Thursday, june 16, 2016 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

CBN floats open forex market trading

lStock market gains 3% l41 items remain banned lEconomists, airlines laud new policy Abdulwahab Isa and Wole Shadare

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has un-

veiled new guidelines for a market-driven foreign currency trading. The apex bank jettisoned its 16-month fixed

exchange rate policy and set the stage for the naira to find its actual value. Instantly, investors on the Nigeria Stock Ex-

change (NSE) welcomed the announcement, as stocks gained three per cent. The banking watchdog

had previously pegged the naira at N197 to the United States dollar, but the currency trades at almost half that on the black market.

Unveiling the muchawaited new forex policy, which creates a single market structure of CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Sanctity Of Truth

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

Jonathan's aide, Dudafa, remanded over N5.1bn alleged fraud }7

/newtelegraph /newtelegraph

Vol. 3 No. 848

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Campaign funds: EFCC quizzes Sheriff }7

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FEC approves new debt management strategy }6

N150

Pensioners slump as protests ground Imo, Oyo }8

Reps in sex scandal ‘

James Entwistle, US Ambassador

‘

Adeosun

I never grabbed any housekeeper nor did I solicit for sex. I also take this issue very seriously. How would my family and in-laws react to these wild and grave allegations? -Lawmaker

‘

It is with regret that I must bring to your attention... the lawmaker allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited sex from her. Two others allegedly requested hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes

Sheriff

‘

Ajimobi

We want them to provide access to our accusers to identify us. We would be demanding compensation from the US government for defamation of character -Lawmaker

‘

Dudafa

L-R: United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle; daughter of the former Governor of Abia State, Miss. Nicole Kalu; Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu; his daughters, Zina and Olivia; wife of the Ambassador, Mrs. Pam Entwistle and Kalu's wife, Iffy, during a reception for the Ambassador in Abuja…on Monday PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Buhari shops for Arase's replacement

lPolice top brass in fierce battle lUncertainty looms over fate of DIGs stress during pregnancy could lead to health issues in mothers }10

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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NEWS

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

United States trip: Reps in sex scandal

Adekunle Salami, Philip Nyam and Wale Elegbede

he United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, has petitioned the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, accusing some members of the lower chamber of improper conduct, attempted rape and soliciting for prostitutes while on official trip to the US. But, the affected lawmakers have denied all the allegations and threatened to sue the ambassador and the US government for “character defamation and a calculated attempt

to ridicule the National Assembly.” The Ambassador, in a letter dated June 9, 2016, addressed to Speaker Dogara, exclusively obtained by New Telegraph, alleged that three members of the House namely: Hon. Mohammed Garba Gololo (APC, Bauchi), Hon. Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom) and Hon. Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue) had, on a recent visit to the United States for the International Visitor Leadership Program, brought disrepute to the parliament by soliciting for sex from prostitutes and grabbing hotel housekeeper in a bid to rape. Ten lawmakers were invited by the US government for the International

Visitor Leadership Program held between April 7 and 13, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. They include: Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi (PDPNasarawa State), Danburam Abubakar Nuhu (APC-Kano State), Nkole Uko Ndukwe (PDP-Abia State), Rita Orji (PDPLagos State), Ayo Huliyat Omidiran (APC-Osun). Entwistle’s letter reads: “It is with regret that I must bring to your attention the following situation. Ten members of the Nigerian National Assembly recently travelled to Cleveland, Ohio as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on good governance. We received troubling allegations regarding

the behaviour of three members of the delegation to the U.S. Government’s flagship professional exchange programme. “The U.S. Department of State and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs received reports from employees of the Cleveland hotel where the representatives stayed, alleging the representatives engaged in the following behaviour: “Mohammed Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex. While the housekeeper reported this to her management, this incident could have involved local law enforcement and resulted in legal consequences for Representative

L-R: Chairman, House Committee on Maritime Safety Education and Administration, Mohammed Bago; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Ahmed Yerima, during a public hearing on revenue leakages and operational deficiencies in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), at the National Assembly in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

Gololo. “Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon allegedly requested hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes.” Entwistle said the US government made efforts to authenticate these allegations. His words: “The U.S. Mission took pains to confirm these allegations and the identities of the individuals with the employees of the hotel in Cleveland. The conduct described above left a very negative impression of Nigeria, casting a shadow on Nigeria’s National Assembly, the International Visitor Leadership Program, and to the American hosts’ impression of Nigeria as a whole. “Such conduct could affect some participants’ ability to travel to the United States in the future.” The ambassador acknowledged that “While the majority of Nigerian visitors to the United States do behave appropriately, even a few Nigerians demonstrating poor judgement leads to a poor impression of the Nigerian people generally, though it is far from accurate. Such incidents jeopardise the ability of future programming and make host institutions and organisations less likely to welcome similar visits in the future.” Entwistle stated that the

CBN floats open forex market trading CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

inter-bank/autonomous window to journalists in Abuja yesterday, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, however, said the bank would still be able to inject dollars into the market, giving it some control over the exchange rate. He was optimistic that the new forex regime, which would open up trading, will ease severe dollar shortages caused by a slump in oil revenue. The new forex policy is called "managed float" and puts Nigeria in line with most central banks, including the Bank of England, a senior CBN official told Reuters yesterday. The apex bank has no target for the naira, he said. The latest interbank level will be posted on the CBN's website daily from Monday, the official said. Following the announcement, three economists estimated the fair value of the naira between N280 and N300 against the dollar, although the black market rate is around N370. Given the expected

sharp drop in the value of the naira, Nigerian products will become relatively cheap and imports more expensive, which should stimulate the domestic economy, but also lift inflation. To improve the dynamics of the market, he said the apex bank had introduced Forex Primary Dealers (FxPD) who would be registered by the CBN to deal directly with the bank for large trade sizes on a two-way quotes basis. He said the re-introduction of a flexible inter-bank exchange rate market would restore the automatic adjustment mechanism of the exchange rate. He said the workings of the market would then be consistent with the Bank’s objectives of enhancing efficiency and facilitating a liquid and transparent Foreign Exchange Market. Emefiele said that the primary dealers would be chosen from existing forex exchange (FX) dealers based on the volume of foreign exchange transactions they have handled before and must have a

minimum capital of $10 million. He said the level of liquidity, the extent to which those dealers have complied with CBN’s regulations in the past, their level of preparedness in terms of being able to provide all the soft and hardware needed to operate, would also be conditions to determine their qualification. “The market shall operate as a single market structure through the inter-bank and autonomous window. The Exchange Rate would be purely market-driven, using the Thomson-Reuters Order Matching System as well as the Conversational Dealing Book. “The CBN would participate in the Market through periodic interventions to either buy or sell FX as the need arises. “To improve the dynamics of the market, we will introduce Forex Primary Dealers (FXPD) who would be registered by the CBN to deal directly with the Bank for large trade sizes on a two-way quotes basis. “These Primary Deal-

ers shall operate with other dealers in the Interbank market, amongst other obligations that will be stipulated in the Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers (FXPD) Guidelines, which would also be released immediately,” he said. Emefiele said the 41 items classified as “Not Valid for Foreign Exchange” as detailed in a previous CBN Circular remained inadmissible in the Nigerian Forex market. He also said the CBN had introduced a non-deliverable Over The Counter (OTC) naira-settled Futures with daily rates on the CBN-approved Trading and Reporting System. He said this was an entirely new product in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, which would help moderate volatility in the exchange rate by moving non-urgent FX demand from the Spot to the Futures market. "This is an innovation which we have introduced to moderate volatility in the FX market. It is a situation where it makes it

easy for you as a businessman to plan your business at the rate you want to do your business. "You do not have to fear that what is happening to crude prices will affect the rate you source your dollar in say three months when you need it. "So, with this new policy, you can decide that I have pegged the price of the FX I need at `X’ and you log it to the futures rate with the primary dealers. "If in the next three months, the rate you agreed in locking your future deal is N260 to a dollar and the market is doing N270 the CBN will make up for the N10 gap. "So this will ensure that you do not lose money by waiting three months to procure your FX. What that does is that we want to see how this shifts demand from spot to the time when you truly need it. "This will discourage people that need dollar in the next three to nine months to stop asking for dollar on spot, thereby putting pressure on the demand for the dollar at the CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

affected lawmakers did not show remorse when the issue was brought to them. “In addition, most of the members of this group reacted very negatively to my deputy when she brought this matter to their attention, further calling into question their judgement and commitment to the goals of the International Visitor Leadership Programme. This leads us to question whether to include National Assembly members for other similar programmes in the future. “I request, in the strongest possible terms, you share this message with members of the National Assembly so they understand the seriousness of these issues, and the potential consequences of their actions, not only for themselves as individuals, but also for the future of such programmes designed to benefit Nigeria,” he said in the letter. But, Gbillah said that there was no iota of truth in what the ambassador said but a calculated attempt to cause disaffection between them and their wives, families and constituents as they were not given any fair hearing before the letter was sent to the speaker. He said he was on the trip with his wife and baby and could not, in any way, solicit for sex from a prostitute. He said: “This is an affront on the National Assembly and Nigeria, it appears they have ulterior motives. We are not going to take this lightly; we will take legal actions against the US government. It is a dent on our image.” Narrating the story of their stay in US, Gbillah said: “I went on the trip with my wife and baby and insisted that she stayed with me, but they told me the accommodation was meant for only participants. So, at Cleveland Renaissance where we were, opposite the Quicken Loan Arena, the Cleveland Cavalier Basketball team played a match and many people came to lodge at the same hotel, and they claimed that we spoke with car park attendants. We didn’t go with cars, so how could we have spoken with attendants?” He explained that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

N0.299bn The total revenue of 2015 Government Quarterly Actually Collection from Capital Gains Tax for the 2015 Q4. Source: Firs.gov.ng

$2.5m

The total amount from endorsements of Chris Bosh (Basketball) for 2015. Source: Forbes.com

NEWS

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari shops for Arase's replacement

Our Correspondent

ess than a week to the end of the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, there are indications that lobby for his successor has intensified. By virtue of his date of birth (June 21, 1956), Arase, who is the 18th indigenous IGP, will be 60 years on Tuesday, June 21; the mandatory age of retirement from service. Arase, who was appointed Police boss on April 21, 2015, would have put in 35 years in the Police by December 1 this year. New Telegraph, however, gathered from highly placed sources that President Muhammadu Buhari is under pressure from about three different interests, who are pushing forward their preferred choices. While two of the forces are rooting for two Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs), the other interest, which is said to be the most powerful, is projecting the candidacy of a serving Commissioner of Police (CP) from the North, who is holding a command position in a strategic state. This is as there is uncertainty over the fate of seven Deputy InspectorsGeneral of Police (DIGs), who constitute the Police Management Team (PMT), which has the IGP as head. Already, those jostling for Araseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position now spend more time in Abuja lobbying some powerful forces in and outside the government. According to a source, who spoke with New Telegraph in confidence, the groups mounting pressure on the president are articulating the operational capabilities of their choices. This, he noted, was because Buhari wants a very competent successor to Arase who, many believe, would have achieved a lot, at the end of his tenure. "It is true that there are about three interests making separate cases for their preferred choices, who have showed good operational capabilities to lead the NPF. "Out of the groups, one is pushing for the appointment of a very competent CP, while the other two

2.3m

The estimated number of people eligible for antiretroviral therapy in East, South and South-East Asia in December 2009. Source: Who.int

$21m

The pay of James Rodriguez of Real Madrid in 2016. Source: Goal.com

are making cases for two AIGs. "But, I think the president knows what he wants, and as an upright, disciplined and firm man, he will get the best," the source said. New Telegraph's earlier investigation had revealed that one of the DIGs was being considered, considering the fact that none of the service or security chiefs, comes from his zone.

The man Solomon Arase

Arase, the 18th indigenous IGP from Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, was born on June 21, 1956. He got enlisted into the Nigeria Police in December 1981, after bagging a degree in Political Science from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, in 1980. Until his appointment as Acting IGP, Arase was the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigative Department (FCIID). Apart from being a lawyer and Fellow, Defence College (FDC), the IGP holds two Masters Degrees in Law, as well as in Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos and University of Ibadan, respectively.

Some of his achievements

Arase, who made it

clear, upon assumption of office, that the Police under his leadership will be intelligence-driven, scored some firsts, including the provision of scholarship to children and wards of deceased officers, establishment of the Complaint Response Unit (CRU), creation of a database centre, as well as the appointment of the first female Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO).

