meeting, which started last week Thursday, also has on its agenda the issue of how the party should be financed; what procedure should be adopted to fill other principal offices at the National Assembly. The source also explained why President Muhammadu Buhari

might not submit ministerial list for now. According to him, the issue of National Assembly leadership must be properly resolved before the President can send any list to the legislators. "What I can tell you is that the NWC is meeting on Monday. That I know but anything about min-

SURE-P moves to close shop Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

bout 120 staff of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja would soon lose their jobs as the intervention agency is currently winding up operations by the end of this month, New Telegraph has learnt. Thirty three staff of the secretariat were sacked in April while the remaining staff have been given letters terminating their appointments by the end of June. A staff of the secretariat revealed to New Telegraph that all the remaining staff in the Abuja Office have already been served letters terminating their appointments, adding that only about 10 staff would remain after the end of this month to finally close down the office.

The source stressed that once the secretariat is closed down, all the state offices would also fold up as there's no budgetary provision to run them. Chairman of SURE-P, Ishaya Dare Akao, confirmed this while playing host to the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mike Omeri, who paid him a courtesy visit at the secretariat yesterday. According to him, the SURE-P office was expected to work between 2012 and 2015, noting that the secretariat due to nonprovision of allocation to subsidy in the 2015 budget is currently working towards closing down. But the Goodluck Jonathan administration made provision for petroleum subsidy in the 2015 budget. Akao said the Federal Government only approved an undisclosed

amount of money to take care of the ongoing projects by SURE-P, saying "my predecessor told me I came here to wind up." His words: "I'm happy you realise that we have almost come to the end of the road, but I believe if there is any reason to continue particularly some of these community programmes, I believe that the organisation should be able to partner with such a viable structure that you have. “I will very humbly say to you that as at this moment there is very little assurance that it will be extended. As I said, all we are doing now is to ensure that the ongoing projects we will supervise them and deliver. “Our focus mainly is to address ongoing projects after which the new administration will decide on the way forward. That is where we are now.”

Forex squeeze hits banks, customers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ings to meet their naira obligations. “It’s a real difficult situation because customers and banks are defaulting on their dollar obligations and the CBN is not helping matters as they have refused to sell forex because the reserves are going down,” the source said. As at last Thursday, the nation’s foreign reserves, with which the CBN uses to defend the naira, had been drawn down to $29 billion, which could barely meet five month’s imports. A treasurer in one of the big banks that attended last Friday’s meeting with the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele in Lagos, however, said the forces of demand and supply in the forex market showed a need to further devalue the naira. He said: “From all indications, the current exchange rate does not make sense given the reality in the market. So, the market points to devaluation and the possibility of devaluation is 95.5 per cent, but

the CBN governor is not disposed to this.” Explaining what transpired last Friday between the CBN governor with banks’ chief executives and treasurers in Abuja, he said the gathering, which lasted for about three hours, was in three batches. The first was with CEOs of five banks, including a female CEO from one of the foreign lenders that elected to attend the meeting; the second was with five senior treasurers, while the third meeting, which lasted just 10 minutes, was with other treasurers. The treasurers were said to have made a presentation on how to improve liquidity in the forex market to Emefiele, who promised to get back to them. Among some of the recommendations made by the treasurers include the removal of restrictions on trading, as well as the increase in banks’ Open Position Limits (OPL). “We complained about the recent introduction of

the Order-Based Two-Way Quote (OB2WQ) for forex, which demands that quotation for foreign exchange should be backed by evidence of need as against the previous Open-Ended policy, which had no restrictions,” one of the treasurers confided in New Telegraph. New Telegraph had, two weeks ago, reported that the CBN governor might have taken personal charge of scrutinising banks’ foreign exchange demand as part of efforts to check speculation and arbitrage. Investigations revealed that although the apex bank’s Trade and Exchange Department is responsible for overseeing the lenders’ official foreign exchange demand and other authorised forex dealers. In recent times, the department has to wait for the CBN governor to approve banks’ requests before the lenders receive the forex. This development had resulted in banks endurCONTINUED ON PAGE 6

isterial list I don't have any idea. “Would the ministerial list come out when the National Assembly is not settled? I don't think that is sensible thing to begin to talk about. The best thing to talk about now is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and other appointments that would not go to National Assembly. I don't think it is time to talk about ministerial list," the source said. He said the NWC is considering how the filling of the other principal officers at the National Assembly would not cause a fresh crisis. The principal offices are: Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, House Leader, Deputy House Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip for both chambers. The source told New Telegraph that if the party fails to manage the crisis caused by the National Assembly election properly it would cause more problem for the party. The source further explained the essence of the NWC meetings. He said: "Look, we are discussing reconciliation. You know

we have a committee that is going around to meet with stakeholders; the two contending groups and the leadership of the party and some other people. So, they have been going round to get people reconciled. They have produced their reports and we are discussing it. “In a nutshell, the party is trying to find a solution to the crisis in the party and it is not something you can do once. They will be going round, come up with their reports and then the NWC discusses them. Also there are other things in the agenda. "There are many issues on the agenda. Remember we are discussing revenue, which we have not been able to discuss. The revenue for running the party, we have not been able to discuss. We are also discussing on how to brief our governors on the state of the party in order to carry everybody along." The source also spoke on the relationship between President Buhari and Senator Bola Tinubu. He said: "Tinubu has no problem with Buhari. Has Tinubu got problem with Buhari? Buhari and

Tinubu are on the same side of the divide. "We are trying to get the National Assembly leadership completed. Apart from the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representative and their deputies, the other principal offices would be occupied by the party. They are not elective positions. So, all these processes must be completed. It is not about the President. Buhari has no problem with anybody and he has not stated that he is aggrieved with anybody. “The summary of the matter is that we are trying to get the leadership of the National Assembly complete. We have the Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip. These are for the majority party. These are the things we are planning to get so that the Assembly can take off. At the moment, we only have the Senate President, the Speaker and their deputies. The offices are not completed as should be provided by the party and if we don't go round and hear what the people are saying we might not get it right."

News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Dogara, Gbajabiamila camps battle for leadership positions lAs NASS resumes tomorrow, debates legislative agenda Philip Nyam and Chukwu David Abuja

embers of the National Assembly will reconvene tomorrow after a two-week recess and commence debate on its legislative agenda. This is as the scramble for principal offices of the House of Representatives between the supporters of Speaker Yakubu Dogara and his opponent, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has heightened. New Telegraph gathered that while the All Progressives Congress (APC) hierarchy has chosen Gbajabiamila who lost the speakership to Dogara as the Majority Leader, supporters of the speaker are kicking against the choice. One of the few lawmakers from the North-West, who supported Dogara told New Telegraph on condition of anonymity that the party has chosen Gbajabiamila as the Majority Leader but they (Dogara's loyalists) are not comfortable with the choice. He posited that ceding the position of House

Leader to Gbajabiamila from the South-West would amount to "injustice" to other geopolitical zones that are yet to get any key position in either of the chambers of the National Assembly. According to him, "we appreciate the position of the party to preferred Hon. Femi (Gbajabiamila) to any other candidate as House Leader. We know it is for compensation but to us (Dogara's camp) this is not about an individual but national interest. "The deputy speaker, Hon. Yusuff Lasun, is from the South-West, so how can the House Leader go to the South-West too? Now let's look at it; the North-West has nothing so far both in

the Senate and the House, yet it is the zone that gave our party (APC) the highest votes. Is that fair?" he asked. The two-time lawmaker argued that ordinarily, Gbajabiamila is a competent and good material to lead the APC but it is not politically expedient to "short-change" other zones in order to satisfy some individuals. "To be sincere with you, Femi (Gbajabiamila) is a very competent lawmaker; he is a good material to be the face of our party in the House and he is hardworking. But the SouthWest where Femi comes from has already gotten deputy speaker. So, will it be morally right to again

give them leader. "What we are saying is that the sharing of positions is not about individuals but about the people. So, the party too need to be guided. But we are talking and I believe we will reach a compromise and the right thing will be done," he disclosed. But a fresh member from one of the North Central states cautioned that the Speaker should avoid "politics of winner takes all" for such an arrangement will not augur well for his leadership. In a chat with New Telegraph, the lawmaker said it will be tantamount to confronting the party leader for the second time in a succession for Speaker

Dogara to reject Gbajabiamila as leader. New Telegraph investigation, however, revealed that the scramble is not only for the position of House Leader but virtually all the principal positions. In a related development, the House will tomorrow commence debate on the 8th Assembly Legislative Agenda. Meanwhile, as the Senate resumes plenary tomorrow from its twoweek break, issues such as the contentious Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), constitution review and the legislative agenda of the 8th Senate will top agenda. Senate President Bukola Saraki had, before the Senate embarked on

recess, consistently told Nigerians that the PIB would be given priority attention by the 8th Senate under his leadership. He also assured that the Fourth Alteration Bill to the 1999 Constitution, which was passed by the 7th Senate but did not receive the assent of former President Goodluck Jonathan would start receiving legislative attention in the Upper Chamber. Moreover, Saraki, who is yet to unfold the legislative agenda, which will guide and direct the activities of the Senate will likely do so on resumption, in accordance with his earlier promise before the Chamber went on the short break.

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST LAGOS

ABUJA

PORT HARCOURT

KANO

ENUGU

IBADAN

CALABAR

MAIDUGURI

ONITSHA

29oC 23oC Storm

29o C 23oC Very Cloudy

18oC 11oC Partially Cloudy

38oC 25oC Mostly Sunny

18oC 11oC Partially Cloudy

29oC 22oC Storm

26oC 16oC Sunny

40oC 28oC Partially Cloudy

27oC 18oC Rain Shower

L-R: Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya; Chief Executive Officer, Award of Excellence, Idems Ultimate Limited, Mr. Uyime Idems; his wife, Helen and board member, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Paul Usoro, during the presentation of the key of a Mercedes Benz GL450 to Idems as the winner of the CEO Award of Excellence at the Airtel Channels Partners Award in Lagos…at the weekend. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Forex squeeze pushes banks, customers to default on obligations CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

ing costly delays in getting forex at the official rate from the regulator. One of the lenders had said his bank applied for foreign exchange to pay for the services of this consultant since January, but the request was not approved until May because of delay in approval from the CBN governor. But a top CBN official, who asked that his identity should not be revealed because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the allegation “cannot be true and can’t be generic.” He said lenders were being economical with the truth and were always looking for loose ends. “Please kindly ask the banks, were their documentations complete? We have had three Bankers’ Committee meetings since the beginning of this year,

why didn’t they table the matter at the meeting? If you can give me the names of these banks, then we would be able to investigate,” he said. The dearth of liquidity in the forex market, caused by the apex bank’s forex trading restrictions last December, had compelled JP Morgan to threaten to kick Nigeria out of its emerging market bond indexes tracked by more than $200 billion of funds. JP Morgan, which is the largest bank in the United States, with total assets of $2.6 trillion, said the decision to remove Nigeria would be finalised by December. Within this period, JP Morgan Chase & Co. said it expected the new government, headed by PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, to have eased trading conditions.

Nigeria, according to the American multinational banking and financial services holding company, has a 1.8 percent weighting in the gauge. JP Morgan had placed Nigeria on “index watch negative” on January 16. But the CBN governor had assured jittery investors that the Central Bank was “doing everything possible” to ensure that the country remained on the JP Morgan Index in order to avoid the adverse consequences, which the country’s exclusion could cause. About $4 billion of Nigerian local-currency bonds could be impacted by JP Morgan’s decision, according to analysts. Emefiele, confronted with lower crude prices and a naira that has weakened 18 per cent against the dollar in the past 13 months, enforced trading

restrictions to stabilise the currency. He has said the measures were designed to curb speculative demand for dollars. Between June and last week, oil prices had fallen by over 40 per cent from $115 to below $68 per barrel. With oil accounting for over 90 per cent of the nation’s export earnings and over 70 per cent of government’s revenue, the developments have put enormous pressure on the CBN’s capacity to defend the naira as the external reserves plummeted. As part of efforts to stabilise the exchange rate, the CBN introduced several measures, including devaluing the naira twice, first in November 2014 and last February. The CBN recently adjusted its exchange rate peg to N196.90 to a dollar

at the interbank market, the same rate it closed last Friday. The naira has been stable at the interbank market. The Central Bank had, previously, made a tiny adjustment to the exchange rate peg, with analysts saying the move indicated that the CBN was beginning to think about how to loosen its currency regime. A dealer said the Central Bank was trying to gauge the level at which it could defend the naira, but noted that the bank was running low on ammunition to do this. With the fall in price of crude oil at the international markets and Nigeria’s burgeoning import bill, Emefiele has limited options at his disposal in keeping the nation's currency afloat.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Central www.cbn.gov.ng Bank of Nigeria

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE PROVISION OF COURIER SERVICES FOR THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA 4.0 COLLECTION OF BID DOCUMENTS Interested Service Providers who possess the above minimum requirements may collect the bidding documents on the payment of a non-refundable fee of N50,000.00 (Bank Draft in favour of Central Bank of Nigeria) from: The Secretary 2.0 SCOPE OF WORK Major Contracts Tenders Committee The Scope of the service which shall be for a three (3) year period include 2nd Floor, Wing C but not limited to: CBN Head Office Complex (a) Maintenance of two (2) mail rooms and mail distribution services Central Business District at the administrative offices in Abuja and Lagos. Abuja, FCT Nigeria (b) Mail handling services at all Central Bank of Nigeria Branches, Phone((): 09-462-37216 Currency Centres and Learning Centre, Lagos. Email: mctc@cbn.gov.ng 1.0 INTRODUCTION: The Central Bank of Nigeria hereby invites reputable Courier Service Providers, with proven experience in handling corporate courier services and registered to do business in Nigeria to apply to prequalify and tender for the provision of courier services in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

4.1 Tender Security 3.0. REQUIREMENTS: Interested companies are required to provide a two percent (2%) bid Interested and competent vendors wishing to provide the above services security of their financial bid, in the form of Bank Guarantee in favour of to the CBN are required to submit Technical and Financial proposals the Central Bank of Nigeria. prepared in English Language with the following requirements which shall be used as criteria for pre-qualification. 5.0 SUBMISSION: The submission shall be in two separate envelopes as follows; 3.1. Mandatory Requirements (without which the firm will be a) The general requirements should be submitted in a wax sealed disqualified) envelope boldly marked at the top left corner:a) Evidence of Certificate of Incorporation and Registration with the “Prequalification and Technical Proposal for the “PROVISION OF Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) COURIER SERVICES IN THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA.” b) Certified true copy of Memorandum and Article of Association b) The Financial Proposal should be submitted in a second, wax sealed c) Evidence of Company Tax Clearance Certificate for the last three (3) envelope boldly marked at the top left corner:years (2011, 2012 and 2013) as at when due. Such evidence should Financial Proposal for the “PROVISION OF COURIER SERVICES IN reflect the value of the projects undertaken by the firm in the last THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA.” three (3) years And addressed to:d) Current Pension Clearance Certificate from PENCOM e) Evidence of Compliance Certificate with the provisions of Section The Secretary Major Contracts Tenders Committee 6(1)(3) of the amended Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Act No.19 of 2nd Floor, Wing C 2011. CBN Head Office Complex f) Evidence of registration with Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Central Business District g) Evidence of Local/International registration/certification with Abuja, FCT Nigeria Courier Services Associations/Institute Phone((): 09-462-37216 Email: mctc@cbn.gov.ng 3.2. General Requirements: The Respondents shall include general information detailing; l Comprehensive company profile including Curriculum Vitae of key 6.0 CLOSING DATE: All submissions must be received at the above Office not later than 12:00 personnel supported by professional licenses (where applicable), noon on August 3, 2015. registered address, functional contact email address, GSM phone number(s) and facsimile number(s) 7.0 BID OPENING DATE: l Company general organizational structure The prequalification and Technical Proposal will be opened immediately, l Audited accounts in the last three (3) years duly stamped by after close of submission of the bid on the 3rd of August, 2015. Licensed Auditors l Details of relevant verifiable experience of similar services and of 8.0 IMPORTANT NOTICE similar characteristics that the company had undertaken in the a) Only the successful company(s) will be notified formally last five (5) years, including copies of relevant award letters and b) Nothing in the advert shall be construed to be a commitment on the confirmation of satisfactory service delivery part of the CBN l References of satisfactory performance on similar projects from c) Companies would be assessed solely on their submission three (3) previous clients l Description and specification of equipment currently owned by Signed: the company with the proof of ownership Management l Methods of tracking goods in transit

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

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MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

NATIONAL

Sterling Bank ICAO, WHO to assess emergency preparedness of Lagos airport port, (MMIA), and on an Organisation (WHO) as Telegraph yesterday, The agencies inembarks on Wole Shadare assistance visit. contained in the Interna- spokesman for the Ni- volved in the assistance ICAO through its col- tional Health Regulations geria Civil Aviation visit are the NCAA, nationwide ess than two laborative arrangement (2005). Authority (NCAA), Mr. Federal Ministry of weeks after global for the Prevention and In addition, the visit Fan Ndubuoke, said the Health/Port Health cleaning aviation regulatoManagement of Public will promote and facili- team will be evaluating Authority, Federal Air-

taff of Sterling Bank Plc at the weekend carried out a nationwide environmental cleaning exercise as part of its “Sterling Environmental Makeover” (#STEM) series. The exercise, which is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the Bank, focuses on environmental sustainability and aims at promoting a clean environment and good health among Nigerians. In Lagos, the exercise according to a statement, saw the staff of the Bank in collaboration with officials of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) clean a section of the famous Ladipo spare parts market along Oshodi Apapa Expressway to the delight of the traders, who also joined staff of the Bank in the exercise. Other locations where the exercise went on simultaneously include Ochanja Area at Anambra; Agodi Gate, Ibadan; Durumi Abuja; Bata market Kano; Elelenwo Akpaja road Port Harcourt and Behind Ogbogonogo Market Delta. The Bank’s staff across these locations undertook the exercise which many of them said was a great avenue for them to make a difference. The Bank plans to extend this initiative to other parts of the country in subsequent editions. The Bank’s Executive Director, Finance & Strategy, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, stated in an interview with reporters at the event that the Bank started the exercise in 2013 in furtherance of its core purpose of enriching lives. He added that Sterling Bank will continually engage in initiatives that promote a healthy environment, especially those that promote healthy living through its renowned partnership with relevant government agencies.

ry body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) carried out safety oversight of four airports, the body will come back to Nigeria today (Monday) in its effort to improve states’ preparedness, planning and responses to public health. The team will be visiting the Murtala Mohammed International Air-

Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA) has been visiting different regions in the world. This is to assess the preparedness of their aviation sectors and offer training sessions including several assistance visits to states and airports in Africa, taking into account the priorities established by the World Health

tate communication, cooperation, coordination and collaboration between the public health sectors in the handling of public health events. To this end, a CAPSCA assistance visit will be conducted in Nigeria at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) this week. Speaking to New

L-R: Sea Scout, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mrs. Uzezi Edafiogho; Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor and Shell Club President, Mr. Vincent Nwabueze, at the closing ceremonies of the 2015 edition of the Shell Team Building Challenge in Port Harcourt... recently.

Akwa-Ibom alleges plot to discredit Akpabio, Udom

ormer Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio yesterday raised the alarm over plots to discredit him and the monumental achievements of his administration. . He said that is to be done through petitions to anti-graft agencies and circulated in the social media. The plots, which intelligence reports said are multi-faceted, are primed to scandalize the former Governor through accusations, thereby instigating the Nigerian public against him. A former Commissioner for Information in the Akpabio administration, Aniekan Umanah, disclosed that information reach-

ing him, showed that the desperate people who are behind the anti-Akpabio and anti-Udom project, are already spreading spurious allegations of unfathomable acquisitions while in office. “ The immediate past administration of Chief Godswill Akpabio also has nothing to hide. “Information at our disposal showed that these desperate elements whose identities we know, were being sponsored by certain sore losers with their selfish motives. “We also gathered that fake petitions containing spurious allegations are being sent to anti-corruption agencies to probe the

last administration. We welcome this development since we have nothing to hide. But we are challenging these dodgy characters to be truthful enough to tell the said anti-corruption agencies their hidden agenda which is well known to us. “At the appropriate time, we will expose these scheming characters and their sponsors. Another of their plan is to engage in massive negative media against Akpabio and the incumbent Governor , with the intent to weaken and distract the current administration in the state. We can confirm that huge war-chest has been assigned to this project.”

Nigeria lost N100bn to fake water contractors, says Ale Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

or the sake of provision of portable water and health of members of the public, members of the Association of Water Well Drilling, Rig Owners and Practitioners have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to review the activities of the Ministry of Water Resources and ensure that

the level of emergency medical preparedness by the various agencies operating at the Airport. It will be recalled that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa had generated great concern and focussed attention on the aviation sector due to some reported cases linked to air travel.

only qualified water engineers are appointed to man key positions. This advice was given by the National president of the association, Mr. Michael Ale, while speaking at an event held at Kakanfo Inn and Conference Centre, Ibadan. He was of the opinion that Nigeria was still searching for clean and safe water for its people because unqualified people have handled several important

water projects. He therefore urged the President not to scrap the water ministry in his bid to reduce cost of governance and introduce reform. He disclosed that Nigeria had lost more than N100bn through the award of water project to unqualified persons. Ale said that instead of scrapping the ministry, Nigeria should strive to take a giant leap towards provi-

sion of stable water supply to people in the urban and rural communities within a stipulated period of time. Noting that the step would help establish a healthy society free from diseases associated with water, Alle said, “President Buhari should write his name in gold as the first Nigerian President to appoint a team of water technocrats with requisite educational background.”

ports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA) and Airline operators (foreign and domestic). Others are ground handling agencies, security agencies – Nigeria Air Force, Nigeria Police Force, Directorate of State Security Services, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs and Excise, and Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and others. The areas that will be visited are the Air Traffic Control Area Control Centre (ACC),Air Traffic Control Tower, Designated Aircraft Parking position, Airport and Emergency Operations Centre. Others are Passenger Screening Location and facilities, Suspect Case and Contacts Interview and Assessment location and facilities, affected ill passenger isolation and treatment location and facilities, Port Health and Medical Facilities and any other facility involved in public health emergency – a scenario of an aircraft arriving with a suspect case on board or a local outbreak.

APC chief wants politicians as ministers from opposition states Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

he Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abia State, Hon. Donatus Nwankpa, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint politicians and not technocrats in states without APC governors. The state APC chairman gave the charge at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja when he spoke with some journalists. According to him, such arrangement would make the party to be strong in that state as the minister becomes a rallying point for the state APC members. He advised that the President should look at states with APC governors to source for technocrats. Also, the state chairman commented on the ministerial list, stating that the President has not taken too much time as being suggested in many quarters. Speaking on the arrangement of the party in his state to produce a minister, he said, “You

see, people don’t contest for minister. “The Ministerial appointment is the prerogative of Mr. President in line with the constitution of Nigeria. So, for us party members, we all pray that the President would be able to look at those who have contributed to the success, fortune, survival of the party from its infantile stage to the stage where it is now the ruling party in this country. We do not wish that the President would take midstreamers or interlopers or strangers in the party and give them the ministerial slot for Abia because Abia as a state that does not have APC governor and any state that does not have such governor, in my opinion you should build the party in that state around the minister, who is a politician. If you want technocrats as your ministers, it should not apply to those states that don’t have governors, like Abia State because the party would be built around that minister and that minister must be able to understand the political dynamics and realities of that state.

NEW TELEGRAPH monday, june 22, 2015

Akeem Nafiu

human rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged state governments and the Federal Government to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), “requesting its Governing Body to, suo motu, and in its own capacity, establish without delay, a Commission of Inquiry to examine systematic and egregious non-observance of Convention No 29 on Forced Labour and other international standards on the right of workers to timely payment of salaries.” The organisation said the complaint was brought

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national

Unpaid salaries: SERAP takes states, FG to ILO pursuant to articles 26-34 of the ILO Constitution. The complaint dated June 19 and signed by SERAP's Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, was addressed to Guy Ryder, Director General, ILO. The complaint was also copied to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The complaint reads in part: “SERAP is seriously concerned that several state governments and the

Federal Government of Nigeria are failing and/or refusing to pay workers’ salaries and pensioners’ entitlements, amounting to billions of dollars in arrears. The state governments that have failed and/or refused to pay workers’ salaries and pensioners’ entitlements include: Osun, Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Plateau, Benue, and Bauchi states.” “SERAP contends that

the failure and/or refusal of state governments and Federal Government to pay workers’ salaries and allowances and pensioners’ entitlements is a clear violation of the right to work recognized by various ILO instruments and article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party. The right to work is essential for realizing other hu-

man rights and forms an inseparable and inherent part of human dignity.” “Failure of states to pay workers’ salaries is tantamount to penalising them, and as the International Labour Organization has ruled, menace penalty amounts to forced labour and economic exploitation. This is because the workers have not offered themselves to work without pay.” “SERAP also contends

L-R: Tutor General/Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Derisola Soname; Human Resources Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mrs. Aminat Oyagbola; Corporate Services Executive, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck and Customer Relations Executive, Mrs. Ugonwa Nwoye, at the closing ceremony of 21 Days of Y’ello Care entitled: ‘Investing in Education for All', in Lagos…at the weekend. PHOTO: SULEI-

Editors decry non-payment of workers' salaries Mojeed Alabi

he Nigerian Guild of Editors has decried the non-payment of workers’ salaries by some state governments, advising those concerned to explore available avenues to alleviate the plights of the workers. The association, which made the call at the week-

end at its 2nd quarter standing committee meeting held in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, also commended the Federal Government for the relocation of the Command and Control Centre of the Armed Forces to Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital. In the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and signed by

Group asks FG to probe N929m contract Tunde Oyesina Abuja

rocurement Professionals Association of Nigeria, PPAN, yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the Bureau of Public Enterprise over the award of N929.6 million legal contract for the liquidation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria without due approval by the Bureau of Public Procurement.

The association, which spoke through its chairman, Abdulwahab Olatoye, also called on the Federal Government to beam its searchlight on other contracts awarded during former President Goodluck Jonathan's regime as most of them were awarded without following due process. Controversies have continued to trail the award of the contract by BPE to the legal firm of Messrs J.K Gadzama & Co.

the association’s Acting President and the General Secretary, Garba Deen Muhammad and Victoria Ibanga respectively, the body of editors also urged the relevant agencies to intensify efforts at resettling internally displaced persons, while ensuring proper protection and care to ameliorate their sufferings. The statement reads in

part; “The Guild further called for the diversification of the economy by Federal and State Governments as well as cutting cost of governance and blocking leakages in the system. It, however, welcomed the efforts of some state governments that have taken steps to cut cost of governance and encourage others to emulate them.”

Shell scholars return with laurels

0 beneficiaries of the postgraduate scholarship scheme of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) operated Joint Venture have returned to Nigeria on completion of their one-year Master’s programmes in three top British universities. The beneficiaries from Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa states have completed courses in engineering and geosciences at Imperial College, London, University of Leeds and

University College, London. Many of the graduates passed out with distinctions and are looking forward to deploying the newly acquired knowledge for the development of their country. “We’re proud to be part of the journey of empowering young, talented Nigerians like yourselves,” remarked SPDC MD and Country Chair Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, at a reception for the scholars in Port Harcourt.

that the failure to pay workers’ salaries amounts to a fundamental breach of the obligation to ensure the absence of forced labour and economic exploitation, and guarantee workers’ remuneration so as to provide an income allowing workers to support themselves and their families. The right to work contributes to the survival of the individual and to that of his/ her family, and to his/her development and recognition within the community.

FCMB rewards more customers

nother set of 643 customers of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited have been rewarded at the second draws of the Bank’s ongoing promotion tagged, ‘’FCMB Millionaire Promo’’. The winners emerged at the electronic selection exercise which took place across the three regions and 25 zones of the Bank nationwide on Wednesday, June 17. While 3 customers of the Bank were rewarded with the sum of N1million each at the Regional draws held in Akure (Ondo State); Awka (Anambra State) and Abuja, a total of 640 others smiled home with LED televisions, generating sets, decoders, tablets, smart phones and other consolation prizes at the Zonal draws held in different parts of the country.

AI report on Nigerian military dubious, biased — NNSG Wale Elegbede

he Nigerian National Summit Group (NNSG) has condemned as biased, the Amnesty International (AI) report on the Nigerian military in the war against the Boko Haram sect in the North East of the country. The group stated that the report was aimed at fulfilling a dubious agenda. Addressing newsmen yesterday, the NNSG Executive Secretary, Mr. Tony I. Uranta, accused the AI of attempting to deploy cheap and not-so-subtle blackmail to stampede President Muhammadu Buhari into turning against his own military, to so stir discontent within the ranks of the Nigerian Military, and thus fast-track the long-obvious agenda of certain Western powers to jeopardise the war against Boko Haram as prelude to expediting nationwide system collapse. According to the NNSG Scribe, "The AI Report is

mainly a compilation of unsubstantiated allegations, accentuated by dubious visuals of highly-suspect activities that most Nigerians had long written off as likely "false flag" operations by the very media-savvy and unscrupulous Boko Haram terrorists who have always been linked to, and mentored by, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab, ISIS, AQIM and others designed to portray the Nigeria fighting forces in bad light, and strewn with a hodge-podge of putative 'inside stories' which are unlikely to stand any standard verification tests. "Whilst we join the President in saying every allegation of impropriety, made against any agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, must be looked into, we strongly deplore the uncivil language and tone of AI's Report which is irritatingly devoid of any diplomacy, any civility, or any respect, even as it seeks to dictate conclusions to Mr. President."

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Metro

Man pours pepper in wife’s private part SAVAGERY A housewife ‘runs mad’ after her husband poured grounded pepper in her private part for alleged adultery Taiwo Jimoh and Camillus Nnaji

or allegedly committing adultery, a 25-year-old housewife in Lagos, Mrs Opeyemi Amuda, was subjected to a harrowing experience by her husband, Mr Solomon Ajisafe. The incident occurred at No. 9, Aminu Toyin Street, Igbo-Olumo, Ikorodu area of Lagos. Ajisafe, who was allegedly assisted by his sister, Ayomide Ajayi, inserted a bottle of beer and pepper into his wife’s private part. According to residents, Amuda, who was not legally married to Ajisafe, was accused of adultery by her husband and that she had the effrontery to fight her mother in-law. Upon the battering and bodily harm inflicted on the victim, the police from Owutu Police Station arrested the suspects and charged them to an Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court. According to a police source at the station, the accused conspired and inflicted grave bodily harm on Amuda by inserting a bottle of beer and pepper in her private part which ‘made her to run mad’. The accused were arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on inflicting bodily harm and conspiracy to commit sodomy. The court was told that the

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com

Mrs Amuda

accused used cane to inflict severe cuts on the victim’s body, thereby committing assault which contravenes Section 409 of Lagos State. Witnesses said Ajisafe and his sister allegedly poured grounded pepper and inserted a beer bottle in Amuda’s private part over allegation that she committed adultery. Reacting to this development, Deacon Obatungashe Adebayo, the coordinator, Women Arise Initiative at Igbo Olumo, said the accused would be made to face the full wrath of the law. He said: “This is a very sad development. It is just like the case of the ‘Ejigbo sodomy’ and we wonder why they will go this far to torture somebody. I saw the victim and she is in a very bad shape. She has run mad. She is defecating and urinating on herself.” It was gathered that the police had begun a manhunt for Ajisafe’s mother said to be a prophetess in a white garment church as her whereabouts are not known. The magistrate, Mrs Afeez, remanded the accused in prison custody and ordered that the victim be taken to a rehabilitation centre for three months. She then adjourned the case till July 15.

