Thursday, april 14, 2016 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

NNPC spends $1.8bn on fuel imports quarterly

...apologises to Nigerians on lingering queues lTo reopen 110,000 bpd Kaduna refinery tomorrow Adeola Yusuf and Anule Emmanuel

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corpora-

tion (NNPC) yesterday said it was spending a total of $1.8 billion quarterly to import Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel

into the country. Group Executive Director (Upstream) of the corporation, Bello Rabiu, disclosed this while briefing

State House Correspondents in Abuja while commenting on the lingering fuel scarcity nationwide. Bello, who was joined

at the briefing by Henry Obih, Group Executive Director (Downstream), Anibor Kragha, Group Executive Director (Re-

fineries) and the Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Garba Deen Mohammed, apologised to CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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Kutiyi

Two years after abduc tion…

FG: We can’t say when Chibok girls’ll return }2

Nigeria has failed schoolgirls – BBOG Parents identify girls in Boko Haram video Chibok girls: Failed by their nation }(Special Report on Pages 4, 5 & 6)

Southern senators back Buhari on budget row lReps to re-examine appropriation bill as Dogara meets president }3 Aspirin helps prevent heart disease, cancer in adults

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NEWS

ThurSday, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

We can’t say when Chibok girls’ll return –FG Anule Emmanuel and Emmanuel Onani

Abuja

s the nation marks two years of the abduction of 276 students from their hostel at Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State today, the Federal Government has said it can’t say when the schoolgirls would return. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said

that despite efforts to rescue the 219 schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram sect in Chibok, government cannot give a definite date for their rescue. The vice president, however, reassured that from the security reports available to the federal government, it was still possible to rescue the girls. There are fears that the missing girls may never be found alive. The girls were reportedly abducted on April 14,

2014 by some armed men suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists operating in the north-eastern flanks of the country. The abductors were said to have stormed their school at night, commandeered them out of their dormitory, bundled them into large capacity buses and ferried them away to an unknown destination. The incident, which took place during the administration of former President Goodluck Jona-

than, attracted global attention, particularly when that administration was accused of failing to take prompt action to rescue the girls. The seeming lethargy on the part of the Federal Government to rescue the girls gave birth to the Bring Back Our Girls (#BBOG) movement, a group of volunteers agitating for the return of the girls. It also become an issue during the 2015 election-

President Muhammadu Buhari with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, Mr. Zhang Dejiang, during a meeting at the Great Hall in Beijing … yesterday

ABUJA

ormer Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, who is one of the arrowheads of the BBOG, Bring Back Our Girls (#BBOG) movement, a group of volunteers agitating for the return of the Chibok girls, yesterday lamented that Nigeria and its government have failed the abducted girls as their whereabouts has remained unknown and there are fears that they may never be found alive. In an interview with New Telegraph in Abuja, the former minister said that the girls represented how the nation cherished its human capital. "Our country has let the ‎girls down so far and we hope that it could not continue letting those girls down. The girls are our future; the girls are our symbol of how we cherish our human capital. And it is really our human capital, not oil that will turn us to the nation of destiny that we ought to have been since 50 years ago. It is not lost on us the tragedy of our missing girls. There must be credible intelligence and our girls must be brought back," Ezekwesili said.

fastest way to rescue the abductees. He said because the issue was very complicated, government would not say exactly when it would be achieved. "At every security council meeting that I have attended, the president has always been concerned about Chibok girls. He thinks of how this can be done quickly. "But it's a very delicate issue and we cannot say we can deal with it next week. Every rescue attempt must take the safety of the girls into consideration," he said. Osinbajo assured that "from the security reported we get, we will be able to bring back the girls, but we must exercise some caution and patience, and not sound as if it can be done, but it's not being done." CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Parents identify Chibok girls in Boko Haram video

Nigeria has failed schoolgirls – BBOG Onwuka Nzeshi and Yekeen Nurudeen

eering with the then opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC) promising to rescue the girls as soon as it assumed the mantle of leadership in the country. Barely one year into the life of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, this promise has not been kept and this has also drawn a lot of criticisms from the BBOG and other civil rights groups. Speaking at a one-day roundtable in honour of the Chibok girls and other victims of internal conflicts, the vice president cautioned that people should not assume that government was not doing enough to bring back the girls to their families. Osinbajo revealed that at every Security Council meeting that he has attended, President Muhammadu Buhari had always sought to know the

Speaking in Kaduna yesterday ahead of today’s anniversary, one of the conveners of the group and the Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Hajiya Hadiza Bala Usman, described as unfortunate the inability to bring back the missing girls two years after. She pledged the continued commitment of the group to campaign for their release, while also commending the Nigerian Army for the success recorded so far in the efforts to rid the country of terrorists. Director, International Institute of Journalism, Abuja, Dr. Emman Shehu, lamented that Jonathan and incumbent President Buhari have failed the Chibok girls. Shehu, who is also an advocate of BBOG, carpeted the Federal Government on its handling of the rescue of the girls, noting that the girls would have, long time ago, been rescued if they were children of highly placed Nigerians. "Both governments have failed the Chibok girls, have failed people who are not highly positioned in the society; because if Chibok girls were children of highly placed

people, they would have been rescued long before now. "As of now, Jonathan failed the Chibok girls and Buhari has also failed the Chibok girls. The number one priority of the government, which is to provide security, has not been fulfilled for the Chibok girls. We will keep hoping, as we are demanding something must be done. 219 citizens can't be lost like that. It's not possible," he said. Similarly, a former secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Buba Galadima, expressed disappointment that two years after the unfortunate incident, the girls were yet to be found. "I must confess that I am confused as to whether these girls are still alive or not. I wish they are alive and if they are and we are not doing enough to know where they are and find out strategies to rescue them, then it is bad not only for them and their parents, but for the whole country," he said. ActionAid, one of the groups seeking the rescue of the missing girls, yesterday tasked Buhari to keep the promise he made in his inaugural speech by ensuring that the Chibok schoolgirls were not only

rescued, but also returned to their families alive. In a statement made available to New Telegraph, ActionAid noted that more than 10 months after Buhari made this pronouncement, the Chibok girls are still missing. Similarly, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) said the Federal Government cannot effectively lay claims to have won the battle against terrorism in the country, unless it successfully rescues the 219 Chibok girls. The Labour body recalled that it was exactly two years since the girls were criminally abducted from their school environment by Boko Haram terrorists. NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, poured commendations on the BBOG for sustaining the memory of the girls these two years, even as he lamented that many of the girls’ parents have reportedly lost their lives as a result of the trauma. "The point cannot be overstated that only the return of the Chibok girls would convince the world that the war on terror in Nigeria is not just the war to reclaim territories, but to regain lives," he said. Wabba said that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

hree mothers of schoolgirls abducted from Chibok in northeast Nigeria two years ago said they had identified their daughters in a video released by Islamist group Boko Haram, the first possible sighting of the girls since a video in May 2014. About 15 girls featured in the video released to local officials on Tuesday, saying they were from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok and pleading with the Nigerian government to cooperate with Boko Haram on their release. The girls were filmed saying they were being treated well but wanted to go home and be with their families. Boko Haram militants abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok on April 14, 2014, with 57 students managing to escape but 219 still missing despite a global campaign #bringbackourgirls involving celebrities and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama. Various false leads have raised hopes of finding the girls but their whereabouts remains unknown. Mothers Rifkatu Ayuba and Mary Ishaya said they recognised their daughters, Saratu and Hauwa, in the video, while a third mother, Yana Galang, identified five of the missing girls. Local officials said more identifications were needed. "The girls were looking very, very well," Galang said in a telephone interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation after

viewing the video at a screening organised by local officials in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State. The three mothers were invited to the viewing by the chairman of Chibok Local Government Area, Bana Lawan, who confirmed that he had paid their travel costs to Maiduguri, the state capital. "They were definitely our daughters ... all we want is for the government to bring back our girls," said Galang, adding all the girls were wearing hijabs in the video. No member of Boko Haram was visible in the video and local officials were not immediately available to give details on how they received the video. "We only heard a man's voice and saw his finger pointing at the girls one after the other," Galang said. She said the girls in the video spoke in Hausa and Kibaku, the local Chibok language. Galang said one mother, Ayuba, was relieved to see her daughter as she had heard a rumour shortly after the kidnapping that her daughter had been killed by Boko Haram. "She was very happy to see her in the video... her daughter is alive," Galang said. About 2,000 girls and boys have been abducted by the Boko Haram since 2014, with many used as sex slaves, fighters and even suicide bombers, according to Amnesty International. Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

NEWS

ThurSday, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Southern senators back Buhari on budget row Chukwu David Abuja

he row over the 2016 budget between the Presidency and the National Assembly has divided the rank of the senators. The Senate had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the money bill passed by the lawmakers and forward a supplementary budget to accommodate omissions, particularly the LagosCalabar rail project. But senators from the Southern part of Nigeria have asked the president to withhold his assent on the 2016 budget if the Appropriation Committees of both chambers of the National Assembly refused to include the LagosCalabar rail project in the money bill. While the National Assembly stated that the Lagos-Calabar rail project was not in the budget submitted by the president, the executive insisted that the project was included in the amended money bill. The Senate, on Tuesday, declared that it would not revisit the budget based on omissions from the executive and asked Buhari to forward supplementary budget for consideration. To take a position on the row, the senators from the South-West and SouthSouth geopolitical zones met at their caucus levels on Tuesday night and resolved to resist any attempt to deny their people, the viable project. New Telegraph learnt that while the South-South senators met at undisclosed locations outside the National Assembly complex, the South-West senators met at the residence of Senator Gbenga Ashafa. Some of the senators who attended the caucus meetings told our correspondent that the call for the supplementary budget was an attempt to deny the South an opportunity to enjoy a viable rail project. Confirming the position of the southern senators in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja, Adesoji Akanbi (Oyo South) said the APC caucus in the South-West were solidly behind the position of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Ashafa, over the issue. He said the signing of the budget now without the inclusion of the N60 billion Lagos-Calabar rail project would not be in the interest of the people of the South-West. He said: "Personally, I see no reason why the funds in the Ministry

of Transport should be moved completely to the Ministry of Works for the construction of roads which belongs to state governments without engineering design. "We are seeking the reversion of this decision because the Lagos-Calabar rail project is very viable and it cuts across states in the South-South and South-West and it would galvanise the socio-economic activities of the affected regions. "Apart from this, the project is a joint venture between Nigeria and Japan and it is time bound. Any attempt to leave it out of the budget this year, will affect the execution of the project." Akanbi pointed out that the argument of the appropriation committees that they could not accommodate the Lagos-Calabar rail project, because it was not included in the budget presented by Buhari was not tenable because a supplementary provision was supplied. He hinted that a similar situation happened in the committee of solid minerals when the rents

on some of the ministry's properties were omitted in the budget presented, noting that the officials of the ministry were asked to go and re-present a supplementary budget of N5 million, which was instantly included by the committee and presented to the appropriation committee and consequently accommodated. He said: "The situation is similar to what happened in the committee on land transport because

the supplementary budget presented by the Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, is allowed in the parliamentary process. "Why should the money in the Transportation Ministry be moved to the Ministry of Works and voted for the construction of roads that had no engineering design and does not even belong to the Federal Government?" A senator from the South-South, who pleaded anonymity, said the Lagos-

Calabar rail project was as important to the southerners just as the Kano rail project is as important to the northerners. He said: "The Federal Government deliberately wanted the Lagos-Calabar rail project in the budget to balance the northern and southern interest, so nobody can remove it.” When our correspondent contacted Senator Sonni Ogbuoji (PDP, Ebonyi South), he said that the South-East Senate

Caucus was yet to meet on the matter, saying that they would take a position whenever they met.

394m

The estimated total population of South America in 2010. Source: Un.org

4,484

The total number of incidence of terrorist violence in 1994. Source: Satp.org

L-R: Group Executive Director (Refineries), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Anibor Kragha; Group Executive Director (Downstream), Henry Obih; Group Executive Director (Upstream), Bello Rabiu; Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, Garba Deen Muhammad and the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media, Mr. Laolu Akande, during a briefing on petroleum scarcity at the State House, Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN.

Reps to re-examine budget, Dogara meets Buhari …want appropriation committee chair to resign

Philip Nyam Abuja

ontrary to the position of the Senate, the House of Representatives has mandated Speaker Yakubu Dogara to seek audience with President Muhammadu Buhari with a view to re-examining areas of concern in the 2016 appropriation bill as passed by the National Assembly. The Senate had, on Tuesday, declared that it has completed work on the budget and would not take a second look at it. Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public affairs, Hon. Abdulrazaq Namdas, who disclosed this after a closeddoor session that lasted for more than three hours, said the House resolution to re-examine the controversial budget was in the national interest. He explained that the lawmakers at the executive session received briefing from the appropriation committee chairman, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, and decided that though the executive has not officially communicated them on the budget, there was need to douse the tension created by media reports on the matter. “We decided this morn-

ing to have an executive session and the issue discussed was the budget. We were fully briefed by the chairman appropriation committee and we agreed as a chamber, as a House and delegated the speaker to please go ahead and engage the executive to identify the areas of concern and that he should report back to us with the hope that these things at the national interest and see that this country move forward,” he said. According to Namdas, only the budget was discussed at the executive session. He said: “Considering the media reports, we have decided this morning in the chambers at our executive session, and in this session, the subject matter is the budget. “There are issues in particular, the Lagos-Calabar rail project that has been in the media, I want to reiterate here for the second time that the project was not among the projects submitted by the President to the National Assembly. “We are not saying that as a house, that the LagosCalabar rail project is not good, we know it is a viable project.” Responding to why the House is reacting without the prompting of the president, the spokesman explained that: “Our own

area of concern is that what people say that this thing was in the budget and we removed it. That is why we are making this clarification and again I want to state is clearly up till now as I speak there is no communication from the executive, the President to the National Assembly as I speak about the budget. “All that we read in the media are other people's opinions, but Mr. President has not come out clearly to say this and this are my problems with the budget that has been passed because as we were told, this budget has been taken back to ministries for them to examine and get back to the president. “That is why we asked our speaker to liaise with the executive; let's know what the issue is, because we are elected by the people and we are here to serve Nigerians.” Asked why the House took a contrary position with the Senate, Namdas explained that “we are not working at cross purposes. But for now, our concern is how the president will sign the budget for it to be implemented.” Although, the House spokesman denied that allegations levelled against appropriation committee chairman, for injecting

projects worth over N4 billion in his constituency in the project, New Telegraph gathered from sources at the executive session that it was the major issue of discourse. According to lawmakers, who spoke with our correspondent, members at the session expressed displeasure with the action of the appropriation committee chairman and called for his resignation, but the speaker intervened to save him. Consequently, Jibrin was banned from talking to the press on behalf of the House about the issue to avoid further controversy. “If anybody tells you that the issue of Hon. Jibrin was not discussed, he is not saying the truth. I can tell you the executive session was called because of the reports about appropriation chair. How can he turn national budget into his private stuff? This budget is N6 trillion plus and we are 360 members and one member is allocating projects of over N4 billion to his constituency. Is that right?” a lawmaker asked. The source disclosed that Speaker Dogara was also miffed by the development and cautioned the appropriation chairman. “Let me tell you, we insisted that he must resign or speaker should remove

him, but Mr. Speaker pleaded that it will send wrong signals to the public. We discussed him, I can confirm that to you,” the source added. The lawmakers also confirmed to New Telegraph that Jibrin has been barred from making any official pronouncement on the budget on behalf of the House. When asked to confirm the ban, the House spokesman cleverly stated that “every chairman has the right to speak about his committee, but when it comes to the House, it is Namdas. When it becomes an issue of the House, it is only Namdas that can speak for the House.” Jibril had allocated N4.319 billion to funds projects in his constituency. According to the reports, details of the budget transmitted to the president, shows that Jibrin’s constituency, the Kiru/Bebeji federal constituency of Kano State alone, stand to benefit this year with over N4 billion worth of projects, leaving other 359 constituencies with little or no projects. Details indicated that the sum of N1,445,000,000 was earmarked for the rehabilitation of SharadaKwanwar Dogara road and over N400 million was allocated for Kiru-Badaf road construction, while N300 million is for solarpowered boreholes.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Insight

The abandoned girls

In the beginning When the news broke that 276 female students sitting for their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) were kidnapped in Chibok village, Borno State, not many, including the then President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government believed the veracity of the news. It was April 14, 2014 when members of Boko Haram stormed the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Chibok town, a Christian-dominated community and whisked the 276 girls away unchallenged. That, perhaps, marked a critical twist in the activities of the terrorists who had hitherto been claiming responsibility for various bomb explosions and other forms of attacks across the North-East and the entire northern region. Denial, admittance and politicking It took the Federal Government a while to admit that the girls were abducted. It is still strongly held today that the whole episode of the abduction was orchestrated to discredit former President Jonathan. Owing to the political rivalry between the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the abduction was seen by the Federal Government as a mere political blackmail by the opposition. The government was, indeed, forced to action by global outcry, which greeted the abduction. Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, under whom the girls were abducted, said the former president only called him 19 days after. He made the disclosure at the Government House in Maiduguri, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was on a two-day visit to the University of Maiduguri, paid him a courtesy visit. He said: “In our own case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok ab-

Chibok girls: Failed by their nation Two years after 276 secondary schoolgirls were abducted by the dreaded Boko Haram terror group from their school in Chibok, Borno State and about 57 of the girls reportedly escaped from their abductors, leaving 219 girls with their captors, it appears that there is no hope in sight for the parents, guardians and the whole world waiting for the girls’ return. Already, 18 out of the parents of the abducted girls were reported to have died of frustration. Nigeria and the rest of the world, today marked the second anniversary of the abduction of the girls, albeit with mixed feelings and hope that they will be rescued alive and reunited with their families, writes YEKEEN NURUDEEN duction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency.” The issue, despite its gravity, became a matter of politicking between the two parties ahead of the 2015 general elections. The PDP then insisted that Shettima was culpable in the abduction. The Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, alleged that the governor, the then APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari and the party’s spokesperson, Lai Mohammed, knew the whereabouts of the girls. Doyin Okupe, media aide to Jonathan, also claimed that the Chibok schoolgirls were abducted to make the government look incompetent. Okupe, known for his staunch defence of the former president, said in a Facebook post that the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group was formed purposely to smear the image of Jonathan’s government. He said: “One of the reasons the Chibok girls were kidnapped was

If a credible leadership of Boko Haram can be established and they tell us where those girls are, we are prepared to negotiate with them without any condition

to present Jonathan’s administration as incompetent and hold it to ransom against the 2015 elections.” However, on May 2, 2014, police said they were still not sure of the exact number of the kidnapped students. They asked parents to provide documents so an official count could be made, as school records had been damaged in the attack. Two days later, Jonathan spoke publicly on the kidnapping for the first time. He said the government was doing everything it could to find the missing girls. At the same time, Jonathan blamed parents for not supplying enough information about their missing children to the police. BBOG’s emergence The abduction of the girls led to the emergence of #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG), the only advocacy group championing calls for the rescue of the girls. It was formed by former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwezili, Bala Usman, Aisha Yesufu, among others. The group started with daily sit

outs at Unity Fountain, Maitama, Abuja to press for the rescue of the girls. Its first major outing was on July 23, 2014 when vigils and protests were held to mark 100 days of the abduction in parts of Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Togo, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), Canada, and Portugal. Based on the global attention brought by the abduction, the UK, US, France, China, Canada, Israel and the European Union offered support to Nigeria. While the group continued its advocacy for the rescue of the girls, some people said the group was being used as a political tool to attack former President Jonathan. This was more pronounced with the presence of some key opposition politicians at its daily sit outs. Meanwhile, some of the people, especially politicians, who joined the group at the initial stage, have either stopped going for its daily sit outs now that they have been elected. It is rumoured that some politi-

INSIGHT

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

A cross section of the parents of the Chibok girls in Abuja.

Buhari

cians merely used the platform to propagate their cause ahead of the general elections. It was also rumoured that the #BBOG arrowhead, Ezekwezili, was looking for political appointment in the cabinet of President Buhari. But the group has continued to deny that it is being sponsored by any political party. “We are a nonpartisan civic movement and, therefore, shall continue to advocate and demand for justice for our 219 Chibok girls. Until our girls are rescued, our movement will not stop,” it said in a statement. The group, during the march to commemorate the first anniversary of the abduction, said it had been demanding the rescue of the abducted girls for the last one year, but nothing was more remarkable than having their peers carry out an exclusive activity for their cause. The comic relief In the midst of doubts of the veracity of the abduction and accusations by government and opposition came a comic relief provided by the then First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan. Not many Nigerians will forget quickly how Mrs. Jonathan helped calm the nerves with her rib cracking weeping and vocabularies. The then First Lady broke down in tears during a meeting with stakeholders from Borno State, including the state Commissioner for Education, principal of Government Secondary School, Chibok and Borno State Commissioner of Police, among others, to brief her on what transpired on the night of April14, 2014.

Jonathan

Patience Jonathan weeping at a Chibok stakeholders’ meeting

A BBOG member crying during a meeting with President Buhari

Michel Obama supporting BBOG

Mrs. Jonathan, who before then had become sensational for her spoken English, became an instant social and main media hit with some of the hilarious phrases that came from her during the meeting such as “Principal, na only you Waka come? There’s God oooo” and her eventual weeping, which was broadcast on national media and went viral on the social media.

been in school and instead should have been married since girls as young as nine were suitable for marriage. Shekau acknowledged that many of the girls seized were not Muslims. “The girls that have not accepted Islam, they are now gathered in numbers... and we treat them well the way the Prophet Muhammad treated the infidels,” he added.

Dashed hope On October 17, 2014, hopes were raised that the 219 remaining girls might soon be released after the Nigerian Army announced a truce between Boko Haram and government forces. The announcement coincided with the six-month anniversary of the girls’ capture and followed a month of negotiations mediated in Saudi Arabia by Chadian President, Idriss Deby. The announcement was met with doubt as this was not the first time the Nigerian government had claimed a breakthrough in negotiations with the Islamic militant group – it had to backtrack on a previous announcement in September after saying the girls had been released and were being held in military barracks.

Sales of Chibok girls Revelations came after sometime that non-Muslim students among the girls had been forced to convert to Islam. The girls were reportedly forced into marriage with members of Boko Haram, with a reputed “bride price” of 2,000 each. Many of the students were taken to the neighbouring countries of Chad and Cameroon, with sightings reported of the students crossing borders with the militants, and sightings of the students by villagers living in the Sambisa Forest. The forest is considered a refuge for Boko Haram. Local residents have been able to track the movements of the students with the help of contacts across North-East of Nigeria.

Boko Haram claim responsibility for kidnap On May 5, 2014, a video in which Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shehu claimed responsibility for the kidnapping emerged. Shekau claimed that “Allah instructed me to sell them... I will carry out his instructions. Slavery is allowed in my religion and I shall capture people and make them slaves.” He said the girls should not have

Nobody can bring back the girls for they are nowhere to be found

Escape from Lion’s den On October 12, 2014, it was reported that four of the girls had escaped and walked three weeks to freedom. They said they had been held in a camp in Cameroon and raped every day. One of the girls, who was formerly kept in a Sambisa forest camp, reportedly escaped from the hands of the abductors and ran into the hands of some Fulani herdsmen. According to reports, Fulani

herdsmen assisted her to get to the Baga military base of the MultiNational Joint Task Force. At the Baga base, the girl was said to have confessed that many of them were forcibly married to the terrorists who not only impregnated them, but also infected some of them with different diseases. According to her, she was not the only one impregnated. According to her, at the camp where she escaped from, there were about 60 of the girls, while others were shared and moved to border communities. Hoping against hope On May 9, 2015, Senator Shehu Sani, who used to be a go-between for Boko Haram and the Federal Government, said the group wanted to swap the girls for its jailed members. A few days later, Shettima said he had sighted the girls and that they were not taken across the border of Cameroon or Chad as was earlier reported. But on May 12, 2014, Boko Haram released a video showing about 130 kidnapped girls; each clad in a hijab and a long Islamic chador and demanded a prisoner swap. A journalist-brokered deal to secure the release of the girls in exchange for 100 Boko Haram prisoners held in Nigerian jails was scrapped at a late stage on May 24, 2014 after Jonathan consulted with US, Israeli, French and British foreign ministers in Paris, where the consensus was that no deal should be struck with terrorists and that a solution involving force was required. The then Nigerian Chief of DeCONTINUED ON PAGE 6

INSIGHT

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Chibok girls: Two years after, hope fades C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5

fence Staff had, on May 26, 2014, announced that the Nigerian security forces had located the girls, but ruled out a forceful rescue attempt for fears of collateral damage. On May 30, 2014, it was reported that a civilian militia in the Baale region of north-eastern Nigeria found two of the girls raped, halfdead and tied to a tree. Villagers said the Boko Haram group had left the two girls, killed four other disobedient girls and buried them. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Andrew Pocock, said that a couple of months after the kidnapping, a group of up to 80 of the Chibok girls were seen by American ‘eye in the sky’ technology, but nothing was done. The girls, a camp and evidence of ground transport vehicles were spotted next to a local landmark called the ‘Tree of Life’ in the Sambisa forest. No intelligence on Chibok girls Parents of the girls, and indeed all those advocating their rescue including the BBOG, got the shock of their lives when President Buhari said there was no firm intelligence on where girls were and their conditions. Many had hoped that the new president would leave no stone unturned to ensure quick rescue of the girls as he got their support during the campaign on the basis that his government would secure the release of the girls. During Buhari’s first Media Chat on Wednesday, December 30, 2015, he expressed concerns over the Chibok girls. When the president was asked if the military or other security agencies had any information, he said: “What we believe from our intelligence, they kept on shifting them around so that they are not taken by surprise and get them (the Chibok girls) freed. They must have dispersed them all over the place.” The president explained that the Federal Government was ready to negotiate on the release of the girls, but unfortunately the leadership of the militant group was not reliable. “We are looking for a credible Boko Haram leadership that will convince us that the girls are alive. If any Boko Haram just comes out and says he is a leader and that he knows where the Chibok girls are, we cannot automatically believe him. “We are still keeping our options open that if a credible leadership of Boko Haram can be established and they tell us where those girls are, we are prepared to negotiate with them without any condition,” he added. The disappointing meeting with Buhari Parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, who marched to the Presidential Villa in Abuja to protest the whereabouts of their daughters, left the seat of power

Two years on, any hope for the Chibok girls? Despite the resounding success being recorded by the Nigerian military in recent times against the terror group, there seems to be little or no hope for the return of 219 missing Chibok girls. What would have given huge hope to their return last month turned out to be a mirage when two suspected female suicide bombers claimed to be part of the missing girls. But further scrutiny revealed that none of the girls were among the 219 Chibok girls. Even the recent claim for deal by the group for the release of the girls has also been tagged as a mere ruse. It is yet to be seen when and how the girls would be rescued.

Mrs. Aisha Buhari consoling some of the Chibok girls’ parents

Parents of the girls during a protest

disappointed. It was on the 640 days of the girls’ abduction Speaking at the protest, Ezekwesili stated the need for government to find quick solution to the missing girls. She said the group had earlier met with the president on July 8, and that they were at the Villa to discuss the promises he made to them. Members of the BBOG group, alongside some parents of the missing schoolgirls, thronged the entrance to the Villa early on January 14. But the protesters were, instead, met by a government team comprising the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Al-Hassan, as well as the Minister of Defence, Monsur Dan-Ali, the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Monguno, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonishakin. However, Al-Hassan told them that because of the short notice given by the group, it was not possible to squeeze in the meeting with BBOG. She said Buhari was currently meeting with a visiting president of Benin Republic. But Ezekwesili accused the minister of not being fair.

The whole nation has failed these children. Parents, families and friends of our dear daughters

Chibok girls As if to tell the parents of the girls to stop hoping for their rescue or return, former President Obasanjo said on February 6, this year, that the girls could no longer be found and that any leader promising their return was simply lying. He stated this at an interactive programme of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife Staff Club tagged ‘Reflections of an elder statesman: An evening with OBJ.’ “Nobody can bring back the girls for they are nowhere to be found,” Obasanjo was reported to have said. “So, if any leader is promising to bring back Chibok girls, he is lying. Majority of these girls would have died, while those alive would have been married and others will be victims of sexual violence and human trafficking. “Nigerian leaders should stop deceiving the populace as Chibok girls cannot return again. The disappearance of the Chibok girls is as a result of nonchalant attitude of the previous leaders who did not swing to action immediately, which constituted impediment to their return; 72 hours after the Chibok girls were adopted was too late for their rescue, talk less getting to two years by April.”

“You have been very unfair to us,” she said. “I don’t understand why you can be chiding the parents and the movement. These parents were triggered by the words of the president who promised to rescue their daughters.” While she was still speaking, Shehu interrupted her to announce that the president would now meet the protesters. However, when President Buhari eventually arrived, he ordered journalists out of the meeting. Shehu, who announced the order, said the reason was because some “sensitive issues” were to be discussed. Journalists, who had turned up for the meeting, filed out of the Banquet Hall, venue of the meeting. But a group, ‘Enough is Enough’ (@EiEnigeria), said the Presidency was ‘cold’ during the meeting. The advocacy group claimed that AlHassan, Monguno and Olonisakin bluntly told the protesters that the Chibok girls were not kidnapped during Buhari’s administration. It was gathered that Buhari also stormed out of the meeting. Obasanjo’s damning verdict on

Girls failed by their nation Countdown to the second anniversary of the abduction of the girls, fiery preacher and Senior Pastor of the Latter Rain Gospel Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, last Sunday in Abuja, amid tears, chided the Federal Government for doing so little to rescue the 219 Chibok girls abducted. Bakare, a former political ally of Buhari, spoke at BBOG’s special sit out. The pastor berated past and present administrations for their failure to rescue the girls. He said: “The whole nation has failed these children. Parents, families and friends of our dear daughters, I am here today not just to speak to you, but to speak to the nation and to the world as one of you. I’m here as a father burdened by the captivity of our daughters, and I am here as a friend. I am here to express our frustrations and to speak of our undying hope as we wait expectantly for the return of our dear Chibok girls. “We are not unmindful that the Nigerian state failed to provide security for our daughters as they gathered to write final examinations, despite prior intelligence reports that suggested they were in danger.”

NEWS

ThurSday, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Army-Shiite’s clash: Zakzaky sues FG for N2bn Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

he leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem El Zakzaky and his wife, Hajiya Zeenat, have challenged their incarceration since last December, at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

They said their detention violates their fundamental human rights. As such, they are asking the court to compel the respondents – the Federal Government and its agencies – to pay Zakzaky and his wife N2 billion as general damages for violating their fundament human rights. Addressing a press

conference yesterday, the legal team of IMN, led by Barrister Festus Okoye, said that they have already filed two originating motions last Tuesday. According to Okoye, the Nigerian Army, Chief of Army Staff, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney General of the

We can’t say when Chibok girls’ll return –FG CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

He pointed out that everything that could be done to rescue the girls was being done with the assistance of international partners, saying that apart from the rescue of the girls, the situation of other vulnerable Nigerians remained the focus of the present administration. According to him, in dealing with the poorest of the poor in the country, there seemed to be a problem around the core subject of what a budget should be. The vice president said that people must pay attention to how government programmes were designed as "the soft under belly of our system is that we expose the most vulnerable to the harshest conditions. That's why

the government has come up with intervention programmes, including conditional cash transfer." He said compiling the list of the poorest in the society has been difficult despite the assistance received from some international agencies. Osinbajo stressed the importance of a commitment to doing it. "We must push it. That intervention must come from government’s funding of programmes that enables people to do something for themselves and lift them from poverty," he said. On education, he said that there was very little advocacy around getting the tiers of government to make more funds available for education. He noted that state and local governments must ensure children go to pri-

mary school. The vice president added that somebody has to be held responsible for the number of people out of school. In an opening address by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, he observed that there has been increase in the use of children as suicide bombers, but stressed the determination of government to check the trend.

Federation were joined in the originating summons. Okoye, who said that the leader of the Islamic Movement is seeking 11 reliefs, including that the respondents violated his fundament human rights to personal liberty, by not allowing him access to his doctors, family members and friends as enshrined in section 35(4)(6) of the constitution and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. The counsel also said that the respondents violated Zakzaky and his wife’s freedom of association as guaranteed by section 40 of the constitution and Article 40 of the article 11 of the African Charter, by keeping him incommunicado since December 14, 2015. “The respondents have continued to detain the applicant, thereby denying him his constitutional right of presumption of

139.14m

The total number of active lines of Nigeria in December 2014. Source: Ncc.gov.ng

$23.3m

The total pay (including salary/ winnings & endorsements) of Segio Aguero (Soccer) for 2014. Source: Forbes.com

innocence, in violation of section 36(5) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the IMN counsel added. According to him, the brutalisation of Zakzaky and his wife by soldiers who endangered his life by shooting at them, “which caused the death of their three children, is a flagrant violation of his right to life and dignity of human person as guaranteed by section 33 and 34 of the constitution.” Okoye also revealed that the legal team of IMN

had met with Zakzaky on April 1, after they had withdrawn from appearing at the Commission of Inquiry that was set up by Kaduna State Government in order to probe the crisis that occurred at Zaria between December 12 and 14, 2015. He said that Zakzaky expressed reservation about IMN appearing before the commission, considering its composition and “the fact that the Nigerian Army is a federal institution that is not subject to the control of Kaduna State Government and its agencies.” According to Okoye, the Shiite leader had instructed the legal team “to challenge the composition of the commission and its impartiality in court and to enforce his fundamental human rights, which has been and are still being infringed upon by his continuous detention without trial.”

Nigeria has failed schoolgirls – BBOG CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Labour force, comprising over 50 affiliate industrial unions nationwide and six million organised members, joins the rest of the world to demand for the safe return of the abducted school girls at Chibok. The NLC President said these abducted girls should not be taken for mere statistics as the abductors were robbing the society and nation of future doctors, nurses and political leaders. "An injury to these girls is certainly an injury to all us. It is not over until these girls are liberated from the clutches of the criminal abductors. NLC hereby calls on Nigerian government to intensify the security measures to liberate the girls. "We acknowledge the commendable efforts of Buhari administration to smash the dens of the Boko Haram terrorists. But to us in the labour movement, 219 missing girls are future workers, mothers not just statistics. "The received wisdom says if you educate a girl child, you educate a whole community. Those who abduct 219 girls out of school have definitely criminally abducted communities of

future doctors, nurses and leaders. "We must, therefore, join forces with the forces of progress and development worldwide to join forces for the liberation of our beloved girls of Chibok," NLC added. An elder statesman and former Political Adviser to former President Shehu Shagari, Tanko Yakasai, has attributed the failure of the government to secure the missing girls’ freedom to what he described as the politicisation of the matter. He accused politicians of using the unfortunate development to achieve personal political gains while the situation gets messier by the day. Other groups, including the Women Arise for Change Initiative and the Coalition against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), have also pledged their commitment to raising the nation’s consciousness against terrorism and continue to fight for the girls’ freedom. They made the pledge in separate statements issued yesterday and signed by their leaders, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin and Comrade Debo Adeniran respectively.

L-R: Director, Consumer Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Abdullahi Maikano; Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice Chairman, Usman Malah; Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar G. Danbatta; Director General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Dupe Atoki, and Director, Assurance and Development, Mr. Emmanuel Amlai, during CPC's visit to the commission in Abuja… yesterday.

Buhari: I'll deal with oil pipeline vandals like Boko Haram Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to apply drastic actions against persons involved in the attacks and vandalism of pipeline and oil installations around the country. The president, who spoke yesterday in Beijing, China, warned the vandals and saboteurs blowing up oil and gas installations in Nigeria to desist immediately or face the same drastic action being taken against Boko Haram by the Armed Forces. Speaking at a meeting with members of the Nigerian community in China, Buhari also reaffirmed his total commitment to winning the war against corruption, saying that corruption was an archenemy of the nation, which

has destroyed the lives of many Nigerians. "I ask for your support to make our vision of stamping out corruption a reality in the shortest possible time. Whoever is caught will not be spared. "The government is still being dared, but those who are sensible should have learnt a lesson. Those who are mad, let them continue in their madness," he said. The president explained that: "I am aware that in the last two weeks, the national grid collapsed a number of times. I hope this message will reach the vandals and saboteurs who are blowing up pipelines and installations. "We will deal with them the way we dealt with Boko Haram," the president declared. He assured the Nigerian community that the Federal Government was

working very hard to overcome current national challenges and deliver on its promise of a better Nigeria. "Clearly, our vision of a diversified and inclusive economy will not be achieved overnight. It will be a long, and in some cases, painful journey. I am very confident we will get there. But we must start that journey now. "We hear proposals for short cuts or quick wins. However, all we need to do is look at our history to know that there are no quick wins or short cuts in fixing Nigeria. The many decades of damage and destruction cannot be repaired overnight. "The reform programme we are implementing is not because oil prices are below $45 per barrel today. It is because when oil prices were over $100 per barrel, majority

of Nigerians were still suffering; they were simply forgotten and left behind. So, our reforms are to ensure that majority of Nigerians are not left behind," the president told the gathering. Buhari also assured the Nigerian community that his administration was fulfilling its promise to improve security across the country. "When we came into office in 2015, Boko Haram insurgents occupied 14 local government areas. Today, I am pleased to say the insurgents have been routed out of these local governments and their capacity to fight as a force has been significantly degraded. "We will continue working hard to ensure that the group is eliminated. This is achievable. And we will not settle for anything less," he said.