Seniority in appointing a new IGP

If the appointment of IGP were based on seniority, then the DIG in charge of Finance and Administration, Mr. Dan Azumi Doma, would have naturally succeeded Arase. Doma had served as DIG in charge of FCIID, before he was redeployed

to his present office. However, sources said the possibility of Doma emerging the 19th indigenous IGP cannot be ruled out, considering the fact that none of the heads of military or security agencies, is from his North-Central zone. Doma hails from Nasarawa State. The following are the heads of the various Armed Forces and their regions of origin: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin (SouthWest); Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai (North-East), Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (SouthSouth), and Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (NorthEast). The Director-General of the Department of State

Services (DSS), Mr. Lawal Daura, is from the NorthWest. If President Buhari will be persuaded to zero-in on the Police Management Team (PMT) composed of the IGP and seven DIGs, then DIG Chintua Amajor-Onu, may also be hopeful. The case of DIG Amajor-Onu may also be predicated on regional persuasion, save for the fact that, like the North-Central, none of the heads of the military and DSS, is from the South-East. Other DIGs, apart from Doma and Amajor-Onu, are: Messrs Mamman Tsafe (Logistics and Supply), Hashimu Argungu (Training), Kakwe C. Katso (Investigations), S. L Wakama (Operations), and Jubril O. Adeniji.

The Force Secretary is Mr. Patrick D. Dukumor, an Assistant Inspector General of Police.

Trend of recent appointment of IGP

It suffices to say that the appointment of IGPs by past presidents had not been restricted to the rank of DIGs, as there are instances in the recent past, where Assistant Inspectors-General (AIGs) of Police emerged IG. Available records show that former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan appointed IGPs from the AIG rank. Some of those that were appointed from the AIG rank include: Messrs Tafa Balogun, M.D Abubakar, Hafiz Ringim, and Suleiman Abba.

L-R: Natioal Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd.); Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred OyoIta; Chef of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir David Lawal and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abujaâ&#x20AC;Śyesterday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

PDP youths reject Sheriff, seal party secretariat lOladipo, Adeyanju escape mob attack

Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

ess than 36 hours after he stormed the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and imposed himself as National Chairman, some youths under the aegis of PDP National Rebirth Group and PDP Concerned Rescue Group sacked Senator Ali Modu Sheriff from the national secretariat. The groups also sealed off the party's national headquarters and handed the keys over to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin. This was the height of over five hours demonstration at the PDP headquarters by pro-Ahmed Makarfi supporters on Wednesday. Sheriff was not at the secretariat when the demonstrators arrived. There was report that he was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to its Maiduguri

office in connection with PDP campaign funds. But his media aide, Inuwa Bwala, denied the report and said they were at Maiduguri, Borno State capital, for a burial and would be back to Abuja later in the day. "There was no such thing. He went to Maiduguri for a burial and he is billed to be back by 4p.m. today (Wednesday). "I saw the post by an anonymous source and I believe it is part of the smear campaigns going on. Sheriff can never be involved with the pittance that was alleged to have been earmarked for him," Bwala said. The two former members of the National Working Committee (NWC) who are in Sheriff's camp, Professor Adewale Oladipo (former National Secretary) and Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju (former National Auditor) who were at the National Secretariat escaped mob attack by whiskers. The two former national officers who were

trapped inside the party's headquarters managed to escape through the chairman's gate. The protesters, who forced their way into the premises, went in search of Sheriff and others, and vowed to physically drag any of them found occupying any of the offices. It was in the process that security personnel posted to the PDP headquarters hurriedly whisked the former national secretariat and national auditor away through the back entrance. Oladipo, who escaped barefooted pleaded with some youths who accosted him: "Please, allow me go, I will not come back! I will not come back!" His driver later managed to smuggle his car parked inside the premises to the back entrance where he was taken away to safety through the neighbouring Sky Memorial Complex, to avoid further encounter with the irate crowd. But Adeyanju who scaled through the fence, abandoned his blue-coloured Toyota Camry with

registration number APP 767 CK. It was however spared from vandalism through the intervention of some concerned persons. After the escape of the duo, the youth locked up the secretariat and sent for the chairman of the BoT. Walid arrived shortly thereafter and was handed over the keys by Comrade Franklyne Edede, leader of one of the groups who had earlier accused Sheriff as being a hired agent to destroy PDP. The BoT Chairman who was in company of Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, assured the youth that the BoT would appraise the situation and take a decision. The protesting groups, numbering over 200, had defied the early morning rain to arrive at the PDP National Secretariat as early as 6:30a.m. They carried placards with different inscriptions that read: "Sheriff is not a PDP member;" "Sheriff must Go;" "Enough is Enough;" and "Makarfi is real," among others. There was a counter group in support of Sher-

iff led by Comrade Solomon Azobie. This group, however, did not make much impact and had retreated sooner than they arrived. PDP youths had in a press conference on Tuesday, gave the party leadership seven days to resolve the crisis in the party. Pro-Sheriff group later came back about 5:15p.m and broke the party main gate. Security men manning the secretariat, however, decided not to use force against them. They went round the party building to protest against the National Caretaker Committee led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi. Sheriff described the action of the youth as act of hooliganism and brigandage. He called on his supporters to remain calm and law abiding in the face of the various provocations and allow the law to take its course. Sheriff implored security agencies to stop taking sides in political matters, "as demonstrated by some policemen deployed to secure the PDP secretariat."

NEWS

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

FEC approves new debt management strategy

Anule Emmanuel Abuja

he Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a new debt management strategy that will enable government to now focus more on external borrowing beginning from 2016 to 2019. Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who briefed State House Correspondents yesterday after the FEC meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja said the programme would take advantage of cheaper interest rates on foreign loans compared to domestic borrowing. The Finance Minister, who was joined at the briefing by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, explained that government had taken a strategic decision that where possible, it would borrow more externally. "That is the external debts in dollars or in any other currencies because the interest rates are cheaper, the tenures are longer

and there is more room for banks to lend to the private sector, especially SMEs.” She explained that while moving towards external borrowing, deliberate efforts would be made to boost exports, especially non-oil products. "So, the strategy was ap-

proved by FEC after much debate. While approving it, FEC suggested some guidelines which were that as we are moving more of our debt to dollars, we need to focus more on exports, especially non-oil exports and discussion was held around how to make export

A pensioner being given medicare after he collapsed during a protest in Owerri, Imo State... yesterday

US trip: Reps in sex scandal CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

first time he heard about the allegations was a month after they returned from the US and went to represent the speaker at the farewell dinner for the Chinese ambassador. “…I saw the ambassador (Entwistle) and went to greet him and he told me how a few of us tarnished the image of the House. I advised him to make it formal so that we can know who was involved and what actually happened. “It was after this encounter that they called us to their premises and said they were identified by their accusers in a group picture. This is curious. No video footage. They didn’t accost us while we were in US. We suspect this is a calculated attempt to rubbish the National Assembly. “Is this how they would have investigated their congressmen? Do they know that there were other black people who came to watch the match? How could they have identified us in a picture without our knowledge? “We, the concerned members, have written to the speaker indicating the facts and demanding footage of our stay in the hotel. We also want them to provide access to our accusers to identify us. But most importantly, we would be demanding compensation from the US gov-

easier,” she said. Nigeria, according to her, started producing debt management strategy in the year 2012 and three years debt management programme. The previous ones, she said, had expired in December 2015 prompting the

ernment for defamation of character.” Also, in his letter to the speaker, dated June 13, Gololo, who was accused of grabbing a housekeeper, said: “Let me, from the outset, express my shock and dismay at the contents of the letter generally and particularly affects me. “These are totally false, unfounded and baseless allegations against me. I categorically deny any such incident happened, I never grabbed any housekeeper nor did I solicit for sex. I also take this issue very seriously not only because I am a honourable member representing a hallowed institution, but because of my integrity as a husband and father. How would my family and in-laws react to these wild and grave allegations? “I demand an apology and retraction of these allegations or I shall not hesitate to engage the services of lawyers and not only to clear my name, but to seek redress for the damages done to my reputation. I insist that evidence of the allegations against me be produced…. “It is, therefore, in the interest of both countries to investigate this matter thoroughly to get to the root of it and I am ready to go back to Cleveland at my expense to establish my innocence without prejudice to my rights, press

charges against libellous allegations” When contacted, spokesman for the House, Abdulrazaq Namdas, confirmed the receipt of the letter by the speaker. All attempts to get Hon. Ikon to tell his side of the story were unsuccessful as his phone number was permanently shut. A member of the House on the delegation expressed shock and disbelief about the incident. “I cannot believe this. Something must be wrong somewhere. We were all in the same hotel and this same man (Gololo) was there as well. He has all the capacity to get a woman in the city if he wanted to, but he is somebody we all know loves his wife and family so much. The lady did not even mention names, we learnt she only pointed at the man in the group photograph we took during the programme. “Again, this issue was reported two weeks after we left the hotel. Why was this not done while we were there? The lady in question did not shout immediately and one wonders if truly there was such thing. “We did not know anything until the letter written to the Speaker went round all of us who were in Cleveland for the meeting. It is shocking,” the lawmaker told New Telegraph on condition of anonymity.

need for a new one. "There was a need for a new one for two reasons: one was that the previous one had expired; two, given the current economic challenges and then the economic circus of this government to reflate and diversify the economy. "We felt there was a need for a new debt strategy so the debt strategy to be used is based on medium term expenditure framework as you know was prepared and presented by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and that Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) assumed that we would reduce our domestic debt from one per cent of GDP to 0.7 per cent by 2019 and the reasons for this is that the government recognises that for the next three years to really stimulate this economy and to provide the infrastructure that we need. "We would need to be borrowing. We need to borrow at the most cost effective rate and beneficial terms. And also, the government recognises that there is a need to stimulate the private sector. For the private sector to really grow, banks must lend to

the private sector, so we don't want government borrowing crowding out the private sector,” the minister added. FEC, she said, deliberated on multilateral loans from agencies like the World Bank, African Development Bank and so on. According to her, "Ministers have raised concern that some of the previous agreements that Nigerian government entered into were not optimal and cabinet agreed that these are not grants, but loans." FEC, the minister said, unanimously supported the idea and mandated the Ministry of Finance, which is the main negotiator, that henceforth such loans will need to be structured so that they benefit Nigerians. In her remark, Ahmed explained that the new debt strategy aligns with the MTEF. "It is important for us to do this to move away from short term borrowing to longer term borrowing and to move away government borrowing from the domestic market as much as possible to cheaper external loans,” the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning said.

Economists, airlines laud new forex policy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

spot market today," he said. Emefiele said the new policy became necessary to deal with the effect of the drop in international oil prices and global growth slowdown, which had impacted negatively on the country's economy. "In view of these headwinds, the CBN witnessed a significant decline in our Foreign Exchange Reserves from about $42.8 billion in January 2014 to about $26.7 billion as of June 10, 2016. "In terms of inflows, the Bank’s foreign exchange earnings have fallen from about $3.2 billion monthly to current levels of below a billion dollars per month. "Despite these outcomes, the demand for foreign exchange has risen significantly. For example, in 2005 when we had oil prices at about $50 per barrel for an extended period of time our average import bill was

100

The sex ratio of women to 100 men of Djibouti in 2012. Source: Un.org

$300m

The reported amount Larry Ellison paid for the Hawaiian Island of Lanai in 2012. Source: Forbes.com

N148.3 billion per month. In stark contrast, our average import bill for 2015 was about N197.6 billion per month. “Unfortunately, the interplay between reduced FX supply and rising FX demand accounted for a substantial reduction in our foreign exchange reserves," he said. Reiterating that the new rules are designed to improve forex activities, he warned that severe sanctions would be visited on violators. Meanwhile, economists have lauded the new forex policy, describing it as a bold step. Frontline economist, Bismarck Rewane, who is the Managing Director of financial Derivatives, said it was a positive development, which the market has been waiting for. “It is a very good policy because it eliminates speculation. The rate you buy forex in the morning is different from the rate you buy in the afternoon, so there would be no room for speculation, you just buy what you need and move on,” he explained. “It's a pretty important step in the right direction," Exotix economist, Alan Cameron said. "Basically, it amounts to a managed float, which is better than what most people were expecting. It's a pleasant surprise."

"Over the long run, a weaker currency will help Nigeria's economy by encouraging import substitution and attracting foreign investors, who have shunned the country for fear of a devaluation," Capital Economics' John Ashbourne said. "But the move will be painful over the short term. Higher import prices will add to inflation ... This will probably force the authorities to tighten monetary policy." Meanwhile, some international airlines operating to Nigeria welcomed the new forex policy. Some of the operators who spoke to New Telegraph on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the new monetary policy would bring what many considered to be astronomical rise in air fares down and lead to restoration of categories or segments of fares foreign carriers withdrew as a result on uncertainty in foreign exchange policy of the Nigerian government. They said: “The policy, if well implemented, would bring down and stabilise air fare prices.” They noted that investors were holding on to their investment, adding that the country would see to high-level investment by investors once naira is done.