Save us from armed robbers, Nasarawa community cries out Caleb Onwe Abuja

he residents of a densely populated community in Nasarawa State, Kabayi Mararaba, which is one of the border satellite towns on the fringe of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have cried out for help over the activities of armed robbery gangs. Sources said that the community in recent times has come under attacks of deadly armed robbers who invade houses and places of business to rob and sometimes rape women. It was gathered that their operations usually last for hours in the night without any form of challenge from security operatives. It was also learnt that the armed gangs operate mostly when it is raining. A victim, David Okoli, who operates a computer school cum business centre in the area, narrated his experience. He said: “My business could have been grounded, had God not intervened. The hoodlums attempted to break into my shop with the intent to steal

my computers and the new big generator I have just bought to power my business centre.” The experience of another victim, Mrs Esther Adelapo, was more touching as she spoke with our correspondent with tears rolling down her cheeks. She said: “My aged and hypertensive mother would have died the day the robbers came to our compound shooting sporadically.” According to her, the hoodlums eventually succeeded in robbing the residents of their phones, money, laptops and other valuables. A community leader, who identified himself simply as Mr Idakwo, called on the Nasarawa State Government to come to their aid by providing adequate security in the area. He added that the efforts of the residents in protecting themselves with the help of the local vigilance group had not yielded the desired results, because the residents were not consistent in paying their security levies. Meanwhile, the officer in charge of the police post in the area declined to comment on the development.

Land grabbers unleash terror on Ogun community Dayo Ayeyemi

andemonium broke at Banku village in Warewa area of Ifo Local Government of Ogun State at the weekend, leaving some residents in a state of coma. The uproar started when some unidentified persons invaded the neighbourhood with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, chasing the residents out of their houses. Witnesses said the hoodlums, who the residents referred to as land grabbers, numbering about 50, came around 2pm and started disturbing the peace of the community. Landowners in the community alleged that they pounced on them and robbed them of their money and other valuables. “Many landlords who were lucky took to their heels while many who could not were battered and robbed of their handsets and money,” they said. One of the landlords, who did not want his name mentioned, said he was at home when the hoodlums invaded the area. According to him, the hoodlums battered the residents and robbed one of the landlords of about N4 million.

Ojelade

He said: “Immediately I sighted them, I hid in a nearby building until I saw some policemen in a bus. I later came out thinking that the police have been alerted and they have come to our rescue. “I manage to approach the bus only to discover that they accompanied the land grabbers to the site. They pursued me until I fell. There, they pounced on me, took N80,000 from my pocket and dispossessed me of two mobile phones.” He alleged that some landlords who sustained injuries were receiving treatment at nearby clinic, while he also sustained minor injuries on his right hand. The man added that the police

station in Ibafo was later contacted, while three persons suspected had been arrested and moved to Eleweran, the state police command headquarters in Abeokuta, Ogun State. When contacted on the phone, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, said he needed to get some facts on the case. He said: “I will still react when I get to Abeokuta.” Adejobi was yet to contact our correspondent at press time. When our correspondent visited the scene in Warewa area, policemen from Abeokuta were on ground, interrogating some of the residents. The leader of the team refused to speak with our correspondent. He asked our correspondent to direct his enquiries to Eleweran in Abeokuta. One of the traditional title holders in the community, Chief Alao Ojelade, confirmed the story. He said the land grabbers claimed the place was sold to them some five decades ago. Ojelade said the community belonged to his father, adding that his family did not sell it to anybody as claimed by the land grabbers. “This land belongs to our father. We did not sell it to anybody,” Ojelade added.

Metro 11

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Boko Haram victim seeks N8m for kidney transplant Musa Pam Jos

50-year-old woman, Mrs Lucy Ibrahim, who is a victim of Boko Haram from Borno State, is now suffering from kidney failure. Ibrahim is, however, appealing to the Federal and state Governments as well as individuals to assist her raise N8 million for kidney transplant of overseas. The woman, who is currently staying at one of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps owned by Stefanos Foundation, made the appeal at the weekend in Jos, Plateau State when a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) from Lagos, IFEKLYNE, visited the camp. Ibrahim, who has nine children, but does not know their location, has been staying at the camp since November 2014 where she is currently placed on dialysis and spends N40,000 every week.

bout 60 buildings have been demolished at Quate, Gowon Estate area of Lagos by a combined team of officials from the Federal Ministry of Housing and the Lagos State Ministry Physical Planning and Urban Development. The Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences Unit and policemen from Gowon Estate and Area ‘M’ Command were on hand to supervise the demolition which took the residents by surprise. A proprietor, Nojeem Bakare, whose school was among the demolished structures, said they were not given any prior notice. He said: “It was about 11am on Friday. We saw officials of the state task force numbering over 50 with bulldozers and tractors. We were not notified that there would be any demolition. In all, seven blocks of flat, seven church buildings and 64

The demolished buildings

shops were affected. “The only issue on this area is that a contractor once said he got the government’s order to build a recreation centre. But the matter is still in court. On Friday when the officials came, they arrested a pastor and people who were recording the incident on their phones. We want justice from the government. Many families living

here have been left homeless while some could only take a few things out.” When our correspondent visited the area, some residents were salvaging their property from the demolished structures. The Chairman, Gowon Estate North Community Development Area, Nathaniel Okoro, said he did not have a

agos State Government has vowed to prosecute commercial motorcycle operators and their passengers who operate on the highways, bridges and other prohibited areas beginning from this week. The government had, through the Lagos Traffic Law 2012, prohibited the operation of the commercial motorcyclists on 475 roads and bridges out of 9,100 roads in the state. The aim was to restore

Impounded motorcycles

sanity and safety and reduce crime by criminals using motorcycles on the roads.

But shortly before the general election, the operators returned to the prohibited roads.

Abakaliki

Traders move to rid Computer Village of criminals Camillus Nnaji

pre-knowledge of the demolition. He said: “It is a surprise to me. I did not have a pre-knowledge of this exercise. On Friday, I was also at the scene and there were many armed policemen. Some of our people were arrested and put inside a Black Maria. I spoke with one officer, a Chief Superintendent of Police, and he told me they were from the state task force. “There is a lot of confusion at the moment, but we will reach out to the Federal Housing Authority to clarify this issue. I believe the FHA should know because they own the estate.” The chairman, however, said there were issues on the land with one contractor who claimed the state government had conceded the area to him to build a recreation centre. The pastor of one of the demolished churches, Darlington Ajetemisan, alleged that the task force officials arrested and tortured him during the demolition.

Lagos to arrest cyclists, passengers on prohibited routes Muritala Ayinla

Uchenna Inya man, Onyema Orji, was at the weekend at Nwakpu in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State forced to ‘officially’ marry his dead wife identified as Blessing. The forced ‘marriage’ was to allow Orji claim the children born for him by the deceased. Orji had divorced Blessing on the grounds that her mother was interfering in their marriage, forcing the woman to marry another man, identified simply as Chukwuma. The former marriage between Blessing and Orji produced children including twins while the last did not produce any child. Blessing later died of illness. But there was a mild drama during the burial when the first husband, Orji, brought items for burial and to take the children. He was told by Blessing’s family that he could bury the woman but could not lay claim to the children as he had not performed the traditional marriage rite which would empower him to claim the children.

Lagos demolishes 60 buildings A

Man weds dead wife

She said: “I’m appealing to the Federal Government especially President Muhammadu Buhari to please use his offices and help me get a kidney transplant for me to live long. “Since November last year, I have not set my eyes on my children. I’m appealing to the Plateau State Government and Borno State Government to also come to my assistance.” The Coordinator of the Stefanos Foundation, Mr Mark Lipdo, said the foundation was currently taking care of 109 families totalling over 700 persons among them children and women. He said already over 300 families had gone back to their houses while others had also secured places to stay. Lipdo appealed to individuals and government at all levels to assist Mrs Ibrahim, adding that the foundation had been supporting her with N40,000 Mrs Ibrahim for dialysis.

Taiwo Jimoh

City Briefs

Hence, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration said it would not allow lawlessness, indiscipline, flagrant disobedience to law and order, loss of lives and property of innocent citizens of the state to continue unabated. Briefing journalists on government’s plan to renew enforcement of the restriction, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr Oluseyi Coker, bemoaned the resurgence of motorcycle operators on the restricted roads.

ctivities of miscreants and fraudsters at the Information Communication Technology (ICT) market, popularly called Computer Village, at Ikeja in Lagos will soon come to an end. The management of the market said it had mapped out strategies to rid the village of criminals. The Chairman of Idowu Market Association, Mr Joseph Akindipe, said the greatest challenge the market had to do with the activities of miscreants and fraudsters “who on a daily basis rub the image of the ICT market in the mud”. He said: “Seeing a customer in pains after he was swindled is the ugliest thing in this market. This puts the image of the entire traders here at stake. We want to correct this anomaly; the government, police and the media should help us. “Let customers deal with those who have shops and not miscreants who are hawking.”

Monarch’s selection: Fayose seeks peace in Ikere-Ekiti Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

overnor Ayo Fayose has appealed to the people of Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, to allow peace reign in the selection of a new monarch for the town. The governor said he had no interest in any particular candidate for the Ogoga throne but promised to work with whoever emerged as the new monarch. In a message to mark the first anniversary of his victory in the governorship election, Fayose appealed to the people of the town and the state in general to allow peace to reign. Ikere-Ekiti has been engulfed in crisis over the selection of a new monarch for the town. Fayose also saluted the people on the first anniversary of his victory following the June 21, 2014 gubernatorial election. His Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Idowu Adelusi, said the governor, in a broadcast, noted that “the resolve of the people to massively vote for their choice and subsequently defend the mandate given to him in the face of stiff opposition reaffirmed that power resides with the people.”

12 News Kunle Azeez

ver seven million Nigerians have so far been enrolled and issued their National Identity Numbers (NINS), New Telegraph has learnt. The issuing authority for NINS, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which made this known yesterday, said that the mandatory use of NINs for transactions within Nigeria begins by September 1, this year. A statement signed by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Abdulhamid Umar, NIMC said, "As

national

monday, june 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Seven million Nigerians receive national identity numbers —NIMC from September 1, 2015, all transactions involving the identification of individuals must be done with the National Identification Number (NIN)." Though New Telegraph learnt a lot of Nigerians are yet to get themselves enrolled in the exercise, the Commission called on all Nigerians to avail themselves of the opportunity to get enrolled into the

National Identity Database in order to issued a NIN. The Commission insisted that the national identity number is the "single version of truth and the foundation identity." NIMC had, in recent advertorials, stated that the use of NIN shall become mandatory as from September 1, 2015, for all transactions offered by

applicable government institutions. General Manager, Inspectorate, Regulatory and Compliance Services, NIMC, who spoke in a statement, Mrs. Hadiza Dagabana, said, "These transactions, pursuant to section 27 (1) and (2) of the NIMC Act, 2007 include application for, and issuance of an international passport; opening of individual and/or

group bank accounts, all consumer credits; purchase of insurance policies; the purchase, transfer and registration of land by any individual." Dagabana said such transactions that would require NINs also include National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), transactions that have social security implications, registration of voters, payment of tax-

es, and pensions, among others. Consequently, she said,"any government a g e n cy / i n s t i t u t i o n , bank, insurance company and all other institutions offering services and/or involved in transactions requiring the identity of an individual must first demand for the NIN. "Also, any individual, institutions/body who fails to comply with the above has committed an offence under the punishable under section 28 of the NIMC Act.”

APC Action Group decries conspiracy against Tinubu

L-R: Past President, Institute of Directors, Nigeria (I.O.D), Dr. Olutoyin Olakunrin; President/Chairman of Council, Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi; first Vice-President, Mr. Yemi Akeju and second Vice-President, Alhaji Hamed Rufai Mohammed, at the institute’s 31st Annual General Meeting in Lagos. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Kuku warns Kalu mourns Dan Maraya Jos Governor of Kalu said, “the demise of Buhari against Former Abia State, Dr. Orji Adamu Wayya is a colosKalu, has described Ad- sal loss not only to the scrapping amu Wayya popularly entertainment industry known as Danmaraya but the nation at large. amnesty Jos as a music icon whose He was good at his callaccomplishments in tra- ing and displayed his God programme ditional entertainment given talents at any given Babatope Okeowo Akure

ormer Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and immediate past chairman of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Hon. Kingsley Kuku, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari against scrapping the amnesty programme. Kuku, who was hosted by his community at the weekend after a completion of his tenure as Special Adviser, said he was fulfilled as a public officer for serving the nation and the people for a period of four years and four months. He spoke at First Baptist Church, Arogbo after a thanksgiving and Reception programme organised in his honour by his kinsmen in Arogbo-Ijaw community of Ese-Odo council area of Ondo State.

industry will not be easily forgotten. He noted that the gifted musician contributed immensely to nation-building through his albums that preached love, togetherness and unity. In a condolence message signed by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi,

opportunity. He was a celebrated musician, who left behind a good legacy for others in the industry to uphold. He has contributed his own quota to the world and his memories will remain evergreen in the minds of the people. May God grant the music legend a blissful rest".

Nigeria exported $85bn gas in 15 years Segun Edwards

he Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (NLNG) has said that it generated $85 billion from exports since year 2000, when it became operational. Speaking on the development, Chief Executive of the company, Babs Omotowa, said; “For us, it has been a success story. Between 1999 when we came on stream and now, we have realised some $85 billion from exports of liquefied natural gas to buyers in Eu-

rope, America and Asia”. The NLNG boss said the company, which was set up to harness Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and produce liquefied natural gas for export, also recently paid $1.6 billion dollars to the state in tax. He revealed that the company had paid $30 billion in dividends to its shareholders over the years, including the government, which owns a 49-per-cent stake through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

DStv: CPC probes alleged subscribers’ rights abuse

n line with one of its mandates to redress consumer abuse, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has commenced investigation into the operations of the Digital Satellite Television (DStv) based on complaints of alleged consumer rights violations. The Council, in a notice of commencement of investigation signed by the Council’s Director General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, and served on Multichoice Nigeria Limited, a paymedia company which offers the DStv service, disclosed that it has been inundated with a barrage of consumer complaints, alleging wide-range abuse of subscribers’ rights. The regulatory agency asserted that despite its earlier interventions in form of meetings with the satellite company, telephone and written correspondences with a view to ensuring that the company addressed the issues and developed quality stan-

dards for the safeguard of the interest of consumers, complaints have been pouring in unabated against the company. According to the notice of investigation, CPC stated that “these complaints in effect allege that the DStv service does not conform with international best practice and is specifically designed to exploit Nigerian consumers, who have suffered loss by not being able to fully enjoy or receive the benefit or actualize the full purpose for which they purchased or subscribed to the service”. CPC pointed out that the consumer complaints against DStv include “poor quality of service such as incessant disruption of service without compensation while subscription is current; wrongful abrupt disconnection of service during subsisting subscriptions; monthly subscriptions lasting less than 30 days; and poor redress mechanism and customer services”.

he Action Group caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has decried the actions of those ganging up to fight the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The group said those of them who joined the group after benefitting immensely from the political sagacity and financial support of Tinubu would surely live to regret their acts of indiscipline, insubordination and attempt at destroying the ladder that took them to the top. In a release signed by its spokesperson, Segun Dipe, the group observed that some elements, who believed that they could maintain their popularity only by denigrating Tinubu kept on telling lies against him. “These conspirators are filled with venom and they consist of too many craven and irresponsible politicians, who are nothing more than the lap dogs for those oil barons, financial offenders and other mafias guilty of keeping us down after having brought us to the state of forlorn hope.” The group, however, assured that the game plan of the conspirators and backstabbers will not stand the test of time, describing them as parasites with superficial roots who will soon fall like pack of cards. “We are all advocates of change; we worked very hard to attain it and they also joined us to chant and chorus “APC… CHANGE.” Yet deep down in their heart, they did not want a change in the status quo."

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Corruption cases

Anti-graft war

Why EFCC can’t successfully prosecute ex-govs, by Sagay

Trial without an end

14, 15

No respite for Daniel, Turaki, Nnamani, Akala, Audu, others

Sylva vs EFCC

Politics

Ex-govs battle graft allegations The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) renews onslaught against former state governors, writes EMMANUEL ONANI

rguably, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had until the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, been in near inertia. The development, to all intent and purposes, had made many to raise fundamental and probing questions regarding the capacity of the anti-graft commission and the political will of the immediate past government to prosecute high-profile individuals, many of whom were either still serving under the then administration or had left office. For instance, the commission did not show substantial evidence that it was ready to prosecute former Aviation Minister and now senator, Stella Oduah, despite her sack from the cabinet in February 2014, over the purchase of two bulletproof BMW cars at N255 million by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). At a point, it seemed to many Nigerians that once the EFCC arraigned high profile Nigerians in court – such as former governors, suspects involved in alleged diversion of billions of fuel subsidy, and the celebrated pension fraud cases – it went back to sleep, literally. Many had accused–rightly or wrongly–the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan of allegedly shielding some persons from facing prosecution, even as they had called for the head of the commission’s leadership. Not a few have criticised the antigraft agency for its perceived inability to secure high profile convictions, especially of Politically Exposed Persons

AYODELE OJO

DEPUTY Editor, POLITICS ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

Sheriff

Lamido

(PEPs). This is notwithstanding the fact that the anti-graft agency, to be sure, has cases of alleged money laundering and misappropriation of public funds pending against many former governors before different courts. It is against this backdrop that the surprise, though voluntary submissions of four former governors – who held the ace during their respective tenures – for grilling at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, have continued to elicit mixed reactions from the public. As expected, tongues are wagging on the recent “frenzy” of activities at the commission, with the forced visits of Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako (Rtd), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, Chief Martin Elechi, and Alhaji Sule Lamido – former governors of Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi and Jigawa states respectively. It will be recalled that Nyako had been declared wanted, while the EFCC had threatened to also declare Sheriff wanted, following their alleged failure to honour invitations for questioning on their stewardship in their respective states.

Nyako

Elechi

Ohakim

Not a few have criticised the anti-graft agency for its perceived inability to secure high profile convictions

While Sheriff governed Borno State between 2003 and 2011, Nyako was not that lucky, as his second term, which would have ended on May 29, 2015, was terminated in July 2014, when members of the state Assembly impeached him on allegations of gross misconduct. On the other hand, Elechi kept a date with the EFCC on Tuesday, June 16, even as Lamido humbled himself two days afterwards. Unfortunately, ex-Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State, may have chosen not to enjoy that “privilege”, as he allowed himself to be arrested by operatives of the EFCC. Answers to why Nyako, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who was considered by many, as one of former President Jonathan’s most virulent critics, Sheriff, Elechi and Lamido – members of the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – chose to turn in themselves to the commission, few days and weeks after the inauguration of President Buhari, will soon be found. The case against Sheriff The EFCC is investigating the ex-

Borno helmsman over alleged misappropriation of an estimated N300 billion, being federal allocations that accrued to the state between 2003 and 2011 when he governed the state. The anti-graft agency, which was said to have begun the investigation in 2012, claimed the ex-governor, may not have strictly applied the funds to the development needs of his people, thereby allegedly abusing his office. Accordingly, it summoned the politician for questioning on what he knows about the allegations levelled against him. He, however, failed to show up; a development, which made the commission to threaten to declare him wanted. At a well-attended press conference held on May 25 at the EFCC’s headquarters in Abuja, the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, had, while responding to a question, said: “The latest about Sheriff is that we invited him for questioning, but as I speak to you, I am not sure he honoured that invitation. “And, once the commission invites a suspect and he fails to honour the invitation, options are open to us; we might declare him wanted.” The ex-governor, perhaps having got the hint - as lawyers would say surrendered himself to operatives of the EFCC last week. He was quizzed for many hours shortly after his arrival. Nyako and son’s encounter On June 1, the former Adamawa State governor was the guest of the EFCC. For about 10 hours, Nyako was grilled by the operatives of the antigraft agency over alleged mismanagement of N15 billion when he held sway as governor. Nyako had earlier been declared wanted by the anti-graft agency. Also declared wanted by the EFCC is the CONTINUED ON PAGE PB

Politics

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

No respite for Daniel, Turaki, The anti-graft agency has continued to try former governors for corrupt practices while in office, writes EMMANUEL ONANI

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established in 2003 via an Act of the National Assembly to, among other responsibilities, fight Advanced Fee Fraud (419), money laundering and economic crimes in Nigeria. It operates like the United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU), as well as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a Bureau of the United States (US) Department of the Treasury. So far, the EFCC has successfully secured the convictions of former governors of Bayelsa and Edo states, Chiefs Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Lucky Igbinedion, respectively. While Alamieyeseigha, who has since been granted presidential pardon, pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering, Igbinedion, on the other hand, was convicted and given what many have called “a slap-on-thewrist” sentence. But a former Delta State governor, James Ibori, who was cleared of money laundering charges by a Nigerian court, now serves a jail term in the United Kingdom (UK), after being convicted of money laundering charges. Analysts have identified some factors as responsible for the noticeable delay in the pending trials of accused persons, especially Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). Concerns have been raised on the manner of long adjournments that often characterise some of the criminal cases pending before different courts. There are several instances where both parties will appear in court-either for continuation of trial or ruling on one interlocutory application or the other-only to be told that ‘the court is not sitting’; the Registrar then gives a long date for parties to return. Most often than not, some criminal cases are stalled owing to interlocutory applications by way of preliminary objections, motions to quash charges, and appeals pending trials. Some prosecutors, it has been observed, bungle cases prosecuted by the anti-graft agency. It is difficult to reconcile the fact that, despite the unambiguous rules of court, which provide that leave must be sought before charges are preferred against suspects in court, cases abound where prosecutors filed charges without fulfilling this condition precedent. This lacuna leaves the court with only one option – dismissal of the cases. Again, some cases have been dismissed or thrown out in the past

for want of diligent prosecution. Notwithstanding, the commission said it has recorded some modest achievements. For instance, at a recent press conference addressed by the Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC said between 2012 and 2014, the commission recovered N65.3 billion. Nnamani: N5bn yet to commence The EFCC moved against a former governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, shortly after he served out his second term on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007. Specifically, Nnamani was arraigned on a 105-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N5 billion. He was first arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos in 2007, alongside one of his former aides, Sunday Anyaogu and six companies allegedly linked to them. The companies linked to them, according to the EFCC, are: Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Hillgate Nigeria Limited, Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Limited, Renaissance University Teaching Hospital and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School. In 2014, however, the anti-graft agency sought and obtained the nod of the court for separate trial, and on May 19 this year, the companies pleaded guilty to a 10-count (amended) charge. Judgement is being awaited. Nnamani who, records say has been granted permission about three times to travel abroad on medical grounds, is also being accused alongside others, of conspiring to launder statutory allocations of five local governments when he was governor. Interestingly, proper trial of Nnamani is yet to commence since arraignment eight years ago, and the case has suffered several setbacks, owing to several interlocutory applications by the accused former governor, amid adjournments on other grounds. Dariye: To face trial Former Plateau State governor, Senator Joshua Dariye, is being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 23-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering and illegal diversion of public funds to the tune of N2 billion. Dariye governed Plateau State between 1999 and 2007. Dariye’s interlocutory appeal challenging the competence of the charge pending before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, was thrown out by the Supreme Court on February 27 by a five-man panel of Justices, who ordered him to go and stand trial before the trial court. The EFCC believes that the former governor allegedly diverted the said amount from the state’s Ecological Fund. The nine property EFCC said it recovered from Dariye, are: Plot 1802 A04, No. 19 Frederick Chiuba Close, Asokoro, Abuja; Plot of land in the name of Jambo Holdings Nigeria Limited, Rayfied, Jos; House No. 11, Rest Road, Jos, and plot of land at Gada Village, off Adiko Buruku Road by Pharm Headquarters, Jos. Others are: plot of land at Liberty Boulevard, Jos; plot of land at Ibrahim Taiwo Avenue, Jos; two additional plots along Dogon Dutse Road, Jos; plot of land at Gold and Base Neighbour-

Daniel in the court room in Abeokuta

Audu in court

hood, Jos, and plot of land known as Yelwa Club, Bukuru, Jos. Audu: Facing N11bn fraud allegation Prince Abubakar Audu, a former governor of Kogi State, is standing trial over alleged money laundering to the tune of N11 billion. Audu, who governed Kogi between 1999 and 2003, is being prosecuted alongside a former Director-General of the state’s Directorate of Rural Development, Alfa Ibn Mustapha, for offences bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds. Audu’s previous attempt at getting the court to quash the charge, had failed; a development, which paved the way for the EFCC to call witnesses to substantiate its claim that the ex-governor had abused his office between 1999 and 2003. The EFCC had issued a statement a few months ago, that Audu attacked an operative of the commission, for trying to take his photograph in court. The case is being tried by Justice Adeniyi Ademola. Doma’s N15bn trial A former Nasarawa State governor, Aliyu Akwe Doma, is facing a 17-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering and diversion of public funds estimated at N15 billion, before

a Federal High Court in Lafia, the state capital. The former governor has been in and out of the court after he completed his one-term tenure in 2011. Nyame battles N1.3bn fraud allegation Rev. Jolly Nyame, former governor of Taraba State, is being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 41-count charge of money laundering, criminal breach of trust to the tune of N1.3 billion. Nyame was accused of converting N250 million meant for the purchase of stationeries by the Taraba State government for personal use between January and February 2005. The case is still in court. Fayose’s trial temporarily halted At its last briefing held in May, the EFCC maintained that “the case against Ayodele Fayose has only been temporarily halted by the fact of his re-election as Ekiti State Governor.” Before Fayose’s election last year, the EFCC had filed a 27-count charge of alleged diversion of about N860 million meant for the state poultry project during his first term in office between 2003 and 2006. Fayose’s tenure is expected to end in October 2018, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is expected to conduct a fresh governorship election.

Politics

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Nnamani, Akala, Audu, others

Nnamani in court

Doma being taken to court by EFCC

Alao-Akala in the dock

Turaki

Dariye

governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, arguably, the first former public office holder in recent history, that succeeded in obtaining a perpetual injunction from a court of competent jurisdiction, restraining the EFCC and the Police from arresting or probing his eight-year tenure as governor. Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had, in 2008, made an order of perpetual injunction against moves by EFCC to probe Odili’s tenure. “The subsisting judgement of March 2007 by this court is binding on all parties... “Therefore, there is a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from arresting, detaining and arraigning Odili on the basis of his tenure as governor based on the purported investigation,” the judge had held.

missal of his preliminary objection by the trial court sometime in 2012. Akala is standing trial alongside Senator Hosea Agboola, and a businessman, Olufemi Babalola. The Ogbomosho-born politician’s attempt to return to Agodi House during the April 11 governorship election on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), did not yield the intended outcome.

By then, the governor would no longer enjoy immunity from prosecution and it is expected that trial of the fraud allegation will resume. Turaki’s N36bn trial still on Alhaji Saminu Turaki, who governed Jigawa State on the platform of the PDP between 1999 and 2007, is facing trial in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, stealing, money laundering and misappropriation of public funds. Records show that Turaki was first arraigned before an FCT High Court in 2007 on 32-count charge of misappropriating N36 billion while in office as Jigawa governor. The former governor, however, succeeded in transferring the criminal matter to a Federal High Court in Dutse, the state capital, after challenging the territorial jurisdiction of the court. In 2013, Justice S. Yahuza, ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP), to arrest the former governor over his failure to appear before the court. Ex-PDP chair, Mu’azu, still elusive Alhaji Adamu Mu’ azu, former Bauchi State governor and former national chairman of the PDP, is still being investigated by the EFCC, in a case involving N19 billion alleged money laundering.

Mu’azu governed Bauchi between 1999 and 2007. He recently resigned as PDP national chairman. It will be recalled that the commission had, in 2010, dispelled rumour that it had cleared Mu’azu of corruption allegations. Saraki freed? The chairman of the commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, had disclosed that the anti-graft commission was still investigating Senate President Bukola Saraki, over his alleged role in the collapse of Société Générale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN). Lamorde made the position known in Abuja on March 22. He said: “With regards to Bukola Saraki, some of the investigations around him are going on. Those that we have proven, which was not directly by him, but his associates, last week we took them to court in Kwara, although the court did not sit…So, that is as far as that investigation has gone.” Operatives of the commission had interrogated Saraki on the allegation. Saraki governed Kwara State between 2003 and 2011. A Federal High Court in Abuja recently cleared him of corruption charges. Odili’s perpetual injunction Available records show that former

Akala’s N11bn fraud debacle Like others, Chief Adebayo AlaoAkala, erstwhile governor of Oyo State, is facing an 11-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, contract awards without budgetary provisions and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of N11 billion. Attempts by the former governor to quash the criminal charge had failed, as an Appeal Court in Ibadan, the state capital, on April 15, 2014, dismissed the appeal he lodged challenging the dis-

Gbenga Daniel’s trial Sometime in 2012, the EFCC re-arraigned a former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Olugbenga Daniel. Daniel was re-arraigned on a fresh 38-count charge of alleged fraudulent conversion of land, failure to declare assets, stealing and corruptly obtaining properties. The new charge was necessitated by the throwing out of the first 43-count criminal charge Kalu takes on EFCC The EFCC had on July 27, 2007 arraigned former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, before an Abuja High court on a 107-count charge of alleged money laundering, official corruption and diversion of public funds totalling over N5 billion. Kalu is, however, challenging the competence of the charge at the Supreme Court.