THURSDAY, april 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

METRO

ABIODUN BELLO abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com 08023938212

...CRIME, CITY WATCH, COURTS

Landlady sets tenant’s apartment ablaze

We disguised as patients to rob hospitals –Suspects

Juliana Francis

Taiwo Jimoh and Ezekiel Adesawe

olice detectives in Lagos State have smashed a gang which specialised in posing as patients to get access into hospitals and rob genuine patients and staff. The suspects, Babatunde Bamidele (25) and Muritala Balogun (27), were arrested at Ajangbadi area of the state on Wednesday, moments after they robbed a hospital. Revealing their modus operandi, Bamidele said: “Before we go out on operation, we would dress the body of one of our members with bandage. When we get to the gate of the prospective hospital, the supposed ‘sick person’ would start crying loudly. Others would start calling for emergency. Immediately we are allowed into the hospital, we would whip out our guns and rob the patients. We would rob them of money and other valuables. We don’t kill people. We only collect money and phones.” The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said the suspects used to pretend they were patients to gain access into the hospital to rob genuine patients of their valuables. Bamidele confessed that he was introduced to the robbery gang by Ahmed, now at large. He said: “I used to pick pocket until I met Ahmed. He advised me to abandon that. He said it was not profitable. Before I started going

Bamidele (left) and Balogun

out with them, they trained me for a week.” Recalling how the gang met its waterloo, Bamidele said they had just robbed patients and were racing to leave the scene when they ran into a police patrol van. He added: “The policemen were on patrol when they heard shouts of thief coming from the direction of the hospital. They ran after us. Ahmed and others escaped. Muritala and I were arrested.

“Since I joined the gang, we have robbed about five different hospitals at Ajangbadi, Shibiri and other parts of the community. I regret my actions. My parents must not hear I was arrested for armed robbery.” Narrating his own side of the story, Balogun said he was tricked into going with the gang to rob patients. He said: “I was also into pick pocket until I met Ahmed. I was at home when Ahmed called me. He said I should go with them to visit a

Two held for stealing 106 cows Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

olice have arrested two suspected rustlers for stealing 106 cows in different locations in Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. The suspects, Ibrahim Hassan (25) and Sunusi Maikudi (20), were among 20 others arrested for various criminal offenses and paraded on Monday at the command headquarters, Lafia.

Rustlers

The state Police Commissioner, Lawal Shehu, said the suspects were arrested by men of the anti-robbery squad of the command following a tip-off. Shehu said the suspected rustlers were arrested at Hunkii, a settlement in Awe Local Government Area with 106 cows and 20 sheep. Items recovered from the rustlers, according to the commissioner, included two AK47 rifles, one AK49 rifle, 127 rounds of live ammunition, two sets of military uniform, two face masks, 11 handsets, two unregistered motorcycles, charms and two machetes. Also paraded were four suspected robbers who specialised in robbing motorists and passengers of their valuables on JosAkwanga Road. The police boss said 30 SIM cards, two handsets, two machetes, one iron cutter and 15 pieces of women wrapper valued at N90,000 were recovered from them.

friend at the hospital. I obliged. We both went to the hospital. When we got to the hospital, I was surprised to hear Bamidele scream like he was in pains. Ahmed and others called for emergency. I didn’t go with them into the hospital. I waited outside. After a while, they came out with many phones and some other things. Immediately we left the hospital, policemen who were on patrol accosted us. They arrested me and Bamidele.”

etermined to force her tenant to quit her building, an angry landlord broke into the man’s apartment at Ijegun area of Lagos State and set it on fire. The landlady identified as Nike, poured fuel inside Adeleke Shakiru’s apartment and set it on fire. The incident happened on Tuesday around 9a.m. She poured petrol on a foam and other property in the house, lit a matchstick and set the apartment on fire. Nike, her husband, Jamin, and other members of the family fled thereafter. Witnesses said the whole building would have been razed down, but for the quick intervention of other tenants. The tenants stopped the fire from spreading. Shakiru’s property was, however, destroyed in the fire. One of the residents said: “Our landlady set the apartment on fire just to force the tenant to quit the apartment.” Some residents said Nike broke into Shakiru’s apartment through the window. It was gathered that Shakiru rented the apartment two years ago and was using a small generator like other tenants living in the building. One day, Nike’s husband told him to stop using the generator. When the tenant asked why, Nike ordered him to keep quiet and obey. If he refused to obey, he should vacate the apartment.

My ordeal in kidnappers’ hands –Channels TV reporter Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

mo State Correspondent of Channels Television, Eyitope Kuteyi, has explained what he went through in the hands of his abductors. Kuteyi, who was kidnapped Monday, last week, was freed on Tuesday night. The journalist told his colleagues that he was taken through two police checkpoints en route to their hideout. According to him, the act put up by the hoodlums could have fooled anybody as they pretended to be returning from a party when reached police checkpoints. Kuteyi recalled that he was held in a large forest where they had to keep moving.

He said: “We trekked for more than two hours in the forest and it seemed endless. During the day, I was blindfolded and at night when I could barely see anything in the thick forest except the prying eyes of my abductors and hearing the sound of their voices.” According Kuteyi, the area from Avu to Ohuba community seemed to be littered with informants of the kidnappers who he said were frequently being briefed on the movement and activities of the police search party. The journalist said they kept changing their positions on short notices. He said: “My abductors seemed to be educated and smart. They maintained that kidnapping cannot stop except the economy gets better. They urged me to tell the Federal Government to stop playing around and create jobs for young Nigerians or they should accept kidnapping as a way of life.

METRO

THURSDAY, april 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Barracks’ infrastructure decay, worrisome –Buratai

‘I raped my wife’s stepsister while drunk’ Taiwo Jimoh and Ezekiel Adesawe

A Buratai

he Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has decried the level of decay of infrastructure in Army barracks across the country. Buratai said this at the inauguration of some renovated residential accommodation for soldiers at the Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Jos. Buratai blamed the condition on long years of neglect and poor budgetary allocation to renovation and construction of barracks accommodation. He said: “It is an unfortunate situation. But, over the years, you can see the state of dilapidation and state of decay in the barracks. “The soldiers are staying in a very bad accommodation. It is unfortunate, but these are just the measures that we are taking to address the situation and we will continue to solicit for more support from government. “The decay is enormous but thank God that in this year’s budget there is provision for barracks’ renovation.” The COAS, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the present Army administration was looking inward to find solutions to the infrastructure decay in the barracks. He said the Army headquarters had commenced the renovation of 10 blocks of 30 flats each at the Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Jos, as part of efforts to address the problem. Buratai added that strict measures for maintenance would be put in place to entrench maintenance culture in the barracks. He assured soldiers and officers of the present administration’s commitment to improve the welfare of their families at all times. The COAS has also inspected other ongoing construction of soldiers’ accommodation at the Obienu Barracks in Bauchi.

36-year-old man, Imeh Akpan, who was arrested for defiling his wife’s 15-year-old half-sister, yesterday claimed he was drunk when he committed the crime. The victim, however, said Akpan raped her twice. Akpan, who resides at Obalende area of Lagos State, blamed the devil for his action. The suspect said he went to a friend’s child naming ceremony, where he took different kinds of alcohol. According to him, the alcohol influenced his action. He said: “It is not as if I raped her. I was drunk when I raped her. I returned from a party that fateful day. I didn’t know when I removed my clothes and raped her. There was nobody at home that night. Sincerely speaking, I was under the influence of alcohol. How could I have sex with a little girl like that? I’m married. I brought her up. Why would I rape somebody who had been living with me since she was just five years’ old? What happened to me was just the work of the devil.” The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said the suspect had been sleeping with the little girl, since she was five until he was arrested. The victim said Akpan, whom she calls ‘Uncle,’ had raped her twice. She said: “The first time he raped me, I was about 14-year-old. The second time was last Sunday when my aunt was

Akpan

not around. After the first incident, I reported it to my sister. When my sister confronted him, he denied it. He even threatened to send me out of his house. It was my sister who begged him to spare me. The matter was resolved. “My uncle didn’t stop the act. Whenever my sister was not at home, he would always want to do it again. This one happened after he returned from a party. He tore off my pants and pounced on me. I struggled, but he overpowered me.” The victim said after the incident, she ran out of the house, to a neighbour’s apartment to beg for a phone. She wanted to call her mother, but the neighbour said she had no call card.

She said: “I ran to the junction of our street, where I met a man. I explained everything to him. He offered to help me. He took me to a hotel to pass the night. Whenever I closed my eyes to sleep, I would see my sister’s husband in my dream. I couldn’t close my eyes. When it was 3a.m., the man that promised to help me, almost raped me. “It was my screams that alerted the management of the hotel. They came and rescued me from the man. Immediately, I left the hotel. I was walking on the street when I saw policemen who were on patrol. I narrated my ordeal to them. My sister’s husband was later arrested.”

DPO didn’t beat traffic warden, say witnesses

itnesses have denied alleged attack on a female traffic officer, Anifat Bello, on duty on IBB Boulevard Way, Abeokuta, Ogun State by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Ikene Division, SP Patrick Onwu. Those who claimed to have witnessed the incident on Suin-Kopagbe-Shagamu Expressway described what happened between the two police officers as nothing more than a ‘shouting match’. One of them, who gave his name as Jubril Akeem, said there was nothing like a fight between the two police officers. He said: “The woman traffic police officer had challenged the policeman who drove into the NNPC filling station for

disobeying her.” According to Akeem, the man apologised by saying “I am sorry madam; I didn’t mean to disobey you. It is just that I am in a hurry for the CP’s briefing.” The witness said the man identified himself as the DPO Ikene Division. “But the woman did not border to listen to him; she bent over the policeman’s car and started copying the car’s registration number and the man’s name on his uniform. It was at this time, the policeman shove her aside, entered his vehicle and zoomed off,” Akeem added. Another witness, Mr. Kayode Atanda, also claimed that there was nothing like a fight.

Ogun CP, Ali

City Briefs

Ex-UMTH staff arraigned for N185m fraud Two escape death as tanker’s E brake fail conomic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned five former staff of the Finance and Accounts Department, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), on charges bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence. The accused, former Assistant Director, Mahmud Sambo, former Assistant Chief Accountant, Bukar Musti, former Executive Officer, Mohammed Kasim, former Internal Auditor, Haruna Katangana and Alkali Gonimi, were arraigned last week before Justice M. T. Salihu of the Federal High Court, Maiduguri, Borno State. The accused, the EFCC Head, Media & Publicity,

The accuse in court

Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement yesterday, were said to have at various times connived to alter documents to defraud the university to the tune of N185 million. Sambo (aka Ardo Hamajam) and Kasim (aka Babagana Sale), were arraigned on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, uttering of documents, and obtaining by false pretence, to the tune of N61 million. In one of the counts against them, between March 2009 and December 2009, they allegedly obtained N35,882,000 from the coffers of the UMTH under the false pretence that it was for supplies to the hospital and contractual salary for Babagana Saleh. Musti and Sambo, were docked on a three-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence to the tune of over N58 million. They are alleged to have between March 2010 and June 2010, used their positions to defraud UMTH of the said sum in the guise that it was to be used for payment of salaries. Kasim, was arraigned along with Musti and Sambo, on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N8 million, between September 2008 and September 2010.

Muritala Ayinla

gardeners survived the accident. She said: “It true, we thank God both of them are now responding to treatment.” Meanwhile, the tanker driver has been arrested by the police.

wo gardeners working on the scenic garden along the popular Third Mainland Bridge were yesterday hit by a tanker. The gardeners, who were trimming the flower before the accident, were unconscious when they were taken to the nearby hospital. The accident occurred at the Ogudu end of 3rd Mainland Bridge near Iyana Oworo. Motorists, who witnessed the accident, said the tanker had a brake failure. But speaking with our correspondent, the General Manager, Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK), Mrs. Abim- The scene of the bola Jijoho-Ogun, said the two accident

NEWS | national

Felix Nwaneri and Anule Emmanuel

he presidency has condemned a London based newspaper, Telegraph on what it described as misleading, a false report over the war against Boko Haram in the north east. Telegraph had reported that President Muhammadu Buhari was using UK aid to prosecute political foes rather than to fight Boko Haram A statement by the senior special Assistant on Media and Publicity Shehu Garba, yesterday said the report was not only full of factual inaccuracies, but portrays a shocking ignorance of Nigeria and the country’s ongoing war against ter-

thursday, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

FG denies diverting aid on Boko Haram

rorism by the news organisation and the writer of the story. Shehu said the writer, Mr. Coughlin’s editorial tactic is to quote unnamed “senior officials” and “Western diplomats” and “Western officials” and “political opponents” making fact-free and unfounded statements. It also appears that he sought out only those opinions which suited and reinforced his disgracefully false headline. He said "Nowhere in the piece is there anything that suggests he attempted to contact the Nigerian government for its own side of the story.

"Coughlin writes that “American officials are also angry that $2.1 billion of aid given to the Nigerian military to tackle Boko Haram has not been properly accounted for.” According to the presidential spokesman, "it does not occur to him that the $2.1 billion he refers to was budgeted for and wholly spent by the government that President Buhari and his party de-

N1.44bn

The IGR realized from other revenue sources of Plateau State in 2012. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

feated in the March 2015 presidential elections, and that one of President Buhari’s priorities has been investigating the misuse of those funds. "It also does not appear to occur to Mr. Coughlin that the “political opponents” he is falsely accusing President Buhari of “targeting” and "persecuting" are actually on trial on account of how they spent the $2.1 billion in question. Mr. Coughlin is equally unaware of the fact that the investigating panel set up by Mr. Buhari to probe the $2.1 billion recently published a preliminary report that confirmed that much of

that money was indeed looted or mis-spent by the accused persons, and that the government has started to recover the funds. "Coughlin accuses President Buhari's government of attempting to cover-up the abductions of 400 women and children "abducted last year by militants from the Nigerian town of Damasak." "This is absolutely untrue. The Damasak abductions he’s referring to, which were recently widely reported, took place, not “last year” as he says, but in late 2014, well before Mr. Buhari was elected President of Nigeria. (And, by the way,

President Buhari came to power on May 29, 2015, not July, as Coughlin reports). The UK Telegraph, in a report published yesterday, alleged that over £860million of British foreign aid given to Nigeria to help combat Boko Haram terrorists was being used to fund a witchhunt against members of the opposition political parties. The report said Western officials were now raising concerns that while Buhari’s government continues to use British aid money against his political opponents, it is proving less effective at tackling the Boko Haram insurgents.

DSS parades Boko Haram commander, suspected fraudsters Emmanuel Onani

L-R: Boko Haram Suspects…. Khalid Al-Barnawi; Aminu Ado (aka Yashau; Muhamed Yerima Adam; David Ali Michika; Umar Hamza; James Malu Akne and Kazeem Kayode Usman, during their parade before press men at Department of State Security Service (DSS) in Abuja… yesterday…. PHOTO:ELIJAHOLALUYI

Aspirin helps prevent heart disease, cancer in adults Appolonia Adeyemi

aking an aspirin a day could help some adults prevent cardiovascular disease and colon cancer. United States (U.S). Preventative Services Task Force made these recommendations, which were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Giving its final recommendation on Wednesday in Washington, the panel said research showed that the benefits of regular aspirin use outweighed the bleeding risks. It explained further that how much someone can benefit from doing so depends on their age and risk of cardiovascular disease. Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a medication, often used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation. It is also used long-term, at low doses, to help prevent heart attacks,

strokes, and blood clot formation in people at high risk of developing blood clots. Aspirin may be effective at preventing certain types of cancer, particularly colorectal cancer. Aspirin has been marketed for more than 100 years and its use as a medicinal agent stretches back to antiquity. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Chairman of the task force, said people of 50 to 59 years old, who have increased risk of heart attack or stroke, benefit most from daily use of low-dose aspirin (81 mg) and recommended aspirin initiation for this group. “People 60 to 69 years old with increased cardiovascular risk can also benefit from doing so, but the overall benefit for this group is smaller, and therefore, the decision to take aspirin should be made with their doctors.” Bibbins-Domingo said the panel also concluded that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of aspirin use in adults younger than 50 years or older than 70 years. He warned that before starting to take aspirin

for primary prevention, people aged 50 to 69 should talk to their primary care clinician to understand their risk of cardiovascular disease and risk for bleeding. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is an independent, volunteer panel of U.S. experts. The panel regularly reviews scientific evidences and make recommendations about clinical preventive services such as screenings, counselling services, and preventive medications. Reacting to the development, the Chief of the Cardiac Transplant Program at the world-renowned

Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in the U.S, Dr. Chauncey Crandall said, “I’m glad that the federal officials are endorsing the use of daily aspirin for colon cancer and heart disease reduction, but I think that the new recommendations are going to add to the confusion that people already have about it. “Low-dose aspirin cuts the heart attack rate by 50 per cent. Now, we’re finding that it’s anti-inflammatory properties help reduce the risk of colon cancer, and may help prevent other forms of cancer as well, like esophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancer.”

Police: Shiites funded by Iran

Ibraheem Musa kaduna

he Nigerian Police and the State Security Services (SSS) have alleged that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shi'ites are being funded by Iran and Iraq. In their separate submissions at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna State

government to investigate the December 12, 2015, clash between the Islamic group and the Nigerian Army yesterday, the two security agencies alleged that IMN was operating a state within a state with outright disregard to constituted authorities. Testifying on behalf of the Nigerian Police, Keneth Dika, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said that the IMN did not recognise the constitutionality of the police.

he Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday, presented before journalists one Bello Danhajiya, whom it said was the second-incommand to a leader of Boko Haram, Khalid AlBarnawi, who has since been taken into custody. Addressing journalists at the secret services' headquarters, Mr. Garba Abdullahi, who stood in for Mr. Tony Opuiyo, said "Preliminary investigations have disclosed his (Danhajiya's) involvement in gun-running, cattle rustling and other nefarious criminal activities principally on the directives of his commander." The service also presented Aminu Ado, David Ali, Michika Umar Hamza, James Malu Akune, and Kazeem Kayode Usman.

Ado, who was arrested on March, 24 at Keffi, Nasarawa State, was said to have confessed to defrauding Lt. Gen T.Y. Danjuma (Rtd) of N1m in 2015, as well as wife of Akwa Ibom State Governor of N300, 000. He was said to have collaborated with one Hajia Aisha, "who impersonated the wife of former Gombe State Governor, Danjuma Goje. The DSS said "he confessed to defrauding members of the public by claiming to be the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the President." It said: "Further investigation revealed that Ado had the mobile phone numbers of all the Federal Executive Council (FEC) members, some State Governors, their wives and Aides as well as that of prominent Nigerians and Military/Police Officers."

Buhari demands speedy completion of Mambila power project Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would take urgent steps to complete the 4,000 megawatts Mambilla Hydro-Electric Power Project. The President stated this yesterday in Beijing at a meeting with Mr Li Keqiang, the Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China. He said his administration will honour all agreements concluded between Nigeria and China under previous administrations to ensure the speedy completion of outstanding joint projects.

President Buhari regretted the failure of past governments to meet Nigeria's obligations in joint projects with China. The President told the Chinese Premier that his administration was committed to the completion, in the shortest possible time, of all joint power, rail, road and aviation projects that will directly and quickly improve the lives of Nigerians. He said that he was particularly keen on actualizing the Mambilla Power Project because of its huge potential to boost employment and national economic growth. The Chinese Premier commended ongoing efforts by the Buhari Administration to improve Nigeria's infrastructure.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Insurgency N’East rebuilding’ll comply with best practices – Tumsah

Politics Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje was National Chairman of the NewPDP which broke from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2013 to merge with the All Progressives Congress (APC). The former National Secretary and Acting National Chairman of the PDP, in this interview, speaks on the APC government and the crisis in the party. BIODUN OYELEYE reports

Why have you remained silent on issues affecting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)? My silence was because I am an elder of the party and elders don’t just talk, particularly the ones who know what they are doing and I don’t believe in flippancy. You don’t get me talking because I want to remain focus. Secondly, I have been busy doing too many things. You are all aware that APC is a new party and the party is a coalition of various political groups, which I happen to belong to one of them. Therefore as a senior citizen and elder of the party, I have been busy building the party together with others who are desirous of building a very formidable party. I have been ensuring that we build bridges among members, particularly between the elders and leaders. It is not easy to come

FELIX NWANERI

GROUP PoLITICAL EDITOR nwanerif@yahoo.com

Interview Only genuine defectors welcomed to APC in S’East – Okechukwu

13 15

Baraje: PDP may take over Senate if Saraki is removed

Baraje

from various backgrounds to form a political party because our ideologies and focus about the country must be blended as one to take Nigeria forward. While we are busy building, we must ensure that the structures are firm and we have gotten to a reasonable level. I think we have gotten to a point where we and Nigerians can assess and make comments. Why is APC keeping silent on the trial of the Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT)? Many of us have been surprised or taken aback that the party has not been living to expectations about the trial of the Senate president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; living up to expectation in terms of making the Senate president have a sense of belonging as part of the party which is very important for any

When there are lots of distractions, you would lose focus

member, let alone the calibre of the Senate president, who has sacrificed lot of resources for the party. I have been trying to make the party realise that not only the Senate president but everybody that contributed to the success of the party matters from the highest to the lowest hierarchy. We have gotten to a level where we have to be realistic and ensure that the right thing is done at the right time and in the right manner, moreso from the fact that we belong to a group that is not very satisfied with the performance of the party. It is not only because the Senate president is currently going through a very pronounced political persecution, but because there are other cases and instances where we are not happy about the performance of our party. A case in point is the recent rerun elections in Rivers State. You will agree with me

that before and during the elections, APC did not have the expected and desired presence in the state. With the volatile nature of the rerun elections, some of us with our humble experiences expected the presence of our party there. It is regrettable. Today, we have counted about one 150 rerun elections both at the state and national levels across the country and our party, the APC has lost majority of the elections. Not because the party has lost popularity, but because of lack of enough presence of the party in the various places where the elections were held. Politics is not technical but practical. If APC decided to abandon its members in the middle of the election, you don’t expect magic from such situation. The party should be proud that the Senate president is CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

12 NEWS

ThurSday, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

How Orosanye opened secret account to divert N190m Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial of a former Head of Service of the Federation and former Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force, Stephen Orosanye, yesterday told an Abuja High Court how the defendant opened a secret account in the name

of the task force to divert about N190 million belonging to the Federal Government. The witness, who is an employee of Access Bank Plc., Olubunmi Ojoko, told the court that Orosanye opened the Access Bank account on behalf of the PCFATF in 2012, without obtaining an approval from the Accountant-General of the Federation. “He (Oronsaye) called me that he needed to open an account on behalf of the

Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force. “I met him at his residence in Asokoro, where I handed him the documents for the account, including the Access Bank account opening request of the committee signed by him,

€5.2m

The annual salary of coach Manuel Pellegrini of Manchester City in 2015 season. Source: France Football

his passport photograph, copy of his passport and documents that set up the committee by the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation. “I scrutinised the documents and discovered that the Accountant-General of the Federation’s approval

173

The population density of Western Europe in 2012. Source: Un.org

L-R: Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Interior, Abdulraman Dambazzau; Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed and Special Adviser on International and Economic Affairs to the National Security Adviser, Dr. Remi Oyewumi, during a roundtable in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

was not included. So, I asked him for it and he said it was not necessary. I asked for the AccountantGeneral of the Federation’s approval because it is needed when opening a government account. Since he said that it wasn’t necessary, I took him by his word. “I took the documents to the bank and the account was opened,” she stated when being led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC’s) prosecuting counsel, Ufom Uket. The witness further told the court that she never met any other member of the committee, including Mr. Jalal Arabi, a counsel in the Presidential Villa, who served as the secretary to the committee; throughout the period the account was operated. She added that there were a total of four lodgements into the account from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other cash deposits, adding that the lodgements totalled N285 million, part of which were invested in fixed deposits with part of the interests that accrued re-invested.

NNPC spends $1.8bn on fuel imports quarterly CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Nigerians for the pains they are experiencing in accessing the product. According to Bello, "spending on imports rely on two things: volume and the price.” He said: "As we speak today, a cargo of product of about 40 million litres will cost about $13 to 14 million. And we need about 45 to 50 million litres to satisfy the country, depending on the time and the condition in the country. "So, if you assume that about $16 million per day, it can also go up to $20 million depending on the price. It means you need $20 million multiplied by 90 days for a quarter.” "That is $1.8 billion. So, this amount is required to import the country's fuel requirement for one quarter. "Every month, we need $600 million to import fuel. So, we need $1.8 billion to import the country's requirement for one quarter," he added. He told reporters that the corporation was taking urgent steps,, including releasing more products to the petroleum stations, to end the current queues. "The objective is to brief you on the current situation of the petroleum products scarcity and queues all over the country. "Let us start by tendering our apology and tell the

people that we are really doing the right thing. We have been working very hard. It is supply issues that have been causing this problem, but we are doing everything possible to end it. "What we are doing now is to ensure that we get necessary supplies into the country through imports, as well as through our refineries. "As we speak today, we have five vessels serving products all over the country. And not only in Lagos, but also Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar," he added. Bello noted further that "apart from these vessels discharging, we also have private sector people that imported and are discharging currently. "At least 120 million litres. In moving the product out into the hinterland, we have a little option because most of the pipelines are still not working. Because pipelines are not working, we are relying on about 100 per cent trucking to the hinterlands. "The plan is that going forward, from today, we want to ensure that we give what is more than required in this country. "The total requirement for the whole country is about 1,300 trucks. But our plan is to make at least 1,500 trucks available everyday. We want to

make sure that we sustain the market in a very short time. You can see that Lagos is almost cleared. Abuja is getting better. Other places will follow. "Yesterday, we were pushing 960 trucks into the cities, but what was loading out of the depots was much more than that. We are now in a position to say that each state demands have been captured," he said. Bello noted that in a very short while, the whole country would be wet. "We now have enough supply. Port Harcourt refinery is already delivering five million litres per day, that is more than 120 trucks. That is not even enough for Port Harcourt area and Bayelsa," he said. Meanwhile, NNPC yesterday declared plans to restart the 110,000 barrel per day Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Limited on Friday as it heightened efforts to end acute shortage of the product. The corporation, which is excited over the production of five million litres of petrol by the 210,000 barrels a day capacity Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical Limited, had declared that the Kaduna Refinery would be brought back on stream by mid-April. Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs

Division, NNPC, Muhammad, maintained that work began on the refinery since last week. "It is not in full capacity. Production is between three and five million litres daily," Reuters quoted Muhammad to have said. Despite being Africa's largest crude exporter, Nigeria imports almost all of its fuel. Dollar shortage and the shutdown of refineries have, for weeks, left motorists queuing for petrol across the country. NNPC said this month it planned to restart its 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Kaduna by midApril. Nigeria has a refining capacity of 445,000 barrels per day from four refineries, but they have been mostly shut due to years of neglect and corruption. Last month, Minister of State for Petroleum, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, said Nigeria was in talks with oil companies, Chevron, Total and ENI, seeking help to revamp the ailing refineries. Before it was shut down in the first quarter of 2016, the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Limited restarted operations on January 20 after months of closure for repairs. The re-streaming of the 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity plant and resumption of fuel

production were major boosts to the effort by the Federal Government to augment the supply of petroleum products towards resolving the fuel scarcity problem in major cities in the country. The refinery, as at January 20, began production with an initial yield of about 1.5 million litres of petrol, which then increased its daily production capacity to 3.2 million litres. “The injection of this volume into the system will significantly impact ongoing special intervention efforts by the NNPC management designed to bring relief to motorists across the country,” a source at the NNPC said. Prior to its closure in September, Kaduna Refinery had not worked for most part of last year, except briefly in July and August 2015, when its utilisation capacity dropped to about 2.6 per cent and 10.5 per cent respectively, according to the NNPC monthly operational report for October 2015. The 125,000 bpd capacity Warri Refinery, which was closed down since September, equally for repairs, would be the last to come back on stream, according to the resumption timeline expected to see all the refineries come back on or before the end of the second quarter.

Ojoko further stated that as of the time the account was closed, Oronsaye had withdrawn from the account about N150 million, which was partly the accrued interests on the investments, through cheques which he allegedly issued in favour of himself and various beneficiaries. Highlighting the inflow of cash into the account, the witness stated that, “the first transfer was N50 million in October 2012. The second, which was in April 2012, was N90 million from the CBN. In May 2013, there was another cash lodgement of N45 million. The fourth lodgement of N100 million came in December 2014 from CBN. Ojoko said: “After the first lodgement (of N50 million from CBN) several cheques were drawn by the defendant (Oronsaye) in favour of various beneficiaries. “The second inflow of N90 million was invested in fixed deposit account. It was fixed in Banker’s Acceptance, which is a form of investment, for 90 days at 9 per cent. On maturity, the N45 million (the third inflow) had come and it was fixed for 90 days. “Upon maturity, they (the investments) were usually rolled over on the instruction of Mr. Stephen Oronsaye and the interest were credited into his current account. “The N100 million (the fourth inflow) came in December 2014 and it was placed in fixed in Banker’s Acceptance for 90 days. “The total of investments and rollovers were about N280 million. About N150 million interests accrued on all the investments. “Now, the account is at zero balance after the N163.5 million in it was transferred to the Treasury Single Account.” The witness was led to read from the statement of the account, which was tendered and admitted by the court without any objection from the defence. The account opening package, bank statements, mandate documents raised by Oronsaye and other documents relating to the account were also admitted as exhibits. The trial judge, Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, however adjourned till today for cross-examination of the witness The EFCC had, on March 15, 2016, arraigned Oronsaye on two-count charge of breach of trust which he allegedly committed between 2013 and 2014 by defrauding the Federal Government of N190 million using his position as the then Chairman of the Presidential Committee on FATF.

POLITICS \ INTERVIEW

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Alhaji Tijjani Musa Tumsah is the Vice Chairman, Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative. In this interview with NANKPAH BWAKAN, he speaks on the working document that will serve as a guide for NorthEast rebuilding. He also speaks on the series of interventions going on in the insurgency-ravaged zone. Excerpts:

What are the observations of the Presidential Committee on NorthEast Initiative so far? As you are aware, the Presidential Committee on the NorthEast Initiative, which was constituted by President Muhammadu Buhari is headed by Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd). Our mandate is to coordinate, sensitise and develop actions plans for the development of the NorthEast and to that effect, our committee is to coordinate other committees and other initiatives such as the Victims Support Fund, Save School Initiatives and Presidential Initiatives on the North-East. But the basic problem that needs to be tackled in the NorthEast is the coordination of all initiatives going on in the zone, so that all the committees will know their roles and responsibilities in order to avoid duplication of duty. President Buhari thought is necessary to create such committee in order to design all the necessary actions that will facilitate the rebuilding of the North-East. But the committee seems to be silent in carrying out its activities... There is a general misunderstanding of what the purpose of the committee is. This committee is not going to work in isolation; it will partner all other committees that are already working in NorthEast. Our committee is trying to get all other committees and initiatives into a clear strategy. The strategy will come into existence when there is a national conference on rebuilding of the NorthEast and this will be a summation of all assessment. The World Bank, European Union and United Nations are also taking an assessment tour. They are working day and night to come up with their assessment of the region. We have had assessments made by the NorthEastern states, Victims Support Fund and Presidential Initiative on the North-East, respectively and these are all programmes that are already taking place to a large degree but the latest assessment is what we are doing, which entails the validation of previous assessments made and intervention is going on as well.

N’East rebuilding’ll comply with best practices – Tumsah North and other regions is closed. There are things that we need to commence doing like the assessment, planning and general execution of programmes for the North-East region. These will take place very soon. When the commission becomes operational, it will have a basis for continued existence or even improve on what will be put in place. It is unnecessary for the establishment of the commission before we do all the planning and assessment. I think we are working in the right direction and by the time we are through with our assignment, President Buhari will have a good working document.

Tumsah

The reconstruction of the North-East is something that has to be done with care. It has to comply with international best practices. We have to plan for the best for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). As part of the processes to make this happen, the Ministry of Defence has also set up a committee to go around the entire area affected by the conflict to certify areas that are ready for interventions and certify areas that are safe to occupy, so the IDPs can return to their towns and villages. It is important that the military should go into those areas and certify them safe because we are dealing with insurgency and it takes a few of the insurgents to destabilise a whole community. So, we have to be really careful. We have to encourage our people to be very resilient. We have to rebuild these communities in a way that they will not harm the people again. We have recommended ways of interventions in such a way that we will make sure that the people have means of communication to alert the security whenever the insurgents are planning to attack them. The issues in Borno State are different from the ones in Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe and Bauchi states. All these things have to be critically examined and by doing so, we will allow a concerted well designed programme of interven-

tion. But as it is now, all the interventions are going on but there is need for the synchronisation of all these efforts.

The reconstruction of the NorthEast is something that has to be done with care

Is there an immediate intervention to show that government is really committed to rebuilding the North-East? The plans we are developing are not long time interventions alone but also encompass short, medium and long time ones. There are also plans and interventions that are going on. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and state governments are providing assistance to IDPs and international donors are also intervening in that regard, and I am sure ordinary Nigerians too are doing their best. Some of the youth were given assistance, which is an indication that the interventions are both long and short terms because there are humanitarian services provided. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has moved a motion for the establishment of North-East Development Commission (NEDC). What is your take on that? I see the committee as a vehicle to comment on the operations in the North-East region. My opinion is that, it is a necessary thing to do because the establishment of the commission is long overdue, so that the gap between

Don’t you think your committee should be talking about action instead of a conference? As I said earlier, there is action going on by various actors. What we don’t have is a clear communications strategy to unveil this action and that is what we have to develop. You must have action because any action without planning becomes ineffective. We chose to have a plan and continue with the action. I assure you, a lot of organisations are already acting, I know the Victims Support Fund is acting; the Presidential Initiative has been acting in providing schools, classrooms to various communities. I also know that the military is working very hard in stemming the tide of Boko Haram. I know they are currently carrying out evaluation of communities and after the successful completion of the assignment; they will hand over back the communities. I know NEMA is assisting people of the region, state governments are also providing their own assistance and a lot of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are doing a lot in the region. We learnt that your committee is yet to be inaugurated. Don’t you think that this will affect its work? All eyes are on the North-East and the inauguration of the committee is as good as done because we are already working. The inauguration will just be a ceremony but all the stakeholders will be involved in the conference, where we will discuss what should be done for the North-East. At the end of conference, we are expected to develop a document that will guide the president in rebuilding the zone. The government is desirous of establishing an office that will take care of all the events that are happening in the North-East, whether it is in the camps or host communities. We have reports of the assessments done by all the states of the North-East. They compiled them in what they called the North Eastern States Transformation Strategy. We also have a study done by Presidential Initiative on North-East and by the Victims Support Fund, and now the World Bank, United Nations, European Union, USAID, and are validating them.