News|national

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Alleged fraud: Dudafa, ex-Jonathan’s aide, remanded over N5.1bn Akeem Nafiu

ustice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday, remanded in prison custody former President Goodluck Jonathan’s special assistant on Domestic Affairs, Warpamo Emmanuel Dudafa over an alleged fraud of N5.1billion. Also, two others, who allegedly perpetrated the

alleged fraud along with Dudafa were hauled into prison by the court. They are Iwejuo Joseph Nna, also known as Taiwo Ebenezer and Olugbenga Isaiah. The remand order was sequel to their arraignment before the court yesterday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 23-count charge, predicated on the alleged fraud. The accused persons,

however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts charge. Consequently, the EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to remand them in prison custody pending trial. However, lawyers to the accused persons, Gboyega Oyewole and Sunday Abumere, asked the court to allow them on bail as applications for bail had been filed on behalf of the accused per-

sons just as prosecution’s copies had been served on them. They urged the court to admit them to bail on liberal terms. Oyedepo, who, while acknowledging the receipt of the bail applications, said he was not opposing the bail applications, sought an extension of time to enable him study and respond to the applications. After listening to the

submissions of both parties, Justice Idris ordered that the two accused persons be remanded in prison custody till today when the court would determine their bail applications. The two accused persons allegedly committed the offence between June 11, 2013, and June 2015. In a charge sheet signed by Rotimi Oyedepo, the EFCC alleged that Dudafa, and Joseph Nna, who also claimed to be Taiwo Ebenezer and Olugbenga Isaiah, had between June 11, 2013 and June 2015, used different companies to fraudu-

lently steal and commit the alleged offences. Some of the companies allegedly used in committing the offences includes; Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited, Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited; Iwejuo Joseph Nna and Pluto LUTO Property and Investment Company Limited; Iwejuo Joseph Nna and Rotate Interlink Services Limited. Others include; Ibejige Services Limited; DE Jakes Fast Food & Restaurant Nigeria Limited; and Ebiwise Resources.

Reps want additional N34bn amnesty programme ..to probe centenary city project Philip Nyam Abuja A flooded street at Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lagos, after a heavy downpour… yesterday

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

he Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has drawn a battle line with management of six banks which recently laid off their workers due to the current economic hardship in the country. The Labour Congress

NLC gives six banks 14-day ultimatum to recall sacked workers in separate letters written to managements of Fidelity Bank, Diamond Bank, First City Monument Bank, First Bank, EcoBank and Skye bank, signed by its Deputy Gen-

eral Secretary, Comrade Chris Uyot, on behalf of its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the banks have up to 14 days, starting from today to recall the sacked workers or face industrial action. In one of the letters, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent, NLC warned that all the affected banks and lodgement we have been their branches nationwide investigating.” The Commission has so far quizzed the following ex-PDP governors: The total population of women Chief Achike Udenwa of Dominica in 2011. (Imo State), Senator Liyel Source: Un.org Imoke (Cross River State), as well as Alhaji Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi (Zamfara State) and Sullivan Chime ormer Minister of of Enugu State. State for Defence, Apart from the former state chief executives, op- Senator Musiliu Obaneratives had interrogated ikoro, has said that the a former Minister of For- raid of his house and eign Affairs, Ambassador confiscation of some of Aminu Wali (Kano), a for- his properties by operamer Minister of State for tives of the Economic Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nuru- and Financial Crimes deen Muhammad (Jigawa Commission (EFCC) State), Ntufam John Okon on Tuesday, was illegal, (Cross River State PDP adding that plans by the Chairman), and retired government to extradite Air Commodore Idongesit him from the United States of America to NiNkanga (Akwa Ibom). Also quizzed were a geria will fail. The former High Comformer Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador missioner of Nigeria to Bashir Yuguda (Zamfara), Ghana, said in a series an ex-Minister of Mines of tweets on his twitter and Steel, Arch. Musa Mu- handle, @Mobanikoro, hammad Sada (Katsina), as that the anti-graft agenwell as a former Minister cy should publicly pubof State for Agriculture, As- lish documents linking abe Asmau Ahmed (Niger). him to any financial ir-

Campaign funds: EFCC quizzes Modu-Sheriff Emmanuel Onani Abuja

peratives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday quizzed a former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff, over the N23 billion said to have been distributed to states, ostensibly to enhance the electoral fortunes of the party during the 2015 presidential election. Sheriff, who was interrogated at the Maiduguri office of the anti-graft agency, yesterday, was released on administrative bail. A source at the Commission, who spoke in confidence with New Telegraph yesterday, said Sheriff honoured an invitation, which was earlier sent to him. He said: “His (Sheriff ’s) invitation was in connection with the N23 billion

34,900

would be closed for business on the expiration of the ultimatum, if the workers were not called back. It lamented that the retrenchments were carried out without recourse to several correspondence, including letters and circulars sent by it to the banks’ managements to retrace their steps in line with best practices in labour relations and laws of the land.

£563m

The total value of Paris SaintGermain in 2016. Source: Goal.com

EFCC can’t extradite me from US – Obanikoro

regularities. Obanikoro said this yesterday following the search of his houses and confiscation of some of his properties by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday. In a series of tweets, Obanikoro said with certainty that since the EFCC did not have any document indicting him for any crime, it would be impossible to extradite him from a civilised system such as the United States of America. He tweeted: “Rumours of Extradition are also lies – false allegations cannot stand up to any Decent Legal Inquiry in a Civilised System such as in the US.”

he House of Representatives yesterday called on the Federal Government to review the amnesty programme for militants in the Niger Delta, even as it sought to secure an additional N35. 824 billion, to fund the programme for reformed militants in the oil rich Niger Delta. It also urged members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to desist from further destruction of oil facilities in the region and embrace negotiation with the federal government. The House took these resolutions following the passage of a motion sponsored by Hon. Ekpenyong Essien Ayi (PDP-Cross River) and 29 others. It advised the Buhari administration to embrace dialogue in tackling the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta as against the confrontational approach. It also urged the government to formulate a sustainable plan to end militancy in the region. To secure the additional funding for the amnesty programme, the House mandated its leadership to interface with the Federal

Government in releasing the sum of N35, 824, 488, 493. 27 shortfall for the Amnesty Office. In his lead motion, Hon. Essien said that militancy in the Niger Delta between 2006 and 2009 reduced the nation’s oil production output by more than a quarter to 1.6 million barrels per day. He reminded his colleagues that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, in reacting to the militancy in the region, introduced the Amnesty Programme in 2009 where about 30, 000 militants laid down their arms and embraced the amnesty programme. Meanwhile, the House has mandated its committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to investigate the alleged irregularities in the execution of Abuja Centenary City Project, with a view to determining whether it was done in line with the standard procedures. The Centenary City project was intended to mark Nigeria’s 100 year of existence as a country since the amalgamation of 1914. It was initiated by former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s administration on January 1, 2014, and expected to be funded through the private sector.

Boko Haram kills 4, abducts 4 women Emmanuel Onani

he Nigerian Army, yesterday, said Boko Haram fighters, who rode on six motorbikes, killed 4 persons in Kutuva village, and abducted four women on Tuesday. The disclosure was made in a statement by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman. According to the statement, “the local vigilante in Kaya mobilized immediately to the village and

trailed the terrorists up to their suspected hideout located somewhere south of Sabon Garin Bale. “The vigilante did their best by engaging the terrorists. Unfortunately, they escaped into the bush. But the courageous vigilantes destroyed the terrorists camp and recovered all hoisted Boko Haram terrorists’ flags, 3 Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle magazines, 2 AK-45 rifle magazines and 24 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition.”

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

METRO

ABIODUN BELLO

...CRIME, CITY WATCH, COURTS

Three pensioners slump as protests ground Imo, Oyo

Steve Uzoechi and Sola Adeyemo

hree pensioners slumped yesterday as pensioners in Owerri, the Imo State capital, protested the non-payment of their 17 months’ arrears. The three pensioners were later revived by officials of a designated ambulance. This came as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday mobilised its members in Oyo State to ground Ibadan, the state capital, for about five hours. The retired workers in Imo State defied the heavy rain and marched on the streets of Owerri to demand the payment of their accumulated arrears of pension totalling about 71 months in some sectors. The protesters, who thronged the Government House roundabout as early as 7am, disrupted traffic in the city’s nerve centre and thereby caused gridlocks on all the major link roads such as Wetheral Road, Douglas Road, Tetlow Road, Royce Road and Bank Road. Addressing journalists, the state Chairman of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Chief Gideon Ezeji, said pensioners in Imo State had never experienced the level of hardship they were facing under the

The protesters in Imo

administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha. Reacting, to the claims of the pensioners, officials of the state House of Assembly said in a phone-in radio programme that part of the problem of the pensioners was the huge pension burden incurred from the previous administration. But in a swift reaction, Ezeji dismissed the assertion as untrue and unfair.

He said: “When Chief Achike Udenwa was governor, pensions were paid though not comprehensively. It was the same for Ikedi Ohakim. When Ohakim left office, pensioners were being owed only two months while local government workers were owed three months. “Today, civil servant pensioners are owed 13-16 months as at May, 2016; local government pensioners, 14-17 months; retired

primary school teachers, 23-26 months; Imo Broadcasting Corporation pensioners, 36 months and Alvan Ikoku College of Education pensioners, 68-71 months; retired permanent secretaries, 16 months. It is indeed outrageous, how senior citizens are treated in Imo State today.” The state Police Commissioner, Taiwo Lakanu, tried in vain to prevail on the protesters to vacate the roads.

UNILAG students: Lagos warns beach operators agos State government yesterday moved to sanitise operations at its many beaches to ensure safety of beach goers. This came on the heels of the incident at the Elegushi Beach which claimed the lives of two

postgraduate students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Adeshola Ogunmefun and Olufunmilayo Odusina. The Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructure Development, Ade Akinsanya (an engineer), warned beach operators to adhere strictly to

Funmi

Shola

Muritala Ayinla

the safety regulations guiding their operations. He said beach operators must henceforth ensure that lifeguards, First Aid medical facilities with qualified hands, as well as wave-warning signal equipment were provided at their various locations. Akinsanya, who described Ogunmefun and Odusina’s death as painful, warned that defaulters of the safety regulations would be appropriately sanctioned. The commissioner said that operators of beaches and other public spaces earmarked for leisure must give priority attention to safety measures which would prevent avoidable mishaps. Adesanya said government had the responsibility of safeguarding the lives and property of all Lagosians and thus was

greatly concerned about avoidable and needless deaths. He said: “There is no doubt that the operators of the beach in question failed to adhere to the standard safety practice. The Lagos State government, through its safety commission, sets safety standards for all sectors involved in socio-economic activities in the state. “Henceforth, Lagos State government shall not hesitate to take appropriate action against operators of beaches and other public places who fail to comply with the state safety regulations. “Once again, on behalf of His Excellency the Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, we express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and pray that God grants them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com 08023938212

Chairman of the Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries, Chief Fabian Agba, bemoaned the impunity of the state government. He said: “We cannot fight corruption without obedience to the constitution and laws of the land unless we want to foster anarchy. The resurgence in militancy and other armed agitations may not be unconnected to the fact that constitutionalism has been set aside by government and the process of law jettisoned.” In Ibadan, the NLC Deputy National Presidents, Comrades Kiri Mohammed Shuaibu and Peter Adeyemi, as well as the state Chairman of the union, Comrade Waheed Olojede, led about 5,000 workers round many major streets of the state capital. They were protesting the alleged planned privatisation of secondary schools as well as failure of the government to pay their sis months’ salary arrears. The union had since Monday last week embarked on an indefinite strike following the arrest and trial of seven of the leaders. The NLC had also demanded the immediate withdrawal of all ‘trumped-up’ charges levelled against the labour leaders. They also insisted that Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration must rescind its decision to “sell-off” public schools. Ajimobi had, however, denied plan to privatise or sell any of the government schools. He explained that the education initiative that precipitated the crises was intended to have interested missionary groups or individuals to partner with the government to manage about 10 per cent of its 631 secondary schools. Not convinced by the governor’s defence, the angry workers, who started converging on the NLC Secretariat at Yidi, Agodi-Gate as early as 7:30am, hit the streets about 10:05am amidst heavy security operatives who guided them to forestall violence. The workers caused gridlock at Yidi area, Agodi bus stop, Oje Market, Beere and Mapo, as many passengers and motorists were forced to trek to their destinations. Many traders and artisans hailed the protesters. They said there was no money in circulation owing to the non-payment of workers’ salaries. The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Workers say no to privatisation of schools,” “Ajimobi is a liar,” “Pay our six months outstanding salaries,” “We condemn selling of public schools,” among others.