16 Politics Prof. Itse Sagay, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is a former Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Benin. He spoke with WALE ELEGBEE

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Why EFCC can’t successfully prosecute ex-govs, by Sagay

he long delay in the prosecution of these former governors accused of corruption is certainly not the fault of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). That aspect is a conspiracy between the Senior Advocates who are representing these suspects and the courts before which the cases are being prosecuted. In fact, the Senior Advocates now have a specialisation of criminal defence in that area. The idea is to meet every charge with a preliminary objection against jurisdiction. The Senior Advocates who defend them bring obstacles to the case instead of defending them. They introduce different obstacles by bringing in frivolous preliminary objections which they now followed tenaciously even up to the Supreme Court without going to the substance of the case and the judges allow them to do it. So, the judges too are colluding with them by allowing them to do it because a judge needs not allow them to do that. The judges can insist that if you have a preliminary objection to raise, it must be raised and will be taken along with the substantive matter. But they don’t do that, they allowed them to take on preliminary matter to Supreme Court and come back again without the issue being touched. For us to see through these cases, the judges must use their discretion in insisting that if you

Sagay

raised a preliminary objection, they will hear it but they must also hear the substantive issue together with the preliminary objection. So, you state your preliminary objection, argue it and the other side will reply, then the other side will bring the criminal case, you will defend then I will give judgement on both at the same time. So, when you finish and you are not happy, you go to the Court of Appeal, you are going with everything, nothing is left behind so that by

the time they finish the series of appeal to the Supreme Court that will be the end of the case. But as it is now, after 12 years and we are still on preliminary objections, then what happen, there is prosecution fatigue. The Ministry of Justice is tired, the EFCC is exhausted, the policeman who did the investigation has retired or dead, the evidence is scattered and everything becomes vague and remote, and quietly the case begins to die. So you can see why

the first set of governors who were investigated and prosecuted are still walking free in the society. On whether the efforts of the EFCC is somewhat belated, I want to say that it can never be belated because there is no statutory time limit for crime cases, even in 100 years’ time from now except if those involved are dead, otherwise there is no statutory limit for the prosecution of crime. But as for motivation, the EFCC like many of these weak Nigerian institutions, dance to the body language of the government in power. They knew that the Jonathan government, which was deeply weak against corruption, will not want any vigorous investigation and prosecution of any corrupt public officials because these are people actually representing, sponsoring or in partnership with that government. So, that is why the EFCC withdrew its fangs, lay low and do nothing so as not risk their own position. But now that we have a government that is determined to pursue corruption out of this country and ready to support any institution set up to do that, that is why the EFCC is now coming out of its shell and doing the work for which they were appointed. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Justice of the states and the Federal High Courts should lay down practice direction to state clearly that any issue of preliminary objection against any case of corruption should be tried along with a substantive issue and not just taken alone as an objection. I have personally written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria on this issue about six months ago and he has not acknowledged it. So, it seems that this thing is being tolerated all over the country at the highest level and it is such a tragedy.

It’s difficult to prosecute ex-governors – Adeniran Comrade Debo Adeniran, an anticorruption crusader is the Executive Chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL). He spoke with TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE Why is it difficult for the anti-graft agencies to prosecute and convict ex-governors for corruption-related offences? Governors enjoyed immunity and therefore they were able to cover their tracks while in office. The anti-graft agencies are not allowed to investigate governors while in office and because of

that a lot of things were swept under the carpet. The anti-graft agencies must be given independence to investigate governors while in office and the reports should be made public. Even if the anti-graft agencies cannot prosecute them while in office because of immunity, we should have the result of their investigations with which the agencies can prosecute governors when they lose their immunity. Why is it easy for anti-graft agencies to prosecute and convict ‘small thieves’ unlike ex-governors? The ‘small flies’ don’t wield any influence because they don’t have enough money to buy their ways through when they are being prosecuted. The ‘small flies’ are also open to intimidation, threat and they don’t have money to hire quality lawyers unlike the Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) who have the influence

and resources to defend or protect themselves. Why do you think some of the exgovernors are not usually convicted by the judiciary? The Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) usually rely on the judiciary to prevent them from being convicted. Each time the anti-graft agencies make attempt to prosecute some of the former governors, they run to the trial judges who will agree with them and rule that anti-graft agencies don’t have jurisdiction or the judges will give the PEPs opportunity to travel out of the country for medical attention. The judge would also grant frivolous injunctions and orders after they might have been settled. The judiciary on many occasions have been compromised and we are just hoping that they would be better under the present adminAdeniran istration.

Politics 17

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

TUNDE OYESINA writes that there is no end in sight in the trial of former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, over an alleged N19.2 billion fraud

Trial without an end

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 28 re-visited the alleged N19.2 billion fraud case against a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva just as it re-arraigned the ex-governor on 42-count charge before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. The re-arraignment was sequel to the retirement of Justice Adamu Bello who was handling the case. The retirement made the suit to be re-assigned to Justice A.R. Mohammed and the suit started de-novo. The anti-graft agency accused Sylva of using three companies to commit the offences between 2009 and 2012 as governor of the state. Sylva was arraigned for the N19.2 billion charges in 2012 alongside Nide Francis Okonkwo, Gbenga Balogun and Samuel Ogbuku. They were alleged to have used three companies – Marlin Maritime Ltd, Eat Catering Services Ltd, and Haloween-Blue Construction and Logistics Ltd – to move the N19.2 billion from the treasury of Bayelsa State government between 2009 and 2012, under false pretence of using the withdrawn money to augment salaries of the state government workers. While the case before Justice Mohammed was still pending, the anti-graft agency also filed another six-count criminal charge bothering on N2.45 billion fraud before Justice Evoh Chukwu of the same court. While Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) was prosecuting the matter before Justice Mohammed, Festus Keyamo was prosecuting the case before Justice Chukwu. During the pendency of the suit before Justice Chukwu, Keyamo withdrew as prosecuting counsel from the trial. Keyamo through a lawyer from his chamber, John Ainetor, appeared in court to inform the presiding judge of his decision to withdraw from further prosecuting the case. Ainetor did not give reason for Keyamo’s decision. Keyamo’s letter to the EFCC indicating his intention to withdraw from the suit did not also give any specific reason. Also, the application he filed to that effect did not give any details apart from stating that his decision was informed by “certain recent developments.” His application was granted and the matter was adjourned till June 1. Sylva had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges slammed on him when he was first arraigned before Justice Adamu Bello on June 5, 2012. Few days after Keyamo withdrew from the suit as the prosecuting counsel, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federal Ministry of Justice, M.S. Diri, however,

Slyva... after his arrest by the EFCC

withdrew the N2.45 billion fraud charges instituted against Sylva. But the EFCC, represented by its Assistant Director, Legal and Prosecution, J.O Ojogbane, said the anti-graft agency was not part of the decision to withdraw the charges. Following the withdrawal of Keyamo from the case on May 25, it was handed over to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP). But instead of the DPP appearing in court for the commencement of trial, a fiat was issued to a private lawyer, O.J Nnadi (SAN), to continue prosecuting the case. During one of the proceedings, Nnadi tendered the freshly issued fiat before the court and told the judge that the EFCC had instructed him to withdraw the suit. He then urged the court to strike out the case. But Ojogbane who appeared together with Nnadi and other lawyers for the prosecution, expressed surprise over the team leader’s claim that the EFCC gave the instruction for the withdrawal of the case. The EFCC counsel said: “I am a little bit surprised by the submission of the learned silk (Nnadi). “The instruction from my own Director, Legal and Prosecution of the EFCC, Mr. Chime Okoroma, is for me to appear with the DPP of the Federation who he said would be coming to court this morning to withdraw this charge on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation. “When I got to the court this morning I did not see him (DPP) but I saw the name of the learned silk on the case list. I approached him and he confirmed to me that he had been briefed by the office of the AGF. He (Nnadi) told me he has the fiat of the AGF which is already admitted as exhibit in this court. “He (Nnadi) put a call through to the DPP of the Federation whom I had the privilege of speaking with on the learned silk’s telephone and he told me that the learned silk was going to withdraw the charge. “It is not correct to say that EFCC asked him to withdraw the

While the case before Justice Mohammed was still pending, the anti-graft agency also filed another six-count criminal charge bothering on N2.45 billion fraud

charge. EFCC did not instruct me to come and withdraw the charge.” Ojogbane explained that the reason given by the DPP for withdrawing the case was that Sylva had similar charges pending against him before Justice Mohammed of the same Federal High Court in Abuja. He said: “I can confirm that this charge is to be withdrawn this morning by the office of the DPP and the reason given was that there are two similar matters against the accused person in this court – one before your lordship and another one before Justice A.R Mohammed which has progressed more than the one before your lordship.” Sylva’s counsel, Israel Olorundare (SAN), did not oppose the application for the withdrawal of the suit. He urged the court to strike it out as prayed by the prosecution but he also urged the court to order the release of his client’s passport which had been in the custody of the court since he was first arraigned in 2012. Olorundare also urged the court to restrain the EFCC from arresting Sylva based on the charges that were withdrawn. While Nnadi did not oppose the release of Sylva’s passport to him, the lawyer said the court could not possibly give any order in anticipation of his arrest. Justice Chukwu in his ruling struck out the case as he held that the Attorney-General of the Federation possessed the power under the constitution to delegate his power to issue a fiat as it was done in the case. The judge also ordered that Sylva’s passport be released to him with the striking out of his case before the court. Having withdrawn the case before Justice Chukwu, the parties went back to Justice Mohammed to argue their briefs. In his ruling, the court dismissed the N19.2 billion fraud charge. This came nine days after the EFCC dropped the N2.45 billion fraud allegation against Sylva.

Justice Mohammed’s ruling brought to an end all pending EFCC cases against the former governor. The judge held that the fresh charges instituted against Sylva by the EFCC were an abuse of court process since they were based on the same set of transactions involved in the N2.45 billion charges that were recently dropped against the accused person. The court also held that the EFCC attempted to interfere with the administration of justice by withdrawing the N2.45 billion charges after the court had heard and adjourned for ruling on Sylva’s notice of preliminary objection complaining of the multiplicity of the charges filed against him by the EFCC. It also held that if EFCC was ready to prosecute the accused person, it ought to withdraw the charges that were before it since they were the ones filed after the one before Justice Chukwu. The earlier withdrawal of the N2.45 billion charges within nine days brought to an abrupt end, two cases that had been pending since 2012 and 2013 respectively. But without allowing Sylva to celebrate his discharge, the antigraft agency on June 12 filed a fresh corruption charges against Sylva before the same Federal High Court, Abuja. The action of the anti-graft agency comes two days after Justice Mohammed of the Federal High Court dismissed the 42- count charge of stealing brought against Sylva and his co-accused by the EFCC, with the excuse that the prosecution’s application to consolidate the charges against the defendants amounted to an abuse of court process. The commission faulted the ruling on the ground that it was premature as the accused persons had not taken any plea before the court. The anti-graft agency awaits the assignment of the case, to pave way for the arraignment of Sylva and others. All eyes are on the judiciary to see how the fresh suit will go.

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion A matter of honour Dominik Umosen

efore we proceed in this weekly literary communion, we implore the rest of civilised humanity to spare a thought for those innocent souls (about nine of them), who were gunned down inside a church in Charleston, South Carolina in the United States of America last week. From this side of the Atlantic, we confess that it has been a frantic and futile search for whatever hate could have driven a man to snap, well enough to kill another in cold blood and inside a church- unless, of course, you share similar ideals of killing without reason or justification as Boko Haram, Al-Shabab or their soulmates in the so-called Islamic State(IS). Having said that, we return to ‘Naija’ to join millions of Nigerians who have vowed to step up their reminder to President Muhammadu Buhari that age will not be accepted as a possible option for failure to re-fix the country as he promised before the April 28 presidential elections. Without mincing words, the genial general created an uproar in the country last week after he admitted that there is the strong likelihood that his capacity to redeem the thoroughly-battered country might be constrained by age. Without fear of the possibility of being accused of soliciting for attention by subterfuge, I must nevertheless confess that the jolting admission of the possibility of age interfering with his dynamism and capacity instantly created a confusion: Should one proceed with the discussion

on the on-going political ‘fermentation’ in the All Progressives Congress (APC) as previously envisaged or not? Perhaps like millions of Nigerians who must have also recognised that this issue of age is critical enough to deserve unconditional attention, the admission, momentarily, left me slightly crestfallen. But recovery was fast enough to enable one rejoin the mass action that is targetted at reminding the president that not even age would be accepted as an excuse for failing to re-fix the country as he promised. The president created more than a stir last week when he told a cross-section of Nigerians in South Africa during an interactive session, that so much is required to fix the country that he wished he became president when he was younger and more energetic. During the recent African Union summit in Johanesburg, he appealed to Nigerians, within the country and in diaspora, to be patient with his administration in its tough task of rebuilding the nation President Buhari said there is a limit to what he could at the age of 72. ‘How I wish I became the head of state when I was a governor, just a few years as a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do’, he told his ecstatic compatriots who were only too glad to see their hero in flesh and blood. And determined to connect with his audience, he explained that what informed his decision to govern the country was not so much his fascination with power as his undiluted love for the

country. This conclusion is tempting because after three failed shots at the presidency, critics expected him to drop, surreptiously, from the race at the fourth when he eventually clinched it. ‘But what brought me here, I think, mainly is because I love this country. I was in the war front for 30 months during the civil war. I lost a lot of people loyal to me ; I lost a relative, a lot of Nigerians did too’, he said, adding that those who died in this cause should not die in vain or be betrayed. . As thrilling as this much-needed shot in the arm might have been, especially from no less a person than the number one citizen, its interpretation was somewhat garbled, creating the erroneous impression that he was chickening out even before the fight began in earnest. This must have inspired his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, to liken the president to good wine which matures with age. Nigerians also share in this optimism and in the president’s capacity to clean up the devastation after the storm of massive mismanagement. Either old or new wine does not matter. Premising delivery of Eldorado on mitigating factors, including age, sounds like a breach of trust and an after-thought. The president’s credibility is at stake! Delivery on his promise to refix the country is non-negotiable since that is the basis for their trust in him. Age can not be accepted as excuse for lack-lustre performance, just as failure is not considered an option because he was convinced before he volunteered for the job.

Bailout: Another ploy to loot Jones Onwuasoanya

ecently, gover nors from across the thirty six States of the Federation were in Abuja, as usual to beg for more money. They made a detour from their original demand for a bailout to asking the Federal Government to dip hand into nowhere and pay them for Federal projects they executed in their various States. I daresay that Nigeria is unfortunate to have the present crop of shameGovernors and of course political leaders that we have at various positions today. Leaders should think of the led, first. But in Nigeria, our leaders think of themselves, their families, their private estates, their girlfriends and even their dogs, first before thinking about the common man on the streets for whom they hold power in trust. Many States of the Federation have refused to pay their workers, some, for as much as eleven months, and others, proud to say they are only owing for one month. Why must a State owe its workers for even if it is one hour? A governor of a State, is the Chief Executive Officer of that State, and is therefore the manager of the State's resources. It is an elementary knowledge in managerial studies, that a good manager must know how to draw a good scale of preference. A good manager should know how to manage whatever resources are in his disposal to solve the most pressing problems, and also be able to know what problems to keep in abeyance, till there are enough resources to tackle those problems. Paying work-

ers' salaries should be one of the topmost preferences to any responsible Governor. When our governors complain that they have not been able to pay workers salaries because of the falling revenues they receive from the Federal Government, I cringe, because I see the same governors swimming in the most heart rending affluence without the slightest recourse to the feelings of the ordinary people. Within the period of this falling revenue, did we hear that any of these governors' children was sent out of school because of their inability to pay school fees? Did we hear that any of their relatives had to beg for money in order to access medical care? Did we also hear of cash crunch disturbing their campaigns during the last elections? These governors were busy throwing hard currencies, left, right and center in order to secure victory in the last elections. Did we hear that any of these governors could not pay their lawyers for their cases at Tribunals? These same governors who have failed to pay their workers have been funding their expensive legal teams to ensure they are not booted out of office by the Tribunals. I wonder how these same governors remain keen on retaining the same seats they complain of not being able to deliver on. In Imo State, our governor has failed to pay workers, yet, he has enough money to embark on a demolition spree of houses and shanties he believes deface his sprawling private residence, that has been rated bigger than the Buckingham Palace (This residence and most of the acres of land used in

erecting it were acquired within the period, Okorocha is Governor of the State). Our governor had embarked on a trip to the Western world just to catch "a well deserved rest." Yet, there are people in the State who have not received their salaries for more than one year, there are pensioners in the State, who cannot remember the last time they got their pension. The Governor did not go on this rest catching visit alone, he went with a retinue of aides and family members, and I will be surprised if the budget for that trip was not in hundreds of millions, yet, ordinary citizens could not afford to ride their bicycle to a neighbour's house to beg for things as little as saltto soak garri. In Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who once claimed to be a Comrade has not stopped living big. His son who was caught with huge sums of money, which he could not convince us of its source, is not yet in jail. Most of his children are still abroad, paying millions of Dollars for their university education, while thousands of Dollars are spent daily on them to maintain their expensive lifestyles. We have not heard that Kabir Aregbesola has missed any of his high class girlfriends since the dwindling revenue syndrome set in. From Benue to Ekiti, to Cross River and Abia States, these governors still maintain the same or even bigger fleet of cars in their convoys, they have not reduced a single aide, rather new offices are being created to accommodate more friends and cronies. They have retained the same number of security aides. Most of them have even

ordered and taken delivery of new fleet of cars, while others, have remained in five star hotels at the expense of State funds. The Governors and their aides have continued to bath with the most expensive champagnes, while retaining the best cooks in their kitchens. Yet, they cannot afford to pay these workers, to at least be able to add kulikuli to their garri, when they soak. Do they really know what it means to owe a civil servant for one month? As meager as this pay is, some of these workers already spent up their salary before the month runs out, yet, these governors have the mind to owe them for months. The truth is that if our governors, earnestly want to pay these workers, they do not need the assistance of the Federal Government in anyway. The monies are there, it is just that they are not ready to reduce the amount they steal monthly, in order to be able to pay their workers. A governor like Rauf Aregbesola is a known advocate of fiscal federalism, yet, he could not think of ways to raise money from the State in order to pay his workers. Are these governors telling us that if something happens to our oil today, and the Federal government is shut down, they will not be able to operate? That is a most dangerous reality, and this shows the extent to which we have been shortchanged as a nation. We do not have leaders, we only have a set of people who see government office as a means for self aggrandizement and family prosperity, not as an opportunity to render service to the people. • Onwuasoanya wrote in from Owerri, Imo State.

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Between age and expectations

he robust headline of the New Teleg raph newspaper of Wednesday, June 17, this year quoted President Muhammadu Buhari as surveying his position in history and regretting that he became the president at the age of 72. According to the president who made this admission to a crosssection of Nigerians in South Africa during an interactive session, there is so much work involved in his self-appointed task of fixing the country that he wished he became president when he was younger and more energetic. Speaking while attending the recent African Union summit in Johanesburg, President Buhari appealed to his compatriots, both in Nigeria and in diaspora, to be patient with his administration in its gritty battle to rebuild the nation. According to him, there is simply a limit to what he could do as Nigeria’s leader at the ripe age of 72. ‘How I wish I became the head of state when I was a governor, just a few years as a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do’, he told his ecstatic audience. In a most determined move to connect with his audience, the president explained that what informed his decision to govern the country was not so much his fascination with power as his undiluted love for the country. ‘But what brought me here, I think, mainly is because I love this country. I was in the war front for 30 months during the civil war. I lost a lot of people loyal to me ; I lost a relative, a lot of Nigerians did too’, he

added. Continuing, President Buhari said:’We lost about two million Nigerians, just to keep Nigeria one. So nobody should come now and tell us rubbish. We are going to remain one country. God has given us another opportunity to reorganise the country., Those who work hard, the society will pay them back’. In deed, it is thrilling to receive this much-needed shot in the arm from the number one citizen which is exactly what President Buhari’s reaffirmation of confidence in the ideals of our founding fathers amounts to. It is doubtful if any patriotic Nigerian shares less confidence or optimism in both the unity of the country and its capacity to surmount whatever challenges that may come its way, no matter how intimidating. That is why both his audience and Nigerians back home

Nigerians are desperate for President Buhari to succeed in re-fixing the thoroughlybattered country

roared when he re-stated the obvious that Nigerians voted massively for him in the April 28, presidential elections because of their confidence that he has the capacity to clean up the system which he accused the former ruling party of thoroughly messing up. It is imperative to say, at this juncture, that although some analysts have reacted critically to this factual appraisal of reality by the president, we must emphasise that it is, first and foremost, reassuring to note that the president’s fate in the unity and indivisibility of the country is anchored on an unshakeable pedestal. Indeed, it bears emphasising that many Nigerians too many to mention, have paid dearly for the unity and integrity of the country which is why no effort can be too great to consolidate what many compatriots died to protect. The only way to ensure that their gallant efforts were not in vain is for all Nigerians to resolve to join forces to win the gritty battle to reform and re-fix the resoundingly battered country. It is a good thing that President Buhari is conscious of the fact that in spite of the most vicious and intemperate propaganda war that prefaced his electoral victory, most Nigerians, irrespective of tribe or creed, remained rooted in the conviction that he remained the only personality dependable and courageous enough to steer the country through this turbulent phase of its life. That is why they were hardly surprised when their

unshakeable confidence in his sheer capacity translated into a resounding electoral victory. It is a testimony to his personal integrity that despite the ferocious pre-election propaganda war which would have broken most men, he not only emerged victorious but also succeeded in challenging the sense of patriotism in every Nigerian, in the process. Nigerians are desperate for President Buhari to succeed in re-fixing the thoroughlybattered country. They also want his re-assurance that restoring food onto their empty tables is still his pressing priority. They have been bruised by hunger and battered by unemployment, for them, their children and their dependents. The intensity of their economic desperation, for instance, explains why they can not understand the seeming delay in erecting basic structures of governance, especially the re-constitution of his cabinet. But they are also eager to be sympathetic in whatever challenges he may encounter in the onerous task of restoring the country to the path of viability. He should be aware that the wish of every Nigerian is that he succeeds in re-fixing the country as he promised before the elections. That is why they pray fervently for him to succeed in the herculean task of rebuilding the country; promises upon which his electoral victory was hinged. To them, age is neither a pre-condition for success nor an explanation for failure.

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Politics

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Ex-governors battle graft allegations CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

son of the ex-governor, Senator Abdul Aziz Murtala-Nyako, a retired naval officer. The N15 billion was alleged to have been laundered through Nyako’s son companies. The companies, according to EFCC, are Blue Opal Nigeria Limited, Crust Energy Nigeria Limited, Blue Ribbon Multilinks Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Blue Ribbon Bureau De Change. While in office, the EFCC had frozen the accounts of

the Nyako-led government in June last year, ostensibly to prevent looting of public funds, after its operatives discovered cases of alleged illegal withdrawals by government officials. Shortly before Nyako’s impeachment, and consequent upon evidence of illegal withdrawals, operatives of the commission were said to have invited and quizzed the then Secretary to the State Government (SSG), the Commissioner for Finance, among other top officials of government. The petition, which

formed the basis of the ongoing probe, had alleged looting of state funds through a department of the state, which was said to have engaged in over-invoicing and inflation of contract. Alleged suspicious withdrawals were also said to have been made severally from the Joint State/Local Government account by some public officials. The trouble with Elechi Like others, the EFCC is investigating Elechi, who governed Ebonyi State from 2007 to 2015, over allegations

of fraud and diversion of local government funds. The former governor was grilled by operatives of the anti-graft agencies on June 16. Elechi is being investigated for his alleged directive to 13 local government councils, to establish Asphalt Project at their respective headquarters. The commission is interested in knowing why money was allegedly deducted at source from the affected councils’ accounts, even when seven of the councils reportedly did not comply with the directive. Operatives are further

demanding detailed explanation on the alleged deduction of N1 million from each of the councils’ accounts. The said deduction was said to have been made purportedly to fund the production of Tshirts for the past centenary celebration. The EFCC had, in January, quizzed Elechi’s Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Timothy Odaa, his counterpart at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Celestine Nwali, and the State’s Accountant General, Mr. Edwin Igbele. The commission had also

grilled Elechi’s son, Nnanna. He was said to have answered questions on allegations of money laundering through contracts that were allegedly awarded to him. Lamido grilled for hours Lamido, governor of Jigawa State (2007-2015) and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was on Thursday June 18 subjected to many hours of interrogation in respect of alleged award of some contracts during his tenure, to companies that had links to his son and other cronies. The former governor’s son, Aminu, was convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, in 2013. He was prosecuted by the anti-graft agency on charges of money laundering. Aminu was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in 2012, over his failure to declare the entire $50,000 in his possession; he was said to have declared only $10,000 to the relevant authority in the airport. The trial judge, Justice Fatu Riman, ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of $40, 000 being the undisclosed sum. Ohakim and the reality of the past In continuation of its renewed vigour in the war against graft, operatives of the anti-corruption commission last Thursday, June 18, arrested Ohakim in his Abuja home, and whisked him to their office, where he was grilled for several hours, before being released on administrative bail. Ohakim’s investigation and eventual arrest, followed a petition to the EFCC alleging fraud and embezzlement of public funds during his four-year tenure (2007 - 2011). Besides alleged embezzlement, EFCC is said to have quizzed the former governor on how he acquired one or two property linked to him. Now that these former states’ chief executives have made statements to the commission, coupled with facts, information as well as material evidence gathered so far, Nigerians are optimistic, nay cautiously, that separate criminal charges will soon be instituted against them in court. It is also hoped that the EFCC will avoid the pitfall of the past. Prosecutors must not file multiple charges before different courts on same res (subject matter). Again, they must resist the temptation of rushing to court even when investigations have yet to be concluded. More than anything, the commission’s criminal charges against high profile suspects - in most cases politically exposed persons - have often suffered under the weight of “abuse of court process” as well as “want of diligent prosecution.”

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Corporate governance code: FRC to proceed with public hearing

International Breweries: Weakened by operational challenges

Stock Watch

Insurance

NAICOM restates need for CEOs' succession plans

Fiscal, monetary policies must move in tandem –Nzekwe

42-43

Money Line

Interview

Business What's news

Nigeria’s Internet density hits 51%

Nigeria’s Internet subscriptions grew by 32 per cent year-onyear to 86.9 million in April this year, representing a density of 51 per cent on a population of 170 million, New Telegraph has learnt.

p.22

No premium, No cover: Underwriters lose N20bn premium to FG Following their failure to apply the extant law on ‘No premium, No cover’, underwriters who insured Federal Government’s projects in the past might have technically lost the N20 billion premium they were expected to receive for the job.

p.22

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

L-R: Member of the GlobalCCU Advisory and Judging Committee, Filippe Romanini; Director of Marketing & Communications at Orange Campus, France, MarieCatherine Jusserand; Head, FirstAcademy, FirstBank,Irumhekha Oshiomha; Group Head, Human Capital Management and Development, FirstBankBarbara Harper and Chairman of Global Council of Corporate Universities, Annick Renaud-Coulon, at the GlobalCCU award ceremony in Paris, France.

Why foreign airlines can’t partner Nigerian carriers, by Lufthansa boss IMPEDIMENTS Nigerian airlines need to improve on standards

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

Wole Shadare

ice-President (Sales and Services Southeast Europe, Africa and Middle East), Lufthansa German Airlines, one of Europe’s mega carriers, Tamur Goudarzi-Pour, has explained why foreign airlines are not disposed to partnering with their Nigerian counterparts. The Lufthansa boss, who spoke with New Telegraph at

Finance Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst Production Editor

the weekend in Lagos, said for such partnerships to come to fruition, Nigerian carriers must improve their standards in terms of integrity, safety and reliability of their products, among others. He said: “For Lufthansa to partner with Nigerian airlines, there are things that must be put in place. They need to up their standards to be reliable with their schedules, raise the bar with safety and it is also very good for them to be very reliable with their products.” These problems have affected seriously the inability of any of Nigerian carriers to compete with their foreign counter parts.

Only two airlines are International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certified. IOSA is an integral process and procedure mechanism through which IATA evaluates airlines' integral safety processes. IATA also says it is an internationally accepted evaluation process designed by IATA and ICAO by extension, in assessing operational management

356m Euros Total value of funds Lufthansa plans to invests on new products

and control systems of airlines. It has also allowed foreign airlines to account for 92 per cent of the international passenger traffic into and out of the country while Nigerian airlines account for the remaining eight per cent, according to statistics released by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) early this year. Previous reports had shown that over 20 foreign airlines repatriated above N400 billion made from ticket sales to their various countries every year. Another study prepared by the United States-based Sabre Travel Network whose West CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

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 Jun 19)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N220 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N350 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N250

l Foreign Reserves – $29.008bn as at 18/06/2015

Source: CBN

EXCHANGE RATE (Interbank as at Jun 19)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N199.40 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N315.29 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N226.72

Business | News

BROADBAND $2 billion needed annually to build robust broadband

Kunle Azeez

igeria’s Internet subscriptions grew by 32 per cent year-on-year to 86.9 million in April this year, representing a density of 51 per cent on a population of 170 million, New Telegraph has learnt. Internet density defines the level of access by telecoms subscribers in relation to the population of a country. This is coming even as the total number of ported telephone lines, which stood at about 218,000 last December increased to 277,859, representing 27 per cent growth in the first four months of this year. This Internet penetration level places Nigeria well above the African average of around 16 per cent, as estimated by McKinsey, a research firm. However, subscriptions were primarily on the global system for mobile communications (GSM) operators with MTN Nigeria dominating the space with a share of 45 per cent of total subscriptions. Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat accounted for 23 per cent, 20 per cent and 12 per cent respectively. Based on the latest industry data from Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Internet usage grew by 47 per cent year-on-year last year on an average annual basis, compared with 11 per cent recorded in 2013 According to the April Internet data by NCC, Globacom had 19,690,526 subscribers surfing the net with its network in April, up from 18,617,607 users in March. The operator gained a total of 1,072,919 Internet users on its network during the period covered by the report. This increase amounts to 67.58 per cent of total number of new Internet subscriber figure of 1,587,514 for the telecom networks for the month of April. The data, however, showed that MTN lost 384,487 Internet subscribers in April, after it recorded 39.5 million users, down from 39.9 million in March, 2015. Airtel Nigeria, it said, had 17.2 million Internet users in April, as against 16.6 million customers recorded in March. The data showed that Internet users on the Airtel Nigeria network

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nigeria’s Internet density hits 51% Ported lines grow 27%

increased by 669,518 in April. For Etisalat, 10.4 million of its customers browsed the Internet in April, against the 10.1 million users in March, showing an increase of 231,661 in the new month. Presenting an overview of the entire industry, NCC said that the number of subscribers browsing the Internet on Nigeria’s telecoms networks increased to 87 million in April, up from 85.4 million users in March. The data showed that the increase of 1.5 mil-

lion Internet users during the period was on both the GSM and the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks in April. According to industry estimates, Nigeria accounts for 24 per cent of total Internet usage in Africa. The Federal Government’s medium-term goal is to increase broadband penetration to 30 per cent at a minimum speed of 1.5 megabyte per second (mbps). This is in line with the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2013-2014 approved

by government in 2012. Broadband penetration has increased from six per cent penetration in 2012 to 10 per cent currently, NCC has said. However, the country would require an estimated $200 million over the next five years to ensure the building of a robust next-generation broadband network, according to KPMG, consultants to the telecoms regulator on broadband development. Already, the National Broadband Council, established to monitor the broadband plan implementation, has approved

four fibre optic cable landing points in four states of Bayelsa, Cross River, Rivers and Ondo to ensure proper diffusion of bandwidth capacity in the country. The development, according to the former President of Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, would accelerate ubiquitous broadband accessibility, availability and inclusion. Initially, there was only one fibre optic landing point, which is situated in Lagos. It has serviced optic cables from Main One, Glo-1 and MTN, among others.