POLITICS \ INTERVIEW

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

from its fold. Though he was not wanted by some certain interests, he went into an election and won. The PDP episode with Aminu Tambuwal (former speaker, House of Representatives) is still fresh. The PDP then didn’t throw the baby away with the bath water, knowing fully well that such move will be counterproductive. It was well managed and that speaker still remained the speaker of the then PDP government. Our party may loath the ways of PDP, but out of every bad situation and experience, there are atoms of goodness and every visionary leader will separate the chaff from the corn and take what is good out of it. So, it is not as if the Senate president has gone against his party. I am a witness of how our Senate president got the seat and I can say that as at the time we went for the election, the party had no candidate for the poll. The party first made a statement that it has zoned the seat to the NorthCentral before all the intrigues. How would you assess the performance of the APC- led government at the centre? I want to say that there had been distractions. The Buhariled administration is well intentioned. Lots of things went wrong before Buhari came in and to build is difficult. When there are lots of distractions, you would lose focus and the APC has lots of distraction created by the party itself. In line with the constitution of the country, we have three arms of government. These are the pillars that should hold the country’s fabrics together and if one of the pillars get jeopardised, what do you expect. The Senate president is the chairman of the legislative arm in Nigeria and he is not getting the support that he should get simply because some very few individuals thought they are more powerful than the party itself. As disorganised as PDP was, everybody was a member. It was because of the tradition of impunity that was creeping into the PDP that made us raise the alarm and that was why we left and you can see the consequences. Now the same scenario is creeping into the APC. We must sound a note of warning to President Buhari to shine his eyes. There are people in the party, who claim to be working for the success of the party but actually doing that for their own selfish interests. But it will lead them to nowhere. We will never romance impunity. President Buhari should be wary of them and play more politics now. He has gone into the house and has seen how bad it is; he has reorganised the house and what is left now is to consolidate on the reorganisation to build on the foundation. Are you playing any role in the reported formation of a new party? We also heard it just like you. But I have not entered into any alliance or gone to any meeting with anybody. So far, so good, APC is still on ground but we want Mr. President to shine his eyes as Nigerians would say, but that cannot be done successfully except he plays

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

APC crisis distracting Buhari’s govt – Baraje

hell bent on removing him, the worst will now happen because we may have the PDP taking over the Senate Presidency and that of its deputy. Maybe we should practice it for the first time and see how it would be. We have heard there are plans to destabilise the political root of the Senate president here at home by some APC leaders at the national level. We are ready for it, not by violence, but we want to show them that this is an area that can’t be penetrated; we are one and will remain one. If they do, you we shall see the consequences.

Baraje

politics. Will you consider leaving the party if this alleged impunity continues? Every politician or group has aspirations in any part of the world and not only in Nigeria. The time we were going into merger to become the APC, our aspiration was that the then government of PDP was not giving us that desired governance and Nigerians were suffering. We want to be part of the solution to the problem and to make life easy for our people, but how far have we achieved those aspirations? There is nothing on ground now. Some will say that our group has the Senate president but he has not been in peace. Since the coming of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, no Senate president has had dry, blatant, politically tyrannical and open persecution as Saraki. What is your take on the trial of Saraki? The case of Saraki has not followed due process and rule of law. It was the due process that was missing in the case of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and he was discharged but not acquitted. So, why is Saraki’s case different? So, as regards whether we are comfortable with where we are and whether we are joining other groups, every politician has aspirations about development of his people and if you cannot achieve it in one place, you go to another place. It doesn’t mean that I am a political prostitute but that I am a principled person and will not stop until I get what I want,

which in this case is good governance, equality, democratic dividends for my people. Impunity, lawlessness and lack of due process were not what formed APC. With the intervention of some leaders like us, that party will continue to thrive, but for it not to go the way of PDP, the president must play politics.

No Senate president has had... open persecution as Saraki

How would you react to allegation that Saraki was drawing salary after leaving office as Kwara State governor? Immediately Saraki left office, like any other civil servant who worked for it, he began to enjoy his pension and the vouchers that pay those benefit began immediately and the banks still referred to it as salaries. One of the major goals of this trial was to create sensation and media hype. We had barely gone out of the court that day when the media started calling for his resignation. Like you read in the papers this morning, there have been plans for some people to organise protests against Saraki in Abuja, Lagos and Ilorin. But I want to assure that if that happens, we will see the mother of counter protests to demonstrate that the Senate President has followers. Hitherto, APC had only three states in the North-Central and with dint of hard work, Saraki delivered the zone 100 per cent. So, if some people are hiding under the trial of Saraki to destabilise this government, then we won’t sit down and look and that is not a threat. Nobody has called for his resignation and the senators have reaffirmed their support for him. But if they are still

Is the coalition of strange bedfellows responsible for the APC’s crisis? In politics, there are no strange bedfellows. There is only a thin line between the Democrats and the Republicans in the United States. The only thing is that when the situation comes to play, they demonstrate more experience and more maturity. The problem has not been that of coalition of strange bedfellows. What we did was to come together and salvage Nigeria and if we had other motives, it has started playing out, especially to some of us who can read between the lines because the scenes and scenarios we have seen is not for President Buhari, and that is why he should play more politics. The fact is what we have agreed to do, and we are still planting the ideologies of the APC and people based on their selfish ideas are smuggling the ideas of 2019 through the back door; that is rubbish. The National Assembly has been involved in some kind of altercation with the executive as regards details of the 2016 budget, what is your reaction to that? For the very first time, the National Assembly returned the budget with about 30 per cent less. They also expunged certain areas and reduced the amount for certain areas. The area I would talk on is that of some railway projects that were expunged. When I was the chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, I discovered that some structures of the corporation need to be revitalised completely. Construction of new rail lines is not now; until we get the existing structures performing again and that will cost a lot of money running into billions of naira. So, the expunged new railway line from Calabar to Lagos is not a priority but boosting food, agriculture, fighting insurgency and so on. So, if the Senate can do that, I expect the president to call the National Assembly together to a round table and discuss with them. Not as some are saying that he should call their bluff. He should take time to study the budget properly and iron out whatever place he is not clear about because the budget is that of the people.

POLITICS \ INTERVIEW

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Mr. Osita Okechukwu is the spokesman for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-East. In this interview with WALE ELEGBEDE, he speaks on the state of his party, ongoing trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki and defections to the APC

A chieftain of the APC, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, recently raised the alarm over events in the party. Does this suggest that the APC is currently enmeshed in crisis? Let me start by saying that there is no major political party in any part of the world that is a monolite. From the Republican and Democratic parties of the United States to the Congress Party of India, or any party anywhere in the world, there is no party that is a monolite. If you notice, Donald Trump has also exposed the fact that the Republican Party, which is regarded as one of the oldest parties, is not a monolite. There are tendencies across board within each political party. What political parties have always done to survive is to bargain, make compromises and reach consensus from one issue to the other. I can understand Baraje’s anger, it might not be distanced from the fact that the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki is in the Code of Conduct Tribunal and which a lot of people have alleged that he is in that tribunal because he won the seat of the Senate president, that if he had not dragged the Senate president, maybe nobody could have prosecuted him. Granted, I can understand where he (Baraje) is coming from but that does not mean that the APC is in crisis. My analysis is that the APC and PDP would remain the two dominant political parties in Nigeria in the next eight years, if not beyond that. Look at it from here, the event of liberal democracy is when two dominant parties emerge in a multiparty state. If the two emerge, it is very difficult to build a third party. For instance, you are a witness to the fact that we started since 2003 when President Muhammadu Buhari lost the presidential election of that year, we stepped out and organised with Tunji Braithwaite’s NAP, late Chukwuemeka Ojukwu’s All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Olu Falae’s Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), Balarabe Musa’s Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Mazi Okwu’s Citizens Peoples Party (CPP); we started organising for this merger since 2004. After all these we continued to organise merger, coalition up to 2007. By the time President Buhari lost the 2007 presidential election, we went to the tribunal to reclaim our mandate. In the course of reclaiming this mandate, Chief Ume Ezeoke, Senator Yerima, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and others said they are working towards a national government and walked away. We trudged on, we formed the CPC and within the CPC we were working towards a merger with the ACN and other parties, up till the presidential election of 2011, we couldn’t

Only genuine defectors welcomed to APC in S’East – Okechukwu time or not is inconsequential. The procedure should be disregard. Any project that is worthwhile should be included because we need infrastructural renewal. Do you know that the Calabar-Lagos rail line will employ millions of people, directly or indirectly. It will be a contradiction, on one hand we need employment, on another hand we are foreclosing employment.

Okechukwu

conclude the merger. It was only in 2013 that we concluded the merger. So if you check the inbound between 2004 and 2013, it’s over a decade that we pursued the merger that came to be. So, anybody that tells you that he can do a third party, is not being sincere. I also understand that the essence of political party is to look for state power. There are tendecies who are disechanted while some are happy. But we cannot all be ministers, the membership of the APC as at today is above 20 million people, so there must be some who are angry now that they didn’t get what they are looking for. So, I want to advise Baraje that the court process is not finished and he cannot sit down now and cry foul without the court process ending But some people are saying that the APC is digging it’s own pit by turning a blind eye to Saraki and his ordeal, despite being a member of the party? The fact is that nobody can erase the thinking that Saraki is being tried because he won that election and that there are many people in the Senate who are also culpable as well. But they are not saying that Saraki did not commit any offence. What they are saying is that there are other people who commited similar offence and those people were left off the hook because they did not contest. But be that as it may, why dont we give all these time. You don’t expect President Buhari on one hand or the APC on the other hand to have a war against anti-corruption that is faulty. President Buhari came to the Nigerian people that he will fight corruption, fight insurgency and revive the economy. If by any happenstance somebody is being tried, he cannot expect the same Mr President who is trying the publicity secretary of the PDP, Olisa

Metuh, to say because Dr. Saraki is a member of the APC let us put him off the hook. He can’t do that! So, people should let the court process take its place. Many don’t even know that Saraki has not even started his defence. A lot of people don’t know what he might come up with in his defence. This is democracy and its evolutionary not revolutionary. If the same Buhari now says today ‘stop trying Saraki’ they will accuse him of being selective. There is little anybody could advise Mr. President on this matter because the issue and position of this government speak for themselves.

There are tendecies who are disechanted... But we cannot all be ministers

What do you make of the altercations between the executive and legislature over the 2016 budget? My take is an appeal in the sense that if Mr. President in his wisdom feels that the Lagos-Calabar rail project should be in the budget, whether it came late or early; whether it was not presented at all, the fact that it has been presented to the Nigerian people in public domain, the National Assembly should accommodate it. I understand that the CalabarLagos railway is in his China shopping list. So, if it is in his shopping list, does it make sense for the National Assembly to be imposing the same project Mr. President is intending to negotiate. What message are they sending to the Chinese because there are a lot of countries in the world looking for support. If you ask me, the issue of procedure might be wrong, but the procedure is mundane. The fact is that I did not hear anybody from the National Assembly who said the Lagos-Calabar rail line is wrong or irrelevant. So, there is a national consensus that the project is worthwhile. The issue of whether the minister brought it on

A former National Secretary of the PDP denied joining the APC in the SouthEast. Can you shed light on the spate of defections from PDP to your party in the South East? For us in the APC we welcome newcomers, I am not part of those averse to newcomers. But I am fervent believer in the doctrine of two dominant parties in a multi-party system than a dominant party in a multi-party system. Thus, I sincerely think that those who are in PDP should remain there and salvage the party. The APC in the South-East was blackmailed prior to the election by some people and they said it was a Muslim party and the leadership of the APC almost concured with them. Why did I say so? During membership registration between 2013 and 2014, over 70,000 people registered voluntarily in Anambra State for the APC, and the same thing happened in Imo, Enugu, Abia and Ebonyi. What was the result at the presidential election, Enugu was 14,000 plus, Anambra 17,000 plus, In Imo we got about 18 per cent of the total votes cast, why? The leadership of the APC succumbed to the propaganda and did not harvest the membership we had. For me, my strategic plan is that I will continue to encourage the original members of the APC in the South-East and then welcome the new ones who are genuine and not those who sabotaged Jonathan, not those who squandered the money Jonathan gave them for the election. Because if they come to the APC tomorrow and there is 2019 election, if you give them campaign funds for the APC, they will also squander it. If you concetrate more on those who voluntarily joined the party without even knowing that President Buhari will win but believed in the manifesto of the APC, these are the true members of the APC. In the light of hardship many Nigerians are going through, what is your assessment of President Buhari’s performance so far? The President is a big success with his three cardinal issues which is in sync with the APC manifesto. Between me and you, he has performed above average on the fight against corruption and insurgency. On the economy, this is his first budget and if you see the line of the budget, you will know that it is developmental. The man has succeed inspite of corruption. For me, Mr. President is a big success. I agree that the hardship in the country, the despondency, the despair is too heavy, nobody is doubting that but the agony is an agony we inherited for the fact that the PDP raped the Nigerian State and the past 10 months or thereabout has however opened another chapter of a sincere and focused government.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion Kim Jong-Un, the youthful despot Turning Point MIKE ARAYUWA WILKIE pmikky1950@yahoo.com 0802-309-7251 (sms only)

he history of North Korea involves the pre-colonial era, colonialism and post-colonial period in which Japan; (1910-1945) invaded and forced the country into part of her territory. North Korean history actually began with the partition of the Asian country at the end of world war II in 1945. It was headed by Kim 11-sung, a former guerilla leader. In 1950, there was the outbreak of the Korean War. At the end of the said war, there was no victor and no vanquished on the part of the United States led United Nations Military or the North Korea. However, there exists a high tension relationship between the North and South Korea till date. This is consequent upon the facts of threats by the leadership of North Korea in her consistent attitude to manufacture nuclear weapons which are being tested in the ocean or the desert. North Korea went into severe economic crisis as a result of natural disasters and the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1991. Kim 11-sung remained in power until his death in 1994. His son, Kim Jong il, succeeded him. On the demise of Kim Jong il he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Un. The mode of succession to the North Korean leadership is certainly that of a family’s dynasty restricted to the Kims. This arrangement breeds absolute dictatorship.

What makes North Korea interesting in contemporary times is the ascension of Kim Jong-Un to the political and military power of the erstwhile communist country. He was born on January 8, 1983. He is the son of Kim Jong-il (1941-2011) and grandson of Kim ilsung (1912-1994). Kim Jong-Un is the world’s most enigmatic and unpredictable dictator in contemporary history. He was the third son of the Kims dynasty who inherited the Stalinist regime in 2011 while still in his 20’s. Wikipedia regards him as the supreme leader of North Korea even at the age of 33 years although; his real age is unknown to the Western Media. On February 10, 2016, he approved and consented to the execution of Ri Yong-gil, the North Korea’s Army General and Chief of Staff. Reasons adduced for his execution was based on the allegations of factionalism, misuse of authority, corruption and other charges. Kim Jong-un himself viewed the rising profile of his Army Chief of Staff as a formidable threat to his grip on political power in the country. The executed Army General is the latest on the long list of officials murdered by the government of Kim Jong-un since his ascension to power in 2011. Convicted persons in prison camps are being starved to death, while their bodies are burnt and disposed-off, usually by other prisoners. The action is a replication of the war crimes committed by the Nazis during world war II. Kim, too, has no regard for children. Erring ones are tortured from the age of 13 years. The same torture devices are frequently used on prisoners. People are hung upside-down by their feet from the ceiling, for multiple days. Also, mothers are forced to drown their own babes in painful

Kim, too, has no regard for children. Erring ones are tortured from the age of 13 years

circumstances. Rats, frogs, snakes and insects are usually eaten by starving prisoners, if they can find them while doing slave labour in the fields. Gas chambers and medical experimentation are used in similar ways as Adolf Hitler’s world war II. The development of North Korean weapons of mass destruction continues unabated inspite of protests by global world powers. On October 9, 2006, it tested its first nuclear weapon and on January 6, 2016, the country also carried out its last nuclear test for now. In 2009, the Sovereign State declared that it had developed a nuclear weapon and possessed a small number of relatively simple nuclear padded with biological and chemical weapons capability. Since 2003, North Korea is no longer a party to the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons. There is abundant evidence to buttress the fact that North Korea has also launched a satellite into orbit around the earth. Japan has warned that the satellite would be shot down if it strayed into her territory. The United States of America, South Korea and China have protested vehemently against the launch of the satellite. On March 2, 2016, the United Nations Security Council voted to impose additional sanctions against North Korea. It is true that the country acceded to the biological weapons convention in 1987 and the Geneva protocol of January 4, 1989, but is yet to sign the chemical weapons convention. Today, the modus operandi of the young Kim Jong-un could be interpreted to be a threat and a desperate attempt to, perhaps, ignite a third world war. The enfant terrible of North Korea was, afterall, not born during world war 11 and the Korean war and definitely not in a position to appreciate the ugliness of war. Kim should be tamed before he causes another world war.

Total ban on okada in Lagos Ayo Oyoze Baje

“T

otal ban on okada will not kill anyone but will provide safer roads while the public will be made to patronise other means of transportation that are safer. People always think it will bring about hardship on general public but the disadvantages outweigh the advantages”. -The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Abuja (2014) Leadership, of men and materials entails having the clear capacity to understand the contending issues at stake and mustering the political will to take hard decisions and implementing them promptly. The salutary aim of course, is to find lasting solutions to persisting, socio-economic or political challenges, all for the common good. In so doing, the leader, acting in concert with the relevant team of technocrats critically analyze all the factors at play. These should also include the likely implications on the stakeholders before arriving at the conclusion. But when it has to do with the protection of lives and property, which he solemnly swore to before the public, his action could be more drastic. Indeed, he would likely be driven by seeking enduring good than pandering to the wishes of the critics, or being swayed by the tem-

porary pains on those who may have benefitted from the anomalies being corrected. It is within this context that one must take a dispassionate look at the recent threat by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to enforce a total ban on commercial motorcycles (aka okada) operations in the Lagos metropolis. In fact, not a few public affairs analysts feel this has become necessary, given the recent bloody, inter-ethnic clash in the Ketu-Mile 12 area of the state, ignited by a dispute between an okada operator and a passerby. It led to the loss of lives and property worth millions of naira. That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Now, tough choices have to be made on the part of the governor as the chief security officer of the state. Elsewhere, such hard or harsh policy decisions have been taken that have paid off, eventually. For instance, Lee Kuan Yew, the pragmatic economist who engineered Singapore’s economic miracle, as its Prime Minister between 1959 and 1990 took such hard stance. Without it, he could not have transformed the once unrecognized island, devoid of natural resources to rival the likes of Hong Kong and Manhattan, with solid infrastructures, skyscrapers and alluring tourist attractions. In a similar vein, when in 1974, Sheikh Rashid tasked the young Mohammed with overseeing the growth of Dubai International Airport,

hard choices had to be taken to carve out the dream that it has become this day. Some people had to bear the brunt at the beginning of the implementation of the structural changes. Similarly, compelling traffic-related situations as we face in Lagos may inform tougher and more stringent measures, in order to save more lives from being wasted. It would be recalled, that the immediate past administration of Mr. Babatunde Fashola, irked by the menace posed by the okada riders had signed the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012, on August 2, 2012 which restricts okada operations in at least 492 of the 9,200 roads across the metropolis. It was with the intention of ensuring safety and orderly flow of traffic within the metropolis. But sad to note that some four years after, the problems posed by the okada operators have worsened rather than abate in spite of the restrictions. It is a common sight to find them plying against traffic flow along Pen CinemaFagba, Agege-Abule-Egba and the Ketu routes. Some of the operators have been accomplices in series of armed robbery attacks and fatal accidents, with ample evidence when one visits the Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos. Governor Ambode has convincing reasons therefore, to approach the Lagos State House of Assembly to amend the law from the restriction of okada operations within some routes to total ban of their operations in the state. In-

deed, as a stickler for the rule of law he cannot be comfortable with the flagrant abuse of the law by okada riders, added to reports of some robbery incidents perpetrated with the motorcycles. Interestingly, similar reasons were adduced by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) while placing a total ban on commercial motorcycles in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2014. According to Mrs. Susan Ajenge, the then FCT Sector Commander of FCT, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the ban of Okada within the city centre drastically reduced the rate of accidents in the area. In her words: “Before the ban of okada in the city centre, hospitals and emergency wards were always filled with okada accidents’ victims, same with mortuaries, but this has drastically reduced as result of the ban”. Though some hard line critics would vociferously argue that a total ban would be insensitive, given the fact Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country, with the sea ports and high density population, the long-term advantages should be taken into consideration. A smoother flow of traffic, less accidents and robberies traceable to the operators would be guaranteed. So also would be the reports of police harassment and extortion of okada riders. • Baje, was a former Editorial Board member of Daily Independent.

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people particularly farmers while the government of the day looks elsewhere. Are the Fulani herdsmen above the law? Last Tuesday, about 44 people were reportedly killed in a fresh attack in Taraba State, hundreds of houses razed to the ground while Angai, Ndole and other villages in Gashak local government area were sacked by the Fulani herdsmen. Are Fulani herdsmen another terror group in the making? Why are their activities leaving behind pains and tears? What does the law say as conflicts being

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must leave our lands, Fulani can’t stay; cows are causing damages to our farms’ the natives under the aegis of the Federation of Ogbomoso Students’ Union, had on March 29 stormed the Oyo State House of Assembly to sensitise the Senator Ajimobi-led government on the havoc being wrecked by the activities of the herdsmen. In the eastern part of the country, the story is not differ-

ent as innocent lives are being wasted by the day following the In the eastern part Fulani herdsof the country, the men’s clashes story is not different with the natives. as innocent lives are What is being wasted the Federal Government doing to curtail the menace of raised by their activities have begun to spread across the na- these Fulani herdsmen? Staketion? Drum of war is imminent holders too are worried that unless the Federal Government despite various legislations, address the situation as comtheir offensive activities are on munities being affected by this the rise. Their unending wanton security threat have vowed to launch reprisal attacks should destruction of lives and propthey continue in their obnoxerty in the name of grazing on farmlands, attacking farmious style. Last week, farmers and ers who resisted such violent students of Ogbomoso in Oyo attacks must be stopped as State trooped out to protest its threat to national security what they called the continued may boomerang in no distant destruction of their farmlands future if the Federal Governas a result of the grazing activ- ment continues to ignore call by stakeholders. ities of the Fulani herdsmen. The Federal Government With placards bearing ‘Cow

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Tackling menace of herdsmen

n Ondo State, the militant group, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is incensed following the gruesome murder of its members by Fulani herdsmen. Obviously, the militant group is protesting the killing of a security guard attached to the farm of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae in Akure by the Fulani herdsmen. Twice, the herdsmen had attacked Falae’s farm in six months. Notwithstanding, OPC has threatened to go ahead with its planned reprisal if security operatives fail to apprehend the killers of its member. In Delta state, a university lecturer and about 10 farmers were at the weekend slaughtered by the Fulani herdsmen for daring to protest the destruction of their farmlands. Even in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, there have been occasional attacks on farmers by the Fulani herdsmen. Agatu community in Benue State is still licking its wounds as it is yet to get over the dastardly killing of its inhabitants by the Fulani herdsmen. No fewer than 500 people were killed last month following a clash between the Fulani herdsmen and the Agatu farmers. It is the same scenario in other states of the federation with incessant killings of

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must swiftly address the situation with a view to stemming the widespread onslaught of the Fulani herdsmen in the pretence of grazing rich grass. The time to tackle the menace of herdsmen is now, in view of hundreds of death being recorded by the day. Unfortunately, the nation is moving towards diversification and agriculture being the main focus may end in jeopardy in view of the ongoing unchecked herdmen’s dastardly activities. For this, President Muhammadu Buhari-led government must address this phenomenal herdsmen’s threat to Nigeria’s corporate existence, the proposed grazing reserves bill before the National Assembly may aggravate the crisis though. Beyond legislation, there must be a grazing zone for the herdsmen and their cattle without interfering with farmers as being done in Kenya and South African where nomads and their activities are predominant. This, if given a thought may be the panacea for the incessant clashes between the farmers and the Fulani herdsmen. It is time for the government at all levels to brainstorm on the challenge before it is too late as cows should not be allowed to move round the city as they are doing now.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

SouthEastFocus South South Focus Big battle for Ubulu-Uku kingdom

21 News Joy in four portions

File:Herdsmen their cattle

n Sunday April 10, 2016, the media, both social and conventional, was awash with an allegation of the Directorate for State Security that members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, are responsible for the killing and burial in a shallow grave of five Fulani herdsmen in a forest in Abia State. While some reported a forest in Aba, others said the forest was in Isuikwuato. The report emanated from the Abuja office (headquarters) of DSS. As journalists sought to crack the riddle, it was discovered that the Abia State office of the DSS had no clue whatsoever as to the incident. They could not confirm it; they could not identify when it happened and the particular forest where it happened. The police in Abia too, denied knowledge of the incident. The state government through the Chief Press Secretary, Godwin Adindu, said the report was an embarrassment to the government. It wondered why such crime would happen in the state without the knowledge of the state security council. IPOB and MASSOB swiftly denied the allegation. IPOB’s Media Officer, Emma Powerful and MASSOB’s Uchenna Madu, said their agitation was for the actualization and independence of Biafra and not against any ethnic group. They alleged that DSS wanted to cause pandemonium and provoke genocide against Igbo in the North through the report. The pro-Biafra groups described the DSS allegation as part of Federal Government’s grand design to tag IPOB as a terror movement to blackmail it and find grounds to decimate its members, a case of giving a dog a bad name to

with

Abia deaths: One controversial claim

Tension has risen in the south eastern part of Nigeria over the claim of the Department of State Services (DSS) that it discovered a shallow grave where some herdsmen were buried. The governors of Imo and Abia states have tried to douse the tension, but it does appear many are still lost on the meaning of the allegation. IGBEAKU ORJI reports from UMUAHIA justify its hanging. “We are not kidnappers; DSS should look for the killers elsewhere. We take responsibility for our actions.” It should be recalled that IPOB raised an alarm over the killing of its unarmed members by security agencies in Aba, Port Harcourt and Afikpo. Late last year, IPOB alleged that no fewer than 43 of its members were currently undergoing torture in military barracks over the alleged missing military guns during its recent peaceful protests in Aba and Port Harcourt after some soldiers reportedly invaded a street in Aba in search of riffles allegedly snatched from security personnel by IPOB members during a protest. It demanded the immediate release of its members comprising 25 and 18 arrested in Aba and Port Harcourt respectively so they might be given necessary medical attention. The appeal fell on deaf ears. But on Monday April 12, 2016, the

Governors of Abia and Imo states met in Umuahia with members of their security councils to deliberate on the development. At the end of the meeting, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu and Rochas Okorocha addressed journalists. Ikpeazu, the host, spoke first. He said that the reported killing of some Fulani herdsmen was not out of ethnic or tribal animosity but a clear case of kidnapping even as some Igbo people were among the corpses exhumed. He said the joint security meeting addressed the issue of joint patrol of the two states borders. Kidnapping has been a common crime in the state and since the two states share common borders, criminals operate seamlessly across the borders. He disclosed that the council resolved also to equip the joint patrol with modern security gadgets to make the job easy. The Abia State Governor said that the governor of Imo state “has come for us to fashion strategy to

battle issues of common interest between both states especially security issues. You are aware that kidnapping and violent crime have become a recurrent decimal in this area and what we want to do is to lift part of the problem of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari by making sure that the South East is safe.” According to him: “We are also anticipating that great development will happen in this sub region and this does not go well if there is insecurity. That is why he has come for us to restrategise and make bold statement about security challenges that are common and germane in this area. One of such is that we condemn the spate of kidnapping especially as it affected the five Fulani men that were abducted and assassinated in a forest and we are all united in the fact that that particular forest will not only be rid of criminal elements but we make sure that CONTINUED ON PAGE20

south-east

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

A crowd at the Mall

Owerri Mall: Imo’s latest toy Steve Uzoechi Owerri

t a time the economy of the country and Imo State is at an all time low, the opening of the massive, ultramodern Owerri Mall in the city of Owerri and its attendant economic dividends down the value chain could not have been better timed. With breathtaking discount sales, thousands of Imo residents thronged the Owerri Mall, which houses a Shoprite outlet and 44 other consumer goods shops, to do ‘convenient shopping’ at rockbottom prices. The Shoprite outlet at Owerri Mall is the third in the South-East with others at Enugu and Onitsha. For most families and residents operating on very tight budgets, the opening of Owerri Mall and berthing of Shoprite, the South African consumer goods giant, which has taken up vast space at the Owerri Mall has become a burst of fresh air for many resident of the heartland city of Owerri. Beyond discounts, the Centre Manager, Bayo Anifowoshe, noted that the establishment of Owerri Mall has created 2, 000 direct employments with massive financial inflow into the Imo economy. Anifowoshe also stressed that the Owerri Mall management is not unaware of their corporate social responsibilities to the state and particularly their host community. To this end, the company has since commenced the de-flooding of the flood-prone area with the construction massive drainages and channelling of flood to a dedicated receptacle. The company has also constructed a network of new roads around the facility to stem possible traffic congestion that may arise and affect ease of shopping at the mall. In his words, Anifowoshe said, “We have built a world class

Many of you will wonder what an APC governor will be doing in a business championed by a PDP chieftain

property, equipped with all safety gadgets to physically and electronically keep the facility secure round the clock. Most importantly, the Owerri Mall was conceived, designed and constructed to give result and satisfaction to all stakeholders, government and investors alike.” Jason Buhr, Managing Director of Resilient Africa, a South African property developer, which built all Shoprite structures in Nigeria, said that while they needed owners of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies to occupy all the outlets at the mall, there are also the direct employment that hundreds of suppliers and other

service providers from cleaning to maintenance would have at the mall. For the 45 outfits occupying the mall outlets, Buhr said, “Our primary objective is to progress business owners in the state from informal market and convince them that there is profit to be made in formal markets as will be easily evident at the Owerri Mall in the days ahead.” Owerri Mall, housing Shoprite and 44 other trading outfits, was built by a consortium of developers, chief among which is Resilient Africa of South Africa with Somachi Investment Limited, a company owned by Herbert Chikwe, chairman of Owerri Mall Development Com-

One controversial claim

Okorocha, Ikpeazu and others after the meeting C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 9

such other locations wherever they may be found would no longer be safe havens between Imo and Abia.” He added that the “security chiefs have been mandated to cross our borders freely to make sure that they chase down and haunt down this criminals wherever they may be. It is our responsibility to protect lives and property of not only Abians but all Nigerians and all members of the world community that reside within the confines of Abia and Imo.”

Okorocha said that the joint patrol would cover borders with Enugu and Port Harcourt. He vowed that the incident will not repeat itself. He disclosed that the perpetrators of the crime had been arrested and applauded the security men for a job well done. The governors left so many unresolved issues. They refused to take questions from journalists. For instance, the journalists wanted to know how they arrived at the conclusion of the killing; did they, as alleged by DSS confirm that IPOB/MASSOB was responsible for the

pany, which provided the land and other partners which include Terrestria group, Median group and Tidlock group. Delivering his speech at the opening of the Mall, Governor Rochas Okorocha, stated that his government has opened its arms to welcome investors to the state and enjoined all Imo citizens, irrespective of political divide to come and invest in the state. In his words: “We must, irrespective of political affiliations unite and save the lives of our teeming populace who are looking up to us for leadership.” He continued: “Many of you will wonder what an APC governor will be doing in a business championed by a PDP chieftain? Let me say to you, in politicking, we defend our political parties but in governance, we must learn to unite and provide our people with the much needed dividends of democracy. That is the singular reason why I have supported this project.” He assured prospective foreign investors that the government would continue to support genuine investors and protect their interests. Earlier, the chairman Owerri Mall Development Company, Nze Herbert Chikwe, thanked the governor for assisting them in the speedy approval of the design plan and Certificate of Occupancy. He noted that Imo has been keyed into the national economic map of states witnessing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), pointing that Owerri Mall has enlarged the economic space of Imo State. Hon. Ezenwa Onyewuchi, member representing Owerri Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, thanked the chairman of the group for dreaming big and investing in Imo State. He expressed his appreciation to the governor for supporting the vision and pledged that the Owerri people he represents will jealously guard and protect the investment.

killing? Where exactly is the forest- Aba, Isuikwuato or Imo? When was the kidnapping committed? To assuage the agitation of the journalists, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Captain Awa Udensi, rtd, tried, albeit with little success, to answer some of the questions. He said the forest stretches from Abia to Imo State and would not want to be specific in order not to embarrass communities along the route. The incident has thrown up many questions about the rights of Nigerians. Before the incident, reports of kidnapping, killing and maiming of some Nigerians have continued unchallenged. Was DSS interest ignited because the lives of Fulani men were involved? Or like the IPOB and MASSOB alleged, the security apparatchik wants to find reason to attack them or cause disaffection for Igbo in the North. Many residents of Imo and Abia, who spoke with New Telegraph, raised so many posers from the unfolding events. For instance, a business man in Umuahia said “Again, the recurrent cases of harassment, killing, maiming and raping by herdsmen are too numerous to mention. Every day, everywhere, herdsmen are still terrorising communities. They are armed to the hilt and no one raised an eye brow. From all indications, the interest in the present case is the death of the Fulani herdsmen. The other lives are inconsequential.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

SouthSouthFocus

ho will bring UbuluUku Kingdom in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State face to face with peace? Who will resolve the monarchical crisis that has been bedevilling the kingdom since His Royal Majesty, Obi Edward Ofulue II joined his ancestors? The kingdom had barely recovered from the shock and mourning of their late king, Obi Edward Akaeze III, when stories rent the air again that another monarchical error has been committed by the Obi-in-Council in the selection of a new king to replace the dead monarch. The kingdom, which has known peace for over 200 years, collapsed into crisis in 2006, shortly after Obi Ofulue’s demise and his heir apparent, Obi Edward Akaeze Ofulue III, assumed the throne, following the hereditary system of government in kingdom. History has it that the crisis set in shortly after Obi Akaeze’s father (Obi Ofulue II) yielded in a letter of appointment to the pleadings of different emissaries and selected one Emmanuel Onyekachukwu Ejiofor as the Onishe – the head of the administrative needs of the king. Since Obi Ofulue II died about a year after his health failed, the Obi-in-Council in Ubulu-Uku, and the said Ejiofor, who signed up as the Onishe, his appointment has not been a blessing to the people of the kingdom. New Telegraph gathered that Ejiofor’s single-handed appointment was greeted with opprobrium, which culminated in police and court actions respectively because he was not a member of Umuozim, the descendants of the royal families, which simply means the children of Ozim, who gave birth to Ozimegwu, who was the first king after Ezemu, who ruled in the kingdom from 1280 to 1296. The Umuozim are also the four oldest men in each of the ‘Royal Tree’ that make-up the Umuozim and relate with the Obi and offer him valuable advice and support where necessary, which Ejiofor’s forebearers that hailed from Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area of the state, do not have affinity with. In February, 2005, the Umuezim took Obi Ofulue II to task on account of what they tagged as “charade appointment” but unfortunately, about a year after, the monarch departed. No wonder, a statement signed by the 10 Obi-in-Council, co-signed by the four Diokpas, comprising the Umuobi (members of the royal family), the five members of Umuozim and the executive members of Ubulu-Uku Development Council, stated that “Emmanuel O. Ejiofor, while taking this title swore to oaths of secrecy, allegiance and also oaths forbidding conspiracy and rebellion

Obi Chukwuka Noah Akaeze and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa

Big battle for Ubulu-Uku kingdom It was with fanfare that the people of Ubulu-Uku kingdom went to the Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa to present to him their new king, HRM Obi Chukwuka Akaeze 1, few months ago. Although, the people were still mourning the kidnap and eventual murder of their former monarch, they braved the odds to present his son as the late King’s successor. But that event is, today, a subject of discord in the kingdom as the centre has refused to hold in the community again. DOMINIC ADEWOLE, in Asaba, reports on the tussle. against the kingdom, including the king, the queen, the heir apparent, the king’s first daughter and others as tradition demands, now have a short memory or he is just a bundle of mischief.” Ejiofor, who was at hand to receive the late Obi Akaeze III, when he returned from the United Kingdom to succeed his father, was always with him while he was undergoing the ‘Isume Ike Nukpo’(traditional rites) at Akpama Quarters (because the heir apparent was not supposed to enter the palace). He witnessed the main coronation ceremony on August 21, 2006, as the Onishe then, and participated in signing the enthronement documents on September 25, 2006, as recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the council of Aniocha South Traditional Rulers of September 28, 2006. He did not complain nor called him a usurper until five years after.