METRO

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Cult leader gagged, raped me, says girl, 12

Akinbayo

Muritala Ayinla

12-year-old girl, Rufia, yesterday narrated how she was defiled by a suspected notorious cult member, Tobi Akinbayo aka Scorpion (28), inside her parent’s living room at Dopemu in Agege area of Lagos metropolis. Rufia said Akinbayo, said to be the leader of Awawa Boys (a deadly cult group in Agege area), scaled the fence and forced his way into her mother’s

living room on the fateful day. According to the girl, her mother had gone to the market when the suspect broke into the house. She said Akinbayo gagged her with her scarf and raped her. Rufia added that blood started flowing from her private part after the incident. After narrating her ugly experience to her mother, the mother could not do anything for fear of being attacked by the Awawa Boys. Instead, Rufia was relocated to her late father’s house in Abeokuta, Ogun State, where she was treated. She said: “Tobi Akinbayo aka Scorpion threatened to kill my mother if she reported the incident to any security agency including the police.” Confirming the incident, Rufia’s mother, who identified herself simply as Mrs. Taiwo, said she could not report the case for the safety of the girl. She said: “Truly they raped my daughter but as they threatened to kill me and my other children if I should report to the police, I quickly took her to her late father’s house in Abeokuta for local treat-

ment. Since then she has been staying there for the safety of her life.” The Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit arrested Akinbayo and two other members of Awawa Boys, Muyideen Olayinka and Ibrahim Olaniran, at Aluminum Village, Dopemu, Agege. The task force Chairman, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, who paraded the suspects yesterday, said the activities of the Awawaa Boys had been given his agency and other security agencies a sleepless night. He added that reported cases of rape, armed robbery and killing of innocent citizens by Awawaa Boys had become worrisome. Egbeyemi disclosed that the task force received lots of petitions on activities of the Awawaa Boys. He said he directed the Surveillance Until of the agency to closely monitor their activities in different parts of the state. This, according to him, assisted in the arrest of the suspects at Aluminium Village, Dopemu in Agege.

Ikorodu schoolgirls’ abductor arrested while making love Taiwo Jimoh

olice have arrested another member of the gang suspected to have abducted three girls from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School (BMJSS), a private school in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, in February. Police detectives arrested the 37-year-old suspect, identified as Felix Sylva aka Tradition, last Saturday while making love to his girlfriend. Sylva’s arrest came four months after two suspected kidnappers were apprehended. The suspect, who hails from Edo State, was arrested at Magboro area of Ogun State for participating in the abduction of a Chinese man. Sylva told our correspondent that he had been hiding since March after his accomplices were arrested. He said: “After the abduction of the girls, I have kept a low profile in order not to be arrested by the police. “I was dealing in logwood at Ebute-Meta before I was drafted into the operation of the kidnapping of the students by Elemoni, Million’s younger brother. Million was the leader of a gang of robbers who raided several banks on Admiralty Way, Lekki; Ikorodu in quick succession. He was later arrested after leading bank robberies at Agbara in Ogun State and FESTAC in Lagos. Elemoni said kidnapping business is more lucrative than selling wood and they also promised me N500,000 after the abduction. That attracted me. “I was not familiar with the terrain of Ikorodu creeks. It was Elemoni who said his father used to take them through the canal that leads to the school fence.” Sylva said that a week be-

fore the abduction, the group mapped out the whole area and then pulled down the fence of the school for possible escape after the operation. He added: “We never molested the girls, because it is a taboo to sleep with a woman in the creek. I was given N300,000 from the operation. I have participated in two other operations. “I was told by the police that I had been on their wanted list after the kidnapping of the three girls, but I was arrested for another offence.” The suspect said where he was hiding at Majidun also in Ikorodu, Amos Nuku aka Mosquito approached him to join them in the kidnapping of a Chinese man. Sylva said Nuku promised to give him N200,000 af-

ter collecting ransom from the family members. He said: “I was in Igboolomu creek in Ikorodu when Amos approached me that the Chinese man he was working with was not treating him very well that I should come out and assist him in kidnapping the man. “When police arrested Amos, he mentioned my name. That was why police came to arrest me. I was arrested on June 11, on Saturday, at my house where I was making love with my girlfriend.” The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspect yesterday, at the state Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, said the death of former leader of robbery/ kidnap gang, TK, Sylva took over the leadership

Sylva

of the gang. He said: “We are delighted to inform you that one of the gang of kidnappers that abducted three girls from Babington School has been arrested.” Owoseni said the suspect was behind the kidnapping of a Chinese man and other operations which took place in Arepo, Ikorodu and Epe.

The protesters

Ogun gets 48 hours to pay TASCE lecturers’ 14-month salaries Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

cores of students of the Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu-Ijebu, Ogun State, yesterday took to the streets to protest the non-payment of 14 months’ salaries owed their lecturers. The aggrieved students gave Governor Ibikunle Amosun a 48hour ultimatum to pay the arrears otherwise they would storm the Governor’s Office, OkeMosan, Abeokuta. They spoke during a peaceful protest to the secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abeokuta, the state capital. Led by the state Chairman of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Dotun Opaleye, the students lamented the negative effects the non-payment of their lecturers’ salaries have had on their education. They said many of their lecturers had turned to menial jobs, including selling water melon and other fruits,

City Briefs

‘Expose criminals operating in Oshodi’ Ebute Faith

zedigbo of Oshodi in Oshodi Local Government Area of Lagos State, Eze Reuben Ibekama, has called on Igbo youths residing and trading at Oshodi to do everything within their power to expose criminals operating in their environs. Ibekama also urged them to partner with the Lagos State Gover nor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to curb crime in the area. The Igbo leader, who was recently installed as the Ezedigbo of Oshodi, said that in complement-

ing Ambode’s security programme, he met with Igbo youths last weekend at his palace where they agreed to not only cooperate and partner with the governor, but also promised to flush out criminals operating in Oshodi and its environs. He said the donation of two helicopters, patrol vehicles and communication gadgets to the police and other security agencies in the state by Ambode, showed that the governor was serious about the security and welfare of Lagos residents. The Igbo leader called on the youth to be God-

fearing, hardworking and be courageous enough to expose criminals operating in Oshodi. He said: “Igbo are known to be hardworking people. They are never lazy or want to remain idle. I am using this opportunity to appeal to the youth, who are leaders of tomorrow and pride of Igbo nation to shun crime and equally expose criminals and hoodlums operating in Oshodi. I have a feeling that Ambode has a good package for not only Igbo youths, but other youths from different parts of the country, resident in Lagos.”

to raise money to keep body and soul together. Opaleye noted that all appeals made to the concerned authorities to pay TASCE staff had fallen on deaf ears. According to him, contrary to the recent statement by the governor that the college had 3,000 lecturers and 1,500 students, the number of both academic and non-academic staff of the college is actually 384. He said: “We have about 3,000 students. We are here to give the government an ultimatum. Ogun State is known for education and we are the first tertiary institution in the state. We are giving the state government 48 hours to address this issue or else we are going to storm and occupy the Governor’s Office and we will close it down till our demands are met on the salaries of our lecturers.” Also speaking, the Student Union President of TASCE, Dairo Ibrahim, said students of the institution were suffering owing to pathetic situation of their lecturers.

Abducted Kogi judge regains freedom bductors have freed Justice IsiA yaka Momoh-Jimoh Usman of the Kogi State Customary Court of

Appeal. A statement issued in Lokoja yesterday by the Public Relations Officer of the state Ministry of Justice, Mr Saeed Saqeeb, said the judge was released in Okene area about 7p.m. on Tuesday. Usman was returning to Lokoja when he was kidnapped at gunpoint on Itakpe-Okene Road on Sunday. His police orderly, Corporal Abubakar Aba, was shot dead by the abductors while his driver was also shot several times, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). “The judge has since reunited with his family members,’’ Saqeeb said in the statement.

NEWS | national

thursday, june 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Campaign funds: Fani-Kayode seeks bail in court

Tunde Oyesina Abuja

bout 24 hours after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a 17-count charge against the former Minister of Aviation and Director of Publicity of Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi FaniKayode, before a Federal High Court sitting Abuja, the former minister has asked the court to admit him to bail. In the motion for bail filed through his counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, FaniKayode told the court that he will be ready and willing to provide a responsible surety as may be required by the court as a condition for the grant of

his application. Raji further argued that under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), bail is more relaxed as all offences are bailable "and in the class of offences charged, it is the prosecution that has a burden to show why bail should be refused. "More so under the Act, all offences can be compounded by plea bargain. So, it is not about imprisonment any longer." He further argued that one of the co-accused in the charge, a former Minister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman, who allegedly received the money from government and paid FaniKayode, wrote that she did not know the money was from government. He, however, asked how will Fani-Kayode know?" The EFCC had slammed

a 17-count charge bothering on fraud and money laundering on Fani-Kayode and Usman. Fani-Kayode was arrested for allegedly receiving N840 million during the presidential campaign of former President Goodluck Jonathan. In the motion dated June 15, 2016, Raji argued that the offences with which his client was charged are bailable offences. "The Defendant/Applicant has never been convicted of any offence

in Nigeria or any other jurisdiction. By Section 36 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Defendant/Applicant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. "The reputation and past credible record of the Defendant/Applicant attest to the fact that he will not jump bail if he is granted same. The Defendant/ Applicant will not interfere with the investigation or further investigation of the charges preferred

against him. "The Defendant/Applicant is willing to always and punctually attend his trial. "The Defendant/Applicant is ready to provide a responsible surety as may be required by this honourable court as a condition for the grant of this application." In the affidavit in support of the motion for bail, deposed to by the applicants wife, Precious Chikwendu Fani-Kayode, she averred that the applicant was interrogated

L-R: Student of the College, Halimat Ahmadu; Director of Basic Education Services, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Baiyewu Yetunde; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, represented by a Deputy Director in the Ministry, Mr Kassim Mufutau; Principal of Caleb International College, Magodo, Mrs Linda Olumese and Master Adebisi Adeyanju, during the presentation of Lagos State Best Private Secondary School Award 2015, in Lagos

CONFIRMATION/change OF NAME

Ogundele

I, formerly known and addressed as Ogundele Nurudeen Segun, now wish to be known and addressed as Ogundele Hammed Nurudeen. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Okwu

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Philips Chika Vivian now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Okwu Chika Vivian. All former documents remain valid. General public note.

James

I formerly known as Ikwuka Barnabas Chukwuebuka now wish to be known and addressed as James Barnabas Chukwuebuka. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Okwubunka

I, formerly known and addressed as Nwonu Juliet Ukamaka now wish to be known and addressed as Okwubunka Juliet Ukamaka. All former documents remain valid. Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), Ecobank Plc, other banks and the general public should take note.

Nkanta

I, formerly known and addressed as Asuquo Mfon Okon now wish to be known and addressed as Nkanta Inibehe Emmanuel. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Nasiru

I, formerly known and addressed as Shaibu Musah now wish to be known and addressed as Nasiru Musah. All former documents remain valid. Unity bank Plc, UBA Plc and the general public should please take note.

Sunday

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Vizor Helen now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Helen Sunday. All former documents remain valid. FCMB Plc and the general public should please take note.

Ferdinand

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okechukwu Recheal now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ferdinand Recheal. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Kelvin

I, formerly known and addressed as Eze Onyedikachi now wish to be known and addressed as Eze Onyedikachi Kelvin. All former documents remain valid. Fidelity bank Plc, WAEC Office and the general public should take note.

Onyemaizu

I, formerly known and addressed as Onyebuchi Franklyn Bobby now wish to be known and addressed as Onyemaizu Onyebuchi Franklyn Bobby. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Uchey

I, formerly known and addressed as Nwabugo Evan Uchechukwu now wish to be known and addressed as Nwabugo Evan Uchey. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Blessing

I, formerly known and addressed as Glory Bassey Okon now wish to be known and addressed as Blessing Bassey Okon. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

Okoligwe

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Anwuka Rosita Chidimma now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okoligwe Rosita Chidimma Anwuka. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

Sese

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olali Ngonabo Jennifer now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sese Ngonabo Jennifer. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Mamman

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rabiat Mohammed now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rabiet Suleiman Mamman. All former documents remain valid. First bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Udoh

I, formerly known and addressed as Love Victor Akpan now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Love Victor Udoh. All former documents remain valid. Diamond bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Lakpa

I, formerly known and addressed as Victoria .M. Sarki now wish to be known and addressed as Aisha Mohammed Lakpa. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and the general public should please take note.