Over the past few years, the broadband sector has attracted sizeable investment, which has assisted in driving e-commerce platforms such as Jumia, Konga and Wakanow, among others. On average, the leading online stores achieve about $2 million worth of transactions per week, according to FBN Capital Research. “We expect the industry to continue to be a significant contributor to growth through privatesector investment. In 2014, telecoms accounted for 8.4 per cent of constant price Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” the research firm said.

L-R Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Mr. Etekamba Umoren; Regional Director, South South 11, Skye Bank Plc, Mrs. Emem Udosen; Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Emmanuel Udom; Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo and the Executive Director, South South/Retail Banking, Skye Bank, Mrs. Ibiye Ekong, during Skye Bank's management's visit to the governor.

LAXITY Insurers have often failed to do business according to the law Sunday Ojeme

ollowing their failure to apply the extant law on ‘No premium, No cover’, underwriters who insured Federal Government’s projects in the past may have technically lost the N20 billion premium they were expected to receive for the job. Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, who lamented that the underwriters had themselves to blame if they gave any cover without first collecting premium, highlighted this development. Daniel, who said that there was no record in his office to prove that the Federal Government owed any underwriter, noted that it was unprofessional for any underwriter to have gone into such an agreement even after a minimum of three

No premium, No cover: Underwriters lose N20bn premium to FG cases went up to the Supreme Court to serve as a lesson. In the past, underwriters gave covers to policyholders without collecting the premium, but only calculated it as part of gross premium income, even when they are yet to be paid. The full implementation of the Insurance Act 51 (No Premium No Cover) contributed hugely to the premium growth, especially in the last two years. A former commissioner for insurance had disclosed that the Federal Government owed the industry operators about N25 billion. This was also corroborated by some operators, who regretted that government's reluctance of to pay premium was partially responsible for the slow growth of the industry compared with their counterparts in other climes. Specifically, the management of Nicon Insurance Plc

had declared that the Federal Government owed it about N12.3 billion in premium. Mr. Bayode Samuel, who presented Nicon Insurance’s position at an investigative public hearing on government assets and property, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, said that Nicon Insurance did not owe the Federal Government any money, but rather it was the Federal Government that owed Nicon N12.3 billion in premium. Daniel, who disclosed that the Federal Government was 100 per cent compliant with insurance, said that if any debt ever existed, it should rather be an eye opener to operators who are in the habit of giving cover to policyholders without collecting the commensurate premium. He also said that since the Federal Government did not

pay any premium on Group Life for the civil servants last year, it should not also expect to be paid any claims for the period in the event of loss or any other form of disaster. Daniel said: “The Group Life for Federal Government workers was not paid for last year. So, there is no cover for the workers. That also makes the Federal Government 100 per cent compliant because they should not expect claims to be paid at the end of the day.” He, however, noted the fact that Federal Government’s failure to pay was a plus for the industry, as it will discourage the concentration of operators in the Federal Capital Territory. He noted: “There is huge market for group life out there, but insurance companies spend too much energy chasing Abuja accounts. There are plenty small scale companies that haven’t taken this policy.”

Business | Money Line

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Corporate governance code: FRC to proceed with public hearing

Greenlight Council gets court’s permission

Tony Chukwunyem

Federal High Court to proceed with the public hearing. The hearing was earlier scheduled to hold on May 19 this year but was put off after some parties obtained a court injunction stopping the process. The FRC stated that the public hearing on the code for public sector and private sector will hold on June 30 while the hearing

he Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) is now to hold its public hearing on the draft National Code of Corporate Governance on June 30 and July 2. According to a statement on the FRC’s website, the new dates were fixed after the Council was granted leave by a

on the code for the nonprofit organisations will hold on July 2. Commenting on the earlier postponement of the hearing, the Chairman, FRC, Hajia Maryam Ibrahim, wondered why some interested parties could obtain a court injunction to stop the public hearing when they still had the opportunity of commenting on the

draft. She said: “We are now at the exposure draft stage. But it began when the Minister of Trade and Investment constituted a steering committee, which followed the due process in carrying out its activities. The process has been on for about two years. We have about 23 regulatory agencies involved and each one of

‘CBN should stop rice importers from interbank market’

Bayo Akomolafe

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advised to stop depleting the nation’s foreign exchange reserves through the importation of rice when there is now ample and incontrovertible evidence that the country can produce for local consumption. A financial expert, who craved anonymity because of the nature of his business, said that it was time for the CBN to stop rice importers from accessing the interbank market in order to conserve the country’s 'very limited' foreign exchange, which stood at

Kebbi buys N800m rice from local farmers $29.008 billion as at the 18th of this month. The source noted: “In view of the fact that the rice being produced in the country right now is of the highest global quality and there is still plenty of land for more cultivation, is it not yet time for the CBN to stop rice importers from accessing the interbank market and conserve the country’s very limited foreign exchange? Already, the source ex-

plained that Kebbi State Government had invested N800 million to purchase over 180, 000 metric tons of rice for storage from local farmers. He said that the state government took the step to encourage local production of rice by farmers. Kebbi State is only one of nearly 20 states in the country that can grow rice in commercial quantity. In the last harvest sea-

son, it was revealed that farmers attained bumper harvests of about seven metric tonnes per hectare, whereas the average yield was about 4.5 metric tonnes per hectare. One of the major riceproducing belts of the state are Jega and YolaAugie towns. It was revealed that only 20 per cent of the 500,000 hectares of land available for rice cultivation is being utilised at the moment.

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$60.72 US$29,008,577,306

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 May, 2015 4/6/2015 Mar 2015 10/6/2015 18/6/2015

TTM

Price

1.16 1.86 4.03 4.65 6.61 8.74 19.08

NIBOR

Tenor (Days) Call 30 90 180

Rate (%) 34.5833 15.7996 16.6807 17.6864

Bid Yield

13.22 13.49 13.85 14.13 13.83 13.72 14.21

Change (%) 17.88▲ 0.07 ▲ -0.02▼ 0.02 ▲

Change (%) -0.74▼ -0.31▼ -0.11▼ -0.12▼ -0.05 ▼ -0.08 ↔ -0.02 ▼

Price 99.93 102.67 106.76 104.93 111.12 102.65 86.80

Tenor (Months)

Offer Yield 13.08 13.40 13.75 14.04 13.76 13.66 14.16

NITTY

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Spot ($/N)

Offer 197.42

Rate (%) 12.0613 12.7502 12.8086 13.5673 13.8936 14.3147

Change (%) -0.74 ▼ -0.30 ▼ -0.11 ▼ -0.12 ▼ -0.05 ▼ -0.08 ↔ -0.02 ▼ Change (%) 0.21▲ -0.01▼ 0.01▲ -0.04 ▼ 0.19 ▲ 0.03▲

Money Market

Change (%) -0.04 ▼

NIFEX

Bid Spot ($/N) 198.9000

Offer 199.0000

Change (%) -0.50 ▼ -0.54 ▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

CBN Clearing Rates of June 19, 2015 Spot ($/N)

195.90

196.90

he outcome of last Friday’s meeting between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the country’s banks on foreign exchange controls is expected to have an impact on the bond market, analysts have said. According to Reuters, traders believed that meeting would come up with ways of relaxing the controls to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market, driving up demand for Nigerian debt. The CBN imposed the controls in February to curb speculation in the naira and save its dwindling foreign reserves. But they have slowed the participation of offshore investors in the bond market. Reuters quoted a deal-

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) 12.06 12.46 0.03▲ Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 14.83 24-Sep-15 12.31 12.73 0.03 ▲ 12.39 13.20 0.12 ▲ Overnight (O/N) 15.13 17-Dec-15 12.64 13.49 0.12 ▲ 12.24 13.87 0.32 ▲ 02-Jun-16 12.49 14.19 0.32 ▲ Bid 197.32

board for approval. So it is a long process.” The FRC board chairman, who noted that the Council had followed the due process in putting together the National Code of Corporate Governance, said the code could not have become operational immediately after the public hearing.

Forex meeting's outcome to impact debt market

Tony Chukwunyem

FGN Bonds 99.78 102.52 106.46 104.63 110.82 102.35 86.50

them was supposed to take the code to their organisations. “We also have the big four accounting firms. Apart from the steering committee, there is also the technical committee. The code would not become law at the end of the public hearing but would have to be sent back to the

er as saying: "We hope the forex market will be opened up at the end of the meeting today (Friday) to further encourage more offshore participation in the bond market." JP Morgan had threatened to eject Nigeria from its Government Bond Index (GBI-EM) by the end of the year unless it restores liquidity to currency markets in a way that allows foreign investors tracking the benchmark to conduct transactions with minimal hurdles. The removal of the controls could spur fresh interest in the debt market and a fall in yields across the curve. The yield on the benchmark debt maturing in 2024 fell to 13.82 percent last Friday, from 13.95 percent a week ago.

African bankers to float retail banking council

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 12.1493 18-JUL-2034

-0.03 ▼ Source: FMDQ

enior retail bankers from 14 African countries have agreed to establish a Retail Banking Councils for Africa (RBCA) with the aim of promoting the development of retail banking across the continent – particularly through the growth of deposits and banking penetration. Chairman, Lafferty Group, Michael Lafferty, disclosed this while delivering a paper at the Annual Guest Lecture organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos. He said that sharing best practices from across the world, committing to continuous dialogue with regulators and becoming a voice for the industry to the media and the public at large would achieve this. Lafferty said: “The RBCA has two parallel membership groups – a Retail Banking Council

and the Cards, Payments and Mobile Council. Its activities are guided by an Advisory Board, under the chairmanship of Patrick Akinwuntan, Group Executive, Domestic Banking at Ecobank.” He stated that one of RBCA’s first decisions was to establish a working group to draw up guidelines for fair transfer pricing – “possibly the most contentious subject in retail banking”, adding that the Councils will convene every six months. Meetings are planned for Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya in 2016 and 2017. He argued that banks had moved on from the days of the general bank, largely focused on corporate banking, to a new world, where the real battle was to provide services to personal customers. “The general bank was no more. The retail bank had come of age – and was already becoming the main source of bank profits in many developed economies,” he stated.

Business | News

GLUT Crude supply glut takes toll on Nigeria's economy Adeola Yusuf

he nagging over supply of oil at the international market has taken its toll on Nigeria's economy, forcing the official prices for the country's crude to hit their lowest in a decade. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) lowered the official selling price for its largest crude oil stream, Qua Iboe, to dated Brent plus 35 cents per barrel,

Why foreign airlines can’t partner Nigerian carriers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

African office is in Nigeria, shows that 26 foreign airlines offer 2,316,288 aircraft seats to the Nigerian international travel market every year, while their Nigerian counterparts offer only 202,228 seats. The report puts the international travel market aircraft capacity at 2,518,516 annual seats. The study, made available to New Telegraph, indicates that lack of adequate number of dominant national carriers on the part of Nigeria is responsible for the international airlines’ passenger traffic trend. According to the Sabre report, the Nigerian aviation sector contributes only 0.4 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while in Spain, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada and Germany, the contribution to the GDP is 5.2 per cent, 5.0 per cent, 3.5 per cent, 2.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively. The study notes that aviation is a major employer of labour and has the capacity to reduce the country’s unemployment rate if the government comes up with the right policies. Meanwhile, Managing Director, West Africa, Lufthansa German Airlines, Clau Becker said the carrier has designated Lagos as the centre and regional headquarters of its sub-saharan sales, station and administration organisation leading marketing and sales for the company across the continent, including East Africa and Southern Africa countries.

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Anxiety as Nigeria's crude differential hits 10-year low the lowest differential since May 2005. Reuters reported on Friday that the Bonny Light, once in demand for its high yield of valuable motor fuels, fell to dated Brent plus 23 cents, with the differential below May 2005 levels. Quoting trader sources, Reuters reported that the drop follows North Sea crude, which hit a

10-year low earlier this week as all Atlantic Basin sellers, particularly those with light, sweet oil, struggle to place cargoes. "They're playing along now, towing the line with other OPEC members to try and capture market share," said Kash Kamal, senior research analyst with Sucden. Nigeria is having a particularly hard time with

the glut, as the shale boom in its once-key market the United States has all but shut out its exports. While the United States once absorbed over a third of Nigeria's nearly two million barrels per day (bpd) of exports, this slumped to close to 60,000 bpd on average for the first three months of this year, according to the US Energy Information

Administration. Sellers of Nigerian crudes have aggressively pushed into new markets from Uruguay to China, but are coming up against other crude producers, including fellow members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), as well as new refineries that are geared towards heavier oil.

As a result, as much as 10 million barrels of Nigerian grades that have already loaded are floating in vessels, taking months in some cases to find buyers. The issue is also taking a toll on the country at large, which is heavily reliant on oil revenues to balance its budget. "It's a really messy situation," Kamal said. "Saudi Arabia, with a marginal cost per barrel at around $30 and substantial cash reserves, can afford to stick it out with crude at these levels. But Nigeria needs crude around $115-120 to balance their budget."

Business |Stock Watch

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

International Breweries: Weakened by operational challenges TOUGH TIMES Rise in production liable for substantial decline in profit margin

Chris Ugwu

usinesses in Nigeria have continued to be buffeted by the usual challenges of poor infrastructure, insecurity, corruption, multiple taxes, power supply shortfalls and volatile capital market. Power supply declined so precipitously in the country that it became non-existent, leaving most companies to continue to operate solely on electric generators with associated costs, just as the nation’s currency devaluation heralded another round of sharp increases in the prices of inputs. Coupled with the elevated political risk due to the elections recently held in the country, investments dried up, as consumer purchasing power remained weak, the effects of these developments on the economy were low corporate revenues and margins as well as higher costs of doing business. The Nigerian market, however, remains at the centre of volume growth for the global beer market, as the per capita alcohol consumption continue to rise. Though Nigeria’s beer industry is a very vital component of the country's non-oil sector, which has largely contributed to economic growth in recent times, various factors have interfered to alter the dynamics of the alcoholic beverage market. Notable among the changes to the architecture of alcohol business in the country is the rising to prominence of a new variant of alcoholic drinks, which mixes bitters with spirit. For example, the introduction of Alomo Bitters produced by a Ghanaian company, Kasapreko Limited, in Accra, led the change of this category of beverages – making the market share of all other alcoholic brands to be reconfigured. Consequently, the beer brands suffered a significant loss of market. This has made audited results of most of the companies in the industry not encouraging. International Breweries Plc is not insulated. Expectations were that the subsequent results will be brighter enough to erase the negatives in the accounts, but unfortunately, the trend has continued unabated. Market watchers attributed the depletion in revenue to stiff competition and drop in the value

of naira. The company’s share price movement has also receded significantly and remains susceptible to the challenges facing the manufacturing businesses in Nigeria. International Breweries had its fair share from the current lull in the market following massive profit taking that saw the market lose considerable chunk of investors’ wealth. The share price, which closed at N28.05 per share on July 30, 2014, stood at N18.53 at the close of business last Friday, indicating a decrease of N9.53 or 33.97 per cent year to date. Financial performance International Breweries’ results for the 12 months period ended March 31, 2014, had shown a decline in bottom line. Profit after tax (PAT) declined slightly from N2.3 billion to N2.1 billion, representing a drop of 8.6 per cent. The company’s management attributed the decline in profit to increased corporate tax exposure. Reflecting the increase in production capacity, capital employed increased by 14 per cent over that of the previous year from N13.2 billion to N15.1 billion. However, revenue results for the period under review had shown a slight improvement over that of the previous year ended 31 March 2013. The company recorded a turnover of N18.4 billion in 2014 compared with N17.4 billion over the prior year, which showed a growth of 6 per cent, while the gross profit for the year was N8.9 billion versus N7.7 billion reported in 2013. This depicted a marked leap by 16 per cent over that of the previous year. Operating profit also improved by 5 per cent over prior year. Taking a cue from the loss in 2014 bottom line, the company’s account remained in a negative trajectory for the nine months ended December 31, 2014, as profit after tax declined by 24.43 per cent to N1.45 billion from N1.91 billion in the same period of the corresponding year (nine months ended December 2013). Sales however, increased by 13.02 per cent to N15.31 billion. The company’s finance costs rose by 64.33 per cent to N1.23 billion in the nine months to December 2014 from N748.33 million the preceding year. It had huge debt in the balancesheet as debt-to-equity ratio moved to 72.06 per cent in the review period from 55.41 per cent last year, while total debt in the balancesheet increased by 36.67 per cent to N8.41 billion. The company’s operating expenses were up by 26.40 per cent to N4.46 billion compared with N3.52 billion the preceding year. Cost of sales increased by 17.05 per cent in the review period to N7.50 billion as against N6.41 billion last year. Net margin, a measure of prof-

International Breweries building

Share price movement of International Breweries 2014 Jul 31

N28.05

Aug 31

N28.00

Sept 30

N30.00

Oct 31

N31.50

Nov 30

N26.00

Dec 31

N23.37

2015 Jan 31

N21.16

Feb 28

N17.99

Mar 31

N18.90

Apr 30

N22.87

May 30

N20.00

June 19

N18.52

The beer market remains a very attractive longterm investment opportunity

itability and efficiency, reduced to 9.40 per cent from N14.15 per cent, while operating expense moved to 29.52 per cent compared with 25.97 per cent last year. The results of International Breweries’ financial year ended March 31, 2015 equally showed bad numbers with 28 per cent decline in profit before tax. In a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the brewery company posted a profit before tax of N2.815 billion as against N3.925 billion recorded during the comparable period of 2014, representing a drop of 28 per cent. Similarly, profit after tax fall from N2.105 billion posted the previous year to N1.946 billion during the year under review, accounting for a drop of 7.55 per cent. However, the company’s revenue grew to N20.649 billion in 2015 from N18.493 billion, representing an increase of 11.65 per cent. Strength Chairman of the company, Mr. Michael Daramola, speaking at the 37th Annual General Meetings (AGM), said that the company’s brands have found significant expression in the face of stiff competition in the market in which it plays. “We can say today that the company's flagship - Trophy is the number one beer of the South-West saving the aquatic state. Other premium brands like Castle Lager, a brand with over 100 years of sales behind it, Premium Redds and also Betamalt contributed their share to the bottom-line. “The belief that beer remains in essence, a local product rooted in heritage and culture of an area or community, now sets us apart from our major competitors and this informs much of our attitude to brand management coupled with the deep appreciation of our product by loyal consumers,” Daramola said.Future outlook He said that the beer market remains a very attractive longterm investment opportunity, noting that the prospect for fu-

ture growth remains strong with focus on premium brands, introductions on product variants with increased economies of scale and efficiency of savings. He added that the upward trend should enjoy a steady margin and strong cash flow. “Capital expenditure will increase as we continue to invest on new frontiers with extension of facilities and synergy in production capacity deliverables,” he said. Analysts’ perception Analysts at FBN Capital reacting to the company’s Q3 2015 financials, said that International Breweries’ Q3 2015 (end-Dec) PBT came in well behind their forecast. The experts said: “As such, we have cut our 2015-17E EPS forecasts by an average of 15 per cent. The downward revision to our EPS forecasts is mainly driven by a negative surprise on the net interest line in Q3 (-N922million vs. -N119million in Q2). “Despite these cuts, we have revised our price target modestly to N23.9million from N24.4 owing to a 100bp reduction in our WACC to 14.1 per cent. Our lower WACC is driven by a sizable increase in the firm’s financial leverage. With the shares having shed -25 per cent in the last quarter, our price target implies an upside potential of 32.8 per cent from current levels. “We have maintained our neutral rating on the stock, which is trading on a 2015E P/E multiple of 30.3x for 2016-17E average EPS growth of 13.1 per cent.” Conclusion The devaluation of naira has raised costs for the beer industry operators, as they import most of the raw materials and input used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages. The security challenges in the northern part of the country combined with infrastructure deficits are also driving distribution costs of beer makers and International Breweries is not insulated. It is however, advisable that the company ensures that it manages its cost base tightly to deliver improvements on operating margins.

DEADLINE The regulator is proposing a 10-year period for heads of insurance firms Sunday Ojeme

he Commission for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Fola Daniel, has said that a good succession plan by chief executive officers of insurance companies will go a long way in forestalling cracks in the operations of the company. Daniel, who decried some CEOs' resolve to hold on to their offices without putting such plans in place, said the situation was inimical to growth in the industry. He said the proposed 10-year tenure for managing directors of insurance and broking firms was to ensure continuity and development of manpower. He said: "In the exposed 24 - page draft, only one line says chief executive officers should not spend more than 10 years, because there must be continuity and we must develop manpower. I know an insurance company where the CEO has been there for 25 years. "In the past, in this

Insurance

NAICOM restates need for CEOs' succession plans country, I knew a managing director of a company, the person next to him was an assistant manager. That is not good for the industry. Some of our managing directors are doing very well, but behind them, there is

nobody. I think that is the philosophy behind limiting tenure." He, however, said that the proposal was only a draft at the moment that still requires inputs from operators. He noted that the com-

mission was understudying a similar policy issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stressing that there was no need for apprehension as the decision would be good for the industry if eventually approved.

In another development, Daniel revealed that the commission had not put a stop to the issuance of new licences to prospective investors who could meet the necessary requirements. He said in democracy,

no government agency or commissioner could deny qualified prospective investors their rights to acquire licences. "In a democracy, no government official or commissioner can say there would not be issuance of licence, you cannot do that. If a company meets all the requirements, we cannot but issue licence, we also look at the moral factors such as would the company create additional value and improve the industry?" Daniel said.

L-R: Managing Director – West Africa, The Nielson Company, Lampe Omoyele; Founder/CEO, Healthplus Limited and CasaBella International, Bukky George; President, Bervidson Group and Convener Retail Leaders Conference, Joseph Ebata; Managing Partner, Brandzone Consulting LLC, Chizor Malize and President, Cellulike Africa, Solomon Itegboje, during The Retail Leaders Conference organised by Bervidson Group at The Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos.

Regulator moves to check fake insurance

s part of measures so far put in place to check the use of fake insurance documents, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has signed a Memorandum of Understand with law enforcement agencies to curtail the fraud. The move is also to ensure the success of Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI), an initiative by the commission, to further consolidate the industry and boost its annual gross premium income. NAICOM’s Director, Supervision, Nicholas Opara, who disclosed this, said NAICOM had ensured enforcement of local content development particularly in Oil & Gas industry through the issuance of guidelines. He categorised the commission’s regula-

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

tory activities under its present administration into three broad areas namely: policy holders’ protection, financial safety and stability, as well as market development. Under policy holders’ protection, Opara said the commission did this through activities such as consumers’ education through seminars, workshops, sponsorship of TV/Radio drama, social media and other public enlightenment programmes as well as introduction of insurance into school curricula in secondary and tertiary institutions. He also said the regulator did this through market conduct regulations in enforcement of Fair treatment of customers during pre-sales and after sales services, risk pricing and disclosure of information among others.

Cambridge University team is calling for insurance reforms to be explicitly mentioned in the UN's forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals. They outlined their proposals at an insurance summit at the UN, New York. G7 leaders recently pledged to help 400 million people have access to insurance cover against extreme weather events. BBC reports that the researchers produced a policy brief that was presented to the global gathering at the UN headquarters. "My role was to highlight the policy implications of having insurance at the centre of requirements to protect exposed populations," explained policy-brief author Ana Gonzalez Peleaz, a fellow from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. "The lack of effective insurance regulation is a problem for accessing insurance across all parts of society." For example, she told BBC News, there were a number of nations that did not allow mutual insurance companies - these are companies that are wholly owned by policyholders, with the sole purpose of providing cover for its members and policyholders. "The lack of regulation can

Experts seek climate insurance reforms have devastating consequences for customer protection and also insurers cannot really grow if the regulatory environment is not supportive." The policy brief, quoting UN data, said that, over the past two decades, natural disasters had affected 4.4 billion people and had claimed 1.3 million lives. "Both developed and developing countries are affected by natural hazards and associated disasters, of which 70-80 per cent are driven by climate-related risks," it observed. The summit was attended by UN Secretary-General, Ban Kimoon, who told delegates that the insurance industry could and must play a strong role in shaping a more sustainable future and urged it to show strong leadership. "This is a critical year for action," Ban said, referring to a series of high-level gatherings, including a UN sustainable development summit in September and the UN climate summit in December. Experts fear that the devastation caused by extreme storms, like Typhoon Haiyan, will be-

come more frequent "With these events, the world has an historic opportunity to adopt a new set of sustainable development goals and to put the world on track for long-term, low-carbon, climate-resilient growth." Ban's comments came weeks after the G7 Summit in Germany at which leaders of the world's leading economies pledged to increase access to insurance for 400 million people in the most vulnerable nations by 2020. However, Dr Gonzalez Peleaz said that despite the recognition of the important role the insurance sector could play, there was no explicit reference to access to insurance in the text for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are set to be published in September and will succeed the UN Millennium Development Goals. "Something like the SDGs is not going to be repeated for another 15 or 20 years so just to have an awareness of the issue among governments would be a massive step to build on," she said. "It is an opportunity of a generation.

Business | Insurance

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

NIA, state governments parley on NIID DATABASE More motorists can now verify the authenticity of their insurance certificates Sunday Ojeme

he success recorded so far with the introduction of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID) into motor vehicle insurance documentation has compelled the Nigerian Insurers’ Association to urgently extend the project to other states of the federation. To this end, the Director-General, NIA, Mr. Sunday Thomas, said the association had commenced discussion with some state governments in a bid to roll out the database, which has so far captured over three million vehicles since it was introduced five years ago. NIID is an electronic platform designed by the NIA to store data of insured vehicles, aid verification of genuine policies and curb the menace of fake insurance certificates. With the NIID, a motorist can send SMS to 33125 with policy number or vehicle plate number or visit the NIID website to verify genuineness of his or her vehicle insurance papers. Thomas, who revealed that the association was sorting out some issues with the Abuja unit of Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), said the resistance to the project from some quarters stemmed from those always against change. “People benefitting from the bad system do not always want it to survive. We are not under illusion to believe it will just go away like that. But in terms of number, over three million vehicles is still a far cry from the market. But compared to the past when less than a million vehicles were registered then a lot has been achieved," he said. He said of the 11.5 million vehicles plying Nigerian roads only three million have genuine motor insurance cover, while 75 per cent do not have verifiable insurance papers. He pointed out that apart from the state governments, the association had also gone into discussions with the rel-

evant security agencies, such as the Nigeria Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the VIOs in order to ensure that road users have genuine insurance papers. He also disclosed that with a successful deployment of the motor module, the association has fully commenced

marine platfor m to keep fake certificates out of marine business. To ensure the success of the marine module, he said that the association is collaborating with the stakeholders in the marine sector state and federal government to achieve it plan goals of the marine module.

The maritime industry, which is unarguably the second highest revenue earner for the country after crude oil, has for long constituted a major problem for underwriters as fake insurance documents are often used to effect multi-million dollar transactions. In one of the recom-

mendations to the Association by a committee, underwriters were also enjoined to develop scientific models for adequate insurance pricing. This should be in line with recommendations of International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI). The law enforcement agents should step up security

measures within our territorial waters to combat the menace of piracy and kidnapping that is threatening the marine insurance portfolio and underwriters should have proper understanding of the risks that they underwriter and the risk assessment should be taken seriously.

L-R: Company Secretary, CAP Plc, Mrs. Rose Hamis; Chairman, Mr. Larry Ettah and Managing Director, Mrs. Omolara Elemide, during the company’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

ne of Nigeria’s leading insurance companies, Staco Insurance Plc, has recorded a gross premium income of N5.96 billion in 2014 as against N5.91 billion recorded in 2013. This is coming just as the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) also approved its 2014 accounts as confirmed by the Managing Director, Sakiru Oyefeso. With the feat, Staco has emerged as one of the few underwriters to have submitted their 2014 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) based accounts to NAICOM with subsequent approval by the regulator before the June 30 deadline as stip-

Staco records N5.9bn GPI as NAICOM approves accounts ulated in the Insurance Act 2003. According to Section 26(1) of the Insurance Act 2003, every insurer shall not later than June 30 of each year submit to NAICOM, a balance sheet duly audited showing the financial position of the insurer and its subsidiaries at the close of the preceding year together with a copy of the relevant profit and loss account which the insurer is to present to its shareholders at its annual general

he 44th Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Insurers Association will hold Thursday this week in Lagos. A statement from the association quoted the DirectorGeneral of the Association, Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas, as saying that the meeting will afford members the opportunity to present the Chairman’s statement

meeting. Commenting on the accounts approval, Oyefeso assured that the company would always comply with the provisions of the law, saying that Staco achieved impressive results during the outgone year. He noted that the board and management of Staco are also elated that the organisation was able to secure the approval of NAICOM earlier than the previous year. He added that the

company successfully overcame the challenge of solvency margin during the year as its solvency margin stood at N4. 57 billion in 2014, compared to the previous year 2013 when the solvency margin was N1. 03billion. As a company that is alive to its responsibilities, Oyefeso said Staco ensured that all genuine claims were paid to its affected policyholders during the outgone year. He further reassured policyholders of the

insurance firm that the prompt settlement of genuine insurance claims has always been prioritised, adding that this will continue to be the business philosophy of the company in years ahead. With the introduction of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) into their accounting system, some of the underwriters have been struggling to put their accounts in order before getting approval from the commission to proceed with the declaration of their results. The penalty by NAICOM for failure to meet deadline stands at N5,000 per day from July 1.

NIA to release vital industry statistics and report of the Governing Council, consider and adopt the audited accounts for year ended December 31, 2014 and the Treasurer’s report thereon. The business of the day will also include appointment of Auditors for the ensuing year and election of officers to fill

vacant positions on the Governing Council. The NIA boss also stated that the Association would release vital industry statistics for the year ended December 2014 at the event. According to the DG, Clause 6(1)(c) of the Association’s Constitution states that Not

less than six or more than 12 other persons elected at the annual general meeting from amongst the representatives of members. Thomas further stated that in addition to the members eligible for re-election, there exist six vacancies to be filled through fresh elections.