To this effect, the Obi-in-Council, led by the Regent of the kingdom, Prince Anthony Ofulue, described him as a drowning man, who has since he was disrobed became a clog in the wheel of progress of the kingdom. They also fingered him in the mysterious death of late Obi Akaeze III, who was abducted and killed by his abductors, before his decomposing body was discovered at a boundary bush between Delta and Edo states. They lambasted Ejiofor, who they said, did not only renege on all the oaths he swore to but defied the king’s orders and started a rebellion against the kingdom he swore to protect. They added that he “has confirmed the fears of those who opposed his appointment initially by late Obi Ofulue II. “Because Emmanuel Ejiofor remained unrepentant and recalcitrant, he was finally disrobed

on 2nd July, 2011. His removal as a Chief was endorsed by the Obi-in-Council and the entire community. His alleged allies, Eluemunor Ikezue (the former Odafe) and Sunday Ojiba (the former Ojiba) were also disrobed after they joined the rebellion against the king”, the co-signed statement also read. But Ejiofor, who is waxing stronger in his stance on the succession story of the kingdom, has since told those that cared to listen that the late Obi Akaeze, his council of chiefs, ganged up against him because he refused to be part of the monarchical manipulations in the palace. According to him, the late Obi Akaeze, who stole the throne because he was not the first biological son of his father, late Obi Ofulue II. He insisted that the late monarch lacked the powers to suspend him, not to talk of disrobing him. “Can he give what he does not have? How can somebody who usurped the throne and was not there when I became a Chief, a government appointed king, say he suspended and disrobed me. I was not elected. I was appointed and the appointment can only be terminated by death. If their claim is true, why have they not appointed a new Onishe? What are they waiting for?” He continued, “I am alter-ego of Ubulu-Uku traditional council. It is the Onishe that has the powers to crown or dethrone the king. The late Akaeze is a usurper. I did not crown him. If you go through the edict that makes my office, you will see that I did not also crown the boy (the new king Noah) that was politically manipulated into office recently.” According to Ejiofor, the nineman council of Chiefs, called Umuozim, who custom and tradition of the kingdom empowers to select a new king, was sidelined in the choice of Noah and his late father. He vowed to fight on, until the truth prevailed and his 11 year in the service of the kingdom was able to right the wrong being perpetrated in the ancestry of kings in the kingdom. “I won’t dance to my grave on the altar of mediocrity. What is a 17-year-old boy doing in Government House? That is to tell you it was a political manipulation. By all standards, the boy is still a minor. If I dance to their side, the gods will strike me. “The young man came down from London the day his father was interred. He was crowned the king that same day. He was taken to the council chairman for recognition the following day. The third day, they took him to the governor of the state and he returned to the United Kingdom the next day. These things were done hastily to tell you that some persons schemed to cover up for CONTINUED ON PAGE22

south-south

Dominic Adewole ASABA

hen Mr. Benjamin Oguebego counted his blessings on Thursday, November 12, 2015, when his wife, Peace, gave birth to four bouncing babies and he named the children oneby-one, he was dumb-founded at what God had done for his family. His dancing steps with his entire family members and well-wishers to the hymns of praise and thanksgiving by the choristers of the All Saints Anglican Church, Cable-Point, Asaba, Delta State on Sunday, April 10, 2016, during the dedication of the quadruplets showed that God had been faithful to him. The occasion, the New Telegraph observed, afforded dozens of persons, who were still waiting on the Lord for the fruit of the womb but came to fulfil the Scriptural injunction that says, ‘mourn with those who mourn and celebrate with those who celebrate’, to continue to remain hopeful as they placed all their faith in God. No wonder the presiding Cleric did not waste time in raising his hands in supplication to God to use Benjamin’s and Peace’s case as a point of contact to all those in such category. Benjamin and Peace hail from Anambra State. While the man is from Nando in Anambra East Local Government Area of the state, the woman was born at Igbo-Ukwu in Aguata council area. They had married each other over 11 years ago and their togetherness was already blessed with three children - two boys and a girl before God surprised them again with a set of quadruplet, known as Ejima Ino in Igbo language. Little did Benjamin, a Tricycle parts dealer in Asaba, Delta State, and his wife, who is a Cakemaker, know in March 2015, having given birth to a boy and a set of twins, that ‘God’s way was not their way and His thought was not their thought’. They decided to have another baby to either make up for the only girl or balance up the whole process of procreation in their family with one more child. But God was working on four. But to the admiration of all their well-wishers, who thronged the church auditorium for the dedication of the four babies, named, Peter, Paul, Simeon and Treasure, their mother, who was a shinning example of womanhood on the fateful day, narrated how they came about the names. “The choice of their names? Whao! It was the Lord’s doing again. We prayed and fasted for days before God revealed their names to us. He (God) must have looked upon the lowliness of His handmaids before given us their names because since we gave them the names, which were taken from the Bible, it has been blessings upon blessings”, she said beaming with smile. She said God has been supplying all their needs according to His riches in glory. “God has been there for us. He has been faithful to our needs since we gave birth to them. He has been meeting us at the point of our needs. When we are about to complain that pampers has finished, unexpectedly somebody from nowhere will just arrive with bundles of pampers and other basic needs. We have not had course to regret given birth to them.” She continued: “We have cut our coat according to our sizes since we gave birth to them. Many have asked us to find a way to reach out to the state Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, and especially his wife, Dame Edith, for assistance, but how, whom did we know? Many have promised to

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Joy in four portions

The couple with the quadruplets

get in touch with them for us but to no avail. For over six months now, we have depended largely on the faithfulness of God, who has been directing men and women of goodwill to us.” The father of the babies, who said he was yet to recover from the shock at the surprise package, said he owes all

glory to God for showing mercy to him despite his unworthiness. He explained how he waited on the Lord for some years before his wife conceived and gave birth to his set of twins, a boy and a girl about three years ago, only to be astonished with four at a go last year.

He said he would not reject any heartfelt assistance from public or private spirited individuals, maintaining that “the God who feeds the birds of the air, the ants and what have you, will provide all what is necessary to train the seven children (five boys and two girls) he gave to me.”

Ubulu-Uku searches for its king C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 1

their traditional rascality. “Who was not crowned a king cannot suspend a traditional title holder. The late Akaeze had no powers to suspend me for not accepting his self-styled installation”, Ejiofor said. Still dissatisfied, even after a gang of kidnappers early this year abducted and gruesomely killed Obi Akaeze III, and his son, Noah, has been crowned as HRM Obi Chukwuka Akaeze I, the Agbogidi of Ubulu-Uku kingdom, Ejiofor who has since described him as a ‘minor’, wondered why the council-of-chiefs in the kingdom stooped so low as to brainwashing a 17-year-boy from London ‘to usurp the throne of the kingdom like his late father.’ Irked by the remark on Monday, April 11, 2016, the Obi-in-Council, who described Ejiofor’s statement as “abominable”, placed a curse on what they tagged as “the forbidden conspiracy and rebellion” against the newly crowned Obi Chukwuka Noah Akaeze I, who has since two months ago returned to the United Kingdom to further his education. The Obi-in-Council will not let go of him. They said Ejiofor’s tired expression was out of the pains that he was no longer relevant in the affairs of the kingdom, as according to them, he instituted a legal action in suit number A/1212/2006, against his installation but lost.

As if to get back at late Akaeze III, five years after the demise of Obi Ofulue II, he (Ejiofor) set himself on a dangerous mission to the United Kingdom (London) where he met the elder brother of Obi Akaeze III, Prince Okwuchukwu Ofulue, whose mother, the New Telegraph further gathered. He was said to have used the Prince to engage in a personal vendetta against the late king by lying to him that the people of the kingdom sent him to bring him home to take the throne, an action, which the Obi-in-Council claimed to have “estranged the Prince Okwuchukwu from his micro-family.” They said they would not fold their arms and watch a fugitive dancing on their late king’s grave and insults the sensibility of the kingdom. The Chiefs warned those with bloated and bogus personality, who have since 2006 engaged the kingdom in empty platitudes to stuff their ego with a semblance of substance to desist forthwith or risk being banished. Supported by the President General of Ubulu-Uku Development Council, Sir Jones N. Ofunne, the 10 Chiefs, flanked by members of the royal family, specifically warned Ejiofor and his cohorts to desist from sponsoring offensive stories against the new Obi. According to their explanation, in Ubulu-Uku kingdom, a

king is born and not made. He is known to all at birth because the kingship is hereditary. The news of the birth of a heir apparent is heralded with canon shots in the palace ground by his father as it was done for late Obi Akaeze III and his son, the new Obi Akaeze I, when he was born in the United Kingdom. “We hereby draw government’s attention and focus on the investigation being conducted by the police. The Inspector General of Police and other security agencies must conclude this investigation, expose and punish those involved in the kidnapping and killing of our king and they should not look far”, their statement read. They idiomatically threatened that since Ejiofor has the temerity to drag the state government into his evil propaganda of sacrilegiously disputing with the heir to the throne, Ubulu-Uku community, which he (Ejiofor) has been cooking food for to eat would soon cook a food he cannot finish to eat, maintaining that “he will eat, eat and eat, until it becomes a burden to him.” According to the Chiefs, the courtesy call by HRM Obi Chukwuka Noah Akaeze I, on the governor of the state was in appreciation of the overwhelming support accorded the people and kingdom of Ubulu-Uku during the kidnap, demise and interment of his father.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Interview Bamgboye: Kidney diseases, still big burden in Nigeria

Health

News Complications from ear piercing

25 26

Preventing heart attack through lifestyle

Medical experts have classified cardiovascular disease which includes heart attack and stroke as the number one cause of death worldwide. But lifestyle changes – healthy living and diet could put these medical conditions at bay, report APPOLONIA ADEYEMI and Eleazar Nwanti

he traffic along Malu Road at the Mobil depot in Marine Beach, Apapa was light as motorists made their way out of Ajegunle, diverting to different destinations – Apapa Port, Ijora courseway from where some move on to the Lagos Island. The traffic light turned green, an indication for vehicles which had earlier been stopped to move, but the car of a journalist, Peter Ohia did not move. While some impatient motorists that queued behind him blared their horns as a warning to give way, some pedestrians dashed towards the car that was motionless to find out if all was well with the fellow behind the wheel. On close observation, one of the pedestrians who was first to get to him, found the man to have slumped behind the wheel. On a second thought, he shouted, “help; help, this driver is dead. Other onlookers quickly dashed towards the car and attempted to resuscitate the man who was not known by those that clustered around him. Although, he was promptly rushed to a nearby hospital, doctors on duty pronounced him dead on arrival. With the identification card found on him, sympathisers traced his office in Apapa and alerted his employers of the tragic event. Being in his early 40s, Ohia’s sudden death threw his rela-

Appolonia Adeyemi Health Editor

appolonia.adeyemi@newtelegraphonline.com

A patient suffering heart attack

tions, colleagues and friends into shock. Autopsy report issued days later showed that the cause of death was heart attack. Similarly, during a distant journey which took a retired Major, Kaleb Joel travelling from Lagos to Abuja in early February, he experienced a heart attack and before medical help reached him, he gave up. During the journey in which Joel drove in company with his dear wife, Jane, the duo arrived Lokoja when Jane observed that her husband had lost control of the moving Prado Jeep in which the couple travelled. Sadly, she was helpless as the vehicle in which they travelled summersaulted numerous times. By the time the jeep became motionless, Kaleb had died. The result of the autopsy was clear: Joel had suffered a heart attack. Although, episodes of heart attacks has become very common in the Nigerian environment in recent time, a Consultant Cardiologist at the General Hospital Ifako-Ijaiye, Dr. Gbolade Taiwo Lasisi, while admitting that heart attacks were common in this clime, noted that data to show its prevalence is not available. “We do not have Heart Failure Registry which hospitals in developed countries use to record for every death from heart attacks. A heart attack is caused by a blockage in a blood vessel that interrupts the flow of blood causing an area of the heart muscle to die. This causes a “blood backup” in the heart, similar to a backup in a plumbing line in a house. The heart must be “unclogged,” with drug therapy or surgery, in order to continue the blood flow to the rest of the body.

PHOTO: www.everythingzoomer.com

Photograph of a human heart showing blocked arteries

People in their youthful years, especially in their 40s and middle-age, are experiencing heart attacks

Heart attacks are usually acute events. The most common reason for this is a build-up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the blood vessels that supply the heart or brain. Another cardiologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, Dr. Afolabi Akinkunmi, said 60 per cent of people with heart attacks die before getting to the hospital and for those who even make it to the hospital, over 50 per cent still die because the damage has already been done. The Executive Director of Nigeria Heart Foundation (NHF), Dr. Kingsley Akinroye said, cardiovascular disease which generally refers to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke, is the number one cause of death worldwide. Risk factors Lasisi said age is a factor just as genetic factor is also very relevant. In countries where people live longer, there is bound to be higher prevalence. “Prevalence

increases with age as heart attacks starts increasing from the age of 40 years and above,” he added. Similarly, he noted that heart attacks can run in families. Once a family has issues of heart attack, people should watch out for some siblings in that lineage that may develop heart attack early in life. Speaking on the burden of heart attack in the country, he said, “We are particularly recording episodes from people in their youthful years especially people in their 40s and middle age. However, he said in the nearest future, if life expectancy of Nigerians improves and the populace does not curtail its current unhealthy lifestyle and diet, then, “the prevalence of heart attack may go out of hand.” On why younger people are presently coming down with heart attacks, he said diet in this clime is high in saturated fat. Other factors driving the high prevalence of heart attacks among youths include sedentary lifestyle, smoking, obesity, uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes that are not well managed. The combination of all these which are common in our environment is responsible for the high prevalence of heart attacks, he said. For Nigerians to take measures to prevent heart attacks, Lasisi said they must understand what heart attack is. He said, “When somebody dies, most people often say the death is caused by a heart attack.” However, he said literarily, what cardiologists and other health professionals refer to as heart attack is a situation where there is a blockage of the artery supplying blood to any part of the heart. (Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood. Referring to that blockage as a CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

Health \ features

he Federal Ministry of Health and Federal Fire Service of Nigeria have agreed to join force to provide efficient Emergency Rescue Operation Services in the Country. This was contained in a statement from the Director Media and Public Relations at the FMOH, Mrs Boade Akinola. This was made known on Tuesday when the Minister of State Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, met with the Controller –General, Federal Fire Service of Nigeria, Engr. Joseph Garba Annebi in the Fire Service Headquarter Abuja. The Minister said that provision of emergency services is the responsibilities of many Departments and Agencies of Government including Federal Fire Service of Nigeria. Federal Fire Service plays two major roles in emergency response, first is to control and investigate fire incidence and second to provide rescue services before taken the victims to the hospital. “It is because of these two main functions that we need to have close collaboration between the fire service and

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Ministry, fire service partner on emergency operations

Hon. Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire with Controller-General, Federal Fire Service of Nigeria, Engr. Joseph Garba Annebi at the meeting in the Fire Service Headquarter in Abuja

Federal Ministry of Health and other agencies responsible for rescue operations”. The Minister said that the essence of the collaboration is to work together and provide quick emergency response and harmonize areas of over-

lapping. Some Departments or Agencies have ambulances, some provide first aid treatment, we want to pool all our resources together and deploy them in such a way that we can work efficiently and cover the whole country.

“We want to improved response, improved speed in such a way that we should arrive at scenesof incidenceimmediately and be able to render synergised service at minimal cost.” Dr. Ehanire also said that the two Agencies, Health and

Fire Service would share ideas, exchange of knowledge and skills on rescue operation so that whoever comes first at the scene can be able to perform little functions of the other before he come and take over. In his remarks, the Controller –General, Federal Fire Service of Nigeria Engr. Joseph Garba Annebi said that fire service is actually involved in fire-fighting as well as rescuing of victims from any disaster. He said that health and fire /rescue services must work hand in hand because all works of fire service ends up in the hospital. Annebi said that they are ready at any time to partner with Federal Ministry of Health to provide short courses to the medical personnel for effective service delivery. “Your visit today has open door to the two Agencies to work together to save lives and properties of Nigerians” he said.

How to prevent heart attack Stakeholders seek CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

spectrum, he said it does not occur in a day. The blockage would have built up over the years and that is why heart attacks are hardly seen in people that are less than 40 years. “The spectrum is that cholesterol or plaque buildup in these arteries over the years; it is the blockage of these arteries that cause the problems,” he said. According to the consultant cardiologist, people should similarly understand that heart attacks may not show any symptoms. However when it shows symptoms, it may vary. These symptoms may come in four ways: *it may present as a stable angina, which means that the person develops chest pain; it may present as unstable angina, which means the chest pain could develop even at rest but gets less severe in less than 10 minutes; or it may present as a heart attack itself which is when there is complete occlusion and the chest pain persists and the areas supplied by that artery is destroyed. “We should also understand that in some cases, the episode may present as cardiac arrest or what is called sudden cardiac death,” Lasisi added. (Complete occlusion is total blockage of an artery). “Once heart attack has occurred, two things can happen. With treatment, an affected person can

have heart failure and he would nurse it for the rest of his life or it may lead to death,” Lasisi said. Therefore, he noted that the best way to address heart attack with a view to reduce its prevalence is to prevent plaque from developing in the artery. Signs to watch out for Lasisi said the build up to a heart attack is a spectrum. Affected person could have a plaque in the artery may have been narrowed by at least 50 per cent. “If such persons engage in exercise or exert themselves, they will experience discomfort. “With little exertion such as climbing stair case or brisk walk, they could develop heaviness or discomfort in the chest. “For some people, walking or even little effort can trigger discomfort. Those are symptoms that are likely to affect a person that could have a heart attack.” Similarly, for persons who have impending heart attack, the persons would develop chest pain that would not even go down and they would be sweating, said the consultant cardiologist. According to him, the heart attack could occur while they are at rest and during such episodes, you could see affected persons putting fist in the chest, and the pain could move to their throat or move to the root of the neck or the left upper limp. “These

are practical issues. The pain would not even go down; it could last for over 10 minutes. This is a prerequisite that things like this could be a heart attack, he added. Prevention Part of the prevention strategies is to screen those that have plaques, Lasisi said. According to him, through screening those with plaque in their arteries are detected and heart specialists could prevent their progression. The consultant cardiologist said the basic issue that could prevent heart attack is lifestyle changes. He recommended regular exercise including brisk walk for most part of the week. Such exercise could last for about thirty minutes at least four times per week. “This will reduce most of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and not only heart attack.” He noted that diet, too is very important. “People should learn to eat balanced diet that is low in saturated fat including saturated fat that is in animal fat. If diet is low in saturated fat, the likelihood of cholesterol depositing in the arteries will be low.” Similarly, he said basic things such as checks for blood pressure, diabetes and blood cholesterol are important. “If people can do these screenings, it can go a long way in preventing heart attacks,” he added.

rapid implementation of Child Rights Act

EleazarNwanti

he poor implementation of the Child Rights Act (CRA) was the focus of a one-day policy dialogue on Child Rights Act (CRA). To this end, the Chief Executive of Action Health Incorporated (AHI), Mrs Adenike Esiet is seeking the rapid implementation of the CRA for the benefit of children. The policy dialogue with the theme, “Effective Implementation of the Child Rights Act: Implications for Girl-Child Education and Empowerment, was organised by Mercy Corps Nigeria in Lagos recently. The dialogue was centered on the issues surrounding the application of Child Rights Act and the empowerment of girl-child in our society. Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian aid agency engaged in transitional environments that have experienced some sort of shock: natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict. In her presentation, Esiet lamented that since the adoption of the CRA since 2003, its application across 30 states of the federation and Abuja, is still lame. According to Esiet, “out of the 23 states that domesticated the Child Right Act only two states, Lagos and Akwa Ibom, are implementing the law. Despite the significant progress made in legal and policy reform

since 2003, there is still a yawning gap due to poor enforcement.” Urging a call for action for girls, Adenike said,” there is need to support the development of a multi-stakeholder plan to guide the CRA’s implementation such that it adequately responds to the needs of girls.” According to Mrs. Itoro Eze-Anaba, a member of Civil Society Group, an advisory group of Mercy Corps,” Mercy Corps has empowered a good number of girls in Lagos State who had no hope of survival. The Corps has provided some girls with the opportunity to learn one form of hand work or the other and have given them financial assistance to set up their own businesses.” One of the beneficiaries of Mercy Corps Girl- child empowerment initiative, Miss Rashida Olowu, said, “at the age of 10 my parents had died and I had no hope of survival but with the help of Mercy Corps Nigeria I could take care of myself; I was taught how to make bead and that is what I do now, which sustains me.” Another beneficiary of the initiative, miss Oyewale Bukola, a single mother, said Mercy Corps Nigeria supplies her drinks which she sells and she was also taught how to make liquid soap, insecticide and izal which she also produces on her own and sells to make money to take care of herself and her child.

Medical

Facts

Humans require more muscles to frown

t takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. Unless you’re trying to give your face a bit of a workout, smiling is a much easier option for most of us. Anyone who’s ever scowled, squinted or frowned for a long period of time knows how it tires out the face which doesn’t do a thing to improve your mood. How body reacts to different foods When you eat meat and drink milk in the same meal, your body does not absorb any of the milk’s calcium. It is best to have two hours between the milk and meat intake. Components of blood Human blood is made up of Red Blood Cells carrying oxygen, White Blood Cells that fight disease, Platelets that help the blood to clot and liquid called plasma. Length of spinal cord The spinal cord, which controls over 10 billion nerve cells, is less than two feet in length and its diameter is same as that of the index finger. Eyes have fastest reacting muscle The eyes have the fastest reacting muscle in the whole body. It contracts in 1/100th of a second and human eye contains structures called Rods and cones. Rods register the shapes of images and respond to low levels of light and Cones responds to bright lights and registers the colour of images. Rapidity of infant’s learning During the first month of life, an infant is learning so many new things that the number of connections, called synapses, between brain cells increases from 50 trillion to one quadrillion. By comparison, if the rest of the infant’s body responded with equally rapid growth, she would weigh 170 pounds by the time she was a month old. Strength of human bladder A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball. No wonder you have to run to bathroom when you feel the call of the wild. The average bladder holds about 400-800 cc of fluid but most people will feel the urge to go long before that at 250 to 300 cc.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Dr. Ebun Bamgboye is the former President of the Nephrology Association of Nigeria (NAN). In this interview, he speaks on how to prevent kidney failure and what to do when the kidneys fail. Appolonia Adeyemi and Eleazar Nwanti report Why have you centred the theme of this year’s World Kidney Day event on students? World Kidney Day is a joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology and International Federation of Kidney Federation. The Nigeria Association of Nephrology (NAN) which I used to be the president up to February this year, is a member of the International Society of Nephrology. So, we always join in the initiative. Second Thursday in March every year, is designated as World Kidney day and the objective is to focus on kidneys so as to get people to realise how important the kidneys are and how easily things can go wrong when kidneys are damaged. Similarly, when things go wrong, how much it can affect almost every part of the body and more importantly, the fact that if a person develops kidney problem the cost of care is extremely high. So, the best is to prevent rather than to treat. Of course, if you have developed the problem you don’t have a choice than to treat, but in some instances you can actually detect it early and treat. Of course, if you treat and prevent that way you are not likely to develop long term complications. So, every year, we select a theme and the theme for this year is “Kidney and Children: Act Early to Prevent It.” That was why St Nicholas Hospital which always joins in this initiative every year, decided that rather than do what we have done in the previous years, let us make it open to the public. We decided to focus on children and this year we selected three schools - two on the island: Holy Cross Cathedral Primary school, Kings College Lagos and we selected one school in the mainland. The focus is to speak with the children and let them be aware of what the kidney is and what they need to do not to develop kidney problem. This goes in line with the theme which is “Act Early To Prevent Kidney Disease in Children.” How many students are you looking at? We targeted screening at least five hundred, possibly six hundred at the three locations and the whole idea is to check their weight, height and blood pressure. People do not realise that children can have hypertension. We checked their urine to make sure that their kidneys have not become damaged already. So, we checked the presence of protein, the presence of infection, the presence of red cell, all of which are markers of damage in the kidney,

Health \ INTERVIEW

Bamgboye: Kidney diseases still big burden in Nigeria but this year, we decided to do a genotype because we have realised that one of the things that can cause kidney failure is sickle cell disease and children need to be aware, earlier on, what their genotype is and that is useful for other reasons. If somebody is AS it might be wise for him to avoid marriage with somebody who is also AS to avoid giving birth to children who are sicklers. How deep is the burden of kidney disease in Nigeria? I think we probably have one of the largest burdens of kidney disease in the world because we recognise research has constantly shown that kidney disease is four times common in black people than in white people. Take note, in America, among the African Americans, the prevalence of kidney disease is about 800 per a million population and probably only about 200 per a million population among Caucasians. In Nigeria we estimate at least every year the incidence is about 100 per a million population. So, for our population of 170 million, we expect about 17,000 new cases of kidney infection every year and if you put all the patients in different part of Nigeria on dialysis, you find out that they are less than 2,000 patients. So, if only 2000 patients are on dialysis and 17,000 patients are in need of it, and if you miss dialysis you die, you can imagine the number of people that will die because of kidney failures and mainly because they don’t have access either because the centers to look after them are not there or more importantly the fund to be able to assess that care is not available.

diabetes when they go to the clinic the doctor should search and examine them and be certain that they are free from protein in the urine; on hypertension that is poorly controlled, make sure that you properly control the condition and you detect early if there is a problem; and when they have already developed the kidney failure, make sure that the fellow has dialysis. We have dialysis services all around the country. Make sure that people are able to access the services. Also, make sure that the care is provided at an affordable cost.

People do not realise that children can have hypertension

What is the way out? First of all we have to prevent, recognising that even countries like the United States (U.S) that have all the resources that you can think of, are finding it difficult to cope. U.S spends about $30 billion every year just looking after patients with kidney failure which is almost more than entire budget of Nigeria, that is one. Two, we want to also focus on detecting it early. So, prevention should be the focus. If that is so, we should ask: “What are the things that cause hypertension and diabetes? Manage those things properly and if you know what we call primordial prevention; you know wthat obesity causes hypertension. Make sure people eat the right things. Make sure they exercise. So, when you now monitor them closely. make sure that people don’t develop kidney failure. Consequently, patients who have hypertenBamgboye sion who have

In all of these, what do you think the government should do? I think the government can come in several respects. First of all they should encourage all private and public hospitals to properly screen patients with hypertension and diabetes to prevent them from developing kidney failure, and then if they develop it early they should detect it early. More importantly, government should now start thinking seriously of doing what other countries of the world are doing and actually fund the care, to subsidise the care of individuals that have developed kidney failure.

You made mention of children developing hypertension. How can this be? Children can and often do mainly because our children are now becoming obese and when you are obese it increases the likelihood that you would develop hypertension and diabetes, even in adolescence, before you become an adult. And then, of course when children have developed chronic infection that haven’t been properly managed, it often time develops into what we call chronic glomerulonephritis and this can later lead to kidney failure. Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of the glomeruli, which are structures in the kidneys that are made up of tiny blood vessels. These knots of vessels help filter blood and remove excess fluids. If glomeruli are damaged, kidneys will stop working properly and this could lead to kidney failure. So, this can sometimes become toxic, coupled with of course what we call congenital abnormalities. Babies that are born with problems in the kidney either fix or valves where they should not be or features where they should not be, all these are the common things that can cause kidney failure in children. You made mention of children developing hypertension, could you explain further? Children can develop hypertension and often do mainly because our children are now becoming obese and when they are obese it increases the likelihood that they would develop hypertension and diabetes, even in adolescence, before they become adults. Of course, when children have developed chronic infection that haven’t been properly managed, it often times develops into what we call chronic glomerulonephritis and this can later lead to kidney failure. This can sometimes become toxic, coupled with, of course what we call congenital abnormalities.

Health\News

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Complications from ear piercing

Healthy Living

Ihuoma Uko-Ndukwe ada.ndukwe@yahoo.com

E L-R: Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Prof. Babatunde Salako; Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olurotimi Ojo; Consultant Paediatrician, Prof. Kikelomo Osinusi; and Provost of Lagos State University College of Medicine, Prof. Babatunde Solagberu at a lecture in Ibadan recently

PSN tasks FG on health workers’ morale Eleazar Nwanti

he Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to give immediate attention to the clamours of health workers including pharmacists to redress some pressing welfare demands. This is contained in a statement where the PSN similarly outlined the demands of health workers which are categorised into immediate and me-

dium term, while seeking the intervention of the Federal Government concerning the demands. According to the statement signed by the President of the PSN, Ahmed Yakassai, among the demands by the PSN are the immediate release of the circular on the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Scale (CONHESS) by the Salaries and Wages Commission; and the full payment of balance of arrears of the skipping of CONHESS 10 which had been outstanding

since 2010. In addition, the PSN also demanded that the management of the federal health institutions which frustrates the promotion of health workers from CONHESS 14 to 15 as directors should be sanctioned. “While we agree that the strike option should always be the last option, it is imperative that the PSN also appeals to the Federal Government to understand the plight of aggrieved health workers who also want reward for labour.” Yakassai said.

ar piercing complications include multiple complications that might not be reversible. Among such complications are keloid formation—hypertrophic scar formation which might have a genetic composition. This could be found mostly in black population. Ear lobe swelling obliterates piercing lobe and might lead to spontaneous closure of the piercing. This might be prevented by maintaining the hole with large gauge nylon suture. Similarly, embedded ear ring in the ear lobe could result in surgical intervention and risk of infection. Ear ring pulling through the ear lobe could leave wedge defect thereby forming deformity In addition, ear piercing complications could result in the pierced hole closing, requiring repeat piercing and this could also lead to possibility of keloid formation, infection and pain. Furthermore, allergic contact dermatitis could result from complications in ear piercing. One might be allergic to nickel in the ear ring, stud of backing, which might lead to other superficial infections. Most jewelry allergy is caused by the metal nickel which is used in the manufacture of precious metal alloys. For example, if there is no immediate care after ear piercing such as adequately cleaning daily with antiseptic cottons, and applications of vaseline to enhance healing , it might lead to infection and poor healing, in addition to pain, and with superficial ear lobe infections which occurs in 77 per cent

of ear lobe piercing. The application of moist heat and topical antibiotic might enhance early healing.

Health benefits of mango (2) T

he mango season is here, and people are having their fill of the mango fruit. Mango has been known in India since very early times. There are over 1,000 different varieties of mangos. Most of the cultivated varieties have arisen from four main species – Mangifera indica, Mangifera sylvatica, Mangifera odorata, and Mangifera zeylanica. Improves sex Mangos are a great source of vitamin E. Even though the popular connection between sex drive and vitamin E was originally created by a mistaken generalization on rat studies, further research has shown balanced proper amounts (as from whole food) does help in this area. Improves digestion Pawpaw is not the only fruit that contain enzymes for breaking down protein. There are several fruits, including mangoes, which have this healthful quality. The fiber in mangos also helps digestion and elimination. Remedy for Heat Stroke Juicing the fruit from green mango and mixing with water and a sweetener helps to cool down the body and prevent harm to the body. This is also good for those who suffer from internal heat, hot flashes and anxiety. Boosts Immune system The generous amounts of vi-

Nature

of the mango tree. The stem bark of mango trees are good natural blood tonic. Boil half a kilogram of the stem of Mango in 10 liters of water and allow to infuse overnight. Drink half a glass twice daily.

Power

Anselm Adodo

naturepower@paxherbals.net twitter: @anselmadodo

tamin C and vitamin A in mango, plus 25 different kinds of carotenoids makes it an important natural immune booster. A strong and healthy immunity is essential for a healthy life. A good immunity protects against common illnesses such as colds, coughs and general weakness, and also against more serious and chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, arthritis and high blood pressure. Skin food Do you know that mango is one of the best skin friendly medicine around? Just blending up the ripe mango along with the peel and applying to the face is fast and easy. Mangos contain beta-carotene, which is converted by your body to vitamin A. Both Vitamin A and vitamin C are crucial to skin selfrepair. Mangos clear clogged pores and eliminate pimples. For those who want smooth, shinning and healthy looking, I advise you to give mango a trial. Apply the fresh paste of mango to your face every night. It is a matter of

weeks before you hear people commenting on your glowing skin. Blood tonic While we tend to focus attention only on the mango fruit most of the time, it is important to remind ourselves of the other part

Mango fruits

Fever The soft, immature leaves of mango are good remedies for fevers. Boiling the matured leaves of mango along with other leaves such as Neem (dogoyaro) orange and lemon grass is a popular recipe for fever in Nigeria. However, the tender leaves of mango alone can be used for fever with very good results.

PHOTO: listaka.com

Health benefits of ginger

inger is mostly known as a spice, but in Asia it has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Here are the top health benefits of this delicious and nutritious root. *Ginger helps to ease digestion. If you are having difficulty digesting, chewing on some raw ginger can help sooth your tummy. *It also helps to stop vomiting. Pregnant women the world over rely heavily on ginger when it comes to morning sickness. It’s effectiveness against nausea and vomiting is thanks to the gingerol, zingerone and shogaols that ginger contains. You can even bring it along on a boat, train or car ride if you tend to get motion sickness! While its role in reducing vomiting and nausea has been recorded, ginger can be really helpful when it comes to chemotherapy. It can also help increase appetite, which is important when you’re going through or have just gone through chemotherapy. Ginger has the power to fight free radicals, yet another strong point for this delicious root! Ginger plays a role in increasingbodytemperaturebyincreasingvascularconstriction. Ginger has the ability to warm the body up, sexual organs included. It’s also known for stimulating virility and endurance...or basically just increasing libido. • Culled from msn.com

THURSDAY, April 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Industry LCCI scores economy low in Q1

Business What's news LCCI: Official forex to oil majors’ll fuel uncertainties

eWorld Charting growth path for telecoms industry

29 31

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE March 2016...............................11.4% February 2016...........................11.4% January 2016............................9.6%

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

EXCHANGE RATE

(BDC as at April 1)

(Interbank as at April 1)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N322 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N457 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N360

l Foreign Reserves – $27.864bn as at 31/3/2016

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N200 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N307 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N224

Source: CBN

p.28

Cashew: Vietnam halts processing skill transfer to Nigeria, others p.28

L-R: Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Chairman, Heirs Holding, Tony Elumelu; Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Director-General of Oganiru, Ike Chioke, at the opening ceremony of the Oganiru Enugu State Investment Summit in Enugu.

BROADBAND Google says proper broadband plan implementation will make Nigeria benefit from the Internet-induced growth by 2010 Kunle Azeez

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Bayo Akomolafe

Asst. Editor (Maritime)

Sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insurance)

Tony Chukwunyem

Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dayo Ayeyemi Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

Abdulwahab Isa Finance Editor

Taiwo Hassan

Industry, Agric & Brands Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst Production Editor

ncreased Internet access and adoption to drive economic activities is projected to contribute $300 billion to Nigeria and other African economies’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next five years, New Telegraph has learnt. Speaking with our correspondent in Lagos, Country Manager, Google Nigeria, Juliet EhimuanChiazor, said Internet was currently at the heart of economic revolution and in the future. “We are seeing, increasingly, the Internet playing critical role in African businesses and African life. More Africans are getting online and doing things online,” she said. She said: “In 2015, we ran a consumer survey to just understand how people were taking advantage of the Internet and using the Internet in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, and we saw that 74 per cent of people said they would prefer to use digital tools to perform task, 69 per cent said Internet was their first port of call if they had any question. “Also, a recent McKinsey report stated that between 2013 and 2020,

Internet to raise Nigeria, others’ GDP by $300bn the Internet would contribute $300 billion to the GDP of African economy and that industry like e-commerce would go from non-existent to being worth $75 billion with that time framework. So, we are seeing huge growth and we know that Internet can play a big role in boosting economy in Africa.” She, however, explained that effective implementation of broadband plan in Nigeria would go a long way in accelerating the ability of Nigeria to effectively tap into the projected $300 billion Internet contribution to African GDP. She said: “Nigeria needs to fasttrack its broadband plan implementation. The issue of broadband has to be addressed by multiple stakeholders. Government has a role to play, telecoms providers have a role to play and when you really think about some of the pressing issues such as Right of Way, double taxations, high costs of laying infrastructure, operational challenges like cable cut, which some operators experience without compensation, the cost of operations in the industry goes up.” However, Ehimuan-Chiazor said some of all the issues had been captured in the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2013-2018, which was put together by a select group of

One million

Total number of people Google intends to empower in digital skills

people from the government and private sector. “I know the last administration had started some work around implementing the plan. Around what needs to be done, I think all the issues and recommendations are well captured in the plan. We only need to ensure that all the aspects of the plans are implemented,” she said. Meanwhile, Ehimuan-Chiazor said adoption of Internet in Nigeria had continued to increase yearly. “On a year-on-year basis, we have seen more Nigerians coming online and doing great things. Just take the case of e-commerce for instance. A few years ago, this was a non-existent industry, now we have a lot of e-commerce players that are also attracting foreign investment and doing quite well. “If you think of content creation space, we have a generation of entrepreneurs that are basing their entire business model around putting content online, a platform such as YouTube for instance and doing quite well as well. Even in the development space, more developers in Nigeria are building great apps that are available on the PlayStore, CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

business |NEWS

REBUFF Private sector operators kick against plans by the Federal Government to make foreign exchange available to oil majors

Taiwo Hassan

he Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has advised the Federal Government to have a rethink in its bid to support major oil marketers with official foreign exchange allocation to enable them import petroleum products into the country. Director-General, LCCI, Muda Yusuf, in a chat with New Telegraph in Lagos, said any attempt by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to buckle to the pressure from the Federal Government and other downstream stakeholders would create uncertainties in the economy. A dollar, which exchanges at N199 at the official market as moderated by the CBN, trades at N320 at the parallel market.