Omeje

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugwuja Kelechi Carol now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Omeje Kelechi Carol. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

by the Respondent’s agent (EFCC), the Peoples Democratic Party's Campaign Funds for the 2015 Presidential Election in respect of which he was appointed the Director of Publicity for the Presidential Campaign Organisation (PCO) by President Goodluck Jonathan. His wife said in the affidavit; "He told them all he knew about the funding of the PDP campaign, and that, as the Director of Publicity, no money was paid into his account from any government coffers.

Stress during pregnancy could lead to health issues in mothers

Appolonia Adeyemi and Eleazar Nwanti

ow birth weight or stress during pregnancy can lead to long-term health problems in women. This is the finding of a new study published in ‘The Journal of Physiology.’ The study found that stress during pregnancy leads to long-term health issues in mothers, affects adrenal, metabolic and cardio-renal health after pregnancy. The metabolic system is comprised of several

organs, hormones and enzymes that work together to digest, absorb, process, transport and excrete the nutrients that are essential to life. When the metabolic system becomes faulty, the human metabolic health is affected. It is the difference between wellness and illness. Reacting to the finding, Jean Ni Cheong, of the University of Melbourne and a PhD student, said it was known that being born of low birth weight or experiencing stress during pregnancy increased the risks of pregnancy complications.

She said: "We know that women born with a low birth weight do not adapt as well to pregnancy and have higher risks of developing various complications, and experiencing stress can also induce these complications," Cheong said. "But little is understood about how experiencing stress during pregnancy and having been born with a low birth weight, affect mothers for the rest of their lives." Previous research has shown that a low maternal birth weight and exposure to stress are very common during pregnancy and can

lead to poor health outcomes in children. Cheong said her research explored what these could also mean to the health of a mother post-pregnancy. The researchers used a rat model, where restricting oxygen, nutrient and blood supply during pregnancy led to offspring being born with a low birth weight. When the low birth weight female rats subsequently became pregnant, researchers induced stress through common measurements performed during human pregnancy.

Assets declaration: Saraki seeks disqualification of CCT chairman Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

he ongoing trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over anticipatory/ false declaration of assets was yesterday stalled due to fresh application filed by Saraki seeking to disqualify the tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar. The tribunal had however adjourned till June 21 for hearing of the fresh application. In the fresh application, Saraki is alleging Umar of bias following a remark made by the tribunal chairman at the last proceedings on June 7, while warning the de-

fense against delay tactics. Umar had then said that “no matter the delay tactics used by Saraki's lawyer, it will not reduce the consequence of what Saraki will meet at the end of the trial.” In the fresh application filed through his counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), Saraki alleged that Umar’s statement would prejudice the outcome of the trial. When the matter came up yesterday, Agabi informed the tribunal of the motion which he said had yet to be opposed by the prosecution. According to him, “We have a motion before your lordship. No processes opposing the motion have been served." Responding, prosecu-

tion counsel, Pius Akuta, who stood in for Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) said the prosecution had some moments before the tribunal started sitting, filed its opposition to the motion. He said despite that, the business of the day was for further crossexamination of the first prosecution witness, Mr. Michael Wetkas, and not for the hearing of the motion. Akuta said: “The business of today actually is continuation of crossexamination. “We have filed our response to the motion this morning. We were served with this process two days ago about 6p.m. Yesterday, we were served with further affidavit.

“To that extent, we have instruction from the lead counsel (Jacobs) to proceed with the crossexamination. “We are so sorry to inform the tribunal that the lead counsel received two hearing notices from the Court of Appeal yesterday. As we speak now he is before the Court of Appeal. “So, we are opposing the application. The fact that they have filed a motion cannot stop the business of the day.” Akuta further cited section 396(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act to corroborate his contention that the application could be heard anytime and thus should not be allowed to stall the business of the day.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Interview I don’t see PDP existing by 2019 – Ajomale

Politics Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), a human rights activist, speaks on state of the nation, the Muhammadu Buhari administration and crisis in the Niger Delta, among other issues. TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE reports

Governance Ambode, Assembly on the same page – Yishawu

FELIX NWANERI

GROUP PoLITICAL EDITOR nwanerif@yahoo.com

War against corruption must be holistic – Ozekhome

ing for services not rendered. And when you talk as I am critiquing now and proffering solutions as to how to move Nigeria forward; it is taken as if you are committing treason and as if you are anti-government, whereas the greatest attribute of democracy is plurality of voices and ideas; democratic ethos that enable us to widen, deepen and strengthen democracy as government of the people for the people and by the people.

How would you assess the state of the nation viz-a-vis the change the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) promised the people? There are different types of change; we have positive and negative changes. So far, what I am seeing is negative change. Why did you say so? It is visible from every angle. Nigeria is not working. The naira is dancing on a daily basis. Even if you have your money, you cannot transfer it abroad. Industries are relocating because even if they make money, they cannot transfer their money. Airlines are relocating. There is insecurity. Even though Boko Haram has been downgraded, it has been substituted with Fulani herdsmen, the Niger Delta Avengers and Independent People of Biafra (IPOB). So, the country is in state of flux. There is no electricity yet we are being forced to pay more tariff for none available electricity. People are being detained at will, forced to pay back some money and even when they say ‘no, we haven’t taken any money.’ They are held until they are forced to pay. That is not the ideal democracy as propounded by Abraham Lincoln in his 1783 declaration, when he declared that democracy is government of the people for the people and by the people. That textbook definition of democracy still remains true as it is today. So, the government needs to allow people to buy into their programmes. Once you don’t get people to buy into your programmes, then you will continue to face too many battles on too many fronts. That is not good for government. So, what the government needs to do is to be more aggregating. The government needs to have a more unified country,

Ozekhome

not a factionalised country. The suspicion and division in Nigeria today is greater than it ever was. There are religious crisis, ethnic crisis, mutual disrespect, exclusiveness instead of inclusiveness. So, I think the president should retool and re-engineer his kitchen cabinet and current advisers. They are not doing him any good or doing the country and good at all and Nigeria is really on the verge of precipice. But because God is always a Nigerian, we have always survived it but I do not want us to over tempt God. God bless Nigeria, a very great country. Some people have attributed corruption as the basic problem of Nigeria. In that contest, how would you assess President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war? It depends on what you mean by fighting corruption. You don’t fight corruption superficially as he is doing now. There is difference between recovery of loots from corrupt politicians and fighting corruption fundamentally as a national disease. If your wall is cracking, you do not go and put cement on the cracks. What you do is to dig into the ground, basket it and put iron rods. If the tree in your compound is springing very bitter roots that are breaking your house, you do not go to the tree and cut off the branches, it will spring other branches later. What you do is to go to the root of that tree and uproot it. So, in fighting corruption, we need a serious re-orientation of our national ethos and value system be-

Corruption remains gargantuan and unshaking because we have not dealt a death blow to it

cause there is nothing saying that those who are there now are not looting more than those that they succeeded. We have only scratched some little surfaces. We scratched the surfaces under Olusegun Obasanjo, the Pandora Box would be more open than what we are seeing today and some people will die out of heart attack. Corruption remains gargantuan and unshaking because we have not dealt a death blow to it. And in fighting corruption, the president should do it holistically. A lot of allegations have been made against some people who are very close to him. Let him give us an example by arraigning one of them in a court of competent jurisdiction, so that the person will defend himself. It is only when this is done that people will know that he means business. But when you have tons and tons of petitions written against people, some of them your ministers and you are not saying a word, people will not buy into what you are doing. The greatest deficit that the corruption war suffers is the fact that the people are not buying into it. It may be what we call a vocal minority that you are hearing talking. Call 20 people and ask them their feelings about the government, they will tell you ‘na fight against corruption we go chop. Na recovery of loots we go chop’ because the masses suffering. You increased fuel price when you have not increased the basic salary of N18,000, which is not actually a non living wage. You increased tariff on electricity but there is no light and we are pay-

What is your take on the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region? The issue is not about Niger Delta Avengers. Before Niger Delta Avengers there was MEND. Before MEND there was Ken Saro Wiwa and Ogoni, and before Ken Saro Wiwa and Ogoni, we also had Adaka Boro. So, even after Niger Delta Avengers there would be another issue. At the end of the day, what we are talking is about true fiscal federalism. When we operate it, you will see that states will no longer go to Abuja at the end of every month to collect peanut from the masters table. Every state in Nigeria has enough resources to care of its own and then pay tax to the Federal Government. Up to January 15, 1966, each region kept 50 per cent of revenue from its natural resources. They paid 25 per cent tax to Federal Government and 25 per cent was made available for all the regions to share including the region that had already taken 50 per cent. So, we need to go back to history to that true fiscal federalism, where each state can have its own constitution, police force and do things according to its pace. You don’t force a federation, it is built on equity, social justice, egalitarianism and mutual respect. We are too great country to suffer what we are suffering today. What is the way out the Niger Delta crisis? The way out is to engage them at a round table conference; it is to talk to them because sweet words are powerful than the entire military force in the world. Because even after the treaty signed by countries after the First World War in 1918, the Second World War still broke out in 1945 and we had to set up the United Nations, which replaced the League of Nations so as to unify the world because the fact that many countries were destroyed did not bring about justice and that is why even the world itself is in tumour. Every war has always been settled at a round table conference, so my advice to President Buhari is that he should not listen to the hawks; he should listen to the ducks, who believe in peace and tranquillity and engage them in talks.

POLITICS

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Masari to chair Edo APC guber primaries committee Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

here are strong indications that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have appointed the governor of Katsina State and former Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari, to chair the committee for the conduct of the party’s primaries for the Edo State governorship election billed for this Saturday. Masari, who was at

the APC national secretariat in Abuja yesterday, met respectively with the party’s National Chairman, Chief John OdigieOyegun and National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso under closed door. However, Isunazo gave indications that the governor would chair the committee. The governor, who was approached by journalists to know his mission at the national secretariat of the party, declined but promised to address the media today which coincides with the inauguration of the committee to conduct the governorship

primary. The appointment of Governor Masari was in line with the tradition of the ruling party in using sitting governors as chairmen of state primaries with Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and his Edo State counterpart, Adams Oshiomhole for the Kogi and Bayelsa states APC pri-

maries. A source at the party’s secretariat revealed that the choice of Masari was in line with the determination of the party’s national leadership to ensure a free, fair and credible primary following the allegation by some of the aspirants that Governor Oshiomhole has anointed a particular

candidate. The source said: “What other confirmation do you need with his presence at the secretariat today and the wide consultations he made with almost every member of the national leadership of the party. The committee to conduct the primary will be inaugurated Thursday (today) ahead of the pri-

mary this weekend and he has promised to talk to the media probably after the inauguration. “Don’t also forget that the national leadership need a credible person to conduct the primary due to the allegations from other aspirants about the governor anointing and favouring a particular candidate.”

PDP clears Ize-Iyamu, two others as Onaiwu withdraws Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

he National Caretaker Screening Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deployed to Edo State for the forthcoming governorship primaries of the party, yesterday, cleared three governorship aspirants to contest the election. One of the party’s governorship aspirants and coordinator of the PDP Governors Forum, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu, was however conspicuously absent at the screening exercise. The PDP gubernatorial primary is scheduled for Monday, June 20. Amongst those cleared by the committee include Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Hon. Matthew Uduoriyekemwen and Solomon Edebiri. The trio were given a clean bill of health after they were screened yesterday at the party’s secretariat in Benin the state capital. The committee has former Minister of Education, Prof Tunde Adeniran as chairman; Senator Joshua Lidani as secretary, George Abiye Sekibo, Ndubuisi Nwigwe and Hon. Farouk Yahaya as members. The committee members had before the clearance held a closed door interactive session with the aspirants which lasted for about two hours. One of the aspirants, Uduoriyekemwen, told newsmen shortly after he was screened that the exercise was thorough. He noted that they were asked questions on their educational qualifications, loyalty and commitment to the PDP, resourcefulness and support, leadership qualities, political structure, and others.

The committee’s chairman, Prof. Adeniran, also told newsmen that the three aspirants passed the screening exercise as they met all the conditions set for the purpose. According to him, “three of the governorship aspirants were screened one after the other and we found them very worthy.” He added: “They have met the relevant criteria and conditions stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and of course, the requirements of the Independent National Electoral Commission. “The screening exercise has been undertaken, it was very thorough and we are indeed very proud as a party that we have a very wonderful and patriotic Nigerians and committed party leaders from Edo State, who have shown interest in vying for the candidacy of our great party.” He disclosed that the aspirants have agreeed to work with whoever emerges as the party’s standard bearer during the June 20 primary election. Speaking on the crisis over the national leadership of the PDP and the smooth conduct of the primary in Edo State, Prof. Adeniran said some people are being used to create crisis in the party, adding that “PDP will overcome the matter and will not allow those being sponsored to have their way.” He also spoke on alleged imposition of candidates, pointing out that the PDP has learnt lessons from the outcome of the 2015 general elections, insisting that due process would be followed and a level playing field provided for all the aspirants.