Business | Financial Market News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

19-Jun-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

1.16 1.86 2.10 2.20 2.95 4.03 4.35 4.65 6.61 8.74 13.44 13.92 14.42 15.09 19.08

13.22 13.49 13.54 13.55 13.70 13.85 14.10 14.13 13.83 13.72 17.04 17.57 18.20 15.55 14.21

13.08 13.40 13.45 13.47 13.63 13.75 13.99 14.04 13.76 13.66 16.97 17.50 18.10 15.48 14.16

99.78 102.52 93.41 92.19 92.91 106.46 77.47 104.63 110.82 102.35 89.34 73.81 51.01 68.00 86.50

99.93 102.67 93.56 92.34 93.06 106.76 77.77 104.93 111.12 102.65 89.64 74.11 51.31 68.30 86.80

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,838.17

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,512.29

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

0.79 1.47 1.83 2.05

2.27 1.00 1.00 1.00

15.84 14.35 14.46 14.53

101.04 102.10 105.88 102.65

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

308.51

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.20

4.44

17.13

99.00

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.28

3.23

16.18

99.08

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

3.90

30-Jun-16

0.53

4.46

17.96

98.11

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

0.56

3.48

16.99

99.24

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.83

1.00

14.46

93.00

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.10

1.00

14.58

99.20

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.53

1.79

15.41

97.12

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.91

1.80

15.29

97.94

Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR

NIGER

14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018

04-Oct-11

14.00

9.00

04-Oct-18

1.93

1.00

14.49

99.15

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR†

*EKITI

14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018

09-Dec-11

14.50

12.40

09-Dec-18

2.11

1.00

14.54

Bb-/Agusto

*NIGER

14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018

12-Dec-13

14.00

9.21

12-Dec-18

2.12

4.78

18.32

92.94

15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019

14-Feb-12

15.50

27.00

14-Feb-19

2.10

1.00

14.54

101.57

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

2.53 4.43 2.60

2.02 1.00 1.00

15.64 15.15 14.63

99.64 97.93 100.24

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR

*ONDO

99.92

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

3.04

1.82

15.54

98.20

Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020

27-Nov-13

13.50

87.50

27-Nov-20

5.44

1.00

15.09

94.21

A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro

KOGI

15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020

31-Dec-13

15.00

5.00

31-Dec-20

5.53

1.00

15.07

99.73

‡ /Agusto A-/GCR

*EKITI *NASARAWA

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

31-Dec-13

14.50

4.55

31-Dec-20

3.19

1.00

14.74

99.41

06-Jan-14

15.00

4.56

06-Jan-21

3.22

1.00

14.75

100.57

99.41

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

448.65 435.63

Corporate Bonds BBB+/Agusto BBB-/Agusto

*UPDC

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

17-Aug-10

10.00

2.50

17-Aug-15

0.16

1.00

13.56

*FLOURMILLS

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015

09-Dec-10

12.00

9.38

09-Dec-15

0.47

1.00

14.42

98.92

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.42

06-Jan-16

0.31

2.63

15.63

99.57

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

1.28

1.00

14.47

98.28

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

1.35

1.34

14.77

99.34

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

2.28

1.00

14.57

96.99

BBB-/GCR

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.56

30-Nov-17

1.51

1.88

15.22

104.32

Nil

*C & I LEASING *DANA#{r}

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

5.40

09-Apr-18

1.56

3.84

17.20

98.42

A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.54

09-Sep-18

1.72

1.00

14.42

105.04

102.20

AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR

*TOWER

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.70

09-Sep-18

1.72

1.00

14.42

A+/Agusto; A/GCR

UBA

14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

30-Sep-18

3.28

3.00

16.76

93.17

BBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.10

18-Oct-18

1.83

2.29

15.75

99.92

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

1.91

6.11

19.59

97.66

Nil

*DANA#{r}

16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

2.53

2.16

15.78

100.37

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

5.41

2.76

16.86

94.38

BBB/GCR

FCMB

14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021

20-Nov-14

14.25

26.00

20-Nov-21

6.42

1.80

15.65

94.41

A/GCR

UBA

16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021

30-Dec-14

16.45

30.50

30-Dec-21

6.53

2.63

16.46

99.95

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

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

30-Sep-14

16.29

0.10

30-Sep-24

9.28

1.00

14.93

106.63

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

13.25

15.44

30-Sep-24

9.28

1.00

14.93

91.63

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

178.07

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

171.88

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

2.65

1.00

14.64

90.50

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

4.75

1.00

15.20

83.53

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

24.95 21.68

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

5.81

5.61

104.44

105.41

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.85

4.51

100.78

101.73

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

6.10

5.96

101.72

102.64

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

1,534.69

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

4.35

102.75

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

10.87

9.75

90.34

92.93

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

7.51

7.04

95.57

96.92

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

7.16

97.00

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

10.09

9.60

95.74

97.27

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

9.27 10.49 9.82

9.27 10.16 9.82

95.25 94.78 91.05

95.25 96.18 91.05

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.36

9.90

92.01

94.01

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

3,650.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

3,496.39

**Treasury Bills^ DTM 13 20 27 34 41 48 55 69

FIXINGS Maturity 2-Jul-15 9-Jul-15 16-Jul-15 23-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 6-Aug-15 13-Aug-15 27-Aug-15

Bid Discount (%) 13.89 10.85 11.84 12.00 12.40 12.49 12.54 12.26

Offer Discount (%) 13.64 10.60 11.59 11.75 12.15 12.24 12.29 12.01

Bid Yield (%) 13.96 10.91 11.94 12.14 12.57 12.69 12.78 12.55

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 34.5833 15.7996 16.6807 17.6864

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

14.83

O/N Tenor Call 1M

15.13

REPO

Rate (%) 16.00 17.00

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M

197.32 201.81 202.13 202.87 204.24 205.60

197.42 201.93 202.28 203.37 205.31 207.21

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

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

(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

1.16 1.86 2.10 2.20 2.95 4.03 4.35 4.65 6.61 8.74 13.44 13.92 14.42 15.09 19.08

13.22 13.49 13.54 13.55 13.70 13.85 14.10 14.13 13.83 13.72 17.04 17.57 18.20 15.55 14.21

(%) 13.08 13.40 13.45 13.47 13.63 13.75 13.99 14.04 13.76 13.66 16.97 17.50 18.10 15.48 14.16

Bid Price

Offer Price

99.78 102.52 93.41 92.19 92.91 106.46 77.47 104.63 110.82 102.35 89.34 73.81 51.01 68.00 86.50

99.93 102.67 93.56 92.34 93.06 106.76 77.77 104.93 111.12 102.65 89.64 74.11 51.31 68.30 86.80

Business | Financial Market News

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,838.17

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,512.29

NSE develops 2019 corporate strategic plan Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11

17.25 0.00/16.00

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

2.27 1.00

15.84 14.35

101.04 102.10

5.44

1.00

15.09

94.21

5.53

1.00

15.07

3.19

1.00

14.74

99.41

3.22

1.00

14.75

100.57

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

2.10 112.22

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16

0.79 1.47

87.50

27-Nov-20

5.00

31-Dec-20

4.55

31-Dec-20

4.56

06-Jan-21

Agency Bonds

FMBN

DISCLOSURE

***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

X-Issuer platform facilitates fuller disclosure of information

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto

KADUNA

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

Stories by Chris Ugwu A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

‡ /Agusto

EDO

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

NIGER he Nigerian Stock *EKITI Bb-/Agusto Exchange (NSE) *NIGER has ‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR *ONDO developed 2019 CorBBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE Aa-/Agusto; ‡porate /GCR LAGOS Plan Strategic BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *OSUN aimed at building a leadership BBB-/Agusto *OSUN Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR position as Africa’sLAGOS foremost A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro KOGI securities exchange.*EKITI ‡ /Agusto A-/GCR Chief Executive*NASARAWA Officer, TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, disTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION closed this in the 2014 NSE Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR†

Corporate Bonds

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

Corporate Social Responsibil0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 ity Report. He said that the aim was to increase its regional and global footprint by creating an attrac12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 tive environment for domestic 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 and international issuers and 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 investors. 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 Onyema noted that the cor14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 porate14.00 strategic plan has three DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 target-driven strategic objec14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 NIGER include III 12-DEC-2018 tives, 14.00 which increase ONDO 14-FEB-2019 in the15.50 number of new listings 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 across14.50 five asset classes, in14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 crease14.75 in OSUN order flow in the five II 10-OCT-2020 LAGOS and 27-NOV-2020 asset 13.50 classes operating a 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 fair and market based 14.50orderly EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 on just15.00 and equitable principles. “As we continue evolving to meet the needs of our valued

customers, our focus0.00/16.50 will be 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12 0.00/16.50 on improving market access, developing the right products, and raising the status of our emerging market,” he said. 31-Aug-10 12.50 He said that the Exchange’s 30-Sep-10 13.00 30-Jun-11 14.00 new X-Issuer platform facili30-Jun-09 15.50 tates fuller disclosure10.00 of in19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 13.75 formation by listed companies 30-Dec-10 14.00 14.00 through30-Sep-11 seamless electronic 04-Oct-11 14.00 submissions, providing inves09-Dec-11 14.50 14.00 tors with12-Dec-13 robust background in14-Feb-12 15.50 formation on companies, which 02-Oct-12 15.50 14.50their they can22-Nov-12 use as a basis for 12-Dec-12 14.75 decisions. 10-Oct-13 14.75 27-Nov-13 to this, 13.50 In addition he said 31-Dec-13 15.00 the Exchange the X31-Dec-13 launched 14.50 15.00 platWhistle06-Jan-14 whistle-blowing form, which enables people to report any suspected breach of

BBB+/Agusto BBB-/Agusto

*UPDC

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

17-Aug-10

*FLOURMILLS

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015

09-Dec-10

12.00

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

06-Jan-11

14.00

Julius Berger: Minority owner moves to dispose 33.4% holdings

10.00

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

25-Oct-13

14.25

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

BBB-/GCR

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

Nil

*C & I LEASING *DANA#{r}

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

14-Aug-14

8.75

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

29-Sep-11

#{r}

B-/S&P

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

The DQL contains **Treasury Bills^

17-Aug-15

0.16

9.38

09-Dec-15

0.47

0.42

06-Jan-16

0.31

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.36

1.00

iger Insurance Plc has 15.00 29-Sep-16 1.28 posted 25-Oct-16 10 per cent 1.35 de5.53 20.00 30-Sep-17 2.28 cline in profit before tax 0.56 30-Nov-17 1.51 for5.40 the financial year ended 09-Apr-18 1.56 2.54 09-Sep-18 1.72 December 31, 09-Sep-18 2014. 0.70 1.72 The company in a filing 35.00 30-Sep-18 3.28 2.10 the Nigerian 18-Oct-18 Stock Ex1.83 with 0.36 17-Feb-19 1.91 change (NSE) 01-Apr-19 said its full year 4.50 2.53 2.05 14-Nov-20decreased 5.41 pre-tax earnings 26.00 20-Nov-21 6.42 from million in 2013 30.50 N716.10830-Dec-21 6.53 0.10 30-Sep-24in 2014, 9.28 to N644.781 million ac15.44 30-Sep-24 9.28 counting for a drop of 10 per 178.07 cent. 171.88 However, gross premium written increased 12.00 11-Feb-18by six per 2.65 12.95to N11.064 01-Feb-21 4.75 cent billion during 24.95 the period under review, from 21.68 N10.443 billion recorded during Outstanding Value the comparable period of Bid 2013. Maturity Date Yield (%) ($mm) Niger Insurance had posted 63.8 per cent drop in post-tax 500.00 28-Jan-21 5.81 profit during the third quarter 500.00 September 12-Jul-18 ended 30, 2014. 4.85 Its third quarter net earnings 500.00 12-Jul-23 6.10 decreased from N599.472 million 1,500.00 to1,534.69 N365.771 million, accounting for a drop of 63.8 per cent. Its net operating profit before 500.00 19-May-16 4.35 tax also fell to N419.500 mil350.00 25-Jul-17 7.51 300.00down 60.7 02-May-18 10.87 lion, per cent from 400.00 08-Nov-18 7.51 N674.305 million in the same 500.00 22-Apr-19 7.16 period last year. 200.00 21-May-19 10.09 300.00 07-Aug-20 9.27 Chairman of the company , 400.00 24-Jun-21 10.49 Alhaji Bala Zakariyau, said 450.00 23-Jul-21 9.82

13.56

99.41

1.00

14.42

98.92

2.63

15.63

99.57

9.90

92.01

94.01

during the firm’s 44th annual 1.00 14.47 98.28 general meeting that 1.34 14.77 (AGM), 99.34 1.00 14.57 96.99 notwithstanding the harsh 1.88 15.22 104.32 operating environment, 3.84 17.20 98.42the 1.00 14.42 105.04 firm1.00 was delivering value to its 14.42 102.20 shareholders, which was93.17 a tes3.00 16.76 2.29 that its 15.75 timony business 99.92 model 6.11 19.59 97.66 was2.16 resilient enough to deliver 15.78 100.37 2.76 16.86 94.38 on consistent basis. 1.80 15.65 94.41 He 2.63 said that 16.46the company 99.95 1.00 14.93 written 106.63 achieved a gross pre1.00 14.93 91.63 mium of N10.4 billion in 2013 from N10.33billion in 2012. Net operating profit, he said, stood million 90.50 in the 1.00at N674.3 14.64 15.20 83.53 year1.00under review compared with N256.56 million in the previous year. Profit tax during the Offer Yield (%) after Bid Price Offer Price year under review, he said, was Prices & Yields N599.47 million from N470.17 5.61 104.44 105.41 million in 2012, while the firm 4.51 100.78 101.73per recorded a growth of 162.8 cent5.96 and 27.5 per profit 101.72 cent in 102.64 before and after tax, respectively. Zakariyau said the group’s profit before 102.75 tax for 2013 was 4.35 102.75 N716.1 compared99.50 with 7.51 million 99.50 9.75 million 90.34 N703.4 in 2012, 92.93 while 7.04 95.57 96.92 profit after tax during the year 7.16 97.00 97.00 under was N627.42 mil9.60 review 95.74 97.27 9.27 95.25 95.25 lion10.16 as against N776.2 million 94.78 96.18 in 2012. 9.82 91.05 91.05

3,650.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

448.65 435.63

ulius Berger Nigeria and the State and Benue State, which 14.00 14.00 UBA II Plc 30-SEP-2018 A+/Agusto; A/GCRBerger Nigeria 30-Sep-11 UBA 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 BBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR 18-Oct-13 *LA CASERA (JBN) Plc has notified Executive Management hold 6.99 per cent and 5.27 per 15.75 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 17-Feb-12 18.00 BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR *CHELLARAMS strongly believes that the the Nigerian Stock Excent respectively 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 01-Apr-14through 16.00 Nil *DANA 15.25 NAHCOSE II 14-NOV-2020 A+/Agusto; A-/GCR 14-Nov-13 NAHCO change (NSE) that Bilfinger exit of Bilfinger will not their investment companies. 15.25 14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 20-Nov-14 14.25 BBB/GCR FCMB SE, its minority shareholder impact on JBN in view of In order to strengthen 16.45 16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021 A/GCR 30-Dec-14 UBA 182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR a holding of 33.4 30-Sep-14 16.29 STANBIC IBTC the strategic with per business direcits corporate independence, 13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR 30-Sep-14 13.25 IBTC cent has informed theSTANBIC board tions being undertaken by Julius Berger Nigeria had TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE of theMARKET company of its deci- the Board and Management enhanced its onshore and TOTAL CAPITALISATION sion to dispose off its remain- of the company, which would offshore technical and logisSupranational Bond ing stake in JBN to long-term sustain and increase tic capacities 11-Feb-13 by the estab- 10.20 10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018JBN’s AAA/S&P IFC 11.25 AFDB responsive1-FEB-2021 Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P AfDB Nigerian investors on or be- efficiency and lishment of a10-Jul-14 newly incor- 11.25 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE fore the end of June 2015. ness as well as set basis for porated subsidiary, Prime TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION In a notice obtained from a future of long lasting suc- Technology Design and Engithe NSE’s weekly report, Issuercess,” the notice said. Description neering Nigeria forCoupon (%) Rating/Agency IssueLimited Date JBN stated that this proposed In 2011, Bilfinger, which the provisions of design and FGN Eurobonds transaction would lead to the then held 49.87 per cent eq- engineering support services JAN 28, 2021 BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P 07-Oct-11 6.75 exit of the representative of uity stake in Julius6.75 Berger to the company . BB-/Fitch; 5.13 JUL 12, 12-Jul-13also ac- 5.13 Bilfinger SE from the Board FGNNigeria, had sold down its2018 The company BB-/S&P BB-/Fitch; of JBN. equity stake. Julius6.38 Berger major- 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 quired a controlling 12-Jul-13 BB-/S&P The company added that Nigeria then had 1.2 billion ity share of the technical TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE the decision was based on ordinary shares of 50 kobo and logistic business and opTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Bilfinger’s strategic realign- each with market capitalisa- erations of Bilfinger Berger Corporate Eurobonds tion of N56.59 billion out of ment from a construction Nigeria GmbH, Wiesbaden, 7.50 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC I 19-May-11 which Bilfinger Berger held company to an engineering 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 Germany, which B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC 25-Jul-12 assures 7.25 6.88shares MAY 09, 2018 Julius Berger 09-May-13 B/Fitch; B/S&P BANK PLC and services group inFIDELITY the last 598.4 million ordinary Nigeria Plc of 6.88 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC 08-Nov-13 decade, which saw Bilfinger of 50 kobo each. total control of all required 6.00 6.25 APR 22, 2019 B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC 22-Apr-14 6.25 SE divest totally from its conOther substantial shareservices such as planning, 8.75 8.75 May 21, 2019 B/Fitch; B/S&P DIAMOND BANK PLC 21-May-14 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC 07-Aug-13 recruitment 8.25 struction activities. ACCESS BANK PLC holders in Julius Berger procurement,24-Jun-14 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P II 9.25 “The Board of Julius Nigeria included the Lagos and capacity building. 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK LTD 23-Jul-14 8.00

99.73

Niger Insurance reports 10% pre-tax profit drop 2.50

13.00

based quality of105.88 their 1.00 on the 14.46 1.00 14.53 102.65 corporate integrity; corporate compliance with governance rules; understanding of fiduciary responsibilities by 4.44 17.13 99.00 directors and16.18 corporate99.08 repu3.23 4.46 17.96 98.11 tation,” he said. 3.48 16.99 99.24 Onyema noted that the 1.00 14.46 93.00 ini1.00 14.58 99.20 tial1.79 pilot phase of CGRS97.12 invit15.41 1.80 15.29 97.94 by ed voluntary participation 1.00 14.49 99.15 listed companies, adding that 1.00 14.54 99.92 4.782015 onwards, 18.32 92.94 from participa1.00 14.54 101.57 tion2.02 will be a 15.64 requirement for 99.64 97.93 Exany1.00 company15.15 listed on the 1.00 14.63 100.24 change’s premium board. 1.82 15.54 98.20

Securities and19-Apr-17 Exchange Com116.70 1.83 66.49 2.05 mission (SEC) 06-Jul-17 rules and regula297.52 tions confidentially . 308.51 He noted that market confidence depends upon gover8.50 31-Aug-15 0.20 nance standards for the NSE 2.16 30-Sep-15 0.28 3.90 30-Jun-16 0.53 that are clearly30-Jun-16 articulated and 5.73 0.56 firmly applied. 57.00 19-Apr-17 1.83 25.73 30-Jun-17 1.10 “In 2014, we31-Dec-17 partnered with 25.00 2.53 30.81 30-Sep-18 1.91 the Convention on Business 9.00 04-Oct-18 1.93 Integrity to launch the Cor12.40 09-Dec-18 2.11 9.21 12-Dec-18 2.12 porate Governance Rating 27.00 14-Feb-19 2.10 System (CGRS), which pro15.09 02-Oct-19 2.53 80.00 22-Nov-19for inves4.43 vides assurance 24.74 12-Dec-19 2.60 tors by evaluating 10.78 10-Oct-20companies 3.04

19-Jun-15

3,496.39

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 2-Jul-15 13.89 13.64 13.96 the accuracy,20timeliness, completeness,9-Jul-15 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 14.83 of the Information. Tenor 10.85 10.60 10.91 Tenor Rate (%) 27 34 41 48 55 69 76 Rating/Agency 83 97 104 118 132 146 160 167 174 181 202 209 NA 216 223 230 237 244 251 258 272

16-Jul-15 23-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 6-Aug-15 13-Aug-15 27-Aug-15 3-Sep-15 Issuer 10-Sep-15 24-Sep-15 1-Oct-15 15-Oct-15 29-Oct-15 12-Nov-15 26-Nov-15 3-Dec-15 10-Dec-15 17-Dec-15 7-Jan-16 14-Jan-16 NA 21-Jan-16 28-Jan-16 4-Feb-16 11-Feb-16 18-Feb-16 25-Feb-16 3-Mar-16 17-Mar-16

279

24-Mar-16

FGN Bonds

293

7-Apr-16

11.84 12.00 12.40 12.49 12.54 12.26 12.39 Description 12.06 12.31 ^13.05 16-AUG-2016 13.31 13.69 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 13.70 9.85 27-JUL-2017 13.73 9.35 31-AUG-2017 13.57 12.67 10.70 30-MAY-2018 13.78 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 12.64 7.00 23-OCT-2019 12.61 13.56 ^15.54 13-FEB-2020 13.41 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 13.63 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 13.26 13.55 15.00 28-NOV-2028 13.49 12.49 22-MAY-2029 13.58 8.50 20-NOV-2029 13.18 13.35 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030

13.45 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 13.15

11.59 11.75 12.15 12.24 12.29 12.01 12.14Date Issue 11.81 12.06 16-Aug-13 13.06 13.44 27-Apr-12 13.45 27-Jul-07 13.48 31-Aug-07 13.32 12.42 30-May-08 13.53 29-Jun-12 12.39 23-Oct-09 12.36 13.31 13-Feb-15 13.16 27-Jan-12 13.38 14-Mar-14 13.01 13.30 28-Nov-08 13.24 22-May-09 13.33 20-Nov-09 12.93 13.10 23-Jul-10 13.20 18-Jul-14 12.90

Bonds

11.94 12.14 12.57 12.69 12.78 12.55 12.71 (%) Coupon 12.40 12.73 13.05 13.83 14.32 15.10 14.41 9.85 14.53 9.35 14.43 13.45 10.70 14.75 16.00 13.49 7.00 13.55 14.70 15.54 14.57 16.39 14.86 14.20 14.47 14.86 15.00 14.83 12.49 14.97 8.50 14.53 14.83 10.00 14.99 12.1493 14.70

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 307

21-Apr-16

13.07

12.82

14.68

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 349

5-May-16

12.35

12.10

13.85

2-Jun-16

12.49

12.24

14.19

321

O/N 1M 3M 6M

34.5833 15.7996 16.6807 17.6864

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

Description

15.13

REPO

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

Outstanding Value Maturity Date (N'bn) NITTY Rate (%) 16-Aug-16 12.0613 12.7502 27-Apr-17 12.8086 27-Jul-17 13.5673 31-Aug-17 13.8936 14.3147 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) 198.9000 599.99 14-Mar-24 OFFER ($/N) 199.0000 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 (%) 16.00 17.00 Bid18.00 Yield 19.00

(%)

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

1.16 13.22 13.08 1.86 13.49 13.40 :Benchmarks 2.10 13.54 13.45 * :Amortising Bond 2.20Bond 13.55 13.47 µ :Convertible AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 2.95 13.70 13.63 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 4.03 13.85 13.75 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 4.35 Finance Corporation 14.10 13.99 IFC: International LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management 4.65 14.13 14.04 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 6.61 13.83 13.76 O/N: Overnight 8.74 13.72Company 13.66 UPDC: UAC Property Development WAPCO:West 13.44Africa Portland Cement 17.04 Company16.97 13.92 17.57 17.50 14.42 18.20 18.10 15.09 15.55 15.48 19.08 14.21 14.16

NOTE:

197.32 197.42 201.81 201.93 202.13 202.28 Price 203.37 202.87 204.24 205.31 205.60 207.21 206.28 213.47Price Bid Price Offer 220.29 226.27

99.78 102.52

99.93 102.67

106.46

106.76

110.82

111.12

73.81 51.01 68.00 86.50

74.11 51.31 68.30 86.80

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

NA :Not 93.41 Applicable 93.56 ^ : Market Prices 92.19 92.34 # : Floating Rate Bond ***: Deferred 92.91coupon bonds 93.06

‡ : Bond rating under review 77.77 †: Bond 77.47 rating expired N/A :Not104.63 Available 104.93 {r} :Issuer in receivership

102.35 102.65 NGC: Nigeria-German Company UBA: United 89.34Bank for Africa 89.64

4,838.17 4,512.29

*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

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

0.79 1.47 1.83 Implied Yield 2.05

2.27 1.00 1.00 Implied 1.00 Portfolio Price

15.84 14.35 14.46 INDEX 14.53

101.04 102.10 105.88 YTD Return 102.65 (%)

1,442.89

1,409.48

40.58

43.00

297.520.41

18.16

13.58

106.2477

1,190.39

7.4509

3<5

1,251.55

1,173.14

33.77

37.30

39.68

13.77

111.5033

1,112.59

9.8777

661.33

891.07

25.65

19.71

308.510.34 0.26

42.16

15.00

78.5828

1,104.49

9.6793

3,355.77

3,473.69

100.00

1.00

100.00

14.26

100.9261

1,140.46

8.0813

>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)

A/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.20

4.44

17.13

99.00

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.28

3.23

16.18

99.08

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

3.90

30-Jun-16

0.53

4.46

17.96

98.11

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

0.56

3.48

16.99

99.24

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.83

1.00

14.46

93.00

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.10

1.00

14.58

99.20

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.53

1.79

15.41

97.12

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.91

1.80

15.29

97.94

42 Business | Interview

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Fiscal, monetary policies must move in tandem –Nzekwe Financial expert and a former President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, is known for his views on financial issues and the economy. In this interview with Tony Chukwunyem, he speaks on areas of the economy that the new administration should focus as well as how the naira can be strengthened. Excerpts: The new administration is just settling down. What areas do you think it should immediately focus on? It is a long list really because almost the whole facet of the economy needs urgent attention. For instance, oil and gas is one sector that has to be quickly addressed. Then there is the power sector; the most important sector. The president needs to make a pronouncement on these two as soon as possible so that we know where we are going. There are other issues such as good governance. Most of the problems of the country come under good governance. If there is good governance, for example, there will not be corruption. Also, the lack of an enabling environment for the productive sector to thrive has to do with good governance. Youth unemployment is another big problem that has to be urgently tackled. In addition, the president must not fail to focus on the issue of foreign exchange; it’s a real problem. When Prof Chukwuma Soludo was Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), I told him that he should compare the amount of foreign exchange allocated to end users to the volume of goods imported into the country and note the large difference. For example, if $30 billion was allocated to end users and goods worth $60 billion were imported, then, of course, it would be obvious that foreign exchange also came in from other sources, perhaps from Nigerians in the Diaspora. It will then become clear that people can access foreign exchange without using the banks. So, when they talk about financial inclusion, it is important to realise that a lot of things happen outside the banking system. This is also important when you are talking about foreign exchange management. The agricultural sector is another important area that they must

Nzekwe

focus on. We must be able to feed ourselves first before considering exportation. Other areas are diversification of the economy and reducing cost of doing business in the country.