THURSDAY, April 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

LCCI: Official forex to oil majors’ll fuel uncertainties Yusuf warned that with the slump in the prices of crude oil at the international market, which has slashed government’s forex earnings and revenue, it would be inappropriate at this period to use majority of the country’s forex earnings for fuel importation. This, he said, would put the businesses of real sector operators at risk. The LCCI boss also noted that such move would create uncertainty in the country’s educational system as many Nigerian students schooling abroad would be deprived of forex to enable them pay their schools fees. His words: “The private sector operators do not support the idea being mooted by the Federal Government that the CBN should make foreign exchange available to the major oil marketers to allow them import petroleum products into

the country. Any attempt to do this will create further crisis in the non-oil sector, as manufacturing and educational sectors will be severely affected.” Yusuf said that the country’s downstream sector did not have a clear direction in its operational guidelines, stressing that the government would be laying a destructive foundation for the sector if it decides to give forex to major oil marketers at official rate for fuel imports. He also said that giving the oil majors forex would fuel round-tripping, as the sector would become a hub for foreign exchange dealers. The private sector operators, he said, were concerned about the lack of clarity on the deregulation and liberalisation of the segment. Yusuf said this lacuna had put many investments in the sector at risk, while many oth-

er investment decisions have been put on hold. He added that the concentration of petroleum products supply in the hands of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) remained a major cause for concern, adding that the arrangement was an inherent entrenchment of the dominance of the NNPC to the detriment of private investors in the sector. Meanwhile, the apex bank said that it was already discussing with upstream companies to assist Nigeria ease the lingering fuel crisis by making forex available to their Nigerian downstream operators. Minister of State for Petroleum Resource and Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr.Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, had said the only way out of the fuel scarcity was for the oil majors to have adequate forex to sustain importation.

He admitted that the government would not support the oil majors with the required forex allocation, adding that it was the reason for the request to upstream operators to assist Nigeria at this critical time. He said Nigeria, which imports most of its fuel needs, suffered from hard currency shortages due to a slump in vital oil revenue. “For the first time in this country, I have been able to convince the upstream companies to provide some FX buffer over the next one year for those who are bringing in products,” Kachikwu said in a video posted on his Facebook account. “I had to box my way through the CBN to get a bit of foreign exchange allocation,” he said, while also blaming the fuel shortage on a surge in pipeline attacks that are interrupting crude flows to refineries.

Internet to raise Nigeria, others’ GDP by $300bn CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

AndroidStore,” she said. As part of efforts to support Internet growth, Google has announced a commitment to train one million young Africans in digital skills in the next year. In realising the commitment, Ehimuan-Chiazor said Google was supporting its partner, Livity Africa, to run two training programmes: ‘Digify Bytes’ to give digital skills to young people looking to develop a digital career; and ‘Digify Pro,’ a threemonth immersion programme for digital specialists. According to her, the programmes, which have already been launched in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, will be scaled to reach more people in the next 12 months. A group of 65 volunteer Googlers from around the world is helping the Livity team with content development, ‘training the trainers’ and, in some cases, delivering the training sessions. “Additionally, today sees the launch of digifyafrica.com - an online-learning portal that will house a range of digital skills courses, available to anyone in Africa - free. The courses are designed to be as “light” as possible so they don’t eat up valuable data. There are nine training courses already available and Google aims to have 50 available by July,” she said. “The internet is at the heart of economic growth and the Digital Skills Programme is aimed at helping more Africans play a part in the digital economy. Everyone can succeed online, start a new business, grow their existing one, or share their passion,” she added.

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Laoye Jaiyeola; Chairman, Kyari Bukar; Vice Chairman, Sola David-Borha and Vice President, Asue Ighodalo, at the Annual General Meeting in Lagos. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Cashew: Vietnam halts processing skill transfer to Nigeria, others IMPEDIMENT African countries are being blocked to control cashew growing market Bayo Akomolafe

ietnam has stopped its cashew processing technology transfer to Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique and some other African countries. The country said that if African countries acquired the skills, they would reduce sales of unprocessed cashew to Vietnam and this would affect the $2 billion export revenue being generated annually from the commodity. Also, Vietnam, which is the world’s top exporter of processed cashew and the big-

Fears over job losses, $2bn investment

gest importer of unprocessed cashew in the last one decade, fears that thousands of jobs would be wiped out. Global yearly raw cashew nut production is put at 2,100,000 tons but its demand has grown to 3,000,000 tons. The commodity is in large demand for the production of anti-bacterial preparations, varnishes, insecticides and car brake pads. Since 2006, many delegations from India, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania and the Ivory Coast have visited Vietnam to study the country’s technology in order to process the commodity before being exported to other countries. Already, Vietnam had complained that the recent reduction in exports of unprocessed cashew had resulted in a shortage that is causing huge dam-

age to Vietnamese processors since raw cashew grown in Vietnam can only meet half of their needs. Vietnam imported 867,000 tons of unprocessed cashew from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and 22 other African countries, out of which 302,000 tons come from Ivory Coast. According to the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), unprocessed cashew nut export generated $253 million in 2015 from 160,000 tons. In Nigeria, the crop is grown in Nassarawa, Kogi, Ekiti, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Cross River states. It is also grown in Benue, Ogun, Kwara, Oyo, Ondo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Niger, Edo, Taraba and Osun states. But currently, Ghana is producing just 50,000 tons of cashew but the country has

about 14 processing factories that have the capacity to process 70,000 tons, while Nigeria produces about 160,000 tons and processes less than 10 per cent. Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) fears that if the technology is transferred, Nigeria and others would dominate the global market. Already, the association has petitioned the Vietnamese Government, urging the ministry of science and technology, other organisations and individuals to stop technology transfer to African countries that produce unprocessed cashew. The association said: “If they acquire the technology from Vietnam, not only are the African countries likely to stop exports of raw cashew, but they are also sure to become major rivals in exporting processed cashew.”

THURSDAY, april 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Industry

LCCI scores economy low in Q1 Last week, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) reviewed the performance of the economy in the first quarter of this year. Taiwo Hassan reports Economic performance For the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the scorecard for the economic and business environment in the first quarter of the year was below par, as it did not meet the expectations of key stakeholders in the real sector. Besides, the chamber said the country’s non-oil sector was still suffering from various economic challenges, which include uncertainty around economic policies, adverse external environment and security challenges in some parts of the country. In all, low electricity supply, fuel shortage and the foreign exchange crisis had affected production and distribution of agriculture produce. Although, President, LCCI, Chief Nike Akande, expressed optimism that the government was making efforts to ensure that the country’s economy bounced back, she said that the country’s manufacturing sector had been experiencing various economic challenges, which have affected growth and development in the industry. Akande added that there was no need for Nigerians to keep criticising the Federal Government for the current economic woes in the country, adding that what happened in the economy was a reflection on the need for Nigeria to diversify her economy and move from being a mono economy. Capital inflow The LCCI president noted that over the past three years, the flow of investment into the country had been declining. While quoting the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s report, Akande said: “In the last three years, Nigeria has recorded a total decline of $11.68 billion (N2.3trillion) in investment inflow with total investment inflow of $51.7 billion (N10.18 trillion). The study revealed that all the three major components of investment such as foreign direct investment, portfolio investment and other investments all recorded decline within the three-year period. “This drop especially in 2015 was not unconnected with the tough economic environment resulting from the lower global oil price and prevailing foreign exchange policies.” On the way forward, the LCCI president said that in order to

Assembly production plant

reverse this trend and increase capital inflows into Nigeria, the Federal Government needs relax existing foreign exchange policies to facilitate inflows from export proceeds, Diaspora remittances and foreign investment. Global economic update Speaking on the global economy, the LCCI president said the condition remained weak, attributing it to the decline in commodity prices being experienced in the economy. For her, uncertainty still dominates the economic and business environment at the global scene. “World Bank estimated that global growth is projected at 3.4 per cent in 2016, due to the expected gradual pickup in global activity, especially in developing and emerging economies,” she said. Akande, however, added that modest recovery was expected to continue in the advanced economies though, with a further narrowing of output gaps. Inflation On inflation rate, Akande stressed that the Nigerian consumer price index (CPI) increased to 11.4 per cent in February 2016, the highest in three years. She said this figure represents about 1.8 per cent rise over the 9.6 per cent inflation last January. According to her, the increase was attributed to the increases across major segments, which make up the headline index (for instance, the food sub-index increased by 11.3 per cent, up by 0.71 percentage points from rates recorded in January). Exchange rate Speaking on the country’s ex-

Exchange rate is a trend that should not be allowed to continue in the economy.

change rate, the chamber’s boss noted that the average naira exchange rate remained stable at the inter-bank segment of the foreign exchange market with a daily average of N196.99/$1 between January 25 and March 14, 2016. She said, so far, the value of the naira had depreciated by 17.2 per cent at the CBN window from N165 to the dollar (which it was at the end of December 2014) to the current rate of N196.9. Her words: “The parallel market is still under pressure for the last couple of months even as the depreciation remains huge with the value of naira weakening by almost 100 per cent at an average of N320/$ to date”. The LCCI’s boss added that the recent sharp depreciation of the naira exchange rate in the parallel market was a cause for concern. “It is a trend that should not be allowed to continue and all necessary steps need to be taken (and urgently too) to stem the slide and volatility,” Akande noted. Petrol scarcity The LCCI said that the prolonged scarcity of petrol in the past few weeks had taken a major toll on businesses. The chamber said apart from the considerable loss of manhour as a result of long fuel queues and associated traffic issues on the highways, the fuel scarcity challenge also promoted proliferation of black market. Consequently, the chamber said that there was urgent need for the government to liberalise the downstream petroleum sector for unfettered private sector participation and investment. This according to LCCI,

would improve efficiency, attract more investment, generate more jobs and reduce the pressure on the country’s foreign reserves. Dwindling power supply The chamber joined other stakeholders in the economy to draw the attention of government to the worsening power supply across the country over the last couple of months. It said that the situation continued to pose challenges to business operators despite the tariff increase. LCCI said: “There are complaints across all sectors about high energy costs especially high expenditure on diesel and petrol for large and small businesses respectively. “Most businesses spend as much as 15-25 per cent of their total operating cost on alternative power sources. “There is need to review the current framework with a view to finding a sustainable solution to the current challenges in the sector. There is an urgent need to explore alternative models of power provision, which focuses on diversification of energy sources and decentralisation of power supply channels. “The high dependence on gas pipelines from the Niger Delta is characterised by high vulnerability risks, which the economy and the citizens can no longer bear”. Conclusion It is industry stakeholders hope that the nation’s manufacturing sector will turn around in the second quarter.

business \ industry

THURSDAY, APRil 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Dangote, distinguished investor, says FG INVESTMENTS Dangote committed to job creation and economic development in Nigeria

Sunday Ojeme

ollowing the ground breaking event at Okpella Cement in Edo State by Dangote Cement, the Federal Government has described the President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, as an investor who has distinguished himself in several sectors. The Minister of State for

Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, who represented the Federal Government at the event, said that the ground breaking marked another milestone in Dangote’s efforts at job creation and economic development. The new cement plant is expected to further increase the $3 billion the country has been saving from import substitution in cement yearly. It is coming on the heels of similar arrangement for another six million mtpa cement plant in Itori, in Ogun state where the company is currently running a 12million mtpa cement plants at Ibese,

in Yewa division of the state. Abubakar, who was one of the dignitaries present at the event, averred that the cement project was a testimony that the country could move away from oil. Describing Dangote as the highest employer of labour in the country, she pointed out that her ministry would also partner with Dangote Group in the area of technology. In his remarks, Dangote said he would never shy away from investing in Nigeria, saying Nigeria still remains the best place to invest in the world. He said: “A key factor that drives investments in an

economy is the presence of an investor-friendly business climate. Indeed, Edo State today, is one of the most attractive investment destinations in Nigeria. “The economic reforms in Edo State especially in the area of tax, innovations in rural finance and investment on infrastructure, have produced an enabling environment that has further provided a platform for future growth. All these factors made us consider investing in the State. “Nigeria is a growing economy. Our developmental challenges are quite enormous and will require the combined efforts of government and

L-R: Founder, Savvi Advisory Services, Mr. Augutine Edet; Managing Director, SKG Pharma Ltd, Mr. Okey Akpa and General Manager, Sales and Customer Care, SKG Pharma, Mrs. Pat Iloba during the company’s annual Trade Partners’ Conference in Lagos recently.

SON to partner Enugu on export promotion Amadi Nnamdi Abuja

s part of efforts to ensure that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria are well encouraged for capacity development and product export, the Enugu State Government and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) have entered into partnership. Speaking during a courtesy call by SON management to the state, Governor of Enugu state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, promised to support and collaborate with SON in this regard. According to a statement, he advised the team led by the acting Director-General, Paul Angya, not to relent in the fight against importation of substandard products into Nigeria. This, he said, would allow “Made-in-Nigeria” products compete favourably with foreign ones in the international market.

He solicited for the continued cooperation of the state government in building partnership that will enhance the growth and development of MSME’s in Enugu and Nigeria at large, with a view to strengthening their capacity to produce for export. He informed the governor that the National Metrology Institute (NMI) Enugu, which is still under construction, was part of the Federal Government’s efforts towards establishing the National Measurement System in Nigeria, which in itself is part of the National Quality Infrastructure plan that will serve Nigeria as well as the entire West Africa sub-region. According to the SON boss, the institute will, among others, impact positively on Nigeria’s economic spectrum from export of crude and natural gas and sale of petroleum products to citizens. He appealed to the state government to assist SON in upgrading the road linking the NMI to ensure unhindered supply to the site.

private sector to overcome them. It is in this light that we are here to contribute our own quota to transforming the economy of Edo State as we have done elsewhere. “This project is only one of our several successful projects presently ongoing in parts of the country and outside in more than 15 other locations in African countries, in line with our Pan African investment strategy. Last year June, we commissioned our cement plant in Ethiopia, and in August of same year in Zambia and Cameroon. We commissioned our plant in Tanzania in October. We plan to commission very soon, some of our other African plants in Senegal and South Africa. “Also last year, in Lagos, we signed a deal valued at $4.34 billion, with Sinoma International Engineering Company Limited, for the construction of 10 additional new cement plants across Africa, with one in Nepal in Asia. The combined capacity of these new projects will be 25 million metric tons per annum. “By the time all these new projects are completed in the next few years, we will have a total capacity of 81 million metric tons per annum. This will make us one of the top six cement companies in the world. “We are currently consolidating our cement businesses across Africa in order to reap the benefits of scale. As a matter of fact, our operational offshore cement plants have started to make substantial contributions to our Group revenue.”

Investors to FG: Overhaul institutions for FDI inflow Taiwo Hassan

o attract growth into the Nigerian economy, potential investors have advised the Federal Government to overhaul relevant agencies and parastatals in order to allow inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country. They also said the restructuring would allow Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs) to benefit immensely from the FDI. Chairman, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Small and Medium scale Enterprise Group (SMEG), Jon Kachikwu, disclosed said this in Lagos. This, he said, was part of the submissions of a group of foreign investors who converged on an investors’ forum on investments in Africa held in Michigan, United States. He said that investors in the Diaspora, who are interested in investing in

Nigerian market, were being hindered by the lack of functional and dedicated institutions in the country. He said the investors wanted a clime where their investments would be protected and secured. According to him, the government institutions, such as the ministries, the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigerian Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Controls (NAFDAC) amongst others, need to be restructured for best service delivery. His words: “The truth is that I went for an international business conference in the United States and I met different investors from Cambodia, China, Australia and the United Kingdom. And the focus of the conference was about investments in Africa and the way forward. And we came to the conclusion, especially the investors who are actually

willing to come to Nigeria, that what we lack here is misplaced government agencies and ministries. “It is now left for the Federal Government to strengthen the institutions because that is where they have challenges with their investments. They know that Nigeria has the market. They know that the money is there but the problem is how they will come into the country to set up businesses when at the end of the day, they would not be frustrated out from the country by these so-called government institutions. “They said if the Federal Government could strengthen these institutions then the sky would be the limit for Nigerian investment climate.” He said the investors were wary of the falling economy, adding that the country shouldn’t have been in this economic situation based on the fact that Nigeria has the market and population.

THURSDAY, april 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

eWORLD

Charting growth path for telecoms industry A special reception recently organised by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) for the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu turned out to be another opportunity for stakeholders to chart growth path for the nation’s telecoms industry. KUNLE AZEEZ reports.

takeholders in the nation’s telecommunications industry were last week brought together to engage in discussions aimed at discussing industry challenges and urthering the growth in the industry. Crux of the forum Speaking at the forum, President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Lanre Ajayi, stated that the twin-programme, featuring the inaugural meeting of the Telecom Industry Advisory Council (TIAC) of ATCON and a special reception/dinner for the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, was to provide unique opportunity to chart the way forward in addressing critical industry issues. Policies status quo Presenting a position paper at the inaugural TIAC meeting, former President of ATCON and TIAC member, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, called the industry attention to certain policies and developments that required urgent intervention in order to consistently put the industry on the growth path. According to him, two reasons informed his contribution to on-going industry development initiatives. One of the documents, according to him, is the apparent wait-and-see attitude by industry players in the communication technology industry while the second is about two documents, which are currently in public domain regarding the roadmap that the industry may travel under the current dispensation. The two documents are the Communiqué of the 2016 Communications Sector Retreat in Ibadan and the EVC’s 8-point Agenda for Telecommunication 2016 – 2020. Industry challenges Separate presentations by IHS and Airtel at the event captured perennial industry challenges being faced by the

Ajayi

Danbatta

players the chief of which, perhaps, is the high cost of obtaining permit approvals from states and local governments, coupled with the long process thereof, thereby delaying rollout of sites to meet proposed quality of service target by mobile network operators (MNOs). Other challenges identified by the operators include incidence of multiple taxation by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and local governments; incessant lockup/vandalism of sites for frivolous demands; constant attack on employees of telecoms companies by militants and communities at the sites; lack of specific legislation to protect these telecoms facilities as Critical National Infrastructure from arbitral site shutdown/lockup . Concerns Speaking at the event, the minister, who promised to support the industry through working with the various agencies under the ministry and the players in the industry to put the industry on growth path, called industry operators’ attention to cases of unsolicited short messaging services

Telecoms industry roadmap for 2015-2020 is expected to take Nigeria to the next level of economic devt

(SMS), under-declaration and underpayment of taxes and need to promote local contents and human capital development. Other concerns raised were on facilitating low-cost financing for the development and production of local ICT products; leveraging of Public-Private Partnership to accelerate infrastructure development; and reclaiming and releasing of unused spectrum for trading or re-farming, among others. Regulatory efforts Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Danbatta, who was represented at the forum by the Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo at the commission, stated that the industry has recorded over $32 billion investment, over 152 million subscribers as at November last year and close to 100 million Internet subscriptions. According to Danbatta, while the growth in the telecoms industry has continued to drive further growth in the economy, especially in financial services and e-commerce, the Commission has embarked on initiatives to further accelerate

the growth into the future in addition to working with government at all levels to address the identified challenges facing the operators. Specific regulatory actions to fuel increased industry growth and contribution to national economy, he noted, included the licensing of Infrastructure companies (InfraCos), the auctioning of the 2.3 gigahertz and the impending 2.6 gigahertz spectrum coupled with the development of other regulations to deepen competition. He said the acknowledgement of the various challenges being faced by the industry has also informed the recent unveiling by the Commission of a Roadmap for 2015-2020, expected to finally take Nigeria to the next levels of telecommunications where quality of service and access would be top-notched. Noting that when the economy was rebased in 2014, telecoms was said to be contributing 10 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the NCC boss assured that by the time “we enter the broadband era, the contribution will more than triple because broadband is a development enabler. It transforms societies and generally brings about economic well-being.” Conclusion At the end of the forum, key suggestions aimed at moving the industry forward were advanced by the stakeholders. These include passage into law the Critical National Infrastructure Bill; implementation of the National Economic Council’s Resolution on Multiple Taxation, Levies and Charges on ICT infrastructure in Nigeria; review and amendment of the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act (Amendment) Order, 2015; iimplementation of the ‘Smart State Initiative’ in all the states of the Federation in order to create sanity and properly streamline fees and levies chargeable from states and need to further educate the general public of the legal implications of sites lockup as stated under the Criminal Justice Provision Act 2004.

Operators lose 2m Internet users O ver two million Internet users have been lost by telecoms networks in Nigeria, bringing their hitherto over 95.7 million Internet users to about 93.6 million between January and February this year. This is according to the latest data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator. Overall, a total of over 2 million Internet subscribers were lost across the industry, as a total number of 95.94

million subscribers browsed the Internet through the networks in January, while a total of 93.75 million remained on the networks in the month of February. The data showed that of the 93.75 million Internet users in February, 93.6 million were on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, while 150,125 users were on the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Specific analysis of the data showed that one of Nigeria’s telecoms network,

Globacom, has increased its mobile subscription to over 25.6 million at the end of last February. According to the data, Globacom added a total of 248,593 new Internet subscribers, while many other major telecommunications operators lost Internet subscribers in the month. The report indicated that Globacom grew its 25.4 million Internet subscribers last January to 25.6 million in February and it was followed by Airtel, which grew

its subscribers by 224,037 in February, rising from the 16.8 million in January to over 17 million in February. Other networks such as Etisalat lost 52,251 Internet subscribers in the month under review moving from a total of 15,283,903 in January to 15,231,652 in February, just as MTN lost over 2 million Internet subscribers in February, after its over 38.2 million Internet users in the month of January were depleted to less than 36 million in February.

business \ eWORLD

THURSDAY, APRil 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

RackCentre to invest N30bn in data centre CAPITAL FLIGHT Robust policy needed to discourage offshore patronage of data centre services Kunle Azeez

ackCentre, Nigeria’s premier Tier-3 designed and certified data centre, is investing fresh $150 million (N30bn) to scale up its data centre infrastructure towards meeting the growing demand of addressable market in the country and beyond. Chief Executive Officer, RackCentre, Mr. Ayotunde Coker, disclosed this during an interaction on the sideline of a tour of the company’s data centre facility by the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, in Lagos on Monday. The Minister, who expressed satisfaction at the siting of RackCentre in Nigeria and commending the company for driving digital revolution, gave assurance of government’s support for players in the industry and measures to encourage both local and public sectors in Nigeria to get all their data centre services locally.

“We have noticed that some organisations are in the habit of going abroad for their IT services needs. With the RackCentre’s data centre facilities, which I just finished touring and those of other players I had earlier visited, I want to believe that there is no need to keep recording capital flight in Nigeria,” he added. Meanwhile, Coker, who has expressed delight over the minister’s visit, dis-

Describing the minister’s visit as momentous, Coker said RackCentre was keen in bridging about massive digital revolution by helping businesses and public organisations to collocate and run their operations more efficiently and effectively. Coker stated that the company has built a core infrastructure hub to drive digital revolution in Nigeria and beyond, stressing that the company constantly expands

its capability and works on efficiency of its facility in delivering value to the customers. He said: “We recently implemented the doubling of our capacity. We increased from 119 racks to 250. We know we can double it to almost 600 racks within the next eight months. We have the trajectory over the next two years to build the rack to 2,000. We have the core competency.

L-R: Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah; Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, before a meeting with Chinese officials in China…on Monday.

We process $10m monthly –VoguePay ne of Nigeria’s electronic payment platforms, VoguePay, says that it currently processes an average of $10 million on its platform monthly. The firm, which made this known in a statement, also underscored the significance of industry collaborations towards protecting e-payment online for customers and tackling cybercrimes. VoguePay, which currently serves tens of thousands of small businesses in four continents, including Africa and Asian, said that lack of cohesive coordination between the payment industry and security agencies to a larger extent has influenced the menace. According to the company, from less than $100 when it started operations in 2012, the company now processes an average of $10 million on a monthly basis. The company said it has developed one of the best robust security networks to provide safe and secure transactions for its businesses using its platform for financial transfer transactions. VoguePay said it gives a unique insight into the security challenges faced by international businesses, both large and small. Currently, the company said that there seems to be a reluctance to tackle the problem at

closed the plans of the company to invest $150 million in further infrastructure expansion. He said: “We are happy to have the Minister tour our facility and the feedback from the minister after the tour our data centre capability is that we have got a more sophisticated infrastructure capable of accelerating the country’s economic development here and we found his coming momentous.”

its roots, with some security agencies having the attitude that businesses can mitigate this via insurance pay-outs. Speaking during a press briefing on the company’s activities, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Simeon, said the VoguePay’s review of fraudulent transactions, revealed that the pattern detected by its security parameters points to an increase in deliberate collaboration between crime syndicates, using geo-location to avoid detection. It stressed that even when caught, the cyber criminals use geo-location patterns to avoid prosecution. Simeon said a criminal could be using a card issued in the USA to perform transactions in the United Kingdom, via a merchant in China, saying this way; the criminals are taking full advantage of the lack of crosscountry coordination when it comes to fighting cyber-crime. Simeon believes that cyber criminals are well aware of the constraints affecting cyber-security authorities, which include coordination, cooperation, culture and budget. He, however, noted that VoguePay plays a crucial role to protect its users; helping both merchants and customers to prevent and deter transactions that could prove to be fraudulent or result to potential charge-back transactions.

Ntel targets wider coverage

tel, the Nigeria’s 4G/ Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, said it was set to increase its coverage in Lagos and Abuja by 70 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. Chief Executive Officer of Ntel, Mr. Kamar Abass, stated this during the announcement and commencement of sales in Lagos, stressing that coverage in Port Harcourt will follow by May. Further expansion will follow subsequently into other states, across multiple geo-political zones during the second half of 2016, he said. According to him, services are delivered on Ntel’s 4G/ LTE Advanced network for

both mobile and fixed services. He added that 250 sites have been built and are close to being “On-Air”. “Base Transceiver Station (BTS) optimisation is ongoing; so coverage and performance will grow steadily. We plan 400 sites in Lagos and 400 in Abuja by end of March this year. “Currently, we have a coverage of 25 per cent and 20 per cent and we expect to increase this to 70 per cent and 50 per cent in the next six weeks respectively,” he said. Abass, noted that while there have been 4G operators in the industry including Smile, Spectranet, Swift, MTN and NatCom, Ntel’s parent body, Ntel offers the highest

speed of 230Mbps. He explained that while there are more 2G and 3G services in the country specially with regard to data provisioning, studies have shown there is a yearning demand for higher network with capability for much faster Internet speed. “An Ericsson report has shown that 33 per cent of 2G customers want to upgrade to 4G; while 47 per cent of 3G customers want to move to 4G. Nigeria is the eighth biggest telecoms market in the world, growing faster than China and Brazil and this explains why there will continue to me increasing demand for 4G/ LTE, which we are prepared for,” he said.

‘85% Airtel’s 3G sites IP-enabled’

lmost 80 to 85 per cent of all Airtel 3G sites in Nigeria are Internet Protocol (IP)enabled to provide Internet services to its over 30 million subscribers, Vice President, Data & Digital Services at Airtel, Mr. Nitin Anand, has disclosed. This means that the network cur rently has the capability to accommodate more customers on its network without the congestion hassles, as the network can easily be expanded without needing additional spectrum

for deployment. Anand spoke at the unveiling of Smart Speedoo, a service that allows customers to get more value from data services on the network in Lagos. “When a customer uses up to 10mb at 1kobo/kb, Airtel gives him 10mb free. And when his usage gets to 50mb, the browsing rate drops to 0.5kobo/ kb, then, he gets 50mb free. When the customer’s usage reaches 100mb, the rate drops further to 0.2kobo/kb and he is given 100mb free,” Anand

explained. He noted that the cycle continues every month, thereby giving Air tel customers the free surf experience. While commenting on the superfast 3G internet, which Smart Speedoo rides on, Nitin noted that Airtel has the largest deployment of 3G Internet Provider (IP) sites in the country enabling the telco offer Inter net speed of up to 42mbps, which is very close to the Long Ter m Evolution (LTE) speed.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Mom&Parenting

Parenting

Mom’s Alert

Disability or THISABILITY: The Irede Foundation Example

Why Moms Should Stop Putting Themselves Last

themselves. Teach them the importance of individuality and how to honour, respect, and encourage both their dif ferences and their similarities no matter how big or small they might be.

Oluwatosin Omoniyi

t’s a long standing tradition not recognised in this part of the worldNigeria. Siblings Day sometimes called National Siblings Day or National Sibling Day is a holiday mostly recognised annually in some parts of America, April 10. Just like Mother’s and Father’s day, it is a day meant to honour siblings relationships. Lauren Levy, assistant editor at Popsugar Moms of www.circle of moms explained and suggested ways to nurture relationship among siblings. While siblings have no say when it comes to being a brother or sister, they can decide if they want to be lifelong friends. The possibility for this special bond to endure often depends on how their relationship was fostered during childhood which isn’t an easy task. Whether your little ones are close in age or have years between them, there’s always a potential for squabbling, comparisons, and small resentments to turn into major issues. To help form a strong connection between your children, check out these nine tips for building unbreakable relationships between children. Expect respect Even during disagreements, set a standard of respect from a very young age. Do not fall into the habit of ruling that your younger child can get away with bad behaviour simply because of his or her age. Instead, make it clear that you expect all of your children to show good listening skills, treat the other how they would want to be treated, and work together on learning how to understand where each child is coming from. Look for a pattern If your kids are continuously bickering about the same thing, really listen to their individual concerns and look for a pattern. If they are starting fights as a way to get your attention or just because

Mom&Parenting

Oluwatosin Omoniyi City Editor

Know the difference between fair and equal Part of teaching your children how not to compare is by explaining the difference between fairness and equality. Being fair is when things happen out of necessity, like a child getting something new because he or she needs it for a class. However, being equal is when if something happens to one it happens to everyone, like all of the kids getting something new just because one child did. Once precedence for fairness and not equality is set, your little ones can stop focusing on comparing what they aren’t getting and be happy for the other child when it’s their turn.

Teach them how to make up

photo: www.shuttershock.com

Building strong bonds among siblings they’re bored, you can work on solving the source of the problem, which will prevent the relationship with their sibling from suffering. Initiate teamwork Setting up meaningful activities where all of your children are out of their comfort zone and working together can be a powerful bonding experience. Instead of picking hobbies that one sibling excels at (like their favorite sport), come up with new opportunities to engage that are a common ground. This will keep someone from feeling inferior in someone else’s territory and allows them to grow together. Teach them how to make up It’s not just important for your children to learn how to fight respectfully and among themselves. Just as you want your children to develop an independent relationship where they can work on their problems without running straight for parental intervention, it’s equally essential that they learn how to properly make up and move past the issue once it’s resolved. Developing the skills

to say sorry, truly mean it, and move on will allow their relationship to blossom as they get older. Foster mutual support Encourage empathy and understanding between your children by reminding them that they are cheerleaders for each other. Make sure each child attends events that are

Displaying siblings love

important to the other, and not just because there isn’t a babysitter or a play date but out of excitement for the other child, to ensure that the support flows both ways. Keep from comparing Just because you try not to compare your little ones doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing the comparing

photo: www.desumama.com

Don’t overlook individual time Even though you’re focused on fostering this strong bond between siblings, it’s important to also realize that your little ones don’t have to spend every second together or can’t pursue their own interests with separate friends. Working on honoring individuality is also a key part of raising children who can support each other. Set an example You don’t have to have siblings or close relationships with your own brothers and sisters to set an example of the importance of that special bond for your own children. Just by encouraging family time and dealing with your own conflicts respectfully, you’re setting a powerful tone for how your children should treat each other.

Big sister on younger brother’s back - teaching him how to walk photo: www.desumama.com

Mom&Parenting

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

i-Protect

Childhood Protection & preservation culture

with

Taiwo Akinlami principal@taiwoakinlami.com

The only disability in life is bad attitude

Disability or THISABILITY: The Irede Foundation example

his is one of the days when I am very weary to respond to the nudges of my conscience to hit the keyboards of my phone to ventilate my thoughts. Yet, it is a day I am compelled by the importance of the matter of my heart to heed the nudges anyway…anyhow…all the same… In 2014, we completed our research work on children, living with so-called disability in Africa and disseminated same and thereafter released an audio program on same. We found an African culture with deep-seated misconception about so-called disability. We found that the root cause of our misconception is our general lack of respect for dignity of human person. We found that there is no credible statefunded-social service support system for children with any form of so-called disability, particularly those from poor families. Due to our myopia as a people of demonizing whatever we consider negative and we cannot explain, we see any form of so-called disability as a curse, misfortune or punishment from God. Therefore, when children are born with any form of so-called disability or they suffer same after birth, the parents and relatives are faced with an uphill task of supporting the child to live a normal life in an abnormal society and above all relate with the opprobrium and stigma that comes with same. It is against this backdrop that we agree with UNICEF that the real disability is not that a child cannot see, walk or hear, it is the attitude of the society which excludes or stigmatizes the child. In my contribution at the International Conference on Inclusive Education in Africa, held in South Africa by the British Council,

last month, I opined that we must embark on a rigorous reorientation of our belief and perception as Africans on the subject of disability. I proposed that such campaign is not only foundational but a prerequisite to any form of meaningful and result-oriented local and international intervention. It is in the light of the foregoing that I salute the visionary of The Irede Foundation, for taking up the gauntlet of raising awareness and providing support for children without limbs. I support with unalloyed passion the mission of the organization to get the members of the society to support the noble mission of providing prosthetics (artificial limbs) for children without natural limbs. Of more importance to me is the fact that they are bringing the debate on children living with disability to the fore, with a view to reorienting members of the society, rising above the shame and stigma, having been inspired to start the organization due to their experience with their first daughter, Beulah, who is also on a prosthetics. Information on how you can support the cause is found on http://www. theiredefoundation.org Yesterday, my wife and I joined #teamikoyi on #Outonalimb walk because the message must the drawn home, in the words of Scott Hamilton that ‘the only disability in life is bad attitude.’ In our social dictionary, there is no such word like disability. Same has been replaced with the word, #Thisability as championed by UNICEF. #Thisability refers to uncommon ability, which an uninformed and limited society refers to and treat as disability. Here I rest my case. Do have an INSPIRED week.