Oshiomhole

Ize-Iyamu

Obaseki

930 delegates endorse Obaseki ahead of primaries Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

Edo DECIDES

ith three days to the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, a total of 930 delegates expected to vote at the election, yesterday endorsed a frontline contender in the race, Mr. Godwin Obaseki as the sole candidate of the party. The delegates under the aegis of Edo in Safe Hands and led by the state Commissioner for Works, Barr. Osarodion Ogie, reached the decision yesterday at a rally held at the Oba Akenzua Cultural

Centre, Benin City. The latest development had stirred tension within the camp of other governorship aspirants ahead of the contest on Saturday. Barr. Dickson Osaretin moved the motion for the endorsement after the entire delegates had signed

their respective signatures. The delegates cut across the 192 wards, 18 local government councils and three senatorial districts of the state. Other leaders of the group present include the member representing Etsako Federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Philip Shuaibu and members of the state executive council. Chairman of the group, Washington Osifo, said they acknowledged the fact that all the aspirants contesting on the APC platform are eminently qualified but they believe Obaseki has the best credentials to continue the good works of the Gover-

nor Adams Oshiomholeled administration. He said: “At at a time like this, taking into cognizance the dwindling resources accruing to our dear state, we need a seasoned economist, manager, and technocrat with proven economic managerial ability coupled with the required political exposure to effectively steer the ship of our dear state, so as to sustain, improve and build on the legacies of Comrade Oshiomhole’s administration. “So, we appeal to other delegates to the Edo State 2016 APC governorship primaries to embrace, support and vote our adopted aspirant, Godwin Obaseki.”

Group roots for Imansuagbon Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

social-cultural group in Edo Central Senatorial District, Esan Renaissance, has stressed the need for the people of the area to produce and project a consensus candidate from the area. Coordinator of the body, Comrade Emmanuel Okoruwa, said the only opportunity for the Esan nation to produce the next governor of the state in the September 10 governorship election was for the zone to queue behind Barr. Ken Imansuagbon, who according to him,

stands tall to clinch the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and has been consistent and in the fore-front of the campaign to correct the political imbalance in the state. About five aspirant from the Esan nation are contesting for the APC governoship primaries. They include Imasnsuagbon, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, Comrade Peter Esele, Mr Austine Emuan and the party’s only female aspirant, Mrs Tina Agbarha. Rising from an emergency meeting in Benin, the group said after a thorough analysis of the other aspirants in the governorship race and acknowledg-

ing the fact that five of them have what it takes to be a good governor, it came to the conclusion that is practically impossible for all of them to be governor at the same time. It therefore called on the other aspirants to support the choice of Imansuagbon in order to boost the chance of the marginalised district to make impact in the September 10 governorship election. A communique issued by the group, read in part: “Our immediate focus which is Esan person for Edo State governor 2016 was exhaustively discussed during the meeting. We observed that at

least five persons from Esan are vying for the governorship seat on different party platforms. “We recalled that Edo State is made up of three senatorial districts, Edo North, Edo Central and Edo South. That Edo North and Edo South senatorial districts have each done years as governor in the last 16 years. “That its now the turn of Edo Central to produce the next governor. That if Esan Central really want to realise its desire of Esan person for governor, she must first put her house in order to be able to appeal and solicit for votes from the good people of Edo State.”

POLITICS \ INTERVIEW

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Otunba Henry Ajomale is the chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE, the former Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties speaks on the Muhammadu Buhari administration, anticorruption war, 2019 general elections, among other issues What is your assessment of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in the last one year? If Nigerians had not voted for us at the time they voted for us, Nigeria would have been bankrupt by now and there would have been crisis because the economy could not be managed. It is clear that we were been bamboozled by the former Minister of Finance, who kept lying to Nigerians that the economy was buoyant, good and best in Africa. But experience has shown clearly that past governments had not been sincere to Nigerians. And with what is going on now, if Nigeria did not come back to a new foundation; economic and social foundation and other things, Nigeria would have collapsed long time ago. The saviour is the fact that a government was pushed away and a new government was formed. Honestly to me, I know that whatever President Muhammadu Buhari is doing now is for the future of Nigeria. And I believe that having a little patient more for this government, Nigeria would be an Eldorado in near future. We have seen the massive looting of the economy of this country. We have seen how people mismanaged money that should have been used for development and converted public funds to private pockets. We have seen how people are wicked and only think about their pockets without thinking of this country. All these are coming out now and if we don’t clean up the rot that has been in existence in Nigeria for the past 16 years, there is no way we can lay a good foundation. But some Nigerians are of the view that the incumbent government has made things tougher as the common man can hardly live comfortably... It was not created by the new government rather the government is trying to do what it can to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians. You can’t do anything without Nigeria having the revenue and enough foreign exchange to be able to do what we expect the government to do. If the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had won the last presidential election, things would have been worse than what we have now. If PDP had won the election, the economy would have been worse and there is no way we couldn’t have been in trouble by now. Why do you think so?

I don’t see PDP existing by 2019 – Ajomale could not be patched again.

Ajomale

Because there won’t have been any money and nobody would have accounted for all the money looted. There won’t have been returns from the looters to develop the economy of this country again. They would have gone free, and what would have happened to the common man. It was from the Goodluck Jonathan era that government could not pay the salaries of workers but it would have been worse than that.

There is economic restructuring going on now and that is the only way we can get enough foreign exchange. Once the agricultural and the solid minerals sectors are booming to complement whatever we are getting from oil now, I have the feeling that Nigeria would be back to where she was before in the next two years if not better than what Nigeria used to be because we would have learnt our lessons.

But some people believe what is important to Nigerians is more than the fight against corruption as what they are witnessing today is not the change All Progressives Congress (APC) government promised. They need to be patient because Rome was not build in a day. We are building a new structure because Nigeria, economically has been destroyed by the past government. The money they should have used for development was diverted into private pockets. The money they should have used for the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Onitsha-Enugu road was embezzled and the present government is going to start with those projects again. If the past government had done those roads, would there be need for incumbent government to spend money on them again? That money would have been converted to another thing, which would have been of benefit to Nigerians. What did past governments do with all the money earmarked for capital projects? Did they carry out the capital projects? What happened to the money? Nigeria doesn’t just have money and that is why the present government is doing its best to recover all the stolen money.

Why the APC is trying to consolidate power, the PDP is preparing to send it packing in 2019. Do you see the opposition party achieving this? Honestly, I don’t see PDP existing by 2019. I don’t see it at all because by that time all the inadequacies of the PDP would have been exposed. They are still fighting themselves over a little money that was kept somewhere. By that time, they would have been exposed and Nigerians would be thanking God that APC came at the time it came. That is why this government is doing everything to cushion the effect of PDP inefficiency on the poor people of this country. In Lagos, salaries are being paid as and when due and in some other states. But a lot of states could not pay until the Federal Government came to their rescue. Can we continue like that? We must look inward, restrategise and restructure the economy of this country for us to move forward. It has happened in Britain, United States, France and most of the developed countries have experienced depression before. It is not new; we are just going through it. We should have gone through it more than four years ago but they have been patching things until it

Every Nigerian knows that we are in trouble, but it was not the creation of the APC

Apart from the PDP going through leadership challenge at the moment, there is also rancour among APC leaders over control of the party’s structure... If people had been in opposition as long as we had been for 16 years and they come in with others who doesn’t seem to understand the ideology and what we stood for, certainly there would be some misgivings at the beginning. We have a manifesto that all of us wrote and sooner or later they will key into it. But those who are still carrying the idea of the PDP are part of us and there is no way overnight that they can forget that this is a new regime; a new beginning. It is not what they used to enjoy or benefit when they were there. Anybody that steals now knows what is going to happen. But with impunity, they looted Nigeria’s treasury money. You know that if you steal now, you will go to jail. There is no doubt about it. But the PDP had never done that. The only time they caught some people was during the banking reform and they did plea bargaining and collected money from some people and let them free. That should not have been. They should have created a precedent that people will learn from. That is what this government is all about. You cannot steal people’s money and get away with it. And once we can establish that, you will see what will happen in the next two years in this country. This country would have been turned around and be a proper and disciplined society, which we lacked during the PDP days. Don’t you foresee some members in APC dumping the party to pitch tent with the PDP or form another party ahead of 2019 general elections? The constitution is very clear; there is freedom of association. So, they have the right to do that. Whether the people will believe in them is a different thing. Everybody has the right to form an association and right to go anywhere they want but the fact still remains that you will consider one or two things before you decide to go and join any association. As we are going now, I don’t see why people will like to vote for any other party in the next elections than the APC. So you are confident that no party can defeat APC in 2019? I don’t think so and I don’t belief so because we are going the right way. Nigerians should be patient. We were not in government for 16 years; we were only in government for one year. We need the cooperation of Nigerians and patience to see where this government is going. In the next one year, they can decide whether they are going to continue to support this government or to vote for another party. To us, we have the confidence that we are doing CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

POLITICS \ INTERVIEW

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Ayade’s govt lacks depth – Bassey Former Security Adviser to the Cross River State government during the Liyel Imoke administration, Mr. Rekpene Bassey, in this interview with Clement James, speaks on the intrigues that characterised the 2015 elections in the state. Excerpts:

One year since you left office, what can you say about the security situation in the state now? Maybe I will do a general overview instead of talking about the state of security. Let me say a thing or two about my opinion on the state of affairs in Cross River State before delving into the state of affairs as regards to the security situation. I want to say that the way things are in the state today, for all intents and purposes, everybody who is a resident in Cross River State should be very concerned. Concerned because as I see it, the state appears to be run presently on the spur of momentary sentiment and excitement and it appears as if there is lack of depth in the way things are done and this can affect several other areas. And so, if we dovetail into the security area, I think it calls for concern. But that’s just one area of it. Now, you notice that the roads are in a very sorry state, yet we are hoping that we will have a super highway. You want to think whether that is feasible in the current economic circumstances. It would have made sense if travellers on the CalabarIkom-Ogoja road or Calabar-Uyo travel on safe roads. So, these are things that give people immediate concern apart from the fact that you see an impending epidemic on account of our dirty streets, something which in the past was not like that. And talking about security, it is in a very sorry state because the crime wave has increased. Of course, you have no society where crime does not exist, but when kidnapping becomes a daily affair, when robbery is on the increase, when burglary becomes so rampant, people are bound to be concerned. But all that could be a reflection of so many things. It is also possible that we are where are today because security has been politicized. I understand that there has hardly been any State Security Council meeting in the past one year, so what do you expect? And that is the highest security body in the state and it

There was so much impunity in PDP, I must say. In my local government for example, a candidate who had been accepted for the chairmanship of the council, and who the political leaders had agreed and accepted, was changed overnight and they brought two young women who had no track record of experience, no political experience, no administrative experience, no experience of any kind, and saddled them with a local government area like Abi, where the then governor comes from. In fact, it was at that point that I said to myself, I don’t think I belong here. That is not to say that I decamped, no, I didn’t. I still remained loyal and faithful to my boss, the governor, doing that which I should do. But I knew two years before time that the way PDP was going, it was going to be extremely difficult for the party to win the 2015 elections and I predicted it long ago that PDP would not win the Presidential election and I am hardly surprised that it came to pass.