The country has a problem of double taxation; this has to be harmonised

The new administration is revisiting the issue of the alleged missing funds at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Do you support another audit of NNPC’s accounts aside from the one carried out by Price WaterHouse Coopers (PWC)? PWC is a very big audit firm and I will find it very difficult to say that they have not done what they ought to do. I would find it very, very difficult. PWC is one of the ‘Big 5’ audit firms and I don’t think they will drag their name down by not doing the right thing. So, I don’t really want to comment on that. But if government feels that what they have done is not okay, they can still go, and do further and when they do they should be able to make it public so that we will know whether what PWC did is okay or not. There is a lot of speculation about a looming further devaluation of the naira. However, the CBN blames speculation for the currency’s woes. What is your position on the issue? Before you can talk of the naira having the desired value, you have to talk of productiv-

ity in the country. The economy is import-dependent, so, how would the naira gain strength against the dollar and pound? It is only when you are able to produce that you are less dependent on imports. If you don’t do that, the naira will continue to lose value because, frankly, since oil prices are down, what do you expect? The naira will continue to fall. The only way to save it is to create the enabling environment so that the productive sector can thrive. For instance, if the agricultural sector was well developed and we are able to produce goods and have agro-based industry, we will have enough to feed and enough to export. That is why I keep saying that the fiscal policy and the monetary policy must be in harmony. They have to meet at a midpoint before the value of the naira can be determined. But as long as the country is not producing enough of her needs, there is every possibility that the naira will continue to fall. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention funds were designed to boost lending to the real sector, but there are criticisms in some quarters that these funds have not been effective and, as such, should be scrapped. Do you support these calls? I support intervention funds. But what the CBN needs to do is to make the process of accessing

such funds very simple. Currently, the process is so complicated that the average small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operator is not able to access it. There should be a lot of information so that people can understand what to do. Part of the problem in this country is that our database is zero. The National ID card scheme is yet to work effectively. People can take loans and default and still go to another bank and do the same thing. This makes banks to be afraid of giving loans to people. The main reason why the United State is such a developed economy is that they have a database of their citizens. If you commit a crime, you are caught within a short time. We should be able to do that here, but the problem is that everything has been politicised. If we have a reliable database, people should be able to access bank loans up to certain level without collateral because the bank has their data. So, there is no reason why the CBN should not continue having intervention funds. The new government is coming at a time when revenue has dwindled and there is a debate over whether it should increase taxes or not. Where do you stand on this? The country has a problem of double taxation; this has to be harmonised. Each time they say they have harmonised it, you find that the states and lo-

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Business | Interview

cal governments are still doing a different thing. Now, VAT was introduced to take care of the problem of double taxation, but even after VAT was introduced, you still find states charging sales tax and so on. If we have a good tax system, people will not be spraying money at parties; people will not be living lavishly. A lot of people are not paying the correct taxes they should be paying, go and check. It is only workers that you have their financial details that pay tax, but businessmen and owners of trailers that are damaging the roads and landlords that are building houses all over the place, they don’t pay tax. So, government has to really strengthen the tax management so that everybody will be caught in the tax net. For instance, regarding VAT, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has not been able to bring all vatable persons into the VAT net. What they do is that they wait in their offices for those who voluntarily come in to pay tax or for those who have been asked to bring some official document from the FIRS. Before they attend to such demands, they insist that you pay VAT. But the FIRS should be strengthened in such a way that they should get more people into the VAT net and pay the appropriate VAT. Some people deduct VAT without remitting. How are they monitoring that? If government is able to effectively administer that system, the revenue it will generate from that will even be enough to make it reduce other taxes. There is big money in the Nzekwe PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE VAT system, but the FIRS has not done enough. For example, at Almore revenue was to increase VAT aba Market and other major martional Public Sector Accounting to 10 per cent. Do you support such Standards (IPSAS). It came as a kets across the country, you will an increase? find that maybe out of 30 shops surprise to us when we heard at only one person is registered to They have not even applied a conference for accountants in VAT well and they are talking Italy last year that after encourpay VAT, the rest are not registered. And maybe they are sellabout increasing it? If you ask aging us to adopt IFRS, the EU ing the same goods. So the trader me, I will say that it is only about abandoned IPSAS and introcharging VAT will not be doing 25 per cent of vatable persons duced its own Europe Standards. that they have registered. So, It came as a big surprise to us well as the others. Still the FIRS will come and bother him that he what they should do is to ensure because after getting us to adopt has to VAT instead of trying to that they register everybody and the IPSAS they dumped it and get the other traders to register ensure that they pay VAT. Then introduced their own. We chalthey will realise a lot of money lenged them on this, although I to pay VAT. What the FIRS should and there will be no need to in- was even expecting some of our do is to get more vatable persons The purpose crease VAT. into the VAT net but they have regulatory bodies here to have not been able to do it. I have taken up the issue with them. of audit is Recently the Financial Reporting suggested this to them several In fact, some of us were even not to go Council (FRC) wanted to hold a times in the past but it seems considering introducing our public hearing on the national code own African Standards. The they don’t want to listen. People and discover of corporate governance, but it don’t understand that it is the implication is that if the Eurofraud, but in had to suspend it because some end user and not them that pay peans can abandon IPSAS after parties obtained a court injunction VAT. If you sell, you collect the we have adopted it, what prethe process, against the process. What are VAT and remit to government; vents them from also dumping we may find your views on the national code of it’s as simple as that. I don’t have IFRS after we have completed its corporate governance? issues with company income tax adoption here? It is good that we one A national code of corporate have joined IFRS because we are and the PAYE. Also, the FIRS has governance is okay. We had one trying to say that the accounts to review its system for penalising VAT defaulters. Sometimes, by the Corporate Affairs Com- prepared here would be acceptthe penalties they apply are so mission (CAC) or so. But my able everywhere. But I know that view is that everything has to Africa has its own peculiarities, much that they end up liquidatbe harmonised. It should not different from what obtains in ing the company! What people do in such circumstances is to abanbe one group coming out to say Europe and these need to be don the company and register a it wants to develop the code. It adapted to bring them to the level new one. So, the rules they are has to involve representatives of of what you are reporting. Howmaking should have a human stakeholders in all facets of the ever, there are so many things economy. still going on and I think it is face; they are too theoretical in some of these things. In addithe responsibility of the FinanThe International Financial cial Reporting Council (FRC) to tion, the problem of double taxaReporting Standards (IFRS) has tion has to be decisively tackled. look into them, especially public now been adopted by banks and We need to get to the stage where liability companies and public other players in the financial if you obtain tax clearance from interest companies like banks. In sector, but critics still regularly Lagos, you should be able to use banks, for example, there are so question the quality of reporting in it in say, Anambra State. many rules on how to determine some firms’ financial statements. whether an asset has gone bad How would you assess the The immediate former Minister and cannot be recovered or has situation so far? of Finance hinted that part of gone half bad and so on. One has the option that government was First, I would like to speak to be very certain before making considering as a way of generating on a related issue - the Interna- pronouncements on these things,

otherwise, some statements can lead to run-on a bank and the bank would go down. Also in Nigeria, the economy is public sector driven so we can see why IPSAS is so important and the EU should not have done what it did. The economy in this country is public and not private sector driven. The public sector is the biggest spender and that is why when it is time for budgets, people are so interested to find out which agency gets what and what. I’m concerned because it means that our public sector accounts would not be accepted in the United Kingdom, for example, because they are now using a different standard. Indeed, at times I wonder if we followed the EU too early in adopting IPSAs too quickly. Maybe we should have waited to see the direction they were heading before following them. Now they have gone back to the European standards. Forensic accounting seems to be gaining popularity. What is your take on this form of accounting and how is the association you once headed involved in it? We have something of that nature. The practise of accounting/auditing has undergone changes over the years and you need to be able to develop a standard of practice to be able to carry out some tasks. Auditing is statutory, like auditors often say, the purpose of audit is not to go and discover fraud or fault, but in the process of carrying out our duties, we may find one. But forensic accounting goes beyond that, to find out things like, for instance, even though the books are okay, are certain payments questionable, made to related parties and so on? So, it is a new area, which all accountants are now keying in to. Has the accounting profession drawn up an agenda for the new government? I don’t think there is anything like that yet because ANAN had a new leadership in April, ICAN also only just had theirs. Maybe in a few months from now when everyone has settled down, such a thing would come up.

Education: Professional certificate of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and a Masters Degree in Banking and Finance; Doctorate in Accounting by Concepts University, London in 2008. Career: Past President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN); Managing Partner, Samuel Nzekwe and Co.; Council Member of Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB) now Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and Member, National Technical Working Group of the Federal Government’s Vision 20:2020 (Finance Thematic Group). Membership: Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN); Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria

Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015

Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053

Business | Capital Market

Symbol NIG-GERMAN PHARMDEKO

HEALTHCARE Totals

Daily Summary (Bonds)

ICT IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. IT Services Totals

No Debt Trading Activity

No. of Deals 1 3 121

Current Price 6.32 2.23

Quantity Traded 24,500 150,200 14,634,911

Value Traded 147,245.00 334,990.00 353,244,019.87

14,658,347

353,284,564.15

122

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH Symbol CWG NCR

No. of Deals 1 3 4

Current Price 3.98 11.02

Quantity Traded 40 900 940

Value Traded 151.60 9,423.00 9,574.60

Symbol CHAMS

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 5,000 5,000

Value Traded 2,500.00 2,500.00

5,940

12,074.60

Quantity Traded 116,568 3,000 13,648 762,442 403,506

Value Traded 2,458,190.10 32,040.00 531,589.60 8,626,822.65 70,673,922.55

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at June 19, 2015 Daily Summary (Equities)

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals

Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 11 20 31

Current Price 31.55 32.00

Quantity Traded 106,399 189,599 295,998

Value Traded 3,194,645.00 6,078,619.42 9,273,264.42

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 14 14

Current Price 2.26

Quantity Traded 170,972 170,972

Value Traded 381,946.07 381,946.07

466,970

9,655,210.49

Quantity Traded 67,500 5,509 26,543,282 1,024,248 27,640,539

Value Traded 99,225.00 4,958.10 72,148,784.92 42,777,178.78 115,030,146.80

27,640,539

115,030,146.80

AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 Diversified Industries Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053 A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. JOHN HOLT PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals

45 Symbol AGLEVENT JOHNHOLT TRANSCORP UACN Daily Summary

No. of Deals 4 2 240 53 (Equities) 299

Activity Summary on Board EQTY CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other Published by The Nigerian(W Stock Exchange © COSTAIN A) PLC.

Current Price 1.47 0.94 2.78 42.00

299

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Quantity Traded 146,808 146,808

Value Traded 1,602,200.52 1,602,200.52

Symbol NIGROPES

2,542,222.12

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 7.46

239,153

Tools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC Tools and Machinery Totals

Quantity Traded 666 666

Value Traded 4,721.94 4,721.94

3,318,077

258,500,664.33

Quantity Traded 51,000 228,041 159,512 25 1,035,547 1,474,125

Value Traded 339,150.00 37,503,315.70 2,964,733.75 39.50 153,340,683.58 194,147,922.53 Value Traded 2,256,495.54 2,256,495.54

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 14 14

Current Price 178.10

Quantity Traded 12,556 12,556

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR MULTITREX NASCON NNFM UTC

No. of Deals 37 72 76 22 1 78 2 2 290

Current Price 3.87 6.96 34.70 3.80 0.50 8.50 18.05 0.50

Quantity Traded Page 1,187,564 5,007,914 2,123,234 229,700 500 10,965,945 10,350 15,310 19,540,517

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

No. of Deals 22 49 71

Current Price 37.57 850.00

Quantity Traded 201,329 88,593 289,922

Value Traded 7,562,875.92 75,641,760.29 83,204,636.21

Symbol VITAFOAM VONO

No. of Deals 24 10 34

Current Price 5.43 1.45

Quantity Traded 242,068 295,398 537,466

Value Traded 1,264,157.72 428,327.10 1,692,484.82

Symbol

No. of Deals 51 32 83

Current Price 31.77 45.00

Quantity Traded 275,046 357,313 632,359

Value Traded 8,750,690.44 16,089,409.30 24,840,099.74

CONSUMER GOODS Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053 FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. Activity Summary on Board EQTY UNITY BANK PLC

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. UNIC INSURANCE PLC. WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Brokers and Services Totals Daily Summary as ofCarriers, 19/06/2015 Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053 Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC Activity Summary Board EQTY ASO SAVINGSon AND LOANS PLC FINANCIAL SERVICES

Carriers, Published byMortgage The Nigerian Stock Brokers Exchangeand © Services Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

Symbol ACCESS DIAMONDBNK ETI FIDELITYBK GUARANTY SKYEBANK STERLNBANK Daily Summary UBA UBN UNITYBNK

No. of Deals 148 33 75 100 252 69 23 (Equities) 178 31 35

Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKERon NIGERIA PLC. Activity Summary Board EQTY NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals

Quantity Traded 4,733,062 112,977,906 225,200,769

Symbol AIICO CONTINSURE CORNERST EQUITYASUR MANSARD MBENEFIT NEM NIGERINS UNIC WAPIC

No. of Deals 8 14 2 2 19 4 23 5 1 37 115

Current Price 0.92 1.00 0.50 0.50 2.99 0.50 0.76 0.50 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded 103,888 447,398 1,007,500 50,000 456,962 40,100 Page 5,030,600 1,504,981 28,744 13,374,606 22,044,779

Symbol NPFMCRFBK

No. of Deals 10 10

Current Price 1.14

Quantity Traded 722,100 722,100

Value Traded 797,054.00 797,054.00

No. of Deals 1 3

Current Price 1.25 0.50

Quantity Traded 500 14,800

Value Traded 595.00 7,400.00

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol ABBEYBDS ASOSAVINGS Symbol Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 4

Current Price

No. of Deals 195 21 392 62 2 40 72 784

Current Price 2.74 4.00 8.41 3.08 0.50 27.60 1.41

2,204 Symbol MORISON Symbol EVANSMED

GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH

Symbol NIG-GERMAN PHARMDEKO

Quantity Traded 23,436 23,436

Value Traded 40,544.28 40,544.28

No. of Deals 1 3 121

Current Price 6.32 2.23

Quantity Traded Page 24,500 150,200 14,634,911

14 6Value Traded of 147,245.00 334,990.00 353,244,019.87

Quantity Traded 40 900 940

Value Traded 151.60 9,423.00 9,574.60

Symbol CHAMS

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 5,000 5,000

Value Traded 2,500.00 2,500.00

5,940

12,074.60

Quantity Traded 116,568 3,000 13,648 762,442 403,506

Value Traded 2,458,190.10 32,040.00 531,589.60 8,626,822.65 70,673,922.55

5 No. of Deals 17 3 8 62 66

Current Price 21.50 11.24 41.00 11.68 175.00

Page

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 40 17 99 39 5 15 215

Current Price 42.00 2.60 179.98 149.00 50.54 159.10

Quantity Traded 257,515 482,658 746,049 124,273 5,872 14,298 1,630,665

Value Traded 10,992,918.49 1,273,626.32 131,857,753.15 18,257,221.04 281,973.44 2,236,883.58 164,900,376.02

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 61 61

Current Price 315.80

Quantity Traded 116,055 116,055

Value Traded 36,491,572.00 36,491,572.00

8,285,256

303,593,858.81 Value Traded 5,000.00

486

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol AFROMEDIA

No. of Deals 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 10,000

Symbol

No. of Deals 1

Current Price

Page Quantity Traded 10,000

Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. Apparel Retailers Totals

Symbol LENNARDS

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 3.15

Quantity Traded 8,447 8,447

Value Traded 25,341.00 25,341.00

Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 7 7

Current Price 0.84

Quantity Traded 219,738 219,738

Value Traded 181,830.40 181,830.40

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

Symbol REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

No. of Deals 8 2 10

Current Price 5.00 1.22

Quantity Traded 30,510 6,100 36,610

Value Traded 152,858.70 7,076.00 159,934.70

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 22 22

Current Price 0.56

Quantity Traded 1,202,162 1,202,162

Value Traded 641,847.77 641,847.77

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 10 10

Current Price 3.72

Quantity Traded 1,927,717 1,927,717

Value Traded 7,178,529.24 7,178,529.24

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

Quantity Traded 58,504 10,000

Value Traded 70,839.84 21,900.00

Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC.

1.21 2.30

Symbol UPL

No. of Deals 8 11

Current Price 6.05

Quantity Traded 52,845 121,349

Value Traded 291,465.95 384,205.79

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 0.53

Quantity Traded 1,000,000 1,000,000

Value Traded 532,900.00 532,900.00

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

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 2 37 39

Current Price 2.08 5.03

Quantity Traded 35,595 255,556 291,151

Value Traded 71,190.00 1,281,152.65 1,352,342.65

Symbol CAVERTON

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 3.60

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 684.00 684.00

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

SERVICES Totals

LEARNAFRCA STUDPRESS

14 10 of Value Traded 5,000.00

2 1

Page

Daily Summary (Equities)

EQTY Board Totals

OIL AND GAS Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CAPITAL OIL PLC Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Value Traded 97,023.64 19,558,745.10 331,496,624.18 926,636.90 682,755.05

Current Price 3.98 11.02

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Symbol MCNICHOLS

SERVICES Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers JULI PLC. Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers Totals

4,817,374

10,462,615.55

390,499,379

4,855,839,502.19

No. of Deals 1 1

OIL AND GAS Totals

Current Price 1.50

Quantity Traded 27,000 27,000

Current Price 0.50

SERVICES Totals

Equity Activity Totals

38,680.00 14 of

Quantity Traded 100 100

Value Traded 50.00 50.00

100

50.00

Quantity Traded 500 500

Value Traded 835.00 835.00

500

835.00

27,600

39,565.00

4,291

390,526,979

4,855,879,067.19

No. of Deals 1 1

Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 ASeM Board Totals Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053

Value Traded 38,680.00 38,680.00

27,000 Page

1 Symbol JULI

107

4 Symbol CAPOIL

4,285

No. of Deals 4 4

Quantity Traded 60,996 5,736,864 7,532,374 611,545 518,432

No. of Deals 1 3 4

Value Traded 102,145,460.79 102,145,460.79

CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals

Current Price 1.59 3.40 44.00 1.50 1.28

Symbol CWG NCR

Quantity Traded 6,425,636 6,425,636

Activity Summary on Board ASeM

No. of Deals 3 18 40 31 25

14 9Value Traded of 56,450.00 56,450.00

Current Price 15.90

CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals

3,284,575,436.51

9,720.00

No. of Deals 205 205

Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 Support and Logistics Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053

308,578,778

2,000

Symbol OANDO

Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 Hotels/Lodging Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053 IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Value Traded 95,093,475.04 3,303,167.60 109,821,882.33 13,963,059.76 555.00 14,696,459.12 9,109,810.70 245,988,409.55

Value Traded 9,720.00 14 of 9,720.00

Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

Quantity Traded 35,532,061 827,443 12,679,464 4,632,508 1,110 529,552 6,393,692 60,595,830

Page Quantity Traded 112,900 112,900

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Traded14 5Value of 7,995.00

Quantity Traded 2,000 Page 2,000

Current Price 0.50

SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC

Quantity Traded Page 15,300

Current Price 5.11

OIL AND GAS Totals

Value Traded 98,755.71 447,148.00 503,750.00 25,000.00 1,327,708.55 20,050.00 14 4 of 3,849,616.00 752,490.50 14,372.00 6,830,439.64 13,869,330.40

353,284,564.15

No. of Deals 1 1

No. of Deals 5 5

Exploration and Production Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053 Exploration and Production Totals

Value Traded 4,658,027.57 2,195,325,010.59 3,023,912,647.56

14,658,347

Symbol BOCGAS

Daily Summary (Equities)

Symbol JAPAULOIL

JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals

Current Price 1.82

122

Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN DANGCEM

No. of Deals 1 1

Daily Summary (Equities) FIDSON

258

NATURAL RESOURCES Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Value Traded 300,027,869.19 11,133,916.60 144,980,991.07 13,765,066.59 189,723,147.64 7,324,511.91 2,622,686.67 148,583,836.37 1,774,998.77 3,992,584.59

Current Price 1.00 19.47

ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC

Quantity Traded 48,853,914 2,648,180 6,474,577 7,732,418 7,041,761 2,958,000 1,294,464 28,724,969 184,575 1,576,943

3 of 14 518,172,988.83

No. of Deals 48 299 1,291

HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. IT Services Totals

Current Price 6.10 4.21 22.00 1.79 26.96 2.50 2.05 5.16 9.65 2.54

Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053

Value Traded 2 of 14 4,745,374.02 34,847,701.50 72,859,613.06 858,197.50 250.00 98,535,056.41 177,502.50 7,655.00 212,031,349.99

Symbol WEMABANK ZENITHBANK

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Medical Supplies Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. Printed 19/06/2015 Medical15:15:53.053 Supplies Totals

Page 22,486,945

713

Value Traded 6,084.24 175,892,158.61 258,329,173.07

Value Traded 72.50 50,246.82 50,319.32

Current Price 7.00 165.00 18.52 1.66 148.02

UNILEVER

Quantity Traded 1,506 1,801,555 3,245,444

Quantity Traded 50 1,417 1,467

65,819.60

No. of Deals 3 98 21 1 98 221

Daily PZ Summary (Equities)

Current Price 4.25 99.00

Current Price 1.52 37.32

Current Price 10.50

Household Durables Totals

No. of Deals 1 83 249

No. of Deals 1 3 4

No. of Deals 24 24

Household Durables Daily Summary as ofNIG 19/06/2015 VITAFOAM PLC. Printed 19/06/2015 VONO15:15:53.053 PRODUCTS PLC.

Symbol PORTPAINT WAPCO

Symbol AVONCROWN BETAGLAS

74,795

7 of Value Traded 107,209.32 1,156.00

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

Symbol UAC-PROP

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

Page

Value Traded 874,202.00 874,202.00

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals

Beverages--Non-Alcoholic

Quantity Traded 140,907 2,312

Quantity Traded 17,550 17,550

Current Price 52.39

Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals CONSUMER GOODS Food Products Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. U T C NIG. PLC. Food Products Totals

0.76 0.50

Value Traded 116,450.00 116,450.00

No. of Deals 14 14

7-UP BOTTLING Activity Summary onCOMP. Board PLC. EQTY

8 1

Quantity Traded 70,500 70,500

Symbol JBERGER

Daily Summary (Equities)

DNMEYER IPWA

Current Price 1.73

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

Symbol CHAMPION GUINNESS INTBREW JOSBREW NB

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

No. of Deals 4 4

Quantity Traded Page 74,795

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals

Current Price 21.50 11.24 41.00 11.68 175.00

Symbol CUTIX

Current Price 0.92

CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. Daily Summary as ofNIG 19/06/2015 GUINNESS PLC Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053BREWERIES PLC. INTERNATIONAL JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Building Materials DN MEYER PLC. IPWA PLC Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol No. of Deals ASHAKACEM 17 BERGER 3 DailyCAP Summary (Equities) 8 CCNN 62 DANGCEM 66

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

No. of Deals 7 7

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals

PLC ActivityDANGOTE SummaryCEMENT on Board EQTY

Value Traded 14 of 65,819.60

Symbol COSTAIN

Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals

ICT Totals Daily Summary as of 19/06/2015 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053 Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC Daily Summary asPLC of 19/06/2015 CAP Printed 19/06/2015 15:15:53.053 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC

Current Price 1.75

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Symbol LOTUSHAL15 NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

No. of Deals 1 1 2 4

Current Price 10.51 2,280.00 15.38

Quantity Traded Page 10 30 150 190

Value Traded 14 of 105.10 68,400.00 2,369.00 70,874.10

ETF Board Totals

190

70,874.10

ETP Activity Totals

190

70,874.10

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

L-R: Commander 435 base Service Group, Ikeja, Air Commodore AL Osanyintolu; Commander 107 Headquarters, Nigerian Airforce Camp, Lagos, Air Commodore NE Calmday; Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Prof. Bola Akintorinwa; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; Air Officer Commanding Logistics Command, Lagos, Air Vice-Marshal U. E. Ebong and Commander 201 Heavy Airlift Group, Ikeja, Air Commodore B. A. Adekoya, during a courtesy visit to NIIA by Air Marshal Amosu in Lagos.

A cross-section of women waiting to consult a doctor during a medical outreach as part of activities to mark the Ogidi Day celebration at Ogidi, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State. PHOTO: NAN

National Women Affairs Committee, Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Alhaja Samiat Mumuney (middle), attending to some beneficiaries, during a free eye-screen and blood pressure check, at the Lagos State Secretariat Mosque, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

L-R: Teacher, Murtala Muhammed Airport School (MMAS), Mr. Agba Kingsley; winner, DigitalSENSE Africa and Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, Sandra Chiomaka Igweonu and Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, at the award presentation in Lagos. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Photo | News

L-R: Head of Nuclear Infrastructure Development, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mrs. Anne Starz; Deputy Director-General, Mr. Mikhail Chudakov and Chairman, Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. Erepamo Osaisai, at the conduct of Phase II Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review Mission in Nigeria, in Abuja.

L-R: Vice-Chairman, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), FCT Council, Comrade Aliyu Maradun; Chairperson, Comrade Benjamin Anthony and Secretary, Comrade Remi Adediji, at the FCT AUPCTRE governing council meeting in Abuja.

L-R: President, All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools, Kano State chapter, Alhaji Babadayi Gwangwazo; Executive Director, Abuja and North Region, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Adam Nuru; Principal of Government Girls College, Dala, Kano State, Hajia Aisha Tukur; Zonal Head, Kano West of FCMB, Mr. Abdullahi Mainasara; Mrs. Moyosore Thomas, of the Human Resources Department of FCMB and others, at the commissioning/handover of the school hall renovated by FCMB in Kano.

L-R: Director, Mathematics Laboratory Limited, Sesan Oguntade; Partner, Scholastica Adeniyi-Fashola; Chairman, Andy Akhigbe and member, Meseko Dele, at the launch of NAIJA Mathematics Olympiad for Junior Secondary Schools in Nigeria, held in Lagos. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SOUTH-WEST

PDP accuses Fayemi of diverting N4.1bn workers’ deductions Adesina Wahab lWe will react appropriately –APC Ado-Ekiti

kiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has alleged that the recent workers’ verification exercise in the state has uncovered how the administration of former Governor Kayode Fayemi, diverted over N4 billion entitlements of workers in the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC) through a fraudulent process. It said paying ghost workers various sums of money monthly was among the methods used to perpetrate the fraud. In a statement by the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Jackson Adebayo, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the party claimed that some of the civil servants who collaborated with the APC in the shady deal and who claimed that they were short-changed, exposed the deal. Adebayo said that the money involved in the fraud was withdrawn from the salary accounts of civil servants and moved to the APC secretariat, for sharing from time to time in the four years that the APC government led by Fayemi, lasted in Ekiti State. However, the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Taiwo Olatubosun, when

contacted, said he would not dignify the PDP with a reaction now. “We will respond fully and with facts and figures to fault the PDP’s claim and expose the rot in the current government appropriately, “ he said. The PDP spokesman, also added that the missing deductions from workers’ salaries for the months of April, May,

June July and August, 2014, running to about N1.8 billion were also traced to the APC secretariat, as it was packaged for the running of the party after Fayemi lost his re-election bid in June 2014. “We have it on good authority that the missing deductions from civil servants’ salaries for five months were traced to the Fayemi-led government

L-R: Chairman, Oyo State NUJ, Mr. Gbenga Opadotun; Bishop of Elekuro Diocese, Methodist Church, Nigeria, Rt. Rev. James Olusegun; Captain, Boys Brigade, Mr. Taiwo Oluwole and Secretary, Mr. Niyi Odebode, during an enrolment service for Boys and Girls Brigade of Nigeria at the Methodist Church, Gbangansi, Ibadan…at the weekend

Wage crisis will be over soon, says Mimiko Babatope Okeowo Akure

overnor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, yesterday assured the people of the state that the present predicament of states’ governments not been able to pay workers’ salaries will soon be a thing of the past. Mimiko, who gave the assurance at the 13th Anniversary of the Prayer Centre Church of God in Akure, the state capital, identified the inability by state governments to pay workers’ salaries as the greatest challenge facing state governments in the country today. The governor said despite the numerous inadequacies in the system, God has continued to show favour to Nigeria, adding that ‘’ when the whole world thought that it was over for the country, God came to our rescue and our country is now in peace”. In his sermon, Pastor Ade Ojo, called for spiritual rebirth by Nigerians, noting that Nigerians must remain committed to God for the nation’s transformation and breakthrough. Meanwhile, efforts by the

on the excuse that there will not be funds to run the APC after Fayemi’s exit on October 16, 2014. This was because the party would not have access to the money from the ghost workers again,” he said. In the same vein, the PDP said a certain amount of money set aside for the payment of members of the National Youth Service Corps estimated at about

N220 million, was given to members of the state executive of the APC by Fayemi, as a parting gift. “It is just unfortunate that most of these facts are coming out now. Initially, we thought they were mere rumours; it is now clear that APC government deliberately robbed Ekiti workers of their entitlements in an unprecedented fraudulent manner that cannot even be imagined in a ‘Banana Republic.”

state government to provide jobs for its youths was beginning to yield fruits as it was gathered that about 1,200 jobs vacancies would be available by September this year when operation was expected to begin at the ongoing Akure Shopping mall. Mimiko had registered his satisfaction at the pace of work at the project site at the weekend after he was conducted round the project along other members of the state’s executive council

by the developer of the project and Chief Executive officer of Top Services Limited, Arc. Tokunbo Omisore, who said the Mall, which would accommodate the popular Shoprite, will be ready for business by 24th of September. The groundbreaking ceremony of the mall, which occupies about 34,000 Sqm out of 98,000 Sqm on the old Owena Motel in Akure, was performed by Governor Mimiko, on the 18th of August last year.

Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

he Elders Council of All the Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State have described the emergence of Hon. Sulaiman Lasun Yusuf as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives as unacceptable to them saying, the drama that produced him was a despicable act of betrayal and disloyalty to the party. They described his

Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

he celebration of the first anniversary of the defeat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), by Governor Ayo Fayose in the Ekiti State governorship election was celebrated with a thanksgiving service at the Government House Chapel in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday. According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Fayose, Mr Idowu Adelusi, the celebration was to continue today with various activities lined up. The church service which was coordinated by the Government House Chaplain, Seyi Olusola, was attended by the Deputy Governor, Dr Olubunmi Olusola, Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, Head of Service, Dr Gbenga Faseluka, Secretary to the State Gover nment, Mrs. Modupe Alade and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Owoseni Ajayi, among other top government functionaries and political leaders across the state.

My govt is continuity with improvements, says Ambode Muritala Ayinla

agos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has said that despite the people of Lagos voting for his All Progressives Party (APC) continuity, he would ensure improvements in some of the policies of the immediate past administration, saying that his government would bring in new ideas to make life easier for the residents. To this end, the gover-

Osun APC elders’ council rejects Reps deputy speaker’s emergence emergence as a mixture of personal interest and vaulting ambition detrimental to the progress and stability of the party, affirming not to be a party to it. The elder council made their position known in a communiqué made available to newsmen and signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Prince Felix Awofisayo and Barrister Gbadegesin Adedeji, respectively, after its meeting at the party secretariat in Osogbo. The elders stated that

Fayose celebrates poll victory’s anniversary

“the occupation of the office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives by Hon. Lasun Yusuf is not only a despicable act of betrayal and disloyalty to the party, but also a breach and negation of our party’s directive on the issue.” “Lasun Yusuf only allowed himself to be driven by personal interest and vaulting ambition detrimental to the progress and stability of the party that nurtured him and on whose platform he was elected in the first place.

nor assured residents that his government will not collect toll at the completed second toll point on the Lekki-Epe Expressway. Speaking at an interactive session with journalists at the Lagos House, Ikeja, Ambode, said, his concern was about ensuring that the road was completed to boost the state’s economy. Expressing the readiness of his administration to bring more people into the tax net of the state, to

shore up its revenue, the governor said presently less than 50 percent of the taxable adults were paying taxes to the state coffers. He said: “People should be ready to come and pay their taxes willingly and that is why we are speaking to agencies like LASTMA that we have to be civil in our dealings with members of the public. We can even apply technology also to deliver services.”

‘Financial autonomy’ll enhance judiciary’ Babatope Okeowo Akure

he Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Akure Branch, has said the financial autonomy being canvassed for the judiciary was in order as it would guarantee the independent of the third arm of government. Secretary of the branch, Mr. Rotimi Olorunfemi, stated this in an exclusive interview with New Telegraph yesterday, lamenting that the lack of financial autonomy to the arm of government has made it difficult to execute

projects and programmes that could benefit judges and the judicial staff. Olorunfemi, who said the constitution of Nigeria guarantees separation of powers, however, lamented that the judiciary was still subservient to the other arms of government. He said, “except in the last few weeks or months that the judicial workers took the fight against the government at the Federal level down to the state for their financial independence, it has been tale of judiciary going cap in hand to the executive to beg.”

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

News 47

SOUTH-EAST

Seven SANs offer free services to monarchs against Okorocha Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

he legal battle between some traditional rulers in Imo State and Governor Rochas Okoro-

cha, over the governor’s alleged attempt to punish the monarchs for padeying with former president, Goodluck Jonathan, has taken a dramatic turn with no fewer than seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs)

indicating interest to offer free legal services to the monarchs when the hearing of their suit against the governor begins on June, 23, 2015, at Owerri High Court. The Owerri Catholic Archdiocese through

its editorial in its weekly publication has equally described Governor Okorocha’s action against the monarchs as “outrageous to Ndigbo and many Nigerians”, warning that the resort to vengeance

and revenge in the actions of the Imo State government against the revered Igbo traditional institution may gradually be eroding the authority and dignity of the monarchs in their domains. Some of the elderly monarchs involved in the imbroglio are said to have also threatened to place curses on both the Governor and Eze Sam Ohiri if they do not retrace their step and desist from further aggression against the royal fathers and the

traditional institution in Imo state. A dependable source, who craved anonymity confirmed that some Senior Advocates have offered their services pro-bono but that their identity would be known in the court on tomorrow to forestall unnecessary distractions. The traditional rulers themselves have vowed to storm the court same day with many of their subjects, positing that they are determined to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.