THE VIRTUOUS MOM with

Hameed Opeyemi abdulvirtuepen@gmail.com

My mum, my treasure

For her children love she cherished, mum’s care never for pretending

The figure of real and a clear shining crystal An adorable queen to be kept faraway from dirt Virtues is of hers, holy Mary! mother of the Jews king Beauty in disguise, god in hidden, diamond in the open Her body from top to down, abode of great bodies Carrying the world around through dad’s emotional wifi

Job master on child parenting and husband nursing to the core Her efforts of keeping the house to one feels no itch nor flows Every point at her caring abode witness no down nor falls Like the hen after the eagle when catching chick from sky top Love like slide in rise of the sunset from the north to south Love like testing the motion on the field between lover birds

Treasure of our heart, mind of the most high is here Haven of care too rare, here in town, devoid of sorrow To be worshipped but not to banished like a war-ship Golden is of hers, Mable of love, Diamond of affection Second in command to the gods, first-rated in child care None knows the no and yes of the house like the knower

Can anyone spot the different between God love and mothers love? The treasure of adequate structure in fact and figure called mothers No lies, no secret nor hush-hush, the in thing of care is from mum My mother, my treasure, my gold, my alma-mata with great norms Iyani wura, mum means the invaluable treasure called gold Iya ni iyami, mum is just mum nothing less of great love she offers

Mum is an exquisite treasure, Mum for love cut of pressure Mum in the house, all for the browse, dad in deep sense arouse Mum at the country park, hope for the tommy touch salvaged Mum at the feast, happy hour is ours for no treat of defeat Mum here for the trip, chop to chop for all in great zip Mum in the house, dad for the race with the one in blouse Every aspect of mothers’ world is for good living Value of treasure my mum, the most cheerful in giving Good, great, caring, adorable, charming, fun loving Time to speak prudent, mothers love means like succeeding In her alms, caring for the house seize not, but keep proceeding

In time of pain, I see more care from her chain of love In the days of famine, mother to the tommy pain rescue In the struggle with daddy, mum shows concern in all realm In the lane of life race, mothers provide shed to cover our cold In all sphere of life value, mums love never to be tarnished Evil for my mum! Never but be thrown to the sea to vanish God! protect the one that ride my vehicle to the world Master of heaven and earth, blessmatua to all mothers They are the world precious and most treasured Queen

MOM’S ALERT with

Grace Essen

grace.essen@gmail.com

Why moms should stop putting themselves last

hile growing up I or an opportunity to hang out with watched women around girlfriends, our children could be me – my mum, my aun- at the receiving end, particularly ties, mums of friends and neigh- the girls. They very naturally will bors, my female school teachers grow to toe this line like most of repeat the mantra – when you us have done. Just think of it, we have children you don’t eat. So don’t even have to think, we just do when for instance food is served it, that means it is firmly ingrained in the home and for some reasons in our minds. When girls are taught it does not go round, mothers will (consciously or unconsciously) usually go without. When needs that mothers should always ‘go of family members have to be without’, they grow up losing the met, those of the mothers are will to speak up, to negotiate, to usually considered last, even in ask for their right, to demand for cases where health is involved. what is theirs, to push for positions I have seen and heard of moth- or opportunities that should come ers who neglected their health to them, and they are more likely for the sake of family, and they to become victims of rape, abuse, never lived to see the future of violence and discrimination all bethe children for whom they made cause they grew up learning that such sacrifices. women should always put their perHaving watched our mothers sonal interest last. Let’s not even do this over talk about the mistime, we too ery of children who have become lose their mothers mothers, and due to neglect and we have very carelessness. When we plan naturally, conadequately, tinued with it A few things there will be less we can do: - like mothers, like daughters. When there is occasions where After all that not enough food for someone has to go is what every instance, (this hapwithout ‘good’ mother pens sometimes), instead of going should do – put without, we could her personal needs last so that everyone else share what is available with them is satisfied. Seriously, I am begin- (they won’t die)! Or right before ning to have a rethink! them we can come up with other Sometime ago I was feeling options so we don’t give them the ill. I felt too weak to carry out impression that we always have my daily duties in the home no to go without. matter how hard I tried to push Plan ahead for meals and myself, mothers never fall sick, household supplies; when we plan you know, or who will take care adequately, there will be less ocof the family?! I tried until I just casions where someone has to go couldn’t keep up; my health was without. in desperate need of attention. I Due to family demands, many went to the hospital and series moms have had to let go of their of tests were carried out after careers, but you would agree that which my doctor recommended most of such decisions are made that I be admitted in the hospital. in haste. Working with a career I said okay and he was shocked. counselor or coach can help us “I know you to absolutely hate make better decisions that will be hospital Mrs. Essen,” he said in the interest of the entire family. surprised. “For you not to argue Take care of yourself and let your being admitted… now I am your kids see that. Let them know worried.” I smiled weakly; I just when you need rest, let them know didn’t have the strength to argue. when you need a break, let them He was absolutely right. Ordinar- know when you are feeling unwell ily, I would have put the needs of and need some time to recover. You my family before mine, and in- would be pleasantly surprised how sisted on going home. At home, I they will be willing to help out so wouldn’t be able to do much, and you can get the much needed rest. I wouldn’t get better either. Now The few days I was in the hospital does that make me a bad mom? may have been like a week or more When we continuously put our- to my family. You could obviously selves last as mums, we are sending tell just walking into my home that certain messages we may not really mummy was not around, but then intend to send. We may be saying we heavens didn’t fall, and everyone deserve little or no attention, we are was just fine, including me! not worthy, not good enough, our Have you had situations where needs are not that important, oth- you neglected yourself for the ers should always come before us … sake of your family? I bet you remember I said messages we never have. Do you think you could have really intended to send. found a better way not to put yourBeyond what we stand to lose self last? when we put ourselves last, be it a Please share your thoughts portion of food, a bowl of ice cream with me. Thank you!

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Features

Pedestrians struggling with motorists for the right of way on a zebra crossing on Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja. PHOTOS: GODWIN IREKHE

Zebra crossing: Death at a dash A

Nigerian residing in the United States came home for an important occasion. But he nearly lost his life while attempting to cross the road in a particular area in the Lagos metropolis. He was almost knocked down by a driver at a zebra crossing. The driver applied the brakes, swerved and missed the man by a whisker. Furious, he hissed, cursed and thrust his left hand out,

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun. bello@newtelegraphonline.com

Many Nigerians have either been maimed or have lost their lives while crossing the road owing to ignorance, impatience, carelessness and inadequate road infrastructure, writes ABIODUN BELLO the fingers spread out with the palm facing the man, a gesture showing annoyance and a form of abuse, as his car screeched away. Dumbfounded, the American returnee walked towards a nearby police post to report the incident. But he got more than he bargained for. After listening to his complaint, the sergeant he met on the counter retorted: “Oga, are you a zebra? Why will you cross at the zebra crossing?” This seems to be coming from a scene in the Nollywood. However, it captures the perception of many Nigerian motorists. Zebra crossing, according to Wikipedia, is a type of pedestrian crossing used in several countries of the world.

I don’t think Lagos drivers have the patience to wait for pedestrians

“Its distinguishing feature is alternating dark and light stripes on the road surface, resembling the coat of a zebra. A zebra crossing typically gives priority rights of way to pedestrians. “In countries such as the United Kingdom, zebra markings give pedestrians permanent right of way. In other countries they are also used on pedestrian crossings controlled by traffic signals, and pedestrians have priority only when the lights show green to pedestrians,” it states. In Nigeria, zebra crossing gives the pedestrian permanent right of way. Once a pedestrian stands on the zebra crossing, oncoming vehicle must wait for the person to cross. But many Nigerians,

both pedestrians and motorists, either do not know or do not care. Many pedestrians have been knocked down by reckless drivers while trying to cross the road using the zebra crossing. Several have been killed in the process while scores of others have either been injured or permanently maimed. Countless of others have had close shave with death. A Lagos resident, who gave his name as Mr. Onyinyechukwu Adimabua, says drivers in the metropolis have no respect for zebra crossing and pedestrians. He says: “No driver has ever stopped for me to use the zebra crossing. I don’t think Lagos drivers have the patience to wait for pedestrians. “In Lagos, it is the pedestrian that must wait for the road to be cleared of traffic before crossing, zebra crossing or not. “To me, it is suicidal trying to claim right of way on the Lagos roads because of zebra CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

FEATURES

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Showing disregard for pedestrians CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

crossing.” Another Lagos resident, Mr. Godwin Imounu, says he was almost killed twice while using the zebra crossing. He said: “My first experience was about two weeks ago. I was on Adetokunbo Ademola Street by Eko Hotel and I needed to cross the road. I saw a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), thinking the occupants must be educated elite who would know the right of pedestrians. “I stepped on the zebra crossing and decided to walk across the road but the chauffer-driven owner of the vehicle was furious and swore at me. I was annoyed and gave him a piece of my mind. I told him a man of his status ought to know and obey traffic rules and behave in a civilised manner.” Imounu said his second experience left him gasping for breath. “My second experience happened just a week ago. This time, I wanted to cross the road which links the Lagos State Government Secretariat with the LagosIbadan Expressway by Ndubuisi Kanu Park. But again, an SUV almost knocked me down. I had to run and dodge the vehicle. I escaped death by a whisker. I was shaking like a jelly fish. Annoyed, I had to hit the body of the vehicle with my fist,” he adds. Imounu, however, says he has learnt his lessons. “Now, I will never try that again. The most dangerous are the commercial bus drivers. I have never crossed the road, whether on zebra crossing or not, in front of a commercial vehicle. I am always careful when it comes to commercial bus drivers,” he adds. Many motorists, it seems, do not know the law guiding accident, especially when it claims life on the zebra crossing. The Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI), Mr. Ayodeji Oyedokun, once disclosed during training for tanker drivers at the Oshodi Centre of the institute that “if a driver accidentally kills anyone, it is treated as manslaughter”. However, according to him, if it is on the zebra crossing, the driver is automatically charged with murder. This fact is probably lost on most motorists. But, it is not every driver that does not respect the zebra crossing. A journalist with a Lagosbased national daily, Mr Samson Ojo, who drives on a daily basis, says he has utmost respect for pedestrians. He said: “It is not only about pedestrians, whenever you are behind the wheel, you must obey all traffic rules, without exception. “Whenever I see anyone on the zebra crossing, I stop for the person to cross. This I do every day. I drive across almost every part of the Lagos metropolis because of my job as a journalist.” But, Ojo also spoke on the challenges facing motorists in Lagos.

People dashing across the road at Ikeja Cantonment

Another zebra crossing at Maryland, Lagos

According to him, there are not enough road signs to guide motorists. Outside this, one other challenge is the issue of location of the zebra crossing. Sometimes, it is located immediately after intersection or traffic light. This is common in places such as Obafemi Awolowo Way by the Lagos State Secretariat and Fagba Junction on Pen-Cinema-Iju Road. Also, the white stripes indicating the zebra crossing have faded or completely eroded in many places making it difficult for either the pedestrian or motorist to see. For instance, the zebra crossing at Ogba bus stop on Ogunusi Road (formerly Ogba Road) near Area ‘G’ Police Command has been completely eroded that it is now difficult to trace. The story is the same at Iju Motor Park, Iju Road, Pen-Cinema and many parts of the metropolis. But a commercial bus driver, who plies Agbado-Agege route, says it is not right to say that bus drivers do not give regard for ze-

A faded zebra crossing on Iju Road

bra crossing users. The man, identified simply as Sunday, says he usually stops for pedestrians on the zebra crossing. “It is not every bus driver that is not educated. Some of us know the implication of not stopping for pedestrians to cross. For me, once I see anybody on the zebra crossing, I stop for the person to cross,” Sunday adds. He, however, calls on government to make zebra crossing visible. “Not only that, there used to be signs indicating zebra crossing. This is no longer the case,” Sunday says. In the course of compiling this story, our photojournalist, Mr. Godwin Irekhe, was manhandled by soldiers at the Ikeja Cantonment. According to him, while trying to take pictures of pedestrians using the zebra crossing in front of the cantonment. “I just took a few shots. But the sentries at the gate leading into the cantonment grabbed me

by the band of my trousers and dragged me inside. They started beating me, seized my camera and attempted to destroy it. “My explanations that I was a photojour nalist perfor ming my duty meant nothing to them. In the process of beating me, an officer in mufti saw what was going on and intervened. It was his intervention which saved my life. He asked those beating me to refer my case to a senior officer who was humane enough to listen to my explanation,” Irekhe says. According to Irekhe, the senior officer empathised with him, after listening to his mission and ordeal. “The senior officer, who was also in mufti so I do not know his name, apologised for the way his ‘boys’ manhandled me. He also shared his experience about motorists’ attitude to zebra crossing users. According to him, most Nigerians, either educated or nor, give little or no regard for zebra crossing,” he adds.

THURSDAY, April 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Money Line

DECLINE CBN diversifies into yuan

Stores by Tony Chukwunyem

igeria’s foreign exchange reserves continued its recent downward slide, dropping to $27.50 billion as at Tuesday, 12th April, according to information on the Central Bank

Foreign reserves slide to $27.50bn of Nigeria’s (CBN) website. The foreign reserves stood at $27.86 billion as at 31st March 2016. The persistent slide of the foreign reserves is coming against the background of Tuesday’s announcement that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signed a deal on yuan

transactions with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) , the world’s biggest lender as part of efforts to bolster the naira. Analysts point out that the development means that the yuan will be free to flow among different banks in Nigeria and facilitate the CBN’s plan to di-

FirstBank boosts SME entrepreneurs Chris Ugwu

n its quest to build capacity amongst SME players and deepen the development of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria, FirstBank’s Deputy Managing Director, Gbenga Shobo will play host to over 100 SME entrepreneurs across various business sectors at the maiden edition of the 2016 EDC/FirstBank SME Breakfast Series – The Economy and You!. FirstBank commenced the sponsorship of an SME Radio programme, The Economy & You! in 2015 and it has featured over 30 entrepreneurs since its debut. The programme, which is broadcast live every on Rhythm FM (Network) with a repeat broadcast streamed on the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) website www.edcradioonline.com every Wednesday is a joint initiative of EDC and First Bank of Nigeria Limited. The overarching objective is to educate, inform and build capacity

for small business owners by providing them with the information and resources needed to grow their businesses. The weekly programme focuses on live interviews of industry experts, accomplished SME entrepreneurs and regulators who take listeners through the process of identifying and making use of opportunities that abound for small and medium businesses in the economy. Discussions also dwell on how SMEs can prepare business plans, budget, deal with tax issues and government policies etc. The breakfast session with FirstBank’s Deputy Managing Director would strengthen the Bank’s interaction with SMEs and provide practical help to support their business. According to Mr. Gbenga Shobo, DMD, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the SME market is one of the Bank’s strategic platforms to stimulate economic development. “It remains our business to foster the growth and development of small and

medium scale businesses in Nigeria as the No1 SME Bank in Nigeria”, he further stated. Some of FirstBank’s interventions towards the growth of SMEs include African StartUp on CNN, the sponsored TV documentary on CNN showcasing SME success stories across Africa; SME toolkits in association with EDC (Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University) for empowering small businesses; Ignite (an afterschool graduate employability and enterprise training initiative); constant social media engagement; and the SMEConnect website which is at the heart of all FirstBank’s SME activities. The website www.firstbanknigeria.com/ smeconnect also provides links to archival materials from the “The Economy and You” programme as well as other resource materials. It also serves as a channel to obtain feedback from customers and communicate the Bank’s products and services targeted at SMEs”

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 12.8 12 10.77 US$42.18 US$27,499,002,593

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 Feb, 2016 28/03/2016 Mar 2015 13/4/2016 12/4/2016

Source:CBN

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

FGN Bonds

TTM

Price 104.96 114.56 112.10 120.50 109.35 100.24 83.91 98.09

1.08 3.25 3.87 5.83 7.95 9.81 14.31 18.30

NIBOR

Rate (%) 15.0000 10.6864 12.4601 13.8466

Bid Yield 10.09 10.57 11.56 11.46 12.32 12.45 12.43 12.41

Change (%) 2.17 ▲ 0.20 ▲ 0.24 ▲ 0.22 ▲

Change (%) 0.04 ▲ 0.00 ↔ 0.25 ▲ -0.07 ▼ 0.08 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 0.04 ▲

Price 105.11 114.86 112.40 120.80 109.65 100.54 84.21 98.39

Tenor (Months)

NITTY

Rate (%) 5.4817 7.3699 7.8938 9.2453 9.3846 10.0913

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Offer Yield 9.95 10.47 11.47 11.40 12.26 12.40 12.38 12.37

Change (%) 0.04 ▲ 0.00 ↔ 0.25 ▲ -0.07 ▼ 0.08 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 0.04 ▲ 0.04 ▲ Change (%) 0.25 ▲ 0.06 ▲ 0.29 ▲ 0.60 ▲ 0.45 ▲ -0.44 ▼

Money Market

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) Change (%) 7.90 8.06 0.26 ▲ Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 12.67 0.00 ↔ 30-Jun-16 8.15 8.32 0.26 ▲ 22-Sep-16 8.71 8.46 8.82 0.46 ▲ Overnight (O/N) 13.75 0.42 ▲ 9.10 0.46 ▲ 9.06 9.92 0.00 ↔ 16-Mar-17 9.31 10.22 0.00 ↔

Spot($/N)

Bid 198.45

Offer 198.55

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

NIFEX

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.0000

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

196.00

197.00

0.00 ↔

Offer 199.1000

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

versify the foreign reserves away from the dollar. The CBN has said it plans to diversify its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching a stockpile into yuan. It converted up to a tenth of its reserves into yuan five years ago. The yuan deal comes after China announced that a currency swap has been agreed with Nigeria, making it easier to settle trade deals in yuan. It also follows the announcement by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun on Saturday that Nigeria was looking at panda bonds - yuandenominated bonds sold by

overseas entities on the mainland -saying they that would be cheaper than Eurobonds. A portfolio manager at Rich Management, Aly Khan Satchu, said the deal would pave the way for panda bonds but this would not be enough to ease pressure on the naira. The CBN backed by President Muhammadu Buhari, has rejected calls to devalue the currency. “Nigerian FX policy remains the elephant in the room and China or a panda bond is not going to be enough to stop what will eventually become a tsunami of a devaluation,” he said.

Lender upgrades new app

idelity Bank Plc has announced the upgrade of its mobile-based banking application - Fidelity Online Banking app. The bank said in a statement that the much improved software application puts the financial institution in a pole position to drive efficient service delivery and customer acquisition by essentially placing innovative financial services in the hands of Nigerians residing in unserved and underserved communities. This move, is indicative of the bank’s unwavering commitment towards meeting the financial inclusion mandates of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). With an increasing customer base, Fidelity Bank says it is channeling significant human and financial resources towards building an innovative, secure digital banking platform with a huge emphasis on superior user- experience. Specifically, it noted that the upgrade will enable subscribers of the Online Banking application carry out more banking transactions well beyond mundane financial services such as funds transfers and bills payment, in a secured environment anytime, anywhere. Divisional Head, Electronic Banking, Adédèjì Olówè, explained that the new Fidelity Online app is not just an upgrade of the old but a new application with enhanced features that can be used with a range of mobile

devices such as Apple, Samsung, Blackberry and other Android products. He disclosed that the app offers customers a simple, seamless and secure banking, adding that customers can bank, how and when they want to. “With Fidelity Online App, our bank is always open 24/7”. The upgrade, Olówè insisted is significant considering the growing number of Nigerians moving from the banking halls to mobile phones or tabs to do their day-to-day banking transactions, adding that online financial services offer a steppingstone to financial inclusion. “We are meeting these demands with the Online Banking app in both form and function, with an important focus on the quality service delivered to customers”. He pointed out that the key feature of the app is the ease associated with registration. “Registration is a self-service process, not to mention the fact that customers can activate soft-token and set their transaction limit securely from the comfort of their homes or offices”. Other features of the Fidelity Online App include: the ability to validate beneficiaries of cash transfers before a transfer is made; use of same username and password on both mobile and web; the increased number of billers that can be paid directly from Fidelity Online platform such as, utility bills, toll firms, Churches, Cable and internet subscriptions, amongst others.

IMF reviews access limits, surcharge policies

he Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded a review of access limits, surcharge policies, and other quota-related policies. In a statement, the Fund said the review took place in response to the effectiveness of the quota increases under the 14th General Review of Quotas, which doubled members’ quotas on average. According to the statement, “A number of Fund policies have thresholds set as a percentage of members’ quotas. These include, in particular, limits on members’ normal access to Fund resources in the

General Resources Account (GRA), and thresholds for surcharges on high levels of outstanding Fund credit, and commitment fees. With quotas doubling on average and absent policy change, quota-based limits and thresholds would also have doubled in SDR terms. “This would have eroded critical elements of the Fund’s risk management framework, as it would have doubled, on average, access to Fund resources in the GRA without triggering safeguards under the exceptional access framework and SDR amounts on which surcharges do not apply, reducing the incentives for timely repayments.”

BUSINESS |Financial Market News

THURSDAY, April 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

13-Apr-16

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 ^12.50 22-JAN-2026 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 12.40 18-MAR-2036

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

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 22-Jan-16 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14 18-Mar-16

13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 12.50 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493 12.40

581.39 480.13 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 556.93 605.31 719.99 155.84 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 1075.92 40.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

6,237.28

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

6,319.66

Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

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 22-Jan-26 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34 18-Mar-36

0.34 1.04 1.29 1.38 2.13 3.21 3.53 3.83 5.79 7.92 9.78 12.62 13.10 13.60 14.27 18.26 19.93

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

6.83 11.43 10.99 11.18 11.38 11.33 11.75 12.17 11.76 12.50 12.56 12.64 12.65 12.67 12.68 12.80 12.85

6.40 11.28 10.87 11.06 11.30 11.23 11.63 12.08 11.69 12.44 12.50 12.59 12.60 12.61 12.63 12.75 12.80

102.04 103.49 98.63 97.69 98.71 112.22 86.60 110.04 119.00 108.39 99.65 114.67 98.95 73.28 82.45 95.40 96.79

102.19 103.64 98.78 97.84 98.86 112.52 86.90 110.34 119.30 108.69 99.95 114.97 99.25 73.58 82.75 95.70 97.09

6192.277269

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12

17.25

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

1.20

03-Apr-17

0.55

2.94

11.79

102.82

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

0.21 0.21 1.02 0.74 1.72 1.53 1.54 1.51 1.51 1.70 2.12 3.61 2.08 4.62 4.72 2.75 2.78 3.97 3.56 3.59 4.03 6.46 3.68

4.46 3.48 1.00 5.71 3.21 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 1.00 2.02 1.98 4.35 1.30 3.76 3.76 1.00 1.52 3.67 1.00 2.52 1.79 3.04

9.82 8.84 11.46 15.22 14.61 12.41 12.41 15.23 14.97 12.40 13.40 13.79 15.73 13.31 15.75 15.11 12.35 13.13 15.44 12.80 14.41 13.62 14.91

100.79 101.32 98.63 98.97 99.04 102.10 102.13 99.02 98.71 104.46 103.65 101.92 98.33 100.62 97.51 98.65 105.78 105.93 102.61 109.93 108.24 113.48 105.40

29-Sep-16 25-Oct-16 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17 30-Sep-17 30-Nov-17 09-Apr-18 09-Sep-18 09-Sep-18 30-Sep-18 18-Oct-18 17-Feb-19 01-Apr-19 06-Nov-20 14-Nov-20 04-Dec-20 20-Nov-21 30-Dec-21 13-May-22 26-Oct-22 30-Sep-24 30-Sep-24 29-Jul-30

0.46 0.53 0.65 1.02 1.23 1.46 0.92 1.24 1.41 1.41 2.46 1.26 1.60 1.72 2.32 4.59 3.09 5.60 5.71 6.08 4.25 8.46 8.46 9.59

1.00 1.34 1.00 6.96 6.41 2.36 1.88 3.15 6.35 1.00 1.17 6.17 6.11 3.28 4.47 1.00 3.55 2.48 1.00 1.00 2.77 1.00 1.00 1.00

9.23 10.14 10.22 17.42 17.29 13.70 12.02 14.05 17.58 12.23 12.54 17.12 17.52 14.68 15.84 13.01 14.96 14.30 12.83 12.86 14.85 13.51 13.51 13.55

101.64 102.07 103.52 99.16 99.07 99.09 105.76 102.10 100.40 104.59 103.00 98.54 100.58 101.87 98.49 107.51 101.21 99.76 114.31 114.92 103.38 113.74 98.68 106.81

10-Oct-20

2.61

3.37

14.73

100.04

Agency Bonds Nil

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1.20

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1.23

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

*BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA *NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA *BAUCHI *OYO *BENUE *PLATEAU KOGI *CROSS RIVER

30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 31-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14 09-Dec-14 17-Feb-15 27-Feb-15 30-Mar-15 01-Apr-15 27-May-15

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 15.50 BAUCHI 9-DEC-2021 16.50 OYO 16-FEB-2022 16.50 BENUE 27-FEB-2022 17.50 PLATEAU 30-MAR-2022 17.00 KOGI II 31-MAR-2022 17.00 CROSS RIVER 27-MAY-2022

14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00 15.50 16.50 16.50 17.50 17.00 17.00

1.30 2.05 57.00 16.45 25.00 23.44 4.22 10.98 8.14 21.68 12.55 80.00 21.65 87.50 5.00 4.03 4.04 14.37 4.39 4.53 27.10 3.00 7.68

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

446.12 453.00

Corporate Bonds A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto Nil Nil Nil A/GCR BBB-/GCR Nil A-/DataPro†; CCC/GCR AAA/DataPro†; B/GCR A+/Agusto; A/GCR Bbb+/Agusto†; BBB+/GCR† BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR Nil A-/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR BBB/GCR A/GCR BBB/GCR Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR A/GCR A/GCR AAA/GCR

NAHCO FSDH ***LCRM UBA *C & I LEASING *DANA#{r} *TOWER# *TOWER# UBA *LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS# *DANA#{r} *FCMB NAHCO *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC *FCMB UBA FIDELITY *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC STANBIC IBTC STANBIC IBTC *NMRC

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 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 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 15.00 FCMB 6-NOV-2020 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 15.50 TRANSCORP 4-DEC-2020 14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021 16.48 FIDELITY 13-MAY-2022 16.00 TRANSCORP 26-OCT-2022 182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 14.90 NMRC 29-JUL-2030

29-Sep-11 25-Oct-13 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12 30-Sep-10 30-Nov-12 09-Apr-11 09-Sep-11 09-Sep-11 30-Sep-11 18-Oct-13 17-Feb-12 01-Apr-14 06-Nov-15 14-Nov-13 04-Dec-15 20-Nov-14 30-Dec-14 13-May-15 26-Oct-15 30-Sep-14 30-Sep-14 29-Jul-15

13.00 14.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50 13.00 18.00 16.00 18.00 16.00 14.00 15.75 18.00 16.00 15.00 15.25 15.50 14.25 16.45 16.48 16.00 16.29 13.25 14.90

15.00 5.53 112.22 116.70 66.49 20.00 0.46 3.60 1.82 0.50 35.00 1.80 0.27 4.50 23.19 2.05 9.76 26.00 30.50 30.00 10.00 0.10 15.44 7.90

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

538.83

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

551.99

Sukuk BBB-/Agusto

*OSUN

10-Oct-13

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

14.75

9.40

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

9.40

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

9.41

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

1.83

1.00

10.50

99.48

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

*AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

3.05

1.00

10.87

100.92

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

24.95 25.01 Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Outstanding Value ($’mm)

Coupon (%)

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

7.42

7.19

97.33

98.22

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

5.64

5.22

98.91

99.78

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

7.69

7.53

92.78

93.61

100.64

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,445.13

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

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

373.41

19-May-16

8.50

0.05

99.89

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

9.52

97.31

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

20.20

19.00

78.41

80.09

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

8.20

95.00

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

9.66

91.25

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

15.73

15.18

83.36

84.52

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

13.32 13.83 14.46

83.10 83.00 76.00

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

12.23

11.76

84.88

86.63

DTM

Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Discount Rate (%)

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

08-Nov-18

8.20

3,523.41 3,087.26 Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Yield @ Issue (%)

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Commercial Papers Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP II 4-MAY-16

04-Nov-15

13.25

7.23

04-May-16

6.03

9.67

9.61

Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP III 29-JUL-16

04-Nov-15

13.75

2.77

29-Jul-16

107

6.18

12.43

12.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

10.00

**TREASURY BILLS^ DTM 8 15 22 36 43 50 57 64 71

FIXINGS Maturity 21-Apr-16 28-Apr-16 5-May-16 19-May-16 26-May-16 2-Jun-16 9-Jun-16 16-Jun-16 23-Jun-16

Bid Discount (%) 3.63 3.57 3.64 4.24 4.11 5.62 6.15 6.03 5.72

Offer Discount (%) 3.38 3.32 3.39 3.99 3.86 5.37 5.90 5.78 5.47

Bid Yield (%) 3.63 3.57 3.65 4.26 4.12 5.66 6.20 6.09 5.78

Money Market Tenor

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 4.9583 8.8191 10.6274 12.4898

Rate (%)

OBB

4.33

O/N

4.75

Tenor Call 1M 3M

REPO

Rate (%) 4.67 5.67 6.50

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M 6M

198.78 199.00 200.01 202.10 202.14 210.11 222.34

198.88 199.50 200.11 202.20 202.24 210.21 222.44

^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 ^12.50 22-JAN-2026 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 12.40 18-MAR-2036

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

16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 12.50 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493 12.40

351.30 233.90 556.93 605.31 719.99 155.84 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 1075.92 40.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Issuer

Agency Bonds

Sustained sell pressure slashes equities by N1 billion

*BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA *NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA *BAUCHI *OYO *BENUE *PLATEAU KOGI *CROSS RIVER

Stories by Chris Ugwu

he bears sustained grip on the activities of Nigerian equities market following persistent sell-off that had pervaded the stock market. Equities’ market losses widened to third trading day, TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE as both foreign and domestic TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

6192.277269

BUSINESS |Financial Market News

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 investors remained on the side15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 line.10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 The MSCI news that it was 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 seeking feedback from inves14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 09-DEC-2018 tors14.50 onEKITI the ease of access to NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 the 14.00 Nigerian stock market 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 and 15.50 would announce its deci14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 sion14.75 onOSUN or 12-DEC-2019 before April 29, has 13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 complicated the already low 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 confidence in the market. 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 BAUCHI 9-DEC-2021 At15.50 the close of business yes16.50 OYO 16-FEB-2022 terday the 27-FEB-2022 NSE ASI lost 0.01 16.50, BENUE PLATEAU 30-MAR-2022 per 17.50 cent, as the local bourse 17.00 KOGI II 31-MAR-2022 17.00 CROSS 20 RIVER 27-MAY-2022 registered declining stocks as against only 16 gainers.

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

1.20

03-Apr-17

0.55

2.94

11.79

102.82

17.25

30-Jun-11 14.00 Consequently, the 15.50 All30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 10.00 baShare Index dipped 1.57 30-Jun-10 13.75 sis points or 0.01 per cent 31-Dec-10 14.00 to 30-Sep-11 14.00 close at 24,637.91 basis points 04-Oct-11 14.00 14.50 as against 09-Dec-11 24,639.48 recorded 12-Dec-13 14.00 the previous day, while15.50 mar14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 15.50 ket capitalisation of equities 22-Nov-12 14.50 depreciated12-Dec-12 by N1billion14.75 from 27-Nov-13 13.50 N8.475 trillion the previous 31-Dec-13 15.00day 31-Dec-13 14.50 to N8.474 trillion. 06-Jan-14 15.00 09-Dec-14 15.50 of Meanwhile, a turnover 17-Feb-15 16.50 162.4 million27-Feb-15 shares exchanged 16.50 30-Mar-15 17.50 in 3,079 deals was recorded in 01-Apr-15 17.00 27-May-15 17.00 the day’s trading. The banking sub-sector of the financial services segment

Corporate Bonds

ETI reports 68% drop in FY2015 profit NAHCO FSDH

***LCRM

UBA *C & I LEASING *DANA#{r} *TOWER# *TOWER#

112.52 86.90 110.34 119.30 108.69 99.95 114.97 99.25 73.58 82.75 95.70 97.09

1.23

Sub-National Bonds

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

112.22 86.60 110.04 119.00 108.39 99.65 114.67 98.95 73.28 82.45 95.40 96.79

1.20

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

11.23 11.63 12.08 11.69 12.44 12.50 12.59 12.60 12.61 12.63 12.75 12.80

Stock market extends losing streak Description

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

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

11.33 11.75 12.17 11.76 12.50 12.56 12.64 12.65 12.67 12.68 12.80 12.85

6,319.66

Rating/Agency

BEARISH

3.21 3.53 3.83 5.79 7.92 9.78 12.62 13.10 13.60 14.27 18.26 19.93

6,237.28

TOTAL MARKETApril CAPITALISATION THURSDAY, 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nil

29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 22-Jan-26 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34 18-Mar-36

UBA

#{r}

13.00 14.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50 13.00 18.00 16.00 18.00 16.00 14.00 15.75 18.00 16.00 15.00 15.25 15.50 14.25 16.45 16.48 16.00 16.29 13.25 14.90

hareholders of Africa Prudential Registrars Plc at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved a total dividend of N1.2 billion for the financial year ended 31 December 2015, translating to 60 kobo per share. The final dividend of 43 kobo, translates to 60 kobo total dividend for the period, having paid an interim dividend of 17 Kobo on August 31, 2015 after the release of its half-year financial results. 10-Oct-13 14.75 In the company’s results, as released to the Exchange, and published to shareholders for 10.20 the period11-Feb-13 ended December 31, 10-Jul-14 11.25 2015, N2.54 billion gross earn-

0.46 0.53 0.65 1.02 1.23 1.46 0.92 1.24 1.41 1.41 2.46 1.26 1.60 1.72 2.32 4.59 3.09 5.60 5.71 6.08 4.25 8.46 8.46 9.59

1.00 1.34 1.00 6.96 6.41 2.36 1.88 3.15 6.35 1.00 1.17 6.17 6.11 3.28 4.47 1.00 3.55 2.48 1.00 1.00 2.77 1.00 1.00 1.00

9.23 10.14 10.22 17.42 17.29 13.70 12.02 14.05 17.58 12.23 12.54 17.12 17.52 14.68 15.84 13.01 14.96 14.30 12.83 12.86 14.85 13.51 13.51 13.55

ings was recorded. This represented a 15 per cent growth from N2.20 billion in 2014. Likewise, the Profit Before Tax (PBT) for the period grew by 25 per cent from N1.3 billion in 2014 to N1.6 billion in 2015. By the performance, expense only grew by a marginal 1 per cent from N904 million to N913 million. 538.83 In a similar trend, basic 551.99 earnings per share grew by 18 per cent from 61 kobo to 72 kobo. 9.40 10-Oct-20 2.61 9.40 Managing Director/CEO, 9.41 APR, Mr. Peter Ashade, gave assurance to all stakeholders that 12.00 1.83 the company11-Feb-18 would always con12.95 01-Feb-21 3.05 sider 24.95 better business models in

101.64 102.07 103.52 99.16 99.07 99.09 105.76 102.10 100.40 104.59 103.00 98.54 100.58 101.87 98.49 107.51 101.21 99.76 114.31 114.92 103.38 113.74 98.68 106.81

growing investors’ wealth. “Our corporate objectives for the year 2015 were to better position our business to withstand the expected headwinds for the financial year by focusing on some key areas. Our achievements in these key areas include: expansion in product offerings, improved cost optimisation, more social media trendy, increased profitability, and consistent dividend pay-out” he explained. of the company , 3.37 Chairman 14.73 100.04 Chief (Mrs.) Eniola Fadayomi, explained that APR Plc has put strategeties in place to provide 1.00 10.50 99.48 clear direction for the deploy1.00 10.87 100.92 ment of its resources.

25.01

Afriland investors approve N500m dividend Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value ($’mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

Prices & Yields

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

7.42

7.19

The company’s total assets hareholders of Afriland 12-Jul-13 5.13 500.00 12-Jul-18 Properties Plc at the com- increased to N15.3 billion5.64from 12-Jul-13 6.38 500.00 billion during 12-Jul-23 7.69 pany’s 3rd Annual GenerN8.2 the period 1,500.00 review, representing 87 al Meeting (AGM) approved a under 1,445.13 cent increase. dividend of N499.6 million proper posed by the company’s board The company achieved 19-May-11 7.50 373.41 19-May-16 8.50 a 350.00 profit before tax (PBT) of of directors for the financial 25-Jul-12 7.25 25-Jul-17 9.52 N1.72 billion for the finanyear ended December31, 09-May-13 6.882015. 300.00 02-May-18 20.20 08-Nov-13 6.00 400.00 08-Nov-18 The total dividend payment cial year. This is one per8.20 cent 22-Apr-14 6.25 500.00 22-Apr-19 9.66 of N499.6 million translates to lower to15.73 N1.74 21-May-14 8.75 200.00 when compared 21-May-19 07-Aug-13 8.25 300.00 07-Aug-20 13.32 40 kobo per ordinary share. billion for the year ended De24-Jun-14 9.25 400.00 24-Jun-21 13.83 8.00 an450.00 23-Jul-21 Profit14.46 Afriland23-Jul-14 Properties also cember 31, 2014. after 14-Aug-14 8.75 250.00 14-Aug-21 12.23 tax (PAT) attributable to the nounced an operating income 3,523.41 was N1.15 billion, of N2.3 billion for the financial company 3,087.26 year, representing 44 per cent which is 24 per cent below the Outstanding Value DTM Issue Date Yield @ Issue (%) increase compared to the corposition of Maturity N1.51Date billion for the (₦’bn) responding period of 2014. year ended 31 December, 2014.

Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP II 4-MAY-16

04-Nov-15

13.25

Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP III 29-JUL-16

04-Nov-15

13.75

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

15.00 5.53 112.22 116.70 66.49 20.00 0.46 3.60 1.82 0.50 35.00 1.80 0.27 4.50 23.19 2.05 9.76 26.00 30.50 30.00 10.00 0.10 15.44 7.90

4.46 9.82 100.79 table with8.84 6.10 per cent to close 3.48 101.32 1.00N4.52 per 11.46share, while 98.63FCMB at 5.71 15.22 98.97 Plc per cent 3.21 trailed 14.61with 4.65 99.04 1.00 12.41 102.10 to close at 90 kobo per share. 1.00 12.41 102.13 3.82 15.23 99.02 added African Prudential Plc 3.56 14.97 98.71 4.40 per cent to close104.46 at N2.61 1.00 12.40 2.02 13.40 103.65 per share. 1.98 13.79 101.92 4.35On the15.73 98.33 flip side, Mobil Ni1.30 13.31 100.62 geria Plc 15.75 led the losers’ 3.76 97.51with a 3.76 15.11 98.65 drop of 7.40 per cent to close at 1.00 12.35 105.78 1.52 13.13share, while 105.93 NEM N150.00 per 3.67 15.44 102.61 Insurance Plc and UAC-Proper1.00 12.80 109.93 2.52 14.41 108.24 ty Plc shed five per cent each to 1.79 13.62 113.48 3.04 105.40 close at 7614.91 kobo and N3.80 per share. UBN Plc fell by 4.99 per cent to close at N4.57 per share.

APR shareholders get N1.2bn dividend

*LA CASERA cobank Transnational a difficult operating environ*CHELLARAMS Incorporated (ETI) Plc ment due to the slowdown in *DANA has recorded*FCMB 68 per economic growth across Africa, NAHCO PLCa result of lower commodcent decline in profit*TRANSCORP after taxHOTELSas *FCMB for the financial year ity prices. These developments UBAended, December 31, 2015. FIDELITY affected both households and *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC STANBIC in IBTCa The Pan African lender businesses. Our cost-income STANBIC IBTC filing with the Nigerian ratio was 64.9 per cent, flat com*NMRCStock TOTAL OUTSTANDING Exchange (NSE)VALUE said its profit pared to prior year. TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION after tax declined to N21.252 bil“Our diversified business lion during the financial year model is a source of competiSukuk and stability. In as against N65.681 billion re- tive strength BBB-/Agusto *OSUN 14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE accountcorded a year earlier, the last few months, manTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION ing for a drop of 68 per cent. agement and I, have worked Supranational Bond Its profit before tax stood to revise our strategy and 10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 AAA/S&P at N40.589 billion inIFC 2015 in operating model around our 11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021 Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P *AfDB contrast to N86.441 billion re- customers, our products, and TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION ported in 2014, representing a our geographical footprint. drop ofRating/Agency 53 per cent. We have made some manageDescription Issuer However, the bank’s gross ment changes and developed FGN Eurobonds earnings grew by 11 per cent to a strategic plan aimed at en6.75 JAN 28, 2021 BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P N542.706 billion from N489.252 suring we generate sustainBB-/Fitch; FGN 5.13 JUL 12, 2018 BB-/S&P billion the previous year. able long-term performance.” BB-/Fitch; 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 Group Chief Executive OfETI had issued profit warnBB-/S&P TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE ficer, Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, said: ing in respect of the financial TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION “Our 2015 results were disap- year ended 31 December 2015. Corporate Eurobonds pointing. We did a comprehenThe bank said in a stateMAY 19, 2016 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC I sive review of our processes ment to NSE that it 7.50 expects to 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC and leading FIDELITY to elevat6.88 MAYprofit 09, 2018 B/Fitch;portfolio B/S&P BANK PLC report materially lower 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC ed impairment charges in the for the year ended 2015. 6.25 APR 22, 2019 B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC fourth The lender said the macro8.75 May 21, 2019 B/Fitch; B/S&Pquarter. Impairment DIAMOND BANK PLC 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC losses were significantly in- economic challenges faced by 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC II 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST LTD creased by $265 million toBANK $532 most African economies, lower 8.75 AUG 14, 2021 B-/S&P ECOBANK NIG. LTD million. This was unacceptable crude oil prices, depreciating TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE to us, and weCAPITALISATION have taken drastic currencies, monetary and fiscal TOTAL MARKET steps to address asset quality bottlenecks, due to global develDescription Rating/Agency our processes. Issuer opments, negatively impacted and strengthen “ Also, we were faced with expected revenue growth. Commercial Papers #

1.30 30-Jun-16 0.21 was2.05 the most 30-Jun-16 active (measured 0.21 19-Apr-17 1.0263.6 by 57.00 turnover volume) with 16.45 30-Jun-17 0.74 million shares exchanged 25.00 31-Dec-17 1.72 by 23.44 30-Sep-18 1.53 investors in 1.017 deals. 1.54 4.22 04-Oct-18 10.98 1.51 Volume in09-Dec-18 the sub-sector 8.14 12-Dec-18 1.51 was largely driven by activi21.68 14-Feb-19 1.70 02-Oct-19 2.12 ties12.55 in the shares of GTB Plc 80.00 22-Nov-19 3.61 21.65 2.08 and UBA Plc.12-Dec-19 87.50 27-Nov-20 4.62 Also, Premium subsector, 5.00 31-Dec-20 4.72 4.03 31-Dec-20 2.75 boosted by activities in2.78 the 4.04 06-Jan-21 14.37 09-Dec-21 3.97 folshares of Zenith Bank Plc 4.39 16-Feb-22 3.56 lowed turnover of3.5930.2 4.53 with a27-Feb-22 27.10 30-Mar-22 4.03 million shares in 602 deals. 3.00 31-Mar-22 6.46 7.68 27-May-22 Further analysis of3.68the 446.12 day’s trading showed that Oan453.00 do Plc topped the day’s gainers’

97.33

98.22

While addressing the share98.91 99.78 holders, the Managing Direc7.53 92.78 tor/Chief Executive93.61 Officer, Afriland, Mrs. Uzo Oshogwe stated: “Despite the economic headwinds during the finan0.05 99.89 100.64 cial year under review, we suc9.52 97.31 97.31 cessfully78.41 kept the company on 19.00 80.09 8.20 95.00 a strong, 95.00 stable trajectory and 9.66 91.25 91.25 delivered83.36 a solid performance. 15.18 84.52 13.32 83.10 83.10 The results in the fiscal year 13.83 83.00 83.00 14.46 2015 were76.00 possible due76.00 to effec11.76 84.88 86.63 tiveness and efficiency in the way we work and our ability to deliver excellent and innoRisk Valuation Yield Discount Rate (%) Premium vative real (%) estate solutions to (%) our client.” 5.22

7.23

04-May-16

6.03

9.67

9.61

2.77

29-Jul-16

107

6.18

12.43

12.00

13-Apr-16

10.00

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 Money “Information”). not constitute professional, financial or **TREASURY BILLS^ FIXINGS Market The Information does Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) investment advice. Information is accurate; however, the Information is provided “AS IS” (%) and on an Bid “ASYield AVAILABLE” basis and may not be accurate or up to date. the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance DTM We attempt to ensure the Maturity Bid Discount (%) Offer Discount (%) TenorWe do not guarantee Rate (%) NIBOR 8 21-Apr-16 3.63 3.38 3.63 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. OBB 4.33 Tenor Bid ($/N) Offer ($/N) 15 28-Apr-16 3.57 22 5-May-16 3.64 36 19-May-16 4.24 26-May-16 4.11 FGN Bonds 43 50 2-Jun-16 5.62 57 9-Jun-16 6.15 64 16-Jun-16 6.03 Rating/Agency Issuer Description 71 23-Jun-16 5.72 78 30-Jun-16 5.81 92 14-Jul-16 13.05 16-AUG-2016 5.67 99 21-Jul-16 ^15.10 27-APR-20176.40 106 28-Jul-16 6.71 9.85 27-JUL-2017 7.26 113 4-Aug-16 120 11-Aug-16 9.35 31-AUG-2017 7.61 127 18-Aug-16 10.70 30-MAY-2018 7.69 141 1-Sep-16 8.17 ^16.00 29-JUN-20198.37 148 8-Sep-16 7.00 23-OCT-2019 8.26 162 22-Sep-16 176 6-Oct-16 ^15.54 13-FEB-20208.45 183 13-Oct-16 8.32 NA NA ^16.39 27-JAN-20228.34 190 20-Oct-16 ^14.20 14-MAR-20248.37 197 27-Oct-16 204 3-Nov-16 ^12.50 22-JAN-20268.41 218 17-Nov-16 8.69 15.00 28-NOV-2028 232 1-Dec-16 8.35 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.60 246 15-Dec-16 267 5-Jan-17 8.50 20-NOV-2029 8.68 281 19-Jan-17 ^10.00 23-JUL-20308.99 295 2-Feb-17 9.31 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 309 16-Feb-17 9.35 12.40 18-MAR-2036 9.32 323 2-Mar-17 337 16-Mar-17 9.35 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 344 23-Mar-17 9.21 TOTAL MARKET 358 CAPITALISATION 6-Apr-17 9.22 *for the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the TTM # Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

Rating/Agency

3.32 3.39 3.99 3.86 5.37 5.90 5.78 Issue Date 5.47 5.56 5.42 16-Aug-13 6.15 27-Apr-12 6.46 27-Jul-07 7.01 7.36 31-Aug-07 7.44 30-May-08 7.92 29-Jun-12 8.12 23-Oct-09 8.01 8.20 13-Feb-15 8.07 27-Jan-12 8.09 14-Mar-14 8.12 8.16 22-Jan-16 8.44 28-Nov-08 8.10 22-May-09 8.35 8.43 20-Nov-09 8.74 23-Jul-10 9.06 18-Jul-14 9.10 18-Mar-16 9.07 9.10 8.96 8.97

Description

Issuer

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Modified Duration Buckets

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Sub-National Bonds BBB+/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto‡ ; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A-/Agusto; A-/GCR

*BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA *NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO

<3 3<5 >5 Market

03-Apr-12

Porfolio Market Value (₦’bn)

Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 4.9583 8.8191 10.6274 12.4898

1,007.03 1,500.71 1,514.22 4,021.95

Total Outstanding Volume (₦’bn)

Weighting by Outstanding Volume

908.23 1,325.30 1,667.49 3,901.02

23.28 33.97 42.74 30-Jun-11 100.00

30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 31-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12

O/N Tenor Call

Outstanding Value Maturity Date (₦’bn) NITTY Tenor 581.39 1M 480.13 2M 20.00 3M 6M 100.00 9M 300.00 12M

Rate (%) 16-Aug-16 4.0700 27-Apr-17 6.0998 27-Jul-17 6.2408 8.7879 31-Aug-17 9.4160 30-May-18 10.0387

351.30 29-Jun-19 233.90 23-Oct-19 556.93 NIFEX 13-Feb-20 605.31 27-Jan-22 Current Price ($/N) 14-Mar-24 BID($/N) 719.99 199.0000 OFFER ($/N) 199.1000 155.84 22-Jan-26 75.00 28-Nov-28 150.00 22-May-29 200.00 20-Nov-29 591.57 23-Jul-30 1075.92 18-Jul-34 40.00 18-Mar-36

4.75

REPO

1M TTM (Yrs) 3M 6M

Rate (%) 4.67

Bid5.67 Yield (%) 6.50 7.50

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

0.34 6.83 6.40 1.04 11.43 11.28 1.29 10.99 10.87 :Benchmarks * :Amortising 1.38Bond 11.18 11.06 µ :Convertible 2.13Bond 11.38 11.30 AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 3.21 11.33 11.23 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 3.53Mortgage Bank 11.75 11.63 FMBN: Federal of Nigeria IFC: International 3.83 Finance Corporation 12.17 12.08 LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management 5.79 11.76 11.69 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 7.92 12.50 12.44 O/N: Overnight UPDC: UAC9.78 Property Development Company 12.56 12.50 WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company 12.62 12.64 12.59 13.10 12.65 12.60 13.60 12.67 12.61 14.27 12.68 12.63 18.26 12.80 12.75 19.93 12.85 12.80 NOTE:

6,237.28

198.78 199.00 200.01 202.10 202.14 210.11 Bid Price 222.34 227.10

102.04 103.49

198.88 199.50

Price200.11 202.20

202.24 210.21 Offer Price 222.44 227.20

102.19 103.64

98.63 98.78 NA :Not Applicable ^ : Market97.69 Prices 97.84 # : Floating Rate Bond 98.71 98.86 ***: Deferred coupon bonds 112.22 112.52 DTM: Days-To-Maturity 86.60 86.90 TTM: Term-To-Maturity ‡ : Bond 110.04 rating under review 110.34 †: Bond rating expired 119.00 119.30 N/A :Not Available 108.39 108.69 {r} :Issuer in receivership NGC: Nigeria-German Company 99.95 99.65 UBA: United Bank for Africa 114.67 98.95 73.28 82.45 95.40 96.79

114.97 99.25 73.58 82.75 95.70 97.09

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

6192.277269

6,319.66 Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

Bonds

Issue Date

Agency Bonds Nil

3.57 3.65 4.26 4.12 5.66 6.20 6.09 Coupon (%) 5.78 5.88 5.75 13.05 6.51 15.10 6.84 9.85 7.43 7.81 9.35 7.90 10.70 8.44 16.00 8.66 7.00 8.57 8.80 15.54 8.69 16.39 8.72 14.20 8.77 8.82 12.50 9.17 15.00 8.81 12.49 9.12 9.26 8.50 9.66 10.00 10.06 12.1493 10.15 12.40 10.16 10.23 10.09 10.13

17.25

Weighting by Mkt Value

25.04 37.31 37.65 14.00 100.00

15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50

Maturity Date

1.20

03-Apr-17

1.20

% Exposure_ Mod_Duration

Bucket Weighting

1.23

0.23 0.34 0.43 1.30 1.00

2.05 57.00 16.45 25.00 23.44 4.22 10.98 8.14 21.68

12.49 29.26 58.24 30-Jun-16 100.00

30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

0.55 Implied Yield

11.87 12.18 12.76 0.21 12.48

0.21 1.02 0.74 1.72 1.53 1.54 1.51 1.51 1.70

Risk Premium (%) 2.94 Implied Portfolio Price

137.3291 152.4148 115.5824 4.46 133.1586

3.48 1.00 5.71 3.21 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 1.00

11.79 INDEX

1,249.38 1,321.34 1,393.46 9.82 1,268.02

8.84 11.46 15.22 14.61 12.41 12.41 15.23 14.97 12.40

102.82 YTD Return (%)

12.7749 30.4940 38.3756 100.79 20.1703

101.32 98.63 98.97 99.04 102.10 102.13 99.02 98.71 104.46

NEWS | national

thursday, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

PDP'll win 30 states in 2019 –Sheriff T

NEITI boss declares assets to CCB

Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said its target is to win not less than 30 governorship seats in 2019 general elections. PDP which was in control of 23 states before the 2015 general elections now has only 12 states. But the PDP National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff said the target is for the party to win not less than 30 states in 2019. Sheriff who spoke when he received a delegation from the Bauchi State chapter of the par-

ty, charged them to bury their differences and work towards bringing the PDP back to winning ways. “We must bring our party back to 1999. I want a situation where by next election PDP will get at least 30 states,” he said. The National Chairman, who described PDP's performance in Bauchi State in 2015 as a disaster, expressed the belief that if members of the party in the state decide to work together, nothing would stop them from winning in 2019. “I think as a matter of urgency we should have a meeting of leaders and youths together to find solution immediately. I know you have started

something but we must finish it as a matter of urgency. “Call all leaders so that we can meet, find solution and have a united home. If we get that to produce one million votes will be easy. That is what we are targeting. We have to go back to Bauchi State of 1999, 2003 to 2011,” he said. Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, who was among the delegation, extolled the contri-

N1.44bn

The IGR realized from other revenue sources of Plateau State in 2012. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

butions of former governors Adamu Mu'azu and Isah Yuguda in building PDP in Bauchi State. Mohammed, who admitted that he aspired for PDP National Chairmanship, said he was ready to sacrifice any ambition for peace to reign in Bauchi State chapter of the party. “If I will constitute a stumbling block to the unity of the state we are advocating I would rather stand aside for peace to reign. “Instead of washing our dirty linens in public I have agreed to bow to any of my ambitions in order to ensure that there is unity of purpose for PDP to prosper in the state,” he pledged.

Philip Nyam Abuja

peaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has advised that a strong tax regime aided by an efficient and virile accounting system be put in place towards the successful drive of a diversified economy for the country. The speaker who advocated this yesterday while addressing partici-

UN, OPS urge concerted effort on economy diversification I

ssues on how the Nigeria’s industrial sector could be revived come on the front burner yesterday in Lagos, as the United Nations and Organised Private Sector (OPS) jointly admitted that it was time for the Federal Government to address the issues of infrastructural gaps in the country, if the diversification is be successful. The private sector operators which includes, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigerian Economic Consultative Association (NECA), NASCI and NASMSE, converged at the private sector engagement workshop on sustainable industrial development organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council and United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos, in Lagos yesterday. They decried the harsh

the Nigeria’s revenue base through the extractive industry for public good, disclosed that his decision was right. "As required by paragraph 11 of the 5th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and Section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, I have submitted Form CCB 1. "My Declarant ID is FGAO: 000512. Form CCB 1 is the Assets Declaration Form for Public Officers, which all elected and appointed public officers are mandated to submit to the CCB on assumption of and departure from office. Adio explained that while the potency of this tool is gravely diminished, he still believes that it should be adhered to by public office holders.

Dogara seeks strong tax regime to fund budget

L-R: Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Chairman, Elders' Forum of the Council, Alhaji Ganiyu Balogun; member of the Advisory Committee, National Youth Council of Nigeria, (NYCN), Mr. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere and Deputy National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade, Timi Frank, during a solidarity courtesy visit by the NYCN to the Senate President yesterday in Abuja.

Taiwo Hassan

he Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Mr. Waziri Adio, has said he has declared his assets at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), stating that the move was to show his readiness to run a transparent regime as NEITI boss. Adio in a statement released yesterday in Abuja said while it was not mandatory to disclose his assets to the CCB, said he opted to do so because it would help in every way to show a good example in the nation’s current war against corruption. Adio who said he heads an institution expected to operate on transparency and accountability in line with the Federal Government’s vision to enhance

operating environment in the country and the urgent need for government to address the infrastructural challenges facing the country’s industrial sector. The OPS said that infrastructural challenges such as, power, bad road network, multiple taxation, low revenue, high tariff, high cost of transportation, poor market access, forex and scarcity of local raw materials were the challenges that needed to be resolved before the country can thrive in her effort to sustainable industrial development.

Telecoms: NCC, CPC to boost protection for 152m consumers Kunle Azeez

he Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) would soon review their existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a view to strengthening telecoms consumers’ protection. Nigeria’s telecoms industry currently stands at over 152 million telecoms subscriber base in November last year. As such, reviewing the

existing MoU would also allow the two agencies to accommodate new trends and dynamics in consumer protection in the interagency pact. The new move was contained in a statement signed by Mr. Yakubu Musa Special Assistant, Media, to Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, following a visit of CPC to the telecoms regulator in Abuja. According to the statement made available to New Telegraph yesterday, “At the meeting, the Dan-

batta agreed to a review of the existing MoU between the two agencies with a view to widening its scope to include new challenges in the industry.” The Director General of Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Dupe Atoki, commended the Danbatta for tackling impunity in telecommunication sector. Atoki said her agency would continue to support Danbatta in his efforts to ensure international standards and nation’s regulations are implemented.

Tax incentives to foreign firms costs FG N577.2bn annually Abdulwahab Isa ABUJA

joint report on tax waivers by Actionaid and Tax Justice Network Africa has revealed that Nigeria is losing an estimated $2.9 billion (N577.2 Billion) to corporate organisations as tax incentives. The tax break to compa-

nies could be ploughed in to addressing infrastructural deficit in Nigeria, the report added. The report, which was presented yesterday to the media in Abuja, focused on tax incentives in four Africa countries, namely Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'ivore and Senegal. It also stated that the affected countries are losing huge portion of their revenues as tax

incentives to some foreign firms with a view to attracting them to invest. It noted that granting tax incentives to investors, notably foreign companies, is depriving governments of money to pay for essential public services like health, education and infrastructure, hindering regional integration. Deputy-Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Mrs.

Ifeoma Charles-Monwuba, who commented on the report, said Nigeria forfeits as much as N577billion as a result of tax break granted companies; an amount, she added, could go towards addressing infrastructural deficit in Nigeria. According to her, granting incentives have more negative impacts on the development of local industry as it gives unnecessary

pants at the opening of an investigative hearing into the Accounting Procedures of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) organised by the House ad-hoc committee set up for that purpose said an improved method of collecting taxes in the country can generate the revenue necessary to finance the N6.060 trillion 2016 budget. He said the hearing was necessitated by a resolution of the House to ascertaining the accounting framework currently in use and to examine its effectiveness in line with current economic realities. Represented by the deputy speaker, Hon. Sulaimon Yussuff Lasun, the speaker said: "You will recall that the House on its first sitting on Tuesday, 11th August, 2015 reached a resolution that mandated this ad-hoc committee to investigate the accounting procedures of the Federal Inland Revenue Service with a view to ensuring adherence to constitutional and statutory provision. He noted that: "The negative consequences of our mono-product economy have created the need for more revenue alternatives going forward." advantage to large multinational corporations and kills small scale industries, especially where such incentives include companies operating in the free trade zones. She urged federal government to appraise and evaluate current regime of incentives, and that, in addition, it should put in place a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for tax incentives and how they are granted.

News|south-WEST

THURSDAY, april 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

LCCI establishes integrated agric project to boost farming Taiwo Hassan

agos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has established an integrated agriculture project for Nigerian farmers to re-tool agriculture for sustainable economic growth. Chairman, Agro-Allied Group of LCCI, Adeola Elliot, while delivering a

2.86

The average stay of football players of Spain in 2010-2011. Source: Football-observatory. com

keynote address at the maiden edition of Lagos International Agric Fair in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, said that the project was aimed at restructuring farmers’ primitive ways of practicing agric in the country. He said: “Agric has to take a new approach. It has to be scientific. And what we have done is that we’ve set up what is called integrated agriculture project. It is not like tak-

2.74

The average stay of football players of Italy in 2010-2011. Source: Football-observatory. com

ing your farms from you but you will be running your farms by yourselves. What we have done is that we have brought in all competencies that you as a farmer needed to grow your business which will eventually translate into Nigeria’s economic growth.” He continued: “What we are going to do for you in this integrated agriculture project, is that we are using this facility to bring money, technical knowledge and support the farmers to be successful.” According to him, there was the need for small scale farmers to take a new approach in their

farming techniques to be able to contribute to the country’s agriculture sector revolution. Elliot blamed the country’s dwindling agric sector on the oil boom, saying that government ought to have sustained the industry rather than jettisoned it for oil discovery. In his remarks, Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Lagos Chapter, Otunba Femi Oke, appealed to the Lagos state governor to give agriculture a priority in his administration. Oke said that agric sector had remained the only industry with the largest employer of labour.

Oba Riliwanu Aremu Akiolu (left), with Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos Chapter, Mr. Deji Elumoye, during NUJ’s special delegate’s visit to the Oba, in Lagos…yesterday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Fulani hedsman killed in Ondo Babatope Okeowo Akure

n what appeared as a reprisal attack, a Fulani herdsman identified as Dan Bako was yesterday killed in Ilara-Mokin in Ifedore local government area of Ondo State. This was coming barely a week after an Oodua People’s Congress (OPC)

member, Mr Ayodele Ige was killed on the farm of Chief Olu Falae in Ilado in Akure local government area of the state. The head of Fulani herdsmen in the State, Alhaji Alli Dongo and Babangida Sodiq Kusada, the Chairman of Hausa community in Akure kingdom and the head of Arewa community in the state said Dongo was declared

missing after all efforts to trace him proved abortive. Briefing reporters in Officers’ mess of the Nigerian Police in Akure, the state capital, Dongo and Kusada said their kinsman had been living in Ilara-Mokin for the past seven years and was preparing to relocate to his state when the incident happened. According to Dongo, the deceased was sent by his

the kind of job, you reOlubadan charges ICAN to tackle graft do quire a strength of charac-

Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

he Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, yesterday charged the Nigerian Accountants to be more committed to the fight against frauds for businesses to grow in the private and public sectors of the nation’s economy. The monarch gave the counsel while welcoming a high delegation of Ibadan branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) led by Prince

Ganiyu Adebayo into his Popoyemoja, Ibadan palace. Oba Adetunji observed that one major fear that small, medium and large scale business entrepreneurs do entertain most was fraudulent activity which he said was the cog in the wheel of progress of any business enterprise. Noting that management of money involved good character, Oba Olatunji identified fraud as an ill-wind that blows no one any good. His words: “It is your responsibility to ensure that accounts are balanced. To

ter and integrity.” Flanked by High Chief Lateef Gbadamosi Adebimpe and High Chief Amidu Ajibade, Olubadan promised to consult extensively in ensuring that Ibadan ICAN had a smooth ride in all its activities. Earlier, the Ibadan ICAN chairman, Prince Adebayo had congratulated Kabiyesi over his successful enthronement as the 41st Olubadan of Ibadanland without stress or struggle, noting that Ibadan succession system was worthemulation.

kinsmen to buy food for them in Igbaro-Oke, the headquarters of Ifedore council area when he met his untimely death having left with his motorcycle. However, he said it was after they waited for hours without seen him that a search party was organized. According to him, his motorcycle was seen beside a bush along the road. His herds were also seen in the bush without him.

PDP chieftain urges patience with Buhari Sulaiman Salawudeen Ado-Ekiti

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ekiti State, Hon. Opeyemi Falegan has urged Nigerians to be patient with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying benefits of such would soon manifest. Falegan, in a release issued in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital particularly stressed the need for the nation’s leaders to implement people-friendly agenda. According to him, the

sun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola yesterday called on the Federal Government to set up a commission of inquiry that would look into crude oil theft amounting to N5.8 trillion under former President Goodluck Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration. The Governor stated this while receiving members of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) who had come to present him a letter for onward transmission to Presi-

surest way to assuring peaceful co-existence and sustainable development in the country was to implement programmes that affect peoples’ lives directly. He however lamented the hardship Nigerians had been experiencing with fuel scarcity, queuing up for hours at filling stations and buying petroleum at exorbitant prices, noting “the rot in Nigeria cannot be cleared by the President alone hence the need for all hands to be on deck to correct the wrongs in the land for the benefit of this generation and unborn ones.”

Lagos seeks firms’ cooperation on environmental protection Muritala Ayinla

orried by the rate of environmental degradation and its health implications, the Lagos State Government yesterday called on the companies, firms and industries in the state to design an environmental friendly policy. The government which lamented that the impact of climate change was taking tolls on nature, said that most firms lacked a clearly spelt out environmental policy as they engaged in unsafe practices towards the environment.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with Managing Directors, Chief Executive Officers of manufacturing industries and firms, the state’s Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Adejare Bello said it was government’s duty to regulate industries for the safety of the society. Engineer Adebola Shabi in his presentation, blamed industries for their refusal to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment even as many of them had failed to develop measures to mitigate the impact their businesses had on the environment.

Akiolu tasks media on investigative journalism

he Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu, yesterday urged journalists in the country to engage more in investigative journalism and balance their reports. Akiolu gave the advice when officers of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) paid him a courtesy visit in his Iga Idunganran Palace in Lagos. The traditional ruler said it was bad for a journalist to write a story without getting the other side. He said: “I believe in the press as a tool for nation building but it is always

N5.8trn oil theft: Aregbesola asks FG to probe Jonathan

dent Muhammadu Buhari. However, Aregbesola commended CDHR for joining President Buhari in his commitment to recover the looted resources by corrupt public officers. According to him, having gone through the letter in which the group chronicled its expected actions to be taken by the President on how to recover looted resources of the Nation advised that CDHR not to overlook the area of the crude oil theft under the watch of PDP administra-

bad when they write without balancing their stories; it is not good. “Some journalists are bad writers, while some write very well. Journalists should always investigate their information before publishing them. “Journalists have a lot to do to move the country forward and Nigerian journalists are one of the best in the world if they want to work. “Journalists should write on the need for the provision of electricity and water supply and other infrastructure in the society. tion. He stated that the present administration would be doing the nation good by setting up an inquiry into how four hundred thousand barrels of crude oil was being stolen daily undiscovered with all the security agencies in the country. Aregbesola said: “In the middle of 2013 a party at the helms of affairs of our country told us that four hundred thousand barrels of crude oil were being stolen on a regular basis for 24months, we never heard that it stopped for that period.”

News|SOUTH-EAST

Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

he Federal Commissioner representing Ebonyi State in the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), Chief Sampson Okorie, yesterday called on the state government to pay severance allowances of former political office holders who defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to other political parties. Speaking when he led

THURSDAY, april 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Umahi should pay ex-political office holders severance allowance a staff of the commission on a courtesy visit to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Francis Nwifuru, Okorie, said petitions from the former political office holders form the bulk of complaints being handled by the commission in the state.

Okorie said the commission received an average of 100 complaints on monthly basis, noting that last year alone, the commission received more than 500 cases and successfully resolved 300. He explained that the essence of the visit was

to seek collaboration with the House, especially the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Committee in resolving complaints from residents of the state. He said that the commission operates under the supervision of the National Assembly in order L-R: Wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Muhammadu Buhari; wife of the Governor of Abia State, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu; wife of the Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mrs. Vivian Udeh Ogochukwu and wife of the former Military Head of State, Lady Victoria Aguiyi Iroisi, during a courtesy visit by the Women of Abia to the wife of the President at the presidential villa, in Abuja…yesterday PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN.

Abia rerun: Tribunal adjourns till Monday Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

he Abia State election petitions tribunal sitting in Umuahia on the March 5, senatorial rerun poll, has reserved ruling till Monday on the motion whether the respondent to a petition, Mao Ohuabunwa, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was served the notice of the petition of the Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) candidate and former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, for the case. At its sitting yesterday, counsel to Dr Uzor Kalu, Perfect Okorie, told the tribunal that two motions were for consideration; one filed by the 1st respondent on April 6, 2016

and another filed by the petitioners on April 8, 2016. Counsel to the respondent, Ukpai Ukairo, confirmed the motions, but asked the tribunal to set aside the purported service. Ukairo drew the attention of the tribunal to the motion of 31/3/2016, an application supported by an affidavit of 12 paragraphs with three exhibits attached and a written address in support of the application in which there is a written affidavit in opposition to counter the proof of service, saying that the deposition of the bailiff was contradictory with regard to the service on the Respondent and urged the tribunal to disregard the motion. But counsel to Kalu opposed the application with

a 7-paragraph counter affidavit, arguing that the document, the affidavit of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa was not known to the Electoral Act. According to Okorie, “a succinct look at the affidavit shows it was totally overreaching on the petitioners,” as critical issues of law were not addressed and urged the tribunal to disregard both affidavit and further affidavit. Fielding questions from journalists, Okorie, said the motion the petitioner filed was to challenge the service on Ohuabunwa, who according to the bailiff ’s affidavit refused the service and ordered “his aides to beat the bailiff up, but was rescued by some known people to her.”

CAN faults calls for Kachikwu’s resignation Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

he Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has faulted calls for the resignation of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, over the lingering fuel scarcity in the country. A statement issued by the body’s South-East chapter in Enugu yesterday, said attacks on Kachikwu, were misdi-

rected, considering that he was merely the Minister of State whereas President Muhammadu Buhari is the substantive Petroleum Minister. According to the statement signed by the zone’s President, Most Rev. David Eberechukwu, the group condemned the call for Kachikwu’s resignation, saying the call was uncalled for since the people suggesting his resignation cannot

call on Prsident Buhari to also resign. Eberechukwu, who is also the Chairman, Southern Nigeria Christian Elders’ Forum, frowned at what he described as unserious stance of the presidency to the Fulani herdsmen attacks on some SouthEast communities and the Agatu community in Benue State and called for quick intervention of the Federal Government.

Obi tasks Igbo on N’Assemly representation

ormer Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has urged Igbo people to work together in the interest of the zone and that of the country. Obi stated this yesterday at the 16th anniversary of the movement of Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPMDA) who were move from their former Idumuta location to the International Trade Fair Complex, Lagos. Obi, who was honoured as the Grand Patron of the group for his commitment and evident achievements, said that one of the ways for the Igbo to get their dues in Nigeria was by ensuring that their best emerged as representatives at the National Assembly. He said: “Let me make it clear that after series of consultations following the pressure on me to contest for the Senate, I have accepted to do so. I am, in fact, in the race. I have studied the National Assembly as it is now and discovered that many states are represented by past governors, who are holding important positions, I am convinced that if I get there, I will join other illustrious Igbo sons and work for Anambra and the South-East.’’

to insulate it from executive influence, since most complaints were against the executive arm of government. The commissioner noted that another area where the commission

received large number of complaints was on pension matters. He urged the lawmakers to reach out to their constituents and gather their complaints for onward referral to the PCC.

CONFIRMATION/change OF NAME

Stephen

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olawumi Bosede Mercy Ojo now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Stephen Bosede Mercy. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Ogundepo

This is to confirm that Morenikeji Adenike Tolulope and Ogundepo Adenike Tolulope is refer to one and the same person. All documents bear both names are valid. General public take note.

Alari

This is to confirm that these names Aboy Alari and Alari Apou refer to one and the same person. Henceforth wish to be known and addressed as Alari Apou All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Balasa

This is to confirm that the name Dorathy Hadiza Idris B, is the same person as Hadiza Idris Balasa. All document bearing either of the names are valid. Skye Bank, Uyo and the general public to please note.

Ajaegbu

This is to confirm that Ajaegbu Chukwunonso and Nonso Nnaemeka refer to one and the same person but now wish to be addressed as Ajaegbu Chukwunonso Nnaemeka. All former documents remain valid. Banks and general public take note.

Vincent

I formerly known and addressed as Kate Chukwu Ede now wish to be known and addressed as Kate Vincent Chukwu. All former documents remain valid. Access Bank Plc and general public please take note.

Bello

I formerly known and addressed as Umar Mohammed now wish to be known and addressed as Bello Mohammed. All former documents remain valid. Diamond Bank Plc and general public please take note.

Aron

I, formerly known and addressed as Jeremiah Bolky now wish to be known and addressed as Aron Jeremiah. All former documents remain valid. Ecobank Plc, Fidelity bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Umunnakwe

I, formerly known, called and addressed as Okechukwu Ihechiluru Umunnakwe, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Godslight Okechukwu Umunnakwe. All documents bearing my former name remain valid. Union Bank Plc and general public take note.

Ademujinmi

I, formerly known and addressed as Esther Olaniyi now wish to be known and addressed as Ademujinmi Temitayo Omonike. All former documents remain valid. SKYE BANK and general public take note.

Adekunle

I, formerly known and addressed as Aliu Omotara now wish to be known and addressed as Habib Aliyu Adekunle. All former documents remain valid. UBA Bank, BANKS and general public take note.

AdeLae

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijeoma Maureen Iheanacho now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ijeoma Maureen Adelae. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Onoja

This is to confirm that these names Daniel John, John Daniel and Onanaja John refer to one and the same person. Henceforth wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Onoja John Daniel. All former documents remain valid. General public note.

Abadi

I, formerly known and addressed as Justina Philip now wish to be known and addressed as Justina Abadi. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Akanni

I, formerly known and addressed as Lamidi Kuburat Bose now wish to be known and addressed as Akanni Kuburat Abosede All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

NNUBIA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Miracle Adajesus Akosa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Miracle Adajesus Nnubia. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Agudah

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Rhoda Ebiojo Achimugu now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rhoda Ebiojo Agudah. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Ita

I, formerly known and addressed as Kebbi James now wish to be known and addressed as Abo Eyo Ita. All former documents remain valid. The general public take note.

Ominabo

I, formerly known and addressed as Atamata Francisca now wish to be known and addressed as Ominabo Francisca. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Lawal

I, formerly known and addressed as Babatunde Adenike Ifeoluwa-Darasimi now wish to be known and addressed as Lawal Adenike Omolayo All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Akpata

I, formerly known and addressed as Uche God Ozoakpata now wish to be known and addressed as Akpata God Wilson. All former documents remain valid. BANKS and general public take note.