Bassey

is often presided over by the governor. So, if there is no meeting to articulate solutions to security matters, then you are bound to have such challenges. Could you explain what you mean by the state being governed on the spur of excitement? What I mean is that there appears to be lack of depth in the act of governance and this is bound to affect all aspects of the socio-economic and political life of the state. For instance, I came back here to hear something like governor and co-governor and this is the only state in Nigeria where you have that. And if Cross River is the only state where you have a governor and co-governor, it makes it look as if the state is ruled like a dynasty, which is sad and that can affect the entire system in several ways. Of course, there are consequences when there is lack of depth in governance and when it is on the spur of sentiment and emotions. Look, governance is a science, there are due processes that must be followed to attain and achieve certain results. If that is not there, then there is a problem. Many people noticed that while you were still serving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government in the state, your sympathy was with Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) How true was that? I think now that I am not in government, I am in a position to talk about this a lot more freely. By nature, I hate impunity and I hate manipulation. It was not difficult to perceive, conjecture

The state appears to be run presently on the spur of momentary sentiment and excitement

and predict that then PresidentGoodluck Jonathan was not going to win the election. For example, one day in the Executive Council, I raised my hand and the governor then, Senator Liyel imoke recognised me. I said; ‘Your Excellency, this affords me an opportunity to say what I want to say because you are close to the President. But Your Excellency, I personally take exception to the way your campaign is going on. We watch this on television.’ I never personally had the opportunity to participate in campaigns outside the state where I would have had the privilege of coordinating the security of the campaigns. But I made it clear that PDP campaign was not only defensive but abusive. It was as if PDP was in the opposition and APC was the party in power, whereas the reverse was the case. So, why deal with sentiment and not issues? And this position took the governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, close to two hours to lecture the Executive Council on why PDP had adopted that method of campaign. After an exhaustive lecture on why they had chosen that strategy, he looked my way, and as if he read my body language, and asked if I was satisfied with the answer, and I told him: ‘Your Excellency, I am sorry, there is a lot more to do.’ But beyond that, everyone else who knew me, because of my nature as a dispassionate person, because if it means standing on the red line for the truth, I will do so. I knew that I believed in the change agenda. I just thought that PDP had had her way for 16 years and it was time to have a change, time to try someone new.

You talked about impunity while the PDP was in power. Did you give Senator Imoke your candid advice on this matter? Of course, I did. I had the privilege of running an office which was like the hub of security intelligence in the state. We had the state Security Council meeting and I hardly briefed the governor orally. For the most part, I make sure I sent memos to him almost on a daily basis about the things that were going on, including profiling all the governorship candidates. Some of those reports, I gave to him hand to hand, one on one. I can tell you that all the governorship candidates were duly profiled and this profiled report was authored by me and handed over to the governor one on one. And the governor had said that he read the report over and over again. There couldn’t be any better way of advising the governor. But I can say that at some point, the governor was under so much political pressure that he lost focus on the political transition baton as to who to hand over to. I think so, and that’s the humanity in the whole thing but some of these pressures may have been diabolical. What were your feelings when Senator Ben Ayade eventually emerged the PDP candidate? First and foremost, I could only see it as divine providence because there were quite a number of contestants and if among the lot he emerged, it could only be divine providence. I know that nothing happens without the knowledge of God, so I took it in my strides. But seriously, I had made my assessment of him in my profiled report to the former governor and he is not any different from the content of that report. But I can’t give you the gist of that report because it will be tantamount to revealing its content. But suffice it say that his style is not different from the content of that report.

POLITICS

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Hon. Gbolahan Olusegun Yishawu represents Eti Osa Constituency 2 in the Lagos State House of Assembly. In this interview with WALE ELEGBEDE, the Chairman, House Committee on Water Front Infrastructure, speaks on the activities of the 8th Assembly in the state and the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration

Ambode, Assembly on the same page – Yishawu

come back to discuss. Most times, we have executive sessions, where we discuss issues and we try to have cordial relationship for the good of the state. But, this does not negate the principle of checks and balances, when necessary. There is this insinuation that the eight PDP members in the House have been caged or intimidated, which is why they don't play their role as oppositions? There is no caging anywhere. I remember that during the presentation of Rape Shield Bill, one of the members of the opposition described the provisions there as double jeopardy, but this does not apply to the Bill. Double Jeopardy is when someone is being punished twice for the same crime. It is about two criminal charges for an offence, but when you have a criminal case and civil or administrative case, they are two different things. You could be tried for criminal offence and civil offence, but I don't agree with him though he is a lawyer.

Its been five years since you got to the Assembly, how has it been? I represent the people of Eti Osa Constituency that comprises Ikoyi/Obalende and part of Victoria Island, and we are striving hard to represent them well in the Lagos State House of Assembly. Can you highlight some of the things you have done for the people in the five years that you have been here? The job of a lawmaker is representation and lawmaking. In lawmaking, we have made several laws collectively in the House of assembly and personally, I have sponsored some laws such as the Non-Smoking Law and the one that talks about proper oversighting of MDAs. I have come up with several motions that were eventually implemented by the government. One of your landmark bills is Rape Shield Bill, and considering the way rape is being perpetrated in our society, why are you taking this up? The Rape Shield Bill would strengthen the Rape Law, though my colleagues are looking at just amending the Rape Law rather than having a fresh law. But more importantly, we have some areas that have not been covered such as custodian raping, concealment, where someone is advised not to report a rape case. It is about tackling the issue of rape headlong be-

Yishawu

cause it is next to murder. Another aspect of the bill is civil liability, someone is raped and she goes to court, if the rapist is jailed, the victim should have some remedy and compensation. If someone is raped and she gets pregnant and have a baby, who owns the child? If you look at the Child Rights Law, the father is the rapist, but who really owns the child, what if the victim has a terminal disease. So, the bill wants to criminalise concealment. If you are a policeman and you tell the victim to go and settle with the rapist or you are a parent or guardian and you conceal a rape case, you would be punished. It also suggests that the identity of the rape victim should be hidden. The 8th Lagos State House of Assembly has achieved a lot, what would you say is making the assembly tick? We have a good leadership. We have a Speaker, who is one of us.

The Lagos State House of Assembly and the State Government are having cordial relationship

He understands what we need, he is a fourth term legislator. Also, the Principal Officers are doing very well, the Deputy Speaker is a politician and lawmaker, who was here from 199 to 2003. The Majority Leader is also doing his best, he happens to be a lawyer, and he is well grounded in the act of guiding the affairs of the House and scheduling activities. The Chief Whip is there, the Deputy Majority Leader and the Deputy Chief Whip. We also have members of the House, who are very passionate about lawmaking. The crop of people we have are not mediocre, they know their onions. Will you say there are no challenges as the people believe that this is a one-party state? Legislation is not about war, it is about serving the people. The Lagos State House of Assembly and the State Government are having cordial relationship. Even if you go to war, you would still

What should the people of Eti Osa 2 that you represent look forward to in the next one year? I have already told them what I would do. I promised to give them free buses, we have started that. We have also started a microfinance project. We will ensure that more people take advantage of it. I am here to represent them, and we have been doing that effectively. I will continue to do that and I appreciate them for given me the opportunity to serve them. I am human, I can err, but we will try our best. The situation in the country is tense, there is economic crisis, and agitations by different ethnic groups. What is your take? We don't have another country, the government has commenced the war on corruption, they would continue. The journey to economic recovery is there, and the president is sincere about putting the country back on the right track.

Ajomale: APC can’t fulfil promises in one year CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

everything possible to ensure that every Nigerian is proud of this government. This is what we are aiming at but at the moment we are in trouble; every Nigerian knows that we are in trouble but it was not the creation of the APC. It was the creation of the opposition party, which was in government then. We didn’t create it; ours is to ensure that we are in government and we must do everything to fulfil the promises made to Nigerians. We did not say we are going to do it in one year; that was why the people voted for APC for four years and we have not even spent half of it and some people have started agitating. We are happy that majority of Nigerians understand where this government is heading to. Are you saying that it is unfair to judge the APC administration within its one year in office? It is very unfair. When our party

came in, there were millions of young graduates without jobs. Was electricity working when we came in? Was there adequate water? Were the roads motorable? A lot of money was earmarked for road construction yet there are accidents here and there. We spent over N3 trillion during the PDP regime to look for light that never was. Where did the money go to? How would you assess the Akinwunmi Ambode government in Lagos State in the last one year? People don’t need a magic glass to see what is going on in all spheres of human endeavours; education, health, roads, infrastructure and light. Every street now is getting illuminated. We have not seen that before. In terms of security, it is safer to live in Lagos State than any other state in Nigeria because the governor has spent so much money on security and the police have been encouraged and they are working very well in other to allow people to close their two

eyes while sleeping. Development has been going on gradually from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to Babatunde Fashola and from Fashola to the new governor, and in the last one year people have seen what has happened. The construction of the Fourth Mainland Bridge will start in the next three months and it going to last for three years and that would solve a lot of traffic problems in Lagos State and bring economic development because time wasted is money wasted. We believe that a lot of things have been done. A lot of people are parking their cars now and riding on air-conditioned BRT buses. The common man can now enter an air-conditioned bus. Is that not progress? Also, 114 roads are being constructed right now; two in each of the 57 councils in the state. So, a lot of things are going on in Lagos that the governor must be commended for what is going on and I am sure the people of Lagos are also happy with what is going

on in the state. How prepared is your party for the local government poll in the state? Honestly, we are prepared anytime. We are like the Boys Scouts; ever ready. If they call for the election tomorrow, we are ready to go on. Don’t you see the PDP as a treat to APC? Where is PDP? I don’t know them. They have never defeated us before and it won’t be now that we are at the federal level. But the PDP won five House of Representatives and eight state Assembly seats during last general elections... We knew what happened. During the last elections, the president spent more than 400 days in Lagos; inviting all the chiefs and giving them money. With the money that came to Lagos during last elections, there is no way we could have won elections if not for the support of the people of Lagos who were behind us.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion State creation and further agitations Turning Point MIKE ARAYUWA WILKIE pmikky1950@yahoo.com 0802-309-7251 (sms only)

igeria, as a Sovereign State, started with three regions. They were: North, South and the East. Today, the three regions have been further sub-divided into 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which is home to Abuja, the Nation’s Capital City. As at the year 2013, Nigeria’s population was estimated at 173.6 million people while that of Abuja was roughly 107,069 thousand people (1991). The reasons advanced for the endless creation of states in Nigeria are numerous. There is the obvious marginalization of the minorities which has aggravated the serial agitations for the additional creation of states. Ethnic and minority pluralism including even development are major considerations in the quest for new states. It is also intended to bring government nearer to the people. Of course, there is the consistent need to be involved in political competition and access to power. Perhaps, this is in accordance with the definition of Harold Lasswell who states: “politics is empirical science that studies the shaping of power about who gets what, when and how”. It clearly indicates that the main object of politics is the acquisition of power which is certainly not an end in itself or as a means to an end. All agitators who clamour for state creations have at the back of their minds the creation of additional local governments and autonomy, too. Agitators for the creation of additional

states are usually of the strong opinion that it will ensure true federalism where the other levels of government will control a substantial amount of their resources. Despite the various attempts being made to meet with the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians, still, agitation continues. It is relevant to state from my view, that the creation of additional states in Nigeria does not appear to be a lasting solution to the minority question. For instance, ethnicity has tended to exacerbate some centrifugal forces in the country. Also, the process of the creation of additional states has reduced the fear of the majority domination as was witnessed during the First Republic. The main focus of this piece however, is to examine the population of the states on the basis of a few selection to find-out why the component states of the federation were not created equally, or the strength of the population of the people which was one of the criteria adopted for such a development. It appears to me that the population in each of the component units were not taken into deep consideration. There were obviously some variations. Sequentially, Nassarawa and Bayelsa have a population of 1,863,275 and 1,703,358 respectively which constitutes the lowest figures of the 36 states of the federation. Cross River and 6 other states stand above 2 million but less than 3 million each. Of the 7 states, only Cross River State is 2,888,966 and Abia State, 2,833,999 million people. The third largest in terms of population are Niger State with the population of 3,950,249, Imo 3,934,899, Akwa Ibom 3,920,208, Ogun 3,728,098, Sokoto 3,696,999, Ondo 3,441,024 and eight other states which equally fall within the same category of more than 3 million but less than 4 million people. On the other hand, Bauchi, Jigawa, Benue, Anambra, Borno and Delta States are within

Agitators for the creation of additional states are usually of the strong opinion that it will ensure true federalism

the category of more than 4 million each but less than 5 million people. Katsina, Oyo, Rivers State have a figure of more than five million each but less than 6 million. Kaduna stands unique with a population of 6,066,552 million. The highest two states are Kano 9,383,682 and Lagos 9,013,534. The statistical data and analysis are indications that the military who presided over the creation of additional states apart from the Mid-West Region (now Edo and Delta States), did some official jobbery with selfish interest. For the purpose of population criteria, and if Nassarawa and Bayelsa with less than 2 million people are ignored, it will be imperative to, perhaps, peg two million people as a basis for the creation of additional states in Nigeria in the fundamental interest of equity, fairness and justice. Kano and Lagos, for instance, shall be qualified to have, at least, four states each making a total of eight while Kaduna shall be due for three states. Katsina, Oyo and Rivers will be carved into two states each. Bauchi, Jigawa and four others shall also amount to two states each. Niger, Imo and 12 other states may also be ignored for this purpose because all of them have above 3 million each but not large enough for the creation of extra states. Also, states like Cross River, Abia, Ekiti, Kwara and 4 others would not be able to make additional states. On the whole, the additional states which would be created would amount to 19. It will probably tally with one of the recommendations of the National Conference which was supervised by the Jonathan’s regime. However, I state, without any contradiction, that apart from the Mid-West Region which was created by the Balewa’s civilian government, the rest states were created and decreed upon by the various military governments.