PUBLIC NOTICE LIVING WORD EVANGELICAL PROPHETIC PRAYER MINISTRY NOTICE is hereby given to the general public that the above named MINISTRY has applied to the Corporate Affairs Corporation for registration under part “C” of the Company and Allied Matters Act 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE 1. PROPHET FALEYE IYIOLA BOLAJI 2. FALEYE OLATORERA 3. ADEWOYE MICHEAL 4. DR. MAJENGBASAN TIMOTHY 5. OMISORE ADETUNJI OMIWOLE 6. FALEYE EMMANUEL OLAWUYI

- President - SECRETARY

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To preach the gospel round the globe 2. To use the grace of God upon our lives to minister to spiritual needs of men 3. To express the love of Christ through support to the less priviledged especially in the rural communities. L-R: Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Site Engineer, Greylines Company, Mr. George Skayrak; Hon. Cecilia Ezeilo and others, during the inspection of the old Emene Road…at the weekend

Fraud rocks Ebonyi vehicle licensing office Charles Onyekwere ABAKALIKI

n allegation of fraud involving top ranking vehicle licensing officers under the Ebonyi State Ministry of Finance, has been uncovered, with vehicle owners said to have been fleeced of several millions of naira in the last eight months. The suspects were said to have fled to neighbouring state, The fraud, according to findings, had began since October 2O14,with the unsuspecting public being issued “fake licence papers”

in the name of vehicle papers at the rate of N6,55O. per person. New Telegraph gathered that that the set of papers, which were easily detectable as sub-standard, were not tenable outside Ebonyi State, the development which has led to vehicles of those bearing the papers being impounded outside the state. It was further learnt that vehicles owners issued the papers were on daily basis being embarrassed in near-by states of Enugu, Cross River and Abia, as revenue collection officials and vehicle inspection officers (VIOs) impound vehicles with the

fake documents. Findings also revealed that the documents which include; Vehicle License, Road Test Receipt and Road Worthiness Certificate were not acceptable or renewable outside the state. It was equally gathered that at the Ministry of Finance, the fraud commenced with the sacking of the previous providers of the services of vehicle documentation company Courteville Business Solution Plc, originally employed by the government by the fraudulent officials of the ministry and replaced with another, called Techvibes.

Sources at the Ministry said Courteville, was asked to leave the state eight months, before the end of its contract, which ought to have ended June 2O15 and Techvibes, was asked to take over the job. The former Commissioner of Finance in Ebonyi State, Mr. Timothy Odaah, was said to have questioned officials who questioned the move to replace Courtville with another company. The Board of internal Revenue chairman, Mr. Joseph Ugbor, whose office was said to have coordinated the arrangements, declined to comment on the issue, when contacted.

Ugwuanyi sets up economic Ebonyi, foreign company clash over N2.7bn contract think-tank for growth

overnor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, has constituted a 15- man Economic Advisory Committee to advise and guide the government on pragmatic economic policies that would engender a sustainable economic growth for the state. The development came in an effort by the government to leverage on alternative solutions in the face of the present dwindling revenue from the country’s Federation Account caused by the decline in oil revenue. Among members of the 15-member economic advisory committee are; the

former minister of power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, the Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, Chairman of Innoson Group of Companies, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, former Economic Adviser to the president and current Director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nigeria, Prof. Ostia Ogbu, Chief Chilo Offiah, among others. In setting up the economic advisory team, Governor Ugwuanyi, said he desired the pool of experts that would effectively “think of new ideas on the economic upliftment of the state.”

UchennaInya ABAKALIKI

he Government of Ebonyi State, has vowed to challenge a foreign company; the Cross River International and Callifsco, which supplied two fairly used turbine plants at the cost of N2.7bn to the past administration without explanation on the maintenance of the plants. Governor Dave Umahi, made this known at the weekend while addressing contractors handling various projects in the state. He noted that the two turbine plants were purchased

at the cost of twelve million U.S dollars with over two hundred million naira also committed into them by the government outside the purchase and that the government has decided to return the plants back to the company as it was too expensive to maintain. He said, ‘’the plants use gas and diesel with total amount to be spent on each plant for the purchase of gas standing at N178 million per month while the cost of the one using diesel runs into N500million which means all filling stations in the South -East will close for us to have enough diesel to run it.

Any objection to the incorporation of the above ministry should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, 420, Tigris Crescent, OffAguiyi Ironsi Street,P.M.B 198, Maitama, , Abuja, within 28 days of this publication. Signed:TRUSTEES

PUBLIC NOTICE

OMOWUMI BABATUNDE FOUNDATION

NOTICE is hereby given to the general public that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Corporation for registration under part “C” of the Company and Allied Matters Act 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE 1 BABATUNDE OMOWUMI MUJIDAT 2. BABATUNDE OLAYINKA SAMUEL 3. HON. OLUWOLE BUSAYO OKE 4. ALHAJI OLAOLUWA BADMUS GANIYU 5. MR. ADENIJI EZEKIEL AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To train, empower and encourage youth entrepreneurship at all level through empowerment 2. To assist the less privileged, orphans, widows and the homeless 3. To assist the rural communities in development Any objection to the incorporation of the above ministry should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, 420, Tigris Crescent, OffAguiyi Ironsi Street,P.M.B 198, Maitama, , Abuja, within 28 days of this publication. Signed: TRUSTEES

PUBLIC NOTICE SHEIKH YUSUF ABDALLAH FOUNDATION INT’L The above named foundation has applied to the CAC Abuja, to increase the number of the foundation TRUSTEES from 3 to 10 and equally broaden its aims and objectives, in accordance with the provision of the Company and Allied Matters No. 1 of 1990 of Federal Republic of Nigeria. The OLD TRUSTEES Retained are: (a.) Alhaji Usman Toma (b.) Barrister Alhaji Adamu Abubakar (c.) Hon. Mohammad Awwal Yusuf The NEW TRUSTEES Appointed are: (a.) Alhaji Nureldeen Yusuf Abdallah (b.) Haruna Usman Raji (c.) Ayoola Ruqayat Oremei (d.) Alhaji Naim Aliyu (e.) Alhaji Sani Suleman A. (f.) Ustaz Mohammad Shehu A. (g.) Professor Ibrahim Kolo The Old aims and Objectives are: “To assist in achieving and attaining goals set by Sheikh Yusuf Abdallah in establishing Maha’adi Primary School Liwaul Hamdi Centre for Islamic studies, Institute of Arabic and Islamic studies, Zumratul Mujahideen of Nigeria and overall development of Muslims to attain ultimate capacity in the service of humanity” (RETAINED). The NEW aims and objectives are: “To establish and Islamic Academy with a view to ameliorate the hardship being experienced by Muslim Ummah in pursuit of higher education, To embark on an economic drive to ease the actualization of its objectives in view of the modern trend, To establish an Islamic academy with a view to ameliorate the hardship being experience by Muslim Ummah in pursuit of Higher Education. To liaise with the Ministry of Education (State and Federal) for an effective education curriculum. To award scholarships to deserving less privileged individuals and members of the society to attain academic fulfillment, among others. To partner with other bodies, organizations, NGOs and governmental agencies with similar objectives in achieving any/all the objectives of the foundation. To ensure the overall development of Muslims in attaining ultimate capacity in the service of Humanity and Mankind. To seek for an education exchange programme and cooperation from universities within and outside Nigeria. To promote Brotherhood, Co-operation and Unity among its members and Muslim-Ummah. (NEW) Any objection to the increase of the TRUSTEES and aims and objectives should be forwarded to the Resgitrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot #420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Abuja within 28days of this publication.

Signed: Barr. Khami Yusuf .A.

News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SOUTH-SOUTH

Amaechi: Wike’s attempt to probe, a witch-hunt Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

he former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has called the move by Governor Nyesom Wike to probe his administration as a sham and an opportunity to gain media exposure, stressing that it was also aimed at deceiving the public. He said Wike has “a onepoint agenda” that revolves

around probing him, but vowed to use “constitutional means to protect his name.” Amaechi also faulted the comments credited to his former Deputy, Tele Ikuru that the government they both served was the most corrupt in the state’s history and described Ikuru as a ‘clown.’ The former governor, who made the allegation in a statement, also called Wike a sick man, who was all out to rubbish him, add-

ing that noting will come out of the probe. He said: “This so-called Wike’s probe of Amaechi is dead on arrival. All the noise Wike is making is to grab media headlines with his lies of monumental corruption against Amaechi. It’s all drama made for the media. What is playing out is a script written and directed by Nyesom Wike. Wike should move to Nollywood, where his devious skills would probably be useful.

“Even while inaugurating his Commission of Inquiry, Wike could not conceal his ‘vendetta agenda.’ He was clear to the panel members that their job is to indict Amaechi. “While it’s no longer in doubt what would be the report of Wike’s sham probe commission. What may shock Nigerians is the extent Wike has gone and is ready to go to manufacture stories of corrupt practices, and the kind of bogus tales of corruption

against Amaechi that he would soon be feeding the nation with. “We are aware that even the chairman of his inquiry commission was shocked and protested when Wike gave him the litany of phony claims of corruption against Amaechi that the chairman

would write in the panel’s report. “But Wike had assured him not to worry that he had since been working towards arriving at that conclusion and he would provide the commission with all the (fake) evidence needed to arrive at that report.”

Cross River erosion sites gulp N4bn Clement James Calabar

he Cross River StateNigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (CRS-NEWMAP), a World Bank Assisted Project, says it has spent over N4 billion in addressing critical erosion problems in the state. The Project Coordinator, Mr. Fidelis Anukwa, disclosed this at the weekend during an inspection tour of some erosion sites in the state. Anukwa listed the five erosion sites in the state to include Edim

Otop, Atakpa, Ikot Ekpo, Nyangasang and Ikot Anwatim. He said the intervention at the various sites was meant to save the affected communities the trauma of facing a natural disaster, noting that work in the sites has reached advanced stage of completion. Anukwa said: “We have spent over N4 billion in addressing five gully-erosion sites in the state. Our objective is to reduce vulnerability to soil erosion in targeted sub-catchments in order to achieve environmental and economic security.”

Cleric wants National Conference report revisited Clement James Calabar L-R: Mrs. Dorothy Udeme Ufot; Akwa-Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel and Chairman, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Mr. Udeme Ufot, during the funeral service for late Onofiok Andrew Ufot in Etinan, Akwa-Ibom State…at the weekend

Tension in Bakassi over death of seven in boat mishap Clement James Calabar

he death of seven youths on the high sea in Bakassi, Cross River State, last week is generating serious tension as youths in the area are accusing the Chairman of the council, Mrs. Edisua Usangiso, of not doing anything to get to the root of the matter. New Telegraph investigation revealed that the irate youths, who were members of the oil and gas committee of the council, were told that a particular company was about to drill oil on the high sea without consulting the council. Being members of the oil and gas committee of the council, they boarded a boat and headed for the high sea, but that journey ended half way as there was turmoil on the sea, which caused their boat to capsize. All the seven died in the process. But while six of the dead were buried by the sea as required by custom, the seventh, simply identified as Ene, was brought

home by his friends “for a befitting burial.” At the weekend, Ene’s friends gathered at his house in Calabar South for a meeting on how to beat the tradition and bury their friend away from the sea. One of his friends, who did not want his name in print, told New Telegraph

that the chairman has remained silent since the incident despite the fact that those who died were members of a committee of the council. But the council Chairman, Edisua Usangiso, washed her hands off the matter, saying she has nothing to do with it. Speaking on telephone

after refusing to meet with our correspondent who had gone to her house at the Presbyterian Church in Calabar South, where her husband is the resident priest, Mrs. Usangiso said: “I don’t know anything about that incident. All I know is that they are from Bakassi Local Government.”

Delta retirees flay delay in payment of retirement savings Dominic Adewole ASABA

fficials of Fidelity Pension Managers Limited yesterday faced hectic time allaying the fears of their customers in Delta State, who flayed the irregularities dotting their pension accounts. The customers demanded to know why their applications were usually considered incorrect each time they asked for lump sum and voluntary contribution withdrawal before, during and after retirement. During the customers’ forum organised by the

management of the pension group in Asaba, Mr. Iro Andrew, who retired as a Protocol Officer at the Government House, Asaba, led hundred others to decry the burdensome processes of accessing their savings after retirement. They rejected borrowing for several years before their retirement benefits get to them, and lamented a situation where some retirees would have died of penury before the payment is made. But the General Manager, Mr. Peter Adaji, supported by his Zonal Coordinator, Jude Onyeka Okekenta and the Group

Head, Operations, Gboyega Ajekigbe, said the problems facing customers during Programme Withdrawal or Annuity has to do with incomplete required documents for the application type. According to the General Manager, unacceptable Next-of-Kin (NOK), whose name appeared or did not appear on the Will or Letter of Administration of the deceased retirees, would not wait to be introduced by the dead retiree’s employer. He lamented that most of the state government in Nigeria were not funding their Certificate of Engagement with the pension managers.

he Bishop of Calabar Diocese of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Bishop Tunde Adeleye, at the weekend, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the report of the National Conference that was convened by the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, with a view to implementing its recommendations. Speaking at the weekend in Calabar, Adeleye argued that considering the calibre of people at the conference and the quality of the report, Buhari should painstakingly implement the report if he

hopes to address the long standing problems of the country. “It was the first time I saw Nigerians coming together as a people to discuss and agree on the way forward. Therefore, we should not throw away all their recommendations. The government should look at it thoroughly and implement those aspects that will uplift the Nigerian people,” Adeleye said. He, however, appealed to Nigerians to pray for the President, arguing that the problem of insurgency may not be solved so soon. “The President needs the prayers of everybody. Everybody must pray, because the issue of Boko Haram insurgency is becoming spiritual,” he said.

PDP South-South chair donates N1m to orphanage home Dominic Adewole ASABA

he South-South Zonal Vice-Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Cairo Ojougboh, has donated a cheque of N1 million to JOB Orphanage in Agbor, Delta State. The PDP stalwart said the gesture falls in line with his commitment to the welfare of the less privileged and the needy in the society.

He said the money should be used to furnish the orphanage and pay the school fees of 18 students of the orphanage. Making the presentation to the proprietor of the home, Joseph Igbodo, the Chairman, Governing Council of the foundation, Mr. Daniel Ovienmhada, said the foundation was founded in 1995 to promote the work of charity and to empower the less privileged and the vulnerable.

NEW TELEGRAPH monday, june 22, 2015

Shettima appoints SSG, others Ahmed Miringa Maiduguri

orno State governor, Kashim Shettima, has approved the appointment of Alhaji Usman Shuwa Jidda as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) while Yakubu Bukar and Alhaji Modu Musa were re-appointed as Head of Service (HoS) and Chief of Staff (CoS) respectively. This was the first appointment made by the governor since his inauguration on May 29, 2015. The governor in a statement issued by the Permanent Secretary, Administration, Hajiya Maryam Bukar Abba, said the appointments, which was with immediate effect, followed the dissolution of the cabinet on May 27 and in accordance with the powers vested in the governor by section 208 Sub-section 2 (a) and (d) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dan Atori MINNA

o fewer than three people we re confirmed killed and many others seriously injured by cattle rustlers in Dan Gunu and Zazzaga villages in Sarkin Pawa area of Munya Local Government area of Niger State. New Telegraph exclusively gathered that the fifteen heavily armed rustlers stormed the villages simultaneously about 12 midnight on Thursday through the early hours of Friday, shooting sporadically into the air and demanding for money, cell phones and the release of cows. According to one of the victims, Abdullahi Umar, “The rustlers, who were heavily armed, attacked my children and directed one of my sons, who they used machete on his head, to release my 93 cows. “Although, they were speaking Hausa, they are Fulani. They took our money and phones. They killed a man and

News 49

south north - south

Rustlers invade Niger villages, kill three his son in Zazzaga village and another man in Sarkin Pawa, who tried to raise the alarm. Our correspondent, who met with some of the victims after the attack, gathered that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Munya council area, Haruna Akano, was chased out after he got a threat message that he was the next target to be killed. According to the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the council area, Saidu Idris, “The rustlers have chased the DPO out of Sarkin Pawa. “We were about to prepare one of the victims

for burial when the rustlers called the DPO, asking him if he got their message. He (DPO) puts the phone on speaker. He was told that he was their next target and that they have reserved one AK47 with four bullets for him. “For over a month, there was no DPO in Sarkin Pawa Division until this last one that has escaped for his dear life. The DPO had since disappeared; and a new one was yet to be posted there. When a member of the Niger State House of Assembly, Hon. John Pius Bahago, visited some of the victims at

the local health centre in Sarki Pawa, he assured them that the government will work hard to address the situation. He also promised to offset their hospital bills pending when the police will take up the matter. However, when the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, was contacted on phone, he confirmed the incident, saying the police are on top of the situation and the cows have been recovered. According to him, “We have recovered 93 cows that were taken away by the rustlers, but no arrest has been made

yet. They abandoned the cows when our men chased them into the bush. We are still trailing the suspects and I can assure you that we are on top of the situation.” Speaking on the threat to Akano’s life, the PPRO said the police are not aware of that; adding that the DPO has been transferred to the South-West even before the attack, but a new DPO has been posted to the division. “The new DPO, Ango Umar, who was hitherto in Bida, has been transferred to Munya and has since resumed duty,” Elkana said.

Attack on Suswam’s village: Residents yet to return Cephas Iorhemen MAKURDI

leeing refugees from last week’s attack on the village of immediate past governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, may remain in the refugee camps for a long time to come. The displaced people, mostly peasant farmers, were attacked last week in Tse-Ikpur community in Ukemberagya Ward of Logo local Government area, leaving two people dead. Speaking to New Telegraph yesterday while giving an update about the crisis, a victim of the crisis and former Special Assistant to the exgovernor on Media and Publicity, Chief Joseph Anawa said: Though relative peace has returned to the troubled area, residents are still afraid of returning home for fear of another attack by the suspected Fulani insurgents. The displaced people are now being subjected to severe hardship, including lack of potable water, food and other necessities of life. “As we speak, there is no trouble, but the displaced people are afraid of returning to their ancestral homes for fear of a repeat of

what happened last week. “For now, I can tell you that there is heavy military presence in the area and our people are very apprehensive because of the alleged complicity of the soldiers, because in their presence, our people were killed and they did nothing,” said Anawa. The attack, New Telegraph recalls, came barely three weeks after Suswam left office as governor.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara (right), with Bauch State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, during Dogara’s visit to Bauchi… at the weekend.

Kebbi council chairmen defect to APC Abubakari Abdul Birnin Kebbi

rrangements have been concluded by Kebbi State local government chairmen to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Our correspondent gathered that the elected chairmen, under the immediate past administration of the PDP, are working toward defecting to the APC as their principal officers failed to win the last election. A source close to the chairmen, who is also a staunch member of the APC, who did want his name in print, reliably

told our correspondent that the arrangement is being spearheaded by serving Chairman of Maiyama Local Government, Alhaji Umar Sambawa, popularly known as U.U. When contacted, the Chairman, Maiyama Local Government told our reporter that he is not ready to talk to any journalist. “I’m not in position to talk to anybody now, you see me discussing with some people, so please you can leave,” he said. Efforts to contact the Kebbi State Chairman, ALGON, Alhaji Musa Danilla, was abortive, phone calls and text messages were sent to him, but there was no response.

Kaduna to commence biometric verification of workers ghost workers Kaduna State government takes step to gather data on workers and monitor government spendings Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

he Kaduna State government will commence biometric verification of all civil servants in the state, which the state government said will provide

accurate and reliable record on its personnel. In a statement issued by Mr. Samuel Aruwan, the spokesman of Governor Nasir El-Rufai yesterday, the exercise will commence tomorrow and will end on July 8. According to him, the data will enable the government determine if the billions of naira being spent on staff salary are being paid to identifiable and verifiable workers. The statement further said the exercise will be conducted simultaneously in the three zones of Kaduna, Kafanchan

and Zaria and it is aimed at saving funds by the government. The statement advised civil servants to bring their letters of appointment, letters of last promotion and means of identification, like the national identity card, driver's license, permanent voter's card or international passport. The statement also quoted the Head of Service as directing all civil servants to physically appear before the verification team for screening and collection of their salary cheques for the month of June 2015.

50 WORLD | News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Charleston shootings: Victims remembered as church reopens T he names of the nine people shot dead at an African-American church in South Carolina have been read out in its first service yesterday since the Wednesday's attack. The visiting reverend, Norvel Goff, said the "devil entered" but failed to "take control of your church". He stood in for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one

of the victims of the attack on the bible-studying group. Hundreds of people packed the Emanuel AME church for the service yesterday morning, amid tight security. Police are investigating an online post, possibly by suspected gunman Dylann Roof, which may outline his motivation for the attack. Also yesterday, bells at more

than a dozen churches rang out simultaneously throughout the state of South Carolina in a sign of solidarity. A black cloth was placed over the chair of Reverend Clementa Pinckney, where he sat for last week's service. "There they were in the house of the Lord, studying your word, praying with one another," Rev Norvel Goff told the congregation. "But the devil

also entered. And the devil was trying to take charge," he said. But, he added, "the devil cannot take control of your people. And the devil cannot take control of your church". Volunteers were on hand to give out bottles of water to the congregation, with many members reportedly forced to sit in an overflow part of the church. Hundreds of people who could not get inside held their own prayers outside the building. South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who has called for the death penalty for

suspect Dylann Roof, attended the service with her family. Survivors say Mr Roof spent close to an hour in an evening bible study group Wednesday before opening fire. A group from the Emanuel AME church met again Saturday in the room where their friends died Wednesday. One of those who attended, Harold Washington, said the cleaners had to cut bullet holes out of the walls so that members of the congregation would not see them yesterday.

Al-Shabab attacks Mogadishu

South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se,shakes hands with Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida before their meeting at the foreign ministry likura guest house in Tokyo yesterday.

Japan, S. Korea mark 50-year treaty

oreign ministers from Japan and South Korea held a rare meeting yesterday, eve of the 50th anniversary since their countries normalized relations marred by Japan's colonization and World War II conquest. Yet, the ties between the most important US allies in Asia are so low that one hoped-for outcome of the meeting is an agreement for the countries' leaders to just show up at Monday's ceremonies in their respective capitals, instead of exchanging written statements. "It's a grave situation, and what's more serious is that Japan's diplomacy toward South Korea has turned harsher against the backdrop of public

sentiment," said Junya Nishino, a political science professor at Keio University. Yun Byung-se's visit Sunday was the first by a South Korean foreign minister since 2011. Yun and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, shook hands but made no comment during the several minutes of media coverage at the outset of their highly sensitive talks. They were expected to discuss Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women and other outstanding issues related to wartime history. Yun is set to meet with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today before attending anniversary events in Tokyo. According to a poll

by Japanese newspaper Asahi and South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo, published Saturday, more than half of the respondents in both countries say their image of the other side has worsened in the past five years. The poll also found that 87 percent of South Koreans feel strongly about better relations with their neighbor, compared to 64 percent in Japan. "Trust between Japan and South Korea has been largely lost, and it's not easy to restore it right away," said Nishino. Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye have yet to hold fully fledged bilateral talks since taking office in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

South Africa opposition wants Bashir's escape probed

outh Africa's main opposition yesterday called for a full investigation into the government's failure to arrest Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who is due to face charges of genocide at the International Criminal Court. The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it wanted the Public Protector's office to determine who was responsible for authorizing the use of state resources to enable al-Bashirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s departure. Last Monday, before a Pretoria court ruled that the leader should be held in the country and the ICC's arrest warrant executed, Bashir

flew out of the Waterkloof Air Base heading for Khartoum. Bashir, who has controlled Sudan for over 25 years, has been indicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was in Johannesburg for an African Union summit. South African officials did not respond to requests for comment, while President Jacob Zuma avoided questions on the subject after a Q&A session in parliament was abandoned Thursday. "As the days pass since Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir fled the country, a growing body of evidence points to an elaborate and well-coordinated plot by the

Presidency, in collusion with the Security Cluster, to facilitate his escape," the DA statement read. The party said it had forwarded a motion to have Bashir's departure debated in the National Assembly Tuesday, adding that it would quiz foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane at a committee early Tuesday. The South African government has maintained that Bashir along with all delegates attending the AU summit were granted immunity. The United Nations and the US State Department have both expressed disappointment at South Africa's failure to detain Bashir.

he Somali jihadist group al-Shabab has carried out an attack in the country's capital Mogadishu. A suicide car bomber and gunmen attacked a training centre for the national intelligence agency yesterday morning. Government officials said that soldiers "foiled the attack" and at least three militants died. The militants have vowed to intensify attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began Wednesday. Al-Shabab claims to have killed several intelligence officers inside the building, something the government denies. After the suicide bomb was detonated outside the training centre, gunmen reportedly

stormed a civilian house that they had mistaken for the government facility. Interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf said security forces had successfully repulsed the attackers. "They were trying to storm the premises but they have been taken out before they reached their objective. There was no casualty on our side," he told reporters. Bodies of al-Shabab militants were shown to the media. Witnesses described how the fighting started. "There was a heavy explosion and in seconds heavy gunfire broke out. We cannot go outside the house because of the shooting," local resident Abdulahi Yare told the AFP news agency.

Israeli PM rejects â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;dictates' as France's top diplomat visits

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday rejected "international dictates" ahead of a visit by France's top diplomat, with Paris advocating a UN resolution laying out parameters for peace talks. With negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians stalled for more than a year, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday ahead of talks with Netanyahu. The separate meetings in Ramallah and Jerusalem were part of a regional tour by Fabius aimed at reviving peace talks. France has argued

in favour of a UN resolution that would guide negotiations leading to an independent Palestinian state and which could include a timeframe for talks. Ahead of Fabius's arrival in Jerusalem, Netanyahu hit out at international diplomatic efforts to impose proposals which he said neglected to address vital Israeli security concerns. "The only way to reach an agreement is through bilateral negotiations, and we will forcibly reject any attempts to force upon us international dictates," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

Spain's Socialists name general secretary as PM candidate

pain's Socialist party has appointed its secretarygeneral as candidate for the post of prime minister in the next general elections due to take place late this year. The leading opposition party yesterday tasked Pedro Sanchez with winning back voters and taking on the ruling Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The 43-year-old, who had been chosen as party leader in July 2014, said he aimed to "eradicate unemployment and

corruption." The Socialists, in coalition with radical leftist parties, made advances in recent local elections, and Sanchez will hope to build on that momentum. Sanchez replaced veteran politician Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, who stepped down following his party's disastrous results in last year's European Parliament elections. Sanchez said he would foster growth and create greater opportunities for young people.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

News

International Sport

Women’s World Cup

Features

NSCDC promotes Quadri

Sport Adekunle Salami

former international, Felix Owolabi, has frowned at the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation to summon Super Eagles skipper, Vincent Enyeama, to appear before a disciplinary panel. The NFF queried Enyeama over what the body termed as “unguarded statements” made regarding the choice of venue for the 2017 Nations Cup qualifier against Chad. Enyeama had told the media that Kaduna was not an ideal venue for the match due to security reasons. Only at the weekend, the NFF Disciplinary committee rose from a meeting and summoned the goalkeeper to appear before it in Abuja on Tuesday. Owolabi in an exclusive interview with New Telegraph on Sunday described the faceoff between the NFF and Enyeama as “total rubbish” The 1980 Nations Cup gold medallist stressed that the current situation was leading to a crisis that could have been easily avoided. He said: “Enyeama was wrong to have made such comments in public but giving him a query was also not the best way to handle it. The issue should have been sorted out behind closed doors “Again, they now asked him to appear before a disciplinary committee. This is taking the whole matter too far. Nigeria should avoid another crisis that will spell doom for football.

Cameroun bow out

Messi sorry to see Neymar banned

We’re one team with one heart – Serbia skipper

Did you know? That it wasn’t until the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA, that women were allowed to run the marathon in the Olympics. America’s Joan Benoit won the race.

NFF vs Enyeama

It’s all rubbish – Owolabi This was how crisis denied us a place at the last Nations Cup. “I am a strict disciplinarian myself and it is good to set standards but certainly not the way the NFF is handling this current issue. It is all rubbish” The former international stressed that there was no conflict of this kind in his days in the senior national team. “There should be a proper channel of communication between the NFF and the team. The NFF should have reported Enyeama to Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi or call both of them to sort things out. “I also would have expected the NFF to inform Keshi and Enyeama about the venue before the decision was made. These are salient issues for all concerned,” he added. Owolabi urged the football body to concentrate on the AFCON 2017 qualifiers which is much more important than any other issue. “It will be too sad to miss the Nations Cup again. We won the first match in the qualifiers and we should allow peace to reign to win all other games,” Owolabi noted.

Says: Nigeria should avoid another crisis that will spell doom for football

Nigeria’s goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama in goal at the World Cup

Keshi committed to Eagles, says agent Ifeanyi Ibeh

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Editor, Sport

Ifeanyi Ibeh Sport Correspondent

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

Keshi

tephen Keshi’s agent, Emmanuel Ado, has denied reports linking the Super Eagles handler with the vacant coaching position of the Ivoirian national team, insisting that his client is committed to his job with the Nigeria Football Federation. Keshi, who led the Super Eagles to the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations title, played in the Ivoirian national league for Stade Abidjan in the 1980s before joining Anderlecht of Belgium, was recently linked with the Elephants’ job last occupied by Frenchman Herve Renard. Renard, who led Zambia to AFCON success in 2012, joined French club Lille after guiding the Cote d’Ivoire national

team to success at this year’s AFCON; the West African nation’s first since 1992. According to agency reports, Keshi and a number of top coaches such as former France coach Raymond Domenech, and Italy boss Giovanni Trapattoni have been shortlisted by the Ivoirian FA for the position. But Ado, in an email to New Telegraph, said his client was happy to continue in his role with the Super Eagles. “Following calls by some journalists that my client Mr. Stephen Keshi and others like Giovanni Trapattoni, Domenech etc have been shortlisted by the Cote d’Ivoire Football Federation to replace former coach Herve Renard,I will like to make the following

statements,” read Ado’s email. “My client is very happy with his job as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria. He has a two- year contract with the Nigeria Football Federation. And as a professional, he will see out his contract. “My client feels highly honoured to be shortlisted by Cote d’Ivore - a great footballing country. Like you all know he has a very good relationship with Cote d’Ivore since his playing days. It is a relationship that he cherishes and would continue to cherish all the days of his life.” He added: “We want to use this opportunity to call on all stakeholders and indeed all Nigerians to deny enemies of peace the chance they are looking for to cause distractions. We don’t need these distractions.”