Samuel

I, formerly known and addressed as Afolabi Olubukola. O. now wish to be known and addressed as Afolabi Olabowale Samuel. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

north | news

thursday, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

peaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Ali Ahmad, yesterday expressed concern that President Muhammadu Buhari was toying with a possible constitutional crisis over his face-off with the National Assembly on the 2016 Appropriation Bill. Ahmad, who was Chairman, House Committee on Justice in the Seventh Assembly, noted that instead of the military-era approach being employed by the executive arm of government, President Buhari should promote

Budget: Buhari fuelling constitutional crisis –Kwara Speaker

democratic and constitutional approaches in his dealings with the National Assembly. According to the Speaker, the president should operate within the ambit of the constitution, which also include rapprochement with lawmakers. Ahmad, however, insisted that rather than refusing to assent the budget sent to him by the legislature, the president was expected to sign it and return to the

855,270

lawmakers with a supplementary bill to cover areas he felt were excluded from the initial bill. Ahmad also chided the president for alleged delay in signing the 2016 budget, saying it would now take another two to three months to get the budget passed. His words: "What we are saying is that he should operate within the ambit of the Constitution. If you have a president who does not want to interact with the National Assembly, how can he go ahead? All

the state governors have this problem, but because they know how they interact with their legislators, it is resolved. Instead of you to interact, you now went to newspapers to call out that the projects are not in the budget proposal. "Even if it were, Section 81 says, sign it and then go back to make supplementary budget. You can see as they go about as if it is military regime. For God's sake, this is a constitutional government. The first thing to ask in a constitutional government

is to ask what the constitution says. And Section 81 has cleared it. "He should discontinue that approach because every day that the ministry works, it draws money from the federation account and that is unconstitutional. And he is the only one responsible for that. His Attorney-General and Vice President should tell him. He is exposing himself for choosing to operate outside the constitution. "What the president was saying is that some projects were excluded

The total number of interactions on Facebook of Cristiano Ronaldo in February 2016. Source: Goal.com

MINNA

he Senator, representing Niger South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Mustapha Sani Mohammed, has donated relief materials worth over N100 millions to widows and victims of wind storm across eight Local Government Areas of the state. The legislator, yesterday said in Lapai after his visit to the Local Government Areas, which made up the Senatorial district, that the gesture was part of his intervention to assist widows and reduce the plight of people affected by the disaster that occurred between June and July 2015. While commending the lawmaker, the Niger

State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, urged Nigerians to be patient with the state and federal government, adding that the resources available to the country presently is limited, but stressing that things will soon get better. The governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Ahmed Ketso, while distributing the relief materials to the people, urged the beneficiaries to utilise the items judiciously in order to better their lives. According to him, "We struggled together and this is the only way we can show appreciation through this kind of empowerment and human capacity building. With this, I hope you will be able to utilise the items for your good and uplifting of your living standard.

Benue varsity students protest hike in tuition fees Cephas Iorhemen MAKURDI

cademic and administrative activities at the Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, were yesterday disrupted by the students, who protested against the increment of their tuition fees. The new fees regime, tagged: “Conditional Charges,” was introduced by the management of the university. The students, who trooped out to the streets, blocking the main gate to the university, carried green leaves with placards with various inscriptions, such as “BSU students are

now on strike,” “We don't want conditional review of tuition fees,” among others. When New Telegraph visited the scene of the protest, which began as early as 7:30 am, the students were seen obstructing vehicular movement to and from the campus, including members of staff, who were forced to trek after their plea with the students to allow them to go out. The protest, which lasted till 1:00 pm attracted armed riot policemen, who were drafted to quell the riot and who were stationed at the university main gate to prevent any further breakdown of law and order.

or that allocated finances of some projects were reduced and this has been stated in Section 81, subsection 4a and 4b. Indeed, it is for the President to bring Supplementary Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. That is what he should have done." "Now, the budget would be made to pass through stages of reading. The constitution knows that this can happen, and it states that when it happens, the President signs it and opts for supplementary approL-R: Former Kano State Military Governor, Col Sani Bello (rtd); Niger State Governor, Dr. Abubakar Sani Bello; former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsami Abubakar (rtd); Sarkin Sudan of Kotangora, Alhaji Sa'idu Namaska and Deputy Governor, Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, at the prayers for late Hajiya Khadija Mu'azu Gwamnah at the Emir's Palace, Kotangora... yesterday.

Widows, flood victims get N100m lifeline in Niger Dan Atori

Sokoto signs MoU with China to boost agriculture Umar Abdullahi Sokoto

eter mined to boost agriculture, the Sokoto State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Henan Province of China for the establishment a demonstration farm and promote the development of agriculture in the state. Under this agreement, Sokoto State has become one of the beneficiaries

of the 100 agricultural projects announced by the Chinese President, Ji Xinping during the SouthSouth Cooperation meeting in September 2015, to be sited in developing countries. The partnership is expected to enhance the application of new technology for cultivation of crops such as corn, wheat, tomatoes and onions. According to a statement from Chinese Government, released by the Media Aide to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuw-

al, Malam Imam Imam, the MoU provides room for experts from Sokoto State and Henan Province to carry out joint analysis and study on climatic conditions, soil moisture status, crop cultivation techniques and plant protection and quarantine. “It will also promote lease investment and promotion of agricultural machinery between the two parties,” the statement added. Speaking while signing the agreement in Zheng-

zhou, the capital city of Henan Province, Governor Tambuwal said that as the largest producer of food and agricultural machinery in China, Henan Province has a lot of benefits to offer the state. The governor said: "The Province has some of the best agricultural machinery industries in the world, from simple to the complicated equipment. Indeed, having gone round the factories and demonstration farms, we will choose the best one for our state."

Air Force begins free medical Kebbi investigates 100 civil servants over missing N2.5bn treatment in Bauchi

Nankpah Bwakan Bauchi

igeria Air Force yesterday flagged off a two-day free medical outreach in some communities in Bauchi State. The free medical care is part of the activities lined up to commemorate the 52-year anniversary of the Nigerian Air Force, which was flagged off in Gubi and Durum,

the host communities to the Air Force Base in the state and currently under construction. The Commandant of the new 89 Composite Group Bauchi, Air Commodore Sule Lawal said the force medical team will undertake treatment for some illnesses such as malaria and blood test to detect other diseases, eye test and treatment, as well as dental services.

Abubakar Abdul Birnin Kebbi

ebbi State Government has ordered immediate investigation of no fewer than 100 civil servants, who were alleged to have been involved in the N2.5 billion missing funds. The money was said to have been withdrawn by the civil servants between January and May

2015 from the state government’s treasury. Confirming the report to journalists yesterday in his office in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, the Commissioner of Police and the head of the investigation panel, Yakubu Jibrin said that the probe started last week, even as he noted that no fewer than 15 people have so far been interrogated over the alleged missing funds.

News|north

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Taraba killings: Miyetti Allah faults police commissioner Sabiu Mustapha JALINGO

he Taraba State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has distanced its members from the recent attacks on some villages in Taraba State that left dozens of people killed and hundreds displaced. The association also faulted the Taraba State Commissioner of Police, Shaba Alkali, for arresting and detaining its members, which it said ‘were not even

from the area where the crisis occurred.’ A statement issued by the association yesterday, which was signed by its Chairman, Sahabi Mahmud Tukur, said the incident was a crisis between two groups, herdsmen and Ndoro, ‘and that it should be treated as such and not as an attack by Fulani herdsmen as claimed by the police,’ Tukur continued; “As far as we know, the crisis erupted when a decomposing dead body of a woman was found in the bush of the surrounding villages.

The sex ratio of men to 100 women in the 60+ age group of El Salvador in 2012. Source: Un.org

“As if it was preplanned, the villagers suddenly attacked our members, killing over 50 of them while many are still missing, while over 3, 000 cattle are either killed, wounded or taken away,” the statement said. The statement reads in part: “We received with shock and disappointed, a statement issued by the Commissioner of Police, Taraba State Command, CP Shaba Alkali, dated April 12, 2016. “In the statement, the police commissioner attributed the recent unfortunate

$23.2m

The total pay (including salary/winnings & endorsements) of Usain Bolt (Track) for 2014. Source: Forbes.com

crisis in Gashaka to our members, the herdsmen. “In what looks like a desperate move, the CP went ahead to parade before newsmen, our member and a Fulani community leader, Ardo Ayuba, alleging that he masterminded the crisis. Ayuba is not from Garbabi ward of Gashaka Local Government as was erroneously reported by the police just to malign him; he is actually from Gazabu ward of Bali Local Government. We then wondered why the police, in a desperate move to implicate him,

1,651

The number of fatalities in terrorists’ violence involving terrorists in 1994. Source: Satp.org

deliberately paraded him before newsmen while no arrest was made from the other side even with the killing of our people and their animals.” The association, while calling for the immediate release of Ardo Ayuba, who it said ‘has been detained for over 72 hours,’ urged the inspector general of police to impress it on the Taraba State police command to act professionally and give all citizens the right to fair hearing and justice. Meanwhile, the Taraba State government has con-

Kano uncovers 7, 249 ghost workers Muhammad Kabir KANO

Kaduna Zonal Command/Assistant Deputy Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Vincent Nwokolo; Chief Executive Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi and Deputy Corps Marshal Operations, Headquarter, Mr Adei Abu, during the visit of the Corps Marshal to the command in Kaduna …yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

firmed the killing of 44 people in the attacks. Governor Darius Ishaku while giving the causality figures in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Sylvanus Giwa, which was made available to journalists yesterday, said ‘government will leave no stone unturned in apprehending the perpetrators of the dastardly act.’ “The attack has left over 44 people dead, five injured, six missing and over 100 others displaced,” the statement said.

he ongoing biometric data verification exercise of civil servants in Kano State, has uncovered 7, 000 ghost workers that have been milking the state of N283.5 million in monthly salaries. The state also said it is paying N8.5 billion to 150, 000 workers monthly. Presenting an interim report of the biometric data exercise, the state Head of Service, Muhammad Awwal Naiya, said the exercise has since captured 86, 373 workers and that 7, 629 did not turn up for the exercise, who the government assumed does not exist and

stand to be deleted from the service. Naiya broke the workforce into components which include those who receive direct salaries, who are in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the judiciary and the university workers, who receive N4. 4 billion monthly, those in the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and those in the local governments, who collect N2.2 billion while the 44 local governments receive N1.7 billion monthly. He said some were discovered to be collecting double salaries, but that disciplinary measures would be taken against soon.

Benue commissioners, others absent from work

Buhari expresses commitment to end insurgency

MAKURDI

Nankpah Bwakan

Cephas Iorhemen

ome civil servants and political appointees of Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, including commissioners and special advisers, yesterday continued to exhibit their truant attitude to work as they cashed in on the governor’s absence to abscond from office to

attend to personal engagements. The attitude of the top government functionaries thwarted official activities as most of them linked their actions to inability of the government to boost the morale of workers through prompt payment of salaries. Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Terser Akase, had told journalists that Governor Ortom

is among state governors on President Muhammadu Buhari’s delegation on an official trip to the Peoples Republic of China, where he is taking part in the 119th Canton Fair. Akase said the governor is also billed to make a presentation at the opening of the First North Central Nigeria-China Business and Investment Forum scheduled to take place in Guangzhou, and that the trip is ex-

pected to offer members of the Nigerian and Chinese business communities the opportunity to rub minds on current global economic trends. The governor’s spokesman stated further that Ortom and his counterparts from Kogi, Plateau and Niger states are expected to lead discussions on the roadmap and the gains of doing business in North Central Nigeria.

Bello to Judiciary: Embrace ‘Refusal to pay Zakat, zero tolerance on corruption responsible for fire outbreaks’

Dan Atori MINNA

iger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, has emphasised the need for the judiciary to embrace the change philosophy and zero tolerance for corruption as endorsed by the current administration. He spoke yesterday in Minna, during a dinner and book launch entitled; “Triennium of Chief Judgeship: Policies, Milestones and Legacies of Hon. Justice Fati Lami

Abubakar, CON,” in honour of the eminent jurist on her retirement as the Chief Judge of Niger State. He said the “judiciary cannot afford to be in the back seat in this new partnership for good governance. “It is essential at this point to re-emphasise the dire need for our judges and all accompaniments of the judiciary to embrace the change philosophy and the zero-tolerance for corruption drive that this administration endorsed.

Dan Atori MINNA

he Chief Imam of Kontagora, Mallam Muhammadu Abdulmalik and other clerics have blamed the incessant fire outbreaks ravaging markets in the country on the refusal of well to do Muslims in the society to imbibe and conform with the Islamic tenet of paying Zakat. Speaking on behalf of the clerics on the third day Fida’u prayers for the

repose of Hajiya Khadija Mu’azu Gwamnah, the grandmother of Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, yesterday, the Imam admonished all well to do Muslims to faithfully obey and observe Allah’s injunctions. In a short exhortation after the prayer, the cleric attributed nonadherence to divine instructions as contained in the Holy Quran as responsible for the incessant fire outbreaks ravaging markets across the country.

Bauchi

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday reiterated his administration’s commitment to the fight against corruption and terrorism in the country and challenged retired officers to join in the fight against insurgency. Buhari stated this at the Nigeria Air Force ReUnion 2016, which was part of activities to mark the 52 anniversary of the Nigeria Air Force held in

Bauchi. The President, who was represented by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olanisakin said: “I want to assure you of the Federal Government’s determination to rid Nigeria of corrupt elements and terrorists.” Buhari also assured the people of his administration’s resolve to do everything possible to save guard the lives and property of Nigerians as well as ensure speedy development of the country.

Petrol sells for N166 in Nasarawa he National Bureau that PMS/Petrol price of Statistics (NBS) watch tracks the average T yesterday said Nasarawa price consumers reportedState recorded the highest price of Premium Motor Sprit (PMS) popularly known as petrol, which sold at N166.67 per litre in March. This was contained in the March ‘PMS Price Watch’ released by the NBS in Abuja and made available to newsmen. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports

ly purchase petrol across the country. The report said Cross River and Bauchi States also recorded the highest prices in the month as the product sold for N160.36 and N156.67 respectively. It said the lowest average petrol prices were recorded in Borno (N87.00), Lagos (N90.08) and Abuja (N104.90).

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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Dalung assaults journalist at NFF Congress The Sport Team

African football tougher, says Iwobi

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Charles Ogundiya uper Falcons players were stunned on Tuesday when the Nigeria Football Federation paid them a paltry N10,000 each as bonuses after their 2-0 victory against the Terenga Lioness of Senegal,. According to some of the players who craved anonymity, they were surprised that despite being in camp for about 45 days, and also qualifying for the African Women Cup of Nations, with a 3-1 aggregate victory over the Senegalese, they would be treated like that. “So for all our efforts in the last two months, all we can get is N10, 000?” one of them queried. “The money is not even enough for my transport back home if I have to add the money I spent coming to camp. “This is not good for our morale because this has been happening for long and it is time they stop treating us like shit.” One of the foreign-based players who also spoke on condition of anonymity accused the NFF of insensitivity. According to her, despite the failure of the men’s team to qualify for AFCON, they were still paid $2,500 for the 1-1 draw against Egypt. She said: “I was given my return ticket without any other thing despite all what we put in to win the game. “Can they do this to the men? They pay the Super Eagles $5,000 for the wins and $2,500 for draws but nothing for us because we are women. This is most unfortunate and something must be done about it.” In her own words, another player urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, to intervene. It will be recalled that the Golden Eaglets were also paid the sum of N20, 000 after winning the 2015 U-17 World Cup in UAE.

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he Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, yesterday threw Wednesday caution into the winds at the Extra-Ordinary Session of the Nigeria Football Federation when he assaulted a sports writer, Andrew Abah, at the venue of the meeting, Chida Hotel, Abuja. Abah had accosted the Minister and demanded to know why he was using derogatory statements against Asah pressmen in the coverage of the leadership tussle between the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF Chris Giwa-led faction. But an angry Dalung who could not contain his anger after listening for some time pushed him away. It took the timely intervention of the NFF boss, Pinnick, to save the situation which could have devel-

oped into a free for all. Dalung had during the session heaped blame on both factions for giving money to journalists to further fuel the crisis, but Abah said he react based on th minister statement at the congress but for his previous negative comments against sports writers. Abah lambasted some members of the Congress for being mischievous and only after their selfish interest. The Minister said he had not been served any court ruling from the Federal High Court in Jos that asked Pinnick-led board to leave office. “Instead, what I saw is the judgement of 2014 which said that no election held in Warri, so where the Jos April 9th ruling emanated from, I don’t know,” he explained. “Giwa has not been coming to me because of this and I am very careful because people may say I am supporting him because we are both from Jos,” he added.

he crisis rocking Nigerian football took a different turn on Wednesday as the Congress of Nigeria Football Federation summoned club owner, Chris Giwa, and his group to before its Disciplinary Committee for bringing the game to disrepute. Giwa and his group are fighting to take over the running of football in the country after securing a Jos High Court injunction which validates their September 27, 2014 elections in Abuja. The Amaju Pinnick-led board of the NFF convened an emergency meeting of the Congress on Wednesday where a vote of confidence was passed on his Executive Committee with a decision to punish Giwa and other erring members of football fraternity part of the resolutions. The congress alleged that Giwa, tarnished the name of the NFF by contracting a law firm in South Africa in the name of the federation and refused to pay for the services rendered to a point where judgment was given against Nigeria by South African court. “For bringing Nigerian football to ridicule, opprobrium and disrepute and in clear contravention of the NFF statutes and other extant football laws by seriously violating the Statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA, CAF, WAFU, and NFF “In the interest of fair hearing the following persons were referred to the NFF Disciplinary Board: Giwa, Yahaya Adama, Muazu Suleyman, Sani Fema and Effiong Johnson to appear and defend themselves,” a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting read. The soccer body also said for aiding and abetting the above gross misconduct, former chairman of the Nigeria Premier League, Rumson Baribote, Shehu Adamu, Ben Agary and Jide Fashikun were also summoned before the board.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

African football tougher, says Iwobi Rates Nigerian fans as craziest

Emmanuel Tobi

uper Eagles striker Alex Iwobi says playing in Africa is more difficult and tougher than the English Premier League. Iwobi, who was born in Lagos, has made two appearances for Nigeria both against Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations and has two goals and three assists in his three EPL starts for the

club. “When I played for Nigeria in Africa, it’s a lot more physical and the tempo is higher,” the 19-year-old said. “Everything is fast and the weather in Africa is something you have to adapt to really quickly. The first day I trained I was gasping for air because it was so hot. There’s minimal air so it’s something I had to get used to.

ziest in the world due to their passion for football. “The love Nigeria showed me… when I played for them in a friendly, the fans were just crazy. The fans almost eat you up because they love you so much. I’m enjoying playing for them. “When you’re getting out of the airport there are fans already there screaming ‘Arsenal, Arsenal. Gunners for life!’ and it’s just mad. Some of them have Arsenal shirts and then others will as the build up to the FIFA ask me for Arsenal Iwobi U-20 World Cup in South Ko- shirts. It’s a bit mad and the fans are crazy.” rea begins in earnest. As early as 6.45am on Wednesday, Osimhen and team –mates were at the FIFA Goal Project pitch at Adeolu Johnson the Package B of the NaAbuja tional Stadium, Abuja for Day 7 of the Flying Eagles amson Lawal has been training. elected as the Director of “l am here to show the Professional Golfers Assocoaches what I can do. I have ciation of Nigeria at the body’s trained very hard to be here Annual General Meeting held at and just want to play footthe Golden Palm Hotel, Otukpo, ball,” he said with a smile. Benue State. The Flying Eagles will Lawal, the Resident Profestake on Burundi in their sional Golfer of Lamingo Golf first match of the 2017 AfClub, Jos was declared the winrica U-20 Cup of Nations ner by the Returning Officer, qualifying series away in Mrs Ify Uba, for polling 60 votes Bujumbura on the weekend against 43 votes by Dominic Anof May 20 to 22. drew from IBB International Presently, over 50 playGolf and Country Club, Abuja. ers are sweating it out twice He will now take over from daily as the battle for shirts Festus Makelemi for a new term intensifies. of two years. “I was hoping to contribute to the team and I came on for eight minutes [for my debut]. I was buzzing and all the fans were clapping and singing songs. The second game we unfortunately lost and went out of the Africa Cup of Nations, but that moment was crazy and a great feeling. Hopefully I can play more competitions for them.” He also said Nigerian fans were one of the cra-

Osimhen hits Flying Eagles’ camp for Burundi Emmanuel Tobi

IFA U-17 World Cup record scorer, Victor Osimhen, has joined his Flying Eagles team mates at the Serob Legacy Hotel camp of

the team in Abuja. The VFL Wolfsburg striker who scored 10 goals at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, returns to familiar terrain with former team mates

Lawal leads new PGA Nigeria

Osimhen (right)

Okpekpe targets drug free race

GOtv Boxing: Joe Boy, Prince Nurudeen in grudge bout Charles Ogundiya

he ultimate bout between reigning national lightweight champion, Nurudeen Fatai, and Oto Joseph, will highlight the Gotv Boxing Night 7 scheduled for the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, on May 1. The fight, which had twice been rescheduled on account of injury to the champion, Fatai, will afford him the chance to redeem himself after being

rganisers of the IAAF bronze label Okpekpe international 10km Road Race say they will ensure all IAAF anti-doping rules are followed to the letter when the fourth edition takes place next month in Okpekpe, Edo state. Spokesman for the race Dare Esan reveals that provision has been made for a full doping control for the event which has become one of the most anticipated in the calendar of IAAF Label road races. ‘All tests shall be conducted in accordance with the IAAF anti-doping regulations. There will be mandatory and requested tests. The mandatory tests are those that the organisers must conduct at its expense and includes the minimum four that must be done as a bronze label event viz two men and two women as a mixed gender race and of course those that must be conducted in the event a world record or area record is broken, “Esan said. ‘The requested tests will be at the athlete’s expense if he or she breaks a national record, ‘he further said and added that the IAAF had specifically ordered that the doping control must be held in a neat environment while samples collected will be sent to IAAF accredited laboratories outside Nigeria. ‘The laboratory in South Africa is temporarily closed and the IAAF have advised we send the samples to any of the three in Europe and the Middle East,’ Esan said.

Lawrence Matthew from Ikoyi Club 1938 defeated Segun Obamuwe and Martin Odoh to emerge as the Director of Operations, while Uche Eze from IBB Club polled 69 votes at the expense of Mike Ubi of Air Assault, Port Harcourt (21 votes) and Ladi Jaiyeola (13 votes) for the post of Tournament Director. Donatus Isuku was unopposed for the post of Finance Director, while Sunday J. Odegha and Kingsley Oparaku were elected as the ex-co members. Lawal promised to improve on members’ welfare and secure more tournaments for the golf professional body through enhanced relations with corporate Nigeria.

knocked out in the fifth round of their explosive challenge clash at GOtv Boxing Night 4. Jenkins Alumona, Managing Director of Flykite Promotions, organisers of the event, said at a press conference on Wednesday that time was ripe for the two boxers to test themselves again. “The fight was twice shifted because of injury to Nurudeen, who is an explosive boxer in his own right,” he said. “The challenger is one of the rising stars of Nigerian box-

ing and previous winner of the best boxer award at GOtv Boxing Night. The fight has all the ingredients of a thriller: grudge, determination, chance for glory and an eye on the N1million cash prize for the best boxer.” Five other fights are lined up for the event. In the cruiserweight division, Idowu Okusote will fight Chibuzor Vincent. Another lightweight clash will see Osamudiamen Goodluck, a graduate of the GOtv Boxing NextGen Search, duel with exciting Rilwan Oladosu.

Zenith Bank WBL: Customs, First Deepwater bounce back Emmanuel Tobi

irst Deepwater BC and Customs Basketball Club on Wednesday returned to winning ways at the on-going Zenith Bank Women Basketball League in Asaba. First Deepwater defeated Immigration 44-33 after losing 56-53 to AHIP on Tuesday. Customs also defeated Zamfara Babes 70-50. In some other games, IGP Queens beat FCT Angels 69-39, while Benue

Princess beat Coal City Queens 45-28. Meanwhile, coach of First Bank Basketball Club, Peter Ahmedu, has commended the standard of the second phase of the league, which began in Asaba on Sunday. “From the proceedings here, I believe that most teams have improved greatly since the first phase in Abuja. The games were closelyfought and we have recorded an upset already with GT 2000 beating

Customs. He attributed his team’s success to early preparations. “With what I have seen here, I am happy that we got to Asaba early to acclimatise and got used to the court and the environment. I am happy that the owners of the team, First Bank PLC have always supported ideas that will put the team in a good position to excel. I hope our performance will propel us to the title,” he added.

Action from the Zenitrh Bank women basketball league in Asaba

SPORT

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

WORLD \ NEWS

Liverpool ready for Dortmund – Klopp Myanmar shaken by 6.9

magnitude earthquake

urgen Klopp says that his Liverpool sideare not feeling the pressure of their Europa League quarterfinal with Dortmund on Thursday. The Reds have an away goal as they drew 1-1 at Signal Iduna Park last week, as Klopp returned to his former club. “I have no idea what it is like at BVB, but I don’t think we are under particular pressure. We have a great chance,” Klopp told a news conference. “BVB are a great side and we respect that, but I think [Dortmund boss Thomas] Tuchel thinks the same. “It’s not a question of pressure, it’s a great chance to get to a semifinal. There aren’t that many chances to win titles. Pressure does not come into it.”

A James Milner (center) Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Borussia Dortmund battle for the ball

Monte Carlo: Djokovic crashes out

ovak Djokovic has been knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters by world number 55 Jiri Vesely. The world number one was beaten 6-4 2-6 6-4 by the Czech, his first exit as early as the second round since the Madrid Masters in 2013. Vesely, 22, had never before beaten a player ranked in the world’s top 10. Eleven-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic had won his past 22 matches in Masters competitions and nine of his past 10 tournaments. Meanwhile, Aljaz Bedene found Rafael Nadal

Sevilla V Athletic Bilbao

were unharmed. Tremors are relatively common in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). An Associated Press news agency reporter in the city of Yangon reported seeing a seven-storey hospital shake during Wednesday’s two-minute quake, causing staff and patients to flee the building. Many of Myanmar’s outlying areas have inadequate communications and infrastructure, including the area where the earthquake hit. The quake was also felt in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, 484km (300 miles) from the epi-

centre and in the Indian city of Kolkata. Similar shaking was experienced in the Assam capital Guwahati, where wallmounted television sets at a local TV station were reported to have been sent crashing to the ground. The British royal party have been visiting Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. “We felt the tremor very strongly, but all is fine,’’ British Deputy High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood - who is staying in the same jungle resort as the royal couple - was quoted by AP as saying.

Liverpool V Dortmund Sparta Prague V Villarreal

Vardy, Mahrez, Kanté lead PFA Player award list

Djokovic

too hot to handle on the clay in Monaco. It was a creditable performance from the British No 2 in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, but he held serve only four times in a 6-3, 6-3 defeat.

Ronaldo: Goals are in my DNA

EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES

strong earthquake has struck Myanmar, the US Geological Survey reports, with tremors in India and China sending residents out into the streets. The 6.9 magnitude quake took place at a depth of 135km (84 miles) north-west of Mandalay. Casualties have been reported in north-east India. It could be felt in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are staying. The royal couples, who are staying in a national park,

Shakhtar V Braga

Ronaldo celebrating after scoring

eal Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has hailed his teammates for overturning a two goal deficit in the Champions League second leg against Wolfsburg Tuesday night. Ronalso again inspired Madrid to overcome the odds and claim a 3-0 victory after he remarkably scored his 35th hattrick for the club. He hailed the team’s efforts calling it a “perfect night”, and took aim at critics who have said that the 31-yearold is having a bad season; despite scoring 46 times this campaign.

“35 hat-tricks. It’s not bad is it? Goals are in my DNA and I just want to keep scoring them for the team,” Ronaldo said. “It had to be a magic night and it was,” he added. “It was the perfect game in the end. We had to be patient for an hour but it was the perfect night.” “Considering this has been a ‘bad’ season for me it has not been that bad. People can criticise me but I just keep on going and the numbers are there for all to see. I am very happy and with a month left of the season I can get even better. “It was one of my best European nights, not the best but one of my best.”

amie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kanté have all been recognised for their role in Leicester City’s English Premier League title charge by being named on the shortlist for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year. The Foxes trio make up half of the six-man shortlist for the award, which is voted for by their peers, with Tottenham’s 22-goal striker Harry Kane, the Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet the other names in the frame to succeed the 2015 winner Eden Hazard. Kane is also in contention to retain the Young Player of the Year award he won 12 months ago and he features on a six-player shortlist alongside Spurs teammate Dele Alli, the Everton pair Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley, Stoke’s Jack Butland and Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho. The winners for each category will be announced on Sunday 24 April, and the strong Leicester presence on the shortlist for the men’s award is a reflection of the league leaders’ improbable season, which has already seen them secure Champions League qualification.

Verdy

People injured by the quake in the Indian state of West Bengal being rushed off to the hospital.

Egypt’s president defends giving Red Sea islands to Saudis

gypt’s president yesterday sought to defuse a storm stirred up by his government’s declared intention to hand over control of two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, arguing that he did not surrender Egyptian territory. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also reiterated Cairo’s position that Egyptian security forces had nothing to do with the torture and killing of an Italian doctoral student abducted in Cairo, an incident that

has poisoned ties with Italy. Rome recalled its ambassador to Cairo in protest of what it called a lack of cooperation by Egyptian authorities in the investigation. Egypt’s government maintains that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba belong to Saudi Arabia, which asked Egypt in 1950 to protect them from Israel. Israel captured the islands in the 1967 Middle East war, but handed them back to Egypt under their 1979 peace treaty.

“We did not surrender our rights, but we restored the rights of others,” el-Sissi said in comments broadcast live. “Egypt did not relinquish even a grain of sand.” “All the data and documents say nothing except that this particular right is theirs. Please let us not talk about this subject again,” he added. “There is a parliament that you elected which will debate the accord. It will either ratify or reject it.” ElSissi went on to complain over what he termed as the Egyptians’ chronic distrust

US election: Trump accuses Republican leaders of conspiracy

epublican Donald Trump has said the party’s leaders do not want him to win the presidential nomination. The system was “stacked” against him, he said in New York, accusing the Republican National Committee (RNC) of conspiring against him. His comments come after his rival Ted Cruz was awarded all the delegates in Colorado without a statewide vote. Mr Trump leads

the race but may fall short of getting enough delegates to get the nomination outright. That would lead to a contested convention in July, where delegates are free after the first ballot to back whom they want, opening the door for Texas Senator Mr Cruz or even the third candidate in the race, John Kasich. The Washington Post reported yesterday that Mr Cruz is likely to win on

a second vote, because he has persuaded so many delegates to vote for him when they are “unbound” to vote as pledged. But Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus rejected Mr Trump’s charge that the rules in states like Colorado had been changed in response to his rise in the polls. Mr Priebus tweeted that the nomination process had been well known for more than a year.

On Marble

The struggle you´re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don´t give up.

Sanctity of Truth

Mike A. Wilkie Kim Jong-Un, the youthful despot

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Chibok Girls: Two-year shame of a nation “While I think about the fate of the girls every day, the truth is government still can’t locate their whereabouts” – President Buhari xactly two years ago, April 14, 2014, some terrorist group drove on a convoy of vehicles into the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS,), Chibok, in Borno state, North East of Nigeria and abducted 276 female students most of whom were about to start their School Certificate Examination. Some brave and lucky girls escaped, leaving the number in captivity to 219. That terrible incident that shook the global community to its marrow brought a hitherto unknown small Christian town of Chibok into international limelight.  Nobody would have believed that 731 days after the noise, the alarm and outcry, the world would move on and allow 219 promising young girls remain held against their will in any part of the universe. With all the technologies, the international community has demonstrated some hopelessness on this matter.  Human rights watchers are still in wonder why the world allowed this to endure. Some are asking; if the Chibok girls were Americans or Europeans kidnapped in such a way, would the comity of nations have been this indifferent. The answer could be in the negative, but some others can go further to argue that if these schoolgirls were Americans or Europeans, they would not have been so cheaply taken away by criminals the way they did to our girls.  Two years ago, shortly after these girls were abducted and the nation was in grief, I wrote a critique in this space, depicting the insincerity and lackadaisical approach of the relevant stakeholders to the issue. How the nation’s incompetence and insensitivity came to the fore as getting the exact number of the abducted girls was not even possible at the time as both the school authorities and Borno state government officials demonstrated obvious lack of capacity.  In the piece titled “The Tears for Chibok”, I likened what I observed then especially the tears of our leaders to that of the crocodile. I had taken time then to give some literature of crocodile to draw up a premise to my discussion.   “We are all very familiar with the common phrase “crocodile tears”. It has its origins with that sea animal called crocodile, which is known for weeping while devouring its prey. Students of literature are very familiar with its usage in popular ancient plays like Edmund Spencer’s Faerie Queen and Othello in Shakespeare. It is often used to explain fake, emotionless tears, to conjure up unwarranted sympathy”.  Two years after, even with change of government, nothing has happened to sincerely suggest that

Political Musings IKE ABONYI igwebuike2001@yahoo.com 0802-402-4029 (sms only) Nigeria as a country has shown extra-ordinary commitment to an extra-ordinary problem like the Chibok girls issue.  Since there is a saying that crying more than the bereaved could raise the suspicion of intention, the international community has chosen to follow the standard of Nigeria, the bereaved on this matter, moving at its pace and often playing to the gallery to the disappointment of human rights watchers.  Two years after the disappearance of these girls, the two world super powers, United States of America and the United Kingdom literarily poured salt on injury when the former British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, disclosed that the United States and the United Kingdom knew the whereabouts of about 80 of abducted Chibok girls by Boko Haram but failed to launch a rescue mission.  According to him, a large group of the missing girls were spotted by the UK and the US surveillance officials shortly after their disappearance but experts felt nothing could be done.  The former UK envoy, who disclosed this during an interview with The Sunday Times of London, added that Western governments felt “powerless” to help as any rescue attempt would have been too risky with Boko Haram terrorists using the girls as human shields.  Pocock said: “A couple of months after the kidnapping, fly-bys and an American eye in the sky spotted a group of up to 80 girls in a particular spot in the Sambisa forest, around a very large tree, called locally the Tree of Life, along with evidence of vehicular movement and a large encampment”.  According to Pocock, the Chibok girls were there for at

Two years after, even with change of government, nothing has happened

Buhari

least four weeks but authorities were ‘powerless’ to intervene, saying however that the Federal Government (under former President Goodluck Jonathan) did not ask for help.  He said: “A land-based attack would have been seen coming miles away and the girls killed, an airbased rescue, such as flying in helicopters or Hercules, would have required large numbers and meant a significant risk to the rescuers and even more so to the girls.”  Not a few political observers are shocked at Pocock’s revelation and are at a loss what he intended to achieve saying it at this time after two years. And even going further to disclose the painful aspect of the sexual abuses on the girls has left many speechless.  While many are in agreement that the Nigerian government was disastrous on the handling of this matter, the international community have also not excelled in their attitude either, but why should we complain when we flaunt our independence and our giant status in the continent? Was American entertainer Rush Limbaugh not referring to us when he said that “it ticks him off when United States of America is hated for doing things in its best interest”, because they could not have acted in another person’s best interest?  Why not, If there is war, World powers sell their weapons and make huge money, but if there is peace, they make little and do more to the

people.  This discussion must not be concluded without recognizing the weighty contributions of the Bring Back Our girls group led by the loquacious former Education Minister Dr. Oby Ezekwesili in making sure that it remained in the front burner.  By now they would have discovered that the lapses of government two years ago was not peculiar to President Goodluck Jonathan and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) wanted the world to believe. With the change of position and reverse of roles, notwithstanding the campaign promise of releasing Chibok girls within 30 days, 10 months hence and there is absolutely no improvement. In fact President Muhammadu Buhari has no definite explanation on the matter.  The truth is that the issue of Chibok girls remains a shame for this country and goes to show how we value the sanctity of life. Just as Chibok girls issue became Jonathan’s nemesis, so it remains for President Muhammadu Buhari until he frees them from bondage. For the rest of Nigerians, even as we go about shamelessly as if all is well, there is really nothing to be proud about as citizens of this country so long as 219 innocent young girls are kept in the bush and used as sex slaves and we can’t do anything. No sacrifice is too small from Nigerians to save these girls, it would be worth the action if this country stands still until they are located and released. We claim to be a praying nation with Churches and Mosques filled up daily, but we are all guilty of an Igbo adage which says that the corpse of another relation always seems like a log of wood. May this matter not be so in our minds. God help Nigeria.

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