52 Sport

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

NSCDC promotes Quadri Ajibade Olusesan

eigning International Table Tennis Federation Star Player, Aruna Quadri, has earned another reward for his success as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps promoted him from Chief Corps Assistant to Inspector of Corps. According to the Director of Sports, NSCDC, Ayodele Olusegun, Quadri’s global strides as well as his hard work and exploit earned him the special promotion sanctioned by the Commandant General, Ade Abolurin, whose support for athletes in the force has continued to grow. “I want to say Quadri has been a good ambassador of NSCDC and his exploits in table tennis globally has put the coun-

African U-23 Championship

Siasia invites Iheanacho, seven others Ifeanyi Ibeh

Quadri

try on the world map. “At NSCDC, we are touched by his determination and dedication to his trade and this has prompted the force under the leadership of our sports loving Commandant General to

approve his special and accelerated promotion. From a Chief Corps Assistant he has been promoted to Inspector of Corps and we will continue to support athletes like Quadri,” Olusegun said.

ead Coach of Nigeria’s U-23 national team, Samson Siasia, has called up Kelechi Iheanacho and seven other players from the Flying Eagles after dropping seven players from his team in the aftermath of their three-all draw with Wikki Tourists of Bauchi in a friendly match. Expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of the team in the tune-up game against the NPFL side in Bauchi, Siasia said since the boys had not added any value to the team, they should make way for others who can contribute their quota to the success of the team as they prepare for next month’s crucial African U-23 Championship

qualifier against Congo. The dropped players are Sani Faisal, Lukmon Gilmore, Emmanuel Ammana, Tonbara Tiongoli, Freedom Omofonma, Uche Okeke and Gabriel Sunday. In addition to Iheanacho, Siasia has also asked Musa Mohammed, Taiwo Awoniyi, Kingsley Sokari, Saviour Godwin and Dele Alampasu, who all took part at the just concluded FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, to join up with the U-23 team as from today (Monday). Two other members of the Flying Eagles team – Musa Yahaya and Moses Simon – have also been called up but will, like Iheanacho, report two weeks to the first leg tie against the Congolese scheduled for Abuja on the weekend of July 17 to 19.

Siasia has also invited Sharks FC defender Chima Akas and Warri Wolves defender Semiu Laidi to report to camp immediately “I have given all these players enough time to showcase what they can bring on the table, but I am so disappointed that till this minute they still have not been able to convince me, so they have to give way for others to come and show me and my technical crew what they can offer,” Siasia was quoted as saying on the website of the Nigeria Football Federation. He added: “I thank them for their contribution to the success of the team in the past, but we have to move on. If they show signs of improvement in their clubs they can be recalled to the team.”

Howard drags 3SC to LMC over N5m debt Adeolu Johnson Abuja

ormer coach of Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan, Franklin Howard, has reported the team’s management to the League Management Company over the recent termination of his contract. Howard, who was surprised at his removal, is demanding the sum of N5million from the Ibadan side after leading them to the Premier League at the end of last season. The former Nigeria junior international wants the Oluyole Warriors to fulfil their contractual obligations to him or be ready to be dragged to the Court of Arbitration for sport for settlement.

Howard, who was spotted at the LMC’s office in Wuse II, said he was in Abuja to officially report the matter to the LMC’s Chief Operating Officer, Salihu Abubakar. He said he was disappointed that his recent exit from the club was the second time the club would be meting out such treatment to him despite earning the club a promotion ticket to the elite division. He pointed accusing fingers at the club’s General Manager, Rasheed Balogun, for not giving him a freehand to recruit the players he wanted for the ongoing season. “The most annoying thing is that we just played nine matches before they took ac-

Falconets coach calls up 36 for World Cup qualifiers

alconets coach, Peter Dedevbo, has invited 36 players to camp ahead of his side’s 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifying fixture against Liberia next month. The invited players, according to a report on the official website of the Nigeria Football Federation, are expected to report to camp on Tuesday, June 23, with their training kit, medical certificates of fitness and international passports. Dedevbo, who led the Falconets to the final of the last edition of the FIFA World Cup in Canada last year, has recalled goalkeeper Sandra Chiichii, as well as midfielder Osarenoma Igbinovia and striker Chinwendu Ihezuo. Dedevbo has also called a number of players who featured in the U-17 team at the

tion claiming they have sacked me without recourse to the terms of the agreement between us,” he explained. RESULTS NPFL Abia Warriors 1-0 Akwa United Dolphins 1-1 Giwa El-Kanemi 1-4 Ifeanyi Ubah Wikki 3-0 Sharks Heartland 2-0 Taraba Shooting Stars 0-0 Enyimba Nasarawa 1-0 Bayelsa Kwara United 1-1 Lobi Stars Warri Wolves 0-1 Rangers Sunshine 3-0 Pillars COPA AMERICA Chile 5 – 0 Bolivia Uruguay 1 – 1 Paraguay Argentina 1 – 0 Jamaica FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP Third Place Senegal 1 – 3 Mali Final Brazil 1 – 2 Serbia

FIFA World Cup in Costa Rica early last year, including Ugochi Emenayo, Esther Elijah, Tessy Biawho, Uchenna Kalu, Mary Ologbosere, Joy Bokiri and Rashidat Ajibade.

L-R: Row Surveillance Inspector, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mrs. Lilian Ike-Okafor; Fitness Instructor, Shell Club, Miss Grace Chatta; Warehouse Supervisor, Mr. Nnamdi Onorah; and SPDC Development Manager, Gas Growth, Ms. Esben Johnsen, at the closing ceremonies of the 2015 edition of the Shell Team Building Challenge in Port Harcourt...recently.

Zenith Bank League: Unbeaten First Bank, Dolphins lead Final-8 charge Ifeanyi Ibeh

irst Bank and Dolphins will lead six other teams to the post-season Final-8 Playoffs of the Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League after both sides finished the first and second phases with perfect records. First Bank finished top of Group A without suffering a single loss all through the first and second phases of the season in Abuja and Ilorin respectively, while Dolphins

did likewise in Group B. The battle for the fourth and final playoff spots in Group A however went down to point differentials after three teams – Benue Princess, AHIP Queens and Plateau Rocks – were tied on 24 points with eight wins and an equal amount of losses. Benue Princess narrowly piped AHIP Queens of Kano and Plateau Rocks with a +11 points aggregate differential advantage over Plateau Peaks who had +8 and AHIP Queens with -19 to

join Sunshine Angels of Akure; former four-time champions, First Deepwater; and unbeaten defending champions First Bank as the top four seeds in the group to seal qualification for the playoffs taking place in Lagos. Group B was more straightforward with back-to-back league runners-up Dolphins going unbeaten with a perfect 16-0 record for the maximum 32 points, including a record 127-33 whitewash of league debutants Zamfara Babes.

Congo 2015: Weightlifters set to fight for slots Ajibade Olusesan

N Dedevbo

igerian Weightlifters will compete for places in the team for the 2015 All Africa Games as the national trials takes place between June 30 and July 4. Nigeria Weightlifting Fed-

eration, at the weekend, announced that the national trials will take place at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan where the lifters that would fly the country’s flag at the Congo Games would be selected. Vice chairman of the federation, Alhaji Yaya Mohammed,

said although time was not on their side, they would do everything possible to ensure that Nigeria records a good outing in weightlifting at the Games. “Our preparation is starting a bit late, but we will do our best to ensure we harvest medals at the All Africa Games.

International Sport 53

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Martino slams wasteful Argentina

Messi (centre) taking on Jamaican players

Messi sorry to see Neymar banned

ionel Messi has spoken of his disappointment that Barcelona teammate Neymar will play no further part in the Copa America for Brazil. The striker was handed a four-match suspension by CONMEBOL after being sent off fol-

lowing Brazil’s 1-0 defeat to Colombia, Neymar launching a verbal attack on the referee. Messi admitted the decision to hand the 23-year-old a ban would be a blow for Brazil’s chances, but also believes it is a shame for the tournament to be

deprived of one South America’s top players. “I do not want to comment on Neymar. He’s a friend,” Messi said after Argentina beat Jamaica 1-0 on Saturday. “I regret the punishment he was given and that he cannot participate any further in the

Copa America. “He is a very important player for Brazil. I know what it means to them to have him on the field.” Argentina top Group B after their victory in Vina del Mar, a Gonzalo Higuain strike securing their quarter-final place.

Mourinho: I cried when Murray won Wimbledon

e may have gained a reputation as a man of stone on the touchline, but it seems there are situations that reduce even Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to tears. The Special One has revealed he could not contain his emotions when Andy Murray triumphed over long-time rival Novak Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final, ending Britain’s 77-year wait for a male singles champion at the prestigious tournament. “I have to say I had a couple of tears for Andy when he won Wimbledon,” Mourinho told the Aegon Championships Tennis Podcast in association with The Telegraph. “It was something that

obviously meant more than anything in his career. I could imagine it was something from another world. I don’t think he would change the Wimbledon victory for another 10 victories in other Grand Slams. “It’s more than the game, it’s more than a tournament. He has broken the psychological wall that was there for every British person that loves the game. I think that for sure it was the best day in his career and I shared that happiness from where I was.” The Scot matched the hauls of John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, seeing off Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4 to claim his fourth Queen’s cup title.

Rosberg cuts Hamilton’s lead

ico Rosberg claimed his third win in four races when getting the better of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix which was marked by a spectacular crash involving two former champions. As Rosberg celebrated cutting into Hamilton’s world championship lead, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen were relieved to walk away unscathed from their opening lap smash. The race began in dramatic fashion, Rosberg diving

into a first corner lead ahead of pole sitter Hamilton. Almost immediately after, Alonso’s McLaren landed on top of Raikkonen’s Ferrari, causing the Safety Car to be introduced. Both drivers walked away, shaken but miraculously unharmed. Alonso was required to undertake a medical examination after which he said: It was obviously quite scary. “The start was very good. Kimi had a lot of wheel spin out of turn two. We were overtaking him and he lost the car on the left.”

Murray

erardo Martino admitted Copa America Group B winners Argentina were “boring” in the second half of their narrow 1-0 victory over Jamaica. Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals as group winners after Gonzalo Higuain’s 11thminute strike inspired the pre-tournament favourites in Lionel Messi’s 100th international appearance in Vina del Mar on Saturday. Argentine stars had countless opportunities to put the result beyond doubt but they were wasteful up front, while the crossbar denied both Higuain and Angel di Maria. Speaking to reporters post-match, Martino - who watched from the stands after receiving a one-match ban for stepping onto the pitch against Uruguay - conceded his team have been far from their best in the

competition so far. “We are lacking effectiveness,” Martino said. “It is something we took out of the result against Paraguay, but you cannot legislate for players of the ability of ours missing so many chances. “The fact we didn’t put the game to bed, coupled with the physical issues we are having towards the end of games, generated uneasiness. “I thought we did alright in the first half, getting the early goal and then creating four or five chances to score. We also did well to control Jamaica’s chances to break. But the second half was boring, our ball control was tedious, the movement of the ball was too slow and we generally lacked speed in processing our play.” Argentina will play either Ecuador or the third-placed team from Group C on June 26.

Pirlo to join NYCFC on Friday

uventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo will seal a switch to New York City FC on Friday according to reports in Goal. The Italy international still has a year to run on his contract with the Bianconeri and had previously claimed that he would only consider leaving Turin if Massimiliano Allegri’s men lifted the Champions League earlier this month. However, despite Juve’s 3-1 loss to Barcelona in Berlin, the uncertainty surrounding the midfielder’s future has only intensified in recent weeks and, on Saturday, the 36-year-old attended

a New York Yankees baseball game at Yankee Stadium - which is also home to NYCFC. Goal has now learned that Pirlo has agreed a move to MLS and will be confirmed as an NYCFC player before the end of the week. Pirlo will join former England international Frank Lampard and Spain’s all-time record goalscorer, David Villa, at a franchise that only entered the league this season. Set-piece specialist Pirlo also played 115 matches for Italy and was a key component in the side that tasted World Cup glory in 2006.

Putin: Russia won 2018 World Cup vote fairly

ussia earned the right to host the 2018 World Cup honestly and fairly, according to the country’s president, Vladimir Putin. Swiss authorities revealed last month that they had opened an investigation into the FIFA votes that resulted in the next tournament being awarded to Russia and the 2022 edition going to Qatar. The announcement was made on the same day that several members of football’s governing body were arrested as part of an FBI-led inquiry into alleged bribery dating back to 1991. The head of FIFA’s auditing and compliance committee, Do-

menico Scala, has since stated that if there was any corruption involved in the bidding or voting process for the next two World Cups, the chosen hosts could be stripped of the event. However, Putin insists that Russia 2018 is secure, stating that the country has nothing to hide. “If anyone has evidence, let them present it,” he said. “We won in a fair fight and are going to host the World Cup. “We fought in an honest manner [for the tournament] and we won. We do not think the decision should be questioned. “We were ready and that’s what convinced FIFA. The stadium construction has already

started.” Former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has already been accused of accepting a bribe in exchange for his support for South Africa’s ultimately successful bid for

the 2010 World Cup. Swiss authorities have also confirmed that their investigation into the next two tournaments has already detected suspicious activity in more than 100 bank accounts.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter (left) and Putin

Sport

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

NOC, Art of Living mark Int’l Day for Yoga Ifeanyi Ibeh

O Some of the participants during the maiden International Day for Yoga, at the National Stadium, Lagos

Enyeama may snub NFF, Super Eagles Adekunle Salami

here are strong indications that Super Eagles skipper, Vincent Enyeama, who was in goal for Nigeria on June 13, against Chad may have featured for Nigeria for the last time. The Disciplinary Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation at the weekend summoned Enyeama to appear before it on Tuesday and the goalie, according to authoritative sources, is not ready to honour the invitation. With the NFF insisting that the goalkeeper appear before it and he in turn saying he won’t, the ground is being laid for a confrontation that may see

Enyeama frozen out of the national team for good. New Telegraph can reveal that the football house is resolute in its plans to axe the goalie if he doesn’t honour the invitation and the goalie is equally unyielding in his stance. The Lille of France number one is currently holidaying abroad with his family and close sources told our correspondent that Enyeama is furious about the steps the NFF has taking in the past days against him. Enyeama was issued a query for what the football authorities termed “unguarded statements” after he complained about the choice of Kaduna as

the venue of the Nations Cup qualifier against Chad. “Enyeama is unhappy. Nobody is talking to him like a friend or brother and all he gets now are directives as if he is an employee of the football federation. He feels fulfilled already after 100 caps and has vowed not to honour the summons because he cannot terminate his holidays with his family,” the source said. On who bears the cost of Enyeama’s trip for the meeting with the NFF chieftains on Tuesday, image-maker, Ademola Olajire, told New Telegraph that it would be Enyeama. “This is a procedure following an action and Enyeama has to bear it,” Olajire noted.

ver 2000 Nigerians from all walks of life on Sunday at the Main Bowl of the National Stadium Lagos, came together to celebrate the maiden International Day for Yoga, as declared by the United Nations. The event themed ‘ Yoga for Happiness’ was organised by the Art of Living Foundation, the Nigeria Olympic Committee and Sewa International, and saw participants performing graceful yogic postures, sun salutations and a short meditation. The event, aimed at creating awareness for a healthy and happy way of living, began with Art of Living instructors conducting a round of warm-up exercises, demonstration of yoga and relaxation postures, and concluded with a resounding pledge for a better Nigeria by a jubilant and enthusiastic crowd. Through Sunday’s event, Nigeria joined a select group of over 100 countries where the Art of Living Foundation celebrates the International Day for Yoga. On Sunday, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation and ambassador of peace and happiness, said: “Yoga helps a human being to realise his full potential.

Yoga improves the quality of life, which is so much needed today. Yoga can wipe the tears and bring smiles on every face. It can bring celebration and skill in everyone’s life.” He added: “So let’s celebrate this world yoga day with zeal and enthusiasm, and extend this precious ancient knowledge to every human being on this planet.” Former African 400 metres hurdles champion and twotime Olympian, Henry Amike, praised the huge turnout of participants at the event, while renowned academician and founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership, Professor Pat Utomi, said: “It is essential for each and every one of us to incorporate yoga into our daily lives to progress faster as individuals and as a country.” Sanjay Srivastav of Sewa International called on athletes to engage in yoga, saying, “we (Sewa International) are sure it will bring peace and harmony upon regular practice and shall produce many champions in Nigeria”, while Akshay Jain of Art of Living explained the goal of the foundation which he said is committed to working closely with communities in Nigeria to eradicate stress and violence and build a healthy and happy nation.”

Women’s world cup

Cameroon bow out

hina PR survived a tough examination from Cameroon with a lone early strike from Wang Shanshan enough to end the journey for the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debutants. Both teams played with hightempo and intensity from the opening whistle in Edmonton with chances aplenty at either end, but it was the Chinese who remained resilient at the back to advance into the last-eight. Cameroon opened where they left off in their famous 2-1 victory over Switzerland

with Madeleine Ngono Mani firing over the crossbar inside 20 seconds. However, it was China who scored on the 12-minute mark as a deep corner reached Li Dongna who found some space and centred to Wang Shanshan who adroitly volleyed home. Cameroon’s best chance of the opening half was a freekick from Gaelle Enganamouit which deflected from the wall into the path of Gabrielle Onguene who could only find the side-netting from a 45-degree angle.

Anja Mittag of Germany is challenged by Linda Sembrant of Sweden

Attendance hits 1.25 million

ttendance for the Women’s World Cup will be at least 1.25 million, according to organisers. That number, which denoted tickets already sold as of Saturday evening for past and future games, beats the tournament record of 1,194,221 set at USA 1999. That edition featured 16 teams and 32 games, as opposed to 24 teams and 52 games for the Canadian version. “We’re feeling very

good, we’re very happy,” said Peter Montopoli, general secretary of the Canadian Soccer Association and CEO of the tournament’s national organising committee. The number of 1.25 million will grow with the knockout round having just started Saturday but the tournament may not hit the original goal of 1.5 million spectators, a target Montopoli described as “lofty.” The figures are somewhat misleading in that

FIFA counts attendance at a doubleheader separately even though one ticket grants access to both games. Still Montopoli says the figures show how front and centre women’s soccer has been in Canada. And he said soccer attendance records were set in Alberta (53,058), B.C. (52,193), Manitoba (32,716) and New Brunswick (13,138). “I think that’s a strong statement,” he said.

Germany thrash Sweden to progress

ermany secured their spot in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup, after thumping Sweden 4-1 on Saturday evening. The Germans edged ahead on 24 minutes when Sweden lost possession in their own half and Anja Mittag drove in a low shot from the edge of the box. Mittag was then tripped in the box by defender Amanda Il-

estadt and Celia Sasic sent goalkeeper Lindahl the wrong way with her penalty on 35 minutes to double Germany’s halftime lead. Sweden held firm for much of the second half, but their resistance was broken when, with 12 minutes remaining, Sasic headed in from close range after Simone Laudehr’s initial effort had bounced back off the post.

Swede gained a lifeline with eight minutes remaining when Sembrant rose highest in the box to meet Therese Sjogran’s deep free-kick and head past goalkeeper Nadine Angerer. But Germany’s progress was sealed eight minutes from time when Dzsenifer Marozsan latched onto a short corner and lobbed a fortunate effort over the head of a stranded Lindahl.

Features 55

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

We’re one team with one heart – Serbia skipper Serbia, on Saturday, claimed the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015 title in their first attempt as an independent country. And in this interview with FIFA.com, goalkeeper and captain, Predrag Rajkovic, revealed the secrets behind his team’s success. Predrag, congratulations on winning the FIFA U-20 World Cup. When did you first believe that you could lift the trophy here? Honestly? I believed it from the very start. I knew we could achieve something great here in New Zealand. It wasn’t a case of realising over the course of the four weeks: ‘Wow, we could become world champions.’ No, I was convinced of it from day one – and never doubted it for a moment. Can you describe the atmosphere in your dressing room right now? As you can imagine, there’s a real party atmosphere in there. It’s a dream come true for us. We’ll let our hair down a bit now, but the celebrations will only get into full swing once we’re back in Belgrade. This title means so much for our homeland. I have to say that it hasn’t quite sunk in yet that we’re now world champions. We have no idea what to expect when we get home, but it’ll certainly be something big! What is the secret of Serbia’s success? It’s very simple: we’re one

team with one heart! That’s been our motto from the start, and it hasn’t been just talk here in New Zealand – we’ve actually lived it, and I think that was evident on the pitch too. It was said that your squad watched videos of the highlights of Yugoslavia’s U-20 world champions from 1987 before the tournament began. Back then Davor Suker, Predrag Mijatovic and Zvonimir Boban said that they were close friends and that everything is possible when you have that kind of relationship with your team-mates. Do you agree with that, and did this idea also form part of your team’s approach? That’s definitely been the case! That idea has been very important to us here in New Zealand. The 1987 side were exceptional, and I think we’ve now proved that we’re just as extraordinary. I just want to say a huge thank you to all of my team-mates for everything we’ve achieved together here. I want to thank each and every one of them with all my heart. Together we were strong! What do you think made the difference for your side in a final

Serbia skipper Rajkovic celerating with team mates

that could scarcely have been more exciting? I honestly think it helped that we had to go through at least extra time in every knockout match, so we learned how to deal with the pressure that came with that situation. Then, of course, there was our amazing team spirit, which steered us to the title in the final against an incredibly strong Brazilian side. You not only became world champion but also received the adidas Golden Glove at this final for being the best goalkeeper at

the tournament. What does this individual award mean to you? I’ll happily admit that it means a huge amount to me. All the same, I think it’s incredibly important to stress that the award really belongs to the whole team, for the simple reason that I’d never have won this title without them. Do you have a role model? Yes. Initially, when I was still small, Iker Casillas was my idol, but since then lots of people have said that I’m similar to Manuel Neuer.

How have you found the experience of being in New Zealand over the past four weeks? It’s been wonderful! We’ve all really enjoyed this adventure and the experiences we’ve had here in New Zealand. We particularly appreciated the amazing welcome we’ve had from people here. Lots of Kiwis have supported us and set the mood, including at the final where the atmosphere was unbelievable. That’s why I’d like to thank them from the bottom of my heart on behalf of the entire team. We’ll never forget the time we spent here.

Sjogran makes emotional Swedish farewell When the final whistle sounded on Sweden’s match against Germany at the Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa, Therese Sjogran sank to the ground. It was not only a reaction to her side’s 4-1 defeat and ensuing elimination from the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ in the Round of 16, but also to the fact that it was the last game of a career that had spanned almost two decades. Her disappointment was still tangible when she met FIFA.com for an interview almost an hour later.

Sjogran

here wasn’t much going on in the changing room and the atmosphere was awful,” said the 38-year-old afterwards, her eyes red. “Obviously we’re very disappointed but Germany played well. Now we have to go home. At the moment I can’t really think straight. I definitely have a lot

of wonderful memories of my career but it’s a sad day The thing I’m saddest about is the way it’s ended.” It was almost indicative of her career that Sjogran should bow out after defeat to Germany, as she has suffered several bitter disappointments at their hands over the years. Sweden’s

No15 was involved in losses in the finals of the 2001 European Championship and the 2003 Women’s World Cup, as well as the more recent semi-final defeat at UEFA EURO 2013 on home turf. “I wouldn’t say they’re a bogey team for us but they have blocked our path at a lot of major tournaments and they knocked us out again today,” she said wistfully. “Of course they’re not a team we really wanted to face. They do respect us a lot but they just have this winning mentality against us.” Signing off with an assist Sjogran, Sweden’s mostcapped player of all time with 214 appearances, admitted that the Scandinavians only had themselves to blame for being handed such a tough draw after finishing third in Group D. She

added that Germany were simply too strong and started well by scoring two first half goals. The 5’6” midfielder helped give her side a glimmer of hope in the 82nd minute when her pinpoint free-kick found Linda Sembrant, who headed in to reduce the deficit to 3-1 and give Sjogran at least one positive memory of her final outing. “That might cheer me up at some point but not today,” she said, glancing down at the matchball from the game she had been given as a souvenir to mark the end of her career. “When I look back on the match that assist is something I can be proud of.” Asked for the highlight of her time in Sweden’s yellow and blue colours, Sjogran was quick to respond, offering a hint of a smile for the first time: “The 2011 World Cup

when we won the bronze medal. That was a great moment.” Sjogran participated at four Women’s World Cups and made 18 tournament appearances - more than any of her compatriots. Alongside that third-place finish four years ago, she helped Sweden finish as runners-up at the 2003 finals, although they exited at the group stage in 2007. And though she will now hang up her boots for good she will remain active in the game, taking on the role of sporting director at her current club FC Rosengard from August 1, 2015. Nevertheless, her experience, drive and fighting spirit will be sorely missed on the pitch. As she left, Sjogran had a parting message for Germany, the side that had thwarted her so often over the years: “I hope they win the trophy.”

On Marble

“Satisfaction is not the achievement of what we want, but the awareness of what we have.”

World Record

Sanctity of Truth

Pregnant for 60 years since 1948: Huang Yijun, 92, of Huangjiaotan, southern China, was told by medics in 1948 that her child had died in the womb.

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

– Abhishek Shukla

N150

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

Of ministers and ‘state ministers’

n Wednesday 28th October, 2009, President Umaru Musa Yar’adua walked into the executive council chambers for the weekly federal executive council meeting. It was obvious from his countenance that the President was angry. It did not take long for council to know what the matter was. After the opening formalities of singing the National Anthem, recitation of the pledge and prayers, the president went straight to the point. “It has come to my attention that inspite of my earlier directive that ministers and ministers of State stick strictly to their respective schedules of responsibilities, ministers have continued to perform the duties of the ministers of State in their ministries. This ugly practice has continued to affect the work of government and led to unnecessary fights and distraction. From today I want to assure you all that there will be consequences if I receive further reports of this practice. The schedules are clearly defined and I do not see how this is difficult to implement if you are working in the best interest of the nation.” He then directed the secretary of the federal government to re-issue to all ministers and ministers of state the approved schedule of duties. This was the culmination of months of turf wars between ministers and ministers of state which unknown to the general public had practically grounded government business in most ministries. The president had on a few occasions mediated in some of the severe cases where the parties had nearly come to physical combat. Sadly, soon after this incident, on November 23, the President left the country to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment and the rest is now history. President Yar’Adua who I consider one of the most patriotic leaders this country has ever produced, was always pained by the obvious lack of patriotism in some of the actions of people working with him. There is no doubt that the acquisitive tendencies of the ministers had created a deeply flawed and dysfunctional federal system where might is right. The ministers of state responded by asserting their right to function as full cabinet ministers which they are. The result was an acrimonious environment that created room for the civil servants to pitch tents according to their loyalties and prejudices. And the country paid heavily in poor implementation of the budgets. Should President Buhari walk this path and expect different result? Nigeria’s political environment is doubtlessly not deputy friendly. In all of sixteen years of our democracy, only a few deputy governors have succeeded their principals. And in these few instances, were manifestations of act of God than planned succession. Some governors had up to three deputies during their tenures. This level of intolerance is symptomatic of an opaque system that encourages “cloak and dagger”

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

Yar’Adua

Buhari

approach to government business. It also betrays the weakness of institutions of government. I have argued in the past that the position of “Minister of State” is unknown to the 1999 constitution and should be dispensed with. S.147(1) of the constitution states inter alia:1. There shall be such offices of ministers of the government of the federation (emphasis mine) as may be established by the president. 2. Any appointment to the office of the minister of the government of the federation shall if the nomination of any such person is confirmed by the senate, be made by the president. 3. Any appointment under subsection 2 of this section by the president shall be in conformity with the provisions of S.14 (3) of this constitution. Provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid, the president shall appoint at least one minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.

each state mandatory. The states of the federation as listed in S.3 (1) of the constitution are presumed to be equal. Consequently it will amount to the demotion of a state before the constitution to designate its minister as “minister of State” if such appellation connotes lesser powers or position beneath what is envisaged by S.147(1). Some of my professional colleagues have argued that S.147(1) empowers the president to designate ministers in any manner for administrative convenience. My view is that such power must be exercised in a manner to uphold the doctrine of equality of states. A minister of state under the current practice cannot be said to offer equal

S.14(3) provides as follows:“The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensure that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies”. It is clear that the intendment of the provsio to S.147 is to make the appointment of a minister from

representation for his/her state in the federal cabinet. So this is precisely why the conflicts between ministers and ministers of state who are posted as deputies will continue to frustrate the operations of government. It is an unnecessary and disingenuous invention in a developing country with weak institutions. It is my view that President Buhari should trim the federal cabinet as is the current practice in advanced economies. A 37 ministerial member of the federal executive council is capable of running efficiently the affairs of this country. This will be in tune with the demands of a dwindling revenue base and huge debt overhang both at the state and federal levels. It will also help reduce the cost of governance and recurrent expenditure and free funds for capital investments in infrastructure and social services. The argument that a 37 ministerial member of the federal cabinet will be inadequate to operate the ministries makes no sense. Under President Goodluck Jonathan key ministries with several agencies and parastatals like Petroleum and Aviation had no ministers of state while less busy ministries had ministers of state. There is no doubt that the non-deployment of ministers of state to these large ministries was to avoid the inevitable conflicts between ministers and ministers of state which may likely rock the boat. Serious as the turf wars between ministers under the Yar’Adua administration was, it once got comical. Sometime in 2008, a colleague in the cabinet was asked by a visiting minister from South Africa why I was addressed as minister of State. In a bid to devalue my status as a cabinet minister she told her guest that I was a minister serving at the state level that is “State Minister”. However she could not explain to her bewildered guest what I was doing in Abuja. It was the most hilarious moment in the acrimonious environment ministers of State operated under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

From Harare with hate

t appears that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has an axe to grind with Nigeria. Of late, the aging dictator’s pastime has shifted to taking pot shots at Nigeria. At the just concluded AU Summit in South Africa, Mugabe is reported to have made snide comments on Nigeria’s bid for a permanent seat at the United Nations. It is sad that Nigeria continues to receive insults and ingratitude from sister African countries she assisted in their hour of need. Nigeria played a pivotal role in liberating Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from white minority rule which led to the victory of the Zanu-PF at the first ever elections based on universal adult suffrage in 1980. The emergence of Robert Mugabe, who was then a popular freedom fighter in

the Independence struggle as president raised hopes of a prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe. A dream accomplished only by South Africa, thanks to Nelson Mandela. Sadly as is common in the continent, Robert Mugabe held his country in vicelike grip for 36 years, killing, maiming and jailing his political opponents. The country is now on the verge of economic collapse from the effect of crippling sanctions imposed on the country by the west. The Zimbabwean dollar is not worth the paper it is printed. You need a wheel barrow of the worthless currency to pay for breakfast. One would have thought that the president of such a place will have better things to do than attending summits. But who can question a dictator and his foibles. Talk of chasing rat while your house is on fire!

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