The bitter truth on power supply Adisa Gbadamosi

t has been said from time immemorial that the truth is bitter . In terms of the cause of poor electricity supply ravaging the nation nowadays that fact was brought home vividly by a statement issued by the office of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola. In a statement issued by one of his aides the Minister said it was immoral to expect the Federal government to blame electricity distribution companies called discos for the poor electricity supply in the nation. Ostensibly the honourable Power Minister was responding proactively to the news that the House of Representatives had invited him and stakeholders in the electricity industry to a meeting to explain the cause of power failure in Nigeria. The press statement was therefore meant to apprise the legislators before hand till he eventually showed up physically in the House for grilling on the subject. In effect the Minister killed the proverbial two birds with one stone . He answered the question of the legislators from afar as it

were. He also allayed their fears also at a safe distance on the mistaken notion that the discos were the culprit of the poor power supply problem in the country. Let me state clearly as a keen observer of the power sector and its development in the right direction in Nigeria I find the pronouncements and statement of the Minister candid, informed and most patriotic. In particular, I urge our law makers to emulate these virtues even as they grandstand to nail perceived culprits for the poor supply though the cause is well known to all Nigerians except perhaps our legislators and trade union leaders. The Minister’s statement pointed out some facts .The first was that pipeline vandalisation had disrupted and decreased electricity supply massively nation wide and power generation , and transmission had suffered massively and such distribution had been scanty all over the nation. The second is that many government parastatals and institutions owe the distribution companies a lot of money predating his recent appointment as Minister of Power thus tying his hands to stop the discos from demanding immediate payment from such government agencies or have them face massive disconnection.

Which ipso facto is the legal resort for such breach of payment in the face of continuous enjoyment without payment of electricity supply by these government facilities and corporations. The third was the fact unknown to many in the public that the Federal government before the advent of this administration had sold its ownership in the power companies and had no control over them in terms of generation and distribution of electricity. The Minister admitted that aside from the violation of the law inherent in assuming false ownership and giving futile orders there was the dangerous risk of creating a potential rash of litigation in the advice in some quarters to stop the discos from realizing revenue for sold services both now and in the past. Especially from government institutions which have become brazen debtors to discos which are privately owned by equally patriotic and hard working Nigerian business men and astute investors. In addition the Minister harped on the fact that the discos charged cost reflective tariffs approved for them by law and it would be again immoral for government whose agencies owe the discos so much to ask the discos not to take money

for services rendered . Indeed to support the Minister on this stance was the advice he offered Nigerians when the Senate summoned him earlier in the year to explain the new electricity tariffs approved for the discos by the Electricity Regulation Commission of Nigeria. Unfortunately the Nigeran Senate stopped the new tariff increase rather wrongly. The Minister said then that the increased electricity tariffs were like bitter quinine which ultimately will make life better for any patient or victim of Malaria. That example was very apt and instructive but the Senate ignored it then and electricity generation and distribution took a nose dive even before the vandalisation reached the present uncontrollable situation. If you add to that the fact that the union leaders asked Nigerians to strike on the new tariffs in electricity along side the fuel price hike of 145 naira then you must admit that it was indeed honourable of the Minister to say publicly that it would be immoral to blame the discos for poor electricity supply as the unions had done so unpatriotically. • Gbadamosi, an engineer, wrote in from Iseyin, Oyo State

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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Amodu and his magic wand

he passage recently of Shuaibu Amodu, one of Nigeria’s most successful coaches is a sad reminder that this country does not appreciate our heroes until we lose them. Condolences continue to troop in, from Aso Villa to the Glass House, even those who made it impossible for him to reap where he sowed are flooding the media with eulogies. Amodu stood out in many ways becoming the first Nigerian manager to ear n a World Cup ticket with the Eagles in 2001 on the way Korea/ Japan 2002. He repeated the feat in 2009 prior to South Africa 2010. The sad news is that the man was never allowed to take the national team to soccer’s most glamorous show . And his rich record shows that he dedicated most of his time to the national team serving six times as coach. Amodu was not a spectacular player but he tur ned out to be a g reat coach. The much we knew about him was that he played for Dumez, a team that sounds Greek in the ears of football followers. The Okpela man ‘s best achievement was when his team Niger Tornadoes lost 4-1 to Stationery Stores in the Grand- finale of the 1980 Challenge Cup. How things change. This averag e footballer made headlines when he led BCC Lions, Gboko to win the same Challenge Cup as a coach in 1989. Aham Nwankwo’s lone goal snatched the trophy from defending champions Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Owerri. The story behind that triumph was that at last , a team from Norther n Nigeria had won, 36

years after Kano in 1953. Challenge Cup victory meant that the Cement Boys would go inter national in 1990. They represented the country in the 1990 Mandela Cup. Nigeria had won the trophy twice in the past, 1976 and 1977, through Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Enugu Rangers respectively. In the next 12 years it was unbelievable that no continental soccer trophy landed in our land. In the Mandela Cup, Nigerian clubs lost in the finals four times. It began with Stationery Stores of Lagos who after a brilliant scoreless first le g draw in Douala, lost at home 1-2 in 1981 to an Eug e n e E ko u l e powered Union

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finals. The experienced players in the team also played a huge role. Luis Igwilo, Benedict [Surugede] Ugwu, Toyin Ayinla, Moses and Terfa Kpakor, Tunde Adedara, Ismaila Falke, Sam Elijah, Edema Fuludu, Humphrey Jebba, Tajudeen Oyekanmi,Hilary Azodo, John Agum, John Zaki, Nwankwo, Patrick Mancha, Sam Pam, Bolaji Douglas and Amir Angwe. In the Second Round, Amodu bagged a red card alongside Ayinla when the team faced Libya’s Al Madina in Tripo-

The NFF that owes him outstanding wages is shedding crocodile tears

Douala, Cameroun. Leventis United, Ibadan fell to Al Ahly of Eg ypt in 1985, on a day President Ibrahim Babangida waited at Dodan Barracks for good news so that he could go to Sportscity to hand over the trophy to Mathew Onyema. Ranchers Bees Kaduna were stung by CA Bizerte, Tunisia in 1988 while Bendel United succumbed to El- Merriekh of Sudan in 1989. Amodu tur ned the tide with BCC the following year. With a team that had largely unknown names like Alumun Aule, Iorfan Addingi, Baba Ibrahim, Andofa Akosu, Obiora Achilefu, Sylvester Afioma, Terfa Apurugh, Felix Pilakyaa and Ndubueze, he prog ressed to the

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

li. All that turned to joy when the Cement Boys beat club Africain of Tunisia 3-0 at home and moved on to p i ck a 1 - 1 draw in Tunis thanks to

Angwe’s 36th minute bullet. For the third time and after 12 years the trophy was back in Nigeria. Amodu became the first Nigerian coach to defend a continental soccer trophy to the finals in 1991. BCC romped into the last stage once again. Unfortunately, cup winners were Power Dynamos of Zambia. That in itself was a record for the Zambians were winning an African championships for the very first time. It is noteworthy that after Amodu and the Lions, no other Nigerian team could win the Mandela Cup until it was merged with the CAF Cup to become Confederation Cup in 2004. Berger lost in two finals: 1995 to Djamel Menad’s JS

Kabylie, Algeria and 2003 to Etoile Sahel, Tunisia. Compatriot Og ochukwu Obior a scored all three goals against the Bridge Boys in the away retur n leg. Amodu did not stop winning with BCC. He joined El Kanemi later and also won the Challenge Cup. His marks attracted South Africa’s Orlando Pirates who also hired him . With the Eagles, he won Nations Cup bronze twice;2002 and 2010. Sadly, he was never allowed to go to the World Cup as Manager after ear ning two tickets. Those who hated Amodu’s guts blamed him for losing to Senegal in the semi- finals of the Mali 2002 Nations Cup. They forgot that Nigeria did not have it easy with the same team two years earlier in Lagos. And to show the adversaries, misjudgement, the Teranga Lions went ahead to beat defending champion’s France and qualify for the quarter finals at the Mundial. The Eagles under a new coach could not win a match. Today, Shuaibu Amodu’s body lies cold in his Okpela grave. The NFF that owes him outstanding wages is shedding crocodile tears. The Nigerian gover nment that looked the other way while the coach was treated like a leper is singing his praise. Now the man is a dead hero. Enough of the serpentine tributes. This man who did so much for country but was never appreciated deserves post humous honour. And it must come from those who used and dumped Amodu : the Nigeria Football Federation and Aso Villa.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Insight

Parents’ agony as kids become targets of abductors Children’s vulnerability has made them soft targets for criminals making a living from abduction for money, writes JULIANA FRANCIS

here was no doubt about the stark fear reverberating in the voice of Pastor Joseph Suleiman. His five-year-old son, Jonathan, has become one of the thousands of children that have been kidnapped in Nigeria. The boy was abducted in Kogi State where the family resides. Like most parents in his situation, Suleiman became a prayer warrior; anxious and worried whether he would ever see his little boy again. Suleiman, a Zonal Pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), said: “The kidnappers contacted me, demanding N50 million ransom. I told them I didn’t have such an amount of money. They asked how much I had. I told them I’m just a teacher and a pastor. They said I wasn’t serious and hung up on me. They have not called me since then. I have reported the kidnap to the police. I’m appealing to those who kidnapped my little boy to release him. He is a little boy and needs his parents.” Suleiman battled to hold back tears. In Africa, it is unmanly for a man to cry but how best can one handle the abduction of his young son? Kidnapping of kids, including school children for ransom, has suddenly become the fad in Nigeria. While the experience usually leaves many parents and the victims traumatised, the kidnappers at the end of the day always become richer. Since the Niger Delta militants started kidnapping of expatriates, in order to highlight their grievances against the government, other regions have borrowed a leaf from them. This was after it became clear that kidnapping is one of the easiest ways of being catapulted into wealth. Today, in different homes, children have become endangered species, as kidnappers now focus on them; knowing they are the most vulnerable, trusting and unsuspecting in the human race. Parents’ natural instinct is to protect their kids. Protection comes in all ramifications, including running from pillar to post to raise whooping sums of money for

Amiase, Henkyaa, Otumala and Aernyi: Mothers of kidnapped children

ransom. Jonathan Suleiman’s abduction on March 7 was one of the latest, officially known in the litany of child kidnappings. There are many cases of such that remain unreported. Jonathan, a Nursery 2 pupil, was kidnapped by four gunmen on his way to school with his sister and father’s driver. Suleiman said the kidnap of his little boy left him devastated. He said: “Jonathan is my last born. He is only five years old. I feel bad such is happening to him. His elder sister and a neighbour’s child were in the car. The gunmen took over the car and drove off with my son.” Since the abduction of his boy, Suleiman had resorted to fasting and prayer. His prayers apparently paid off. Some days later, he got back his son. But that was after he paid the ransom. He, however, refused to disclose the amount. According to the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Solomon Arase, paying ransom and talking about it could encourage more people to see kidnapping as a lucrative business and to also join those in it. Kidnappers’ preference for children has been going on for long. In 2015, abductions reverberated through the nation. One of such cases was the abduction of three kids of Mr. Leke Orekoya. The three kids - Aderomola 11 months’ old, Adedamola (four) and Ademola (six) - were abducted

Your important assets are your children, not your houses or cars

by Fumilayo Adeyemi aka Mary Akinloye, who posed as a nanny to achieve her mission. She disappeared with the kids a day after she was employed by the Orekoyas through an online portal, OLX. Adeyemi said her gang, comprising her mother-in-law, her two sons and their wives extort money from the rich. The gang contacted the couple, demanding N15 million ransom. The arrest of Adeyemi started after the couple paid some money into a designated bank account given by Adeyemi’s gang. The kidnappers drugged the kids and abandoned them at an uncompleted building in Akowonjo, Egbeda, Lagos. The police tracked the ransom payment data and got Adeyemi. According to Adeyemi, the gang was also behind the abduction of two brothers; Michael and Rafael Esharegaran from their home in Magodo, Lagos. Before the Esharegaran employed Adeyemi, they had already changed four maids while trying to get the best. She introduced herself as Juliet. The Esharegharans were said to have stepped out briefly, leaving the kids in the care of Juliet, a nurse and their grandma, Mrs. Comfort Esharegharan, a stroke patient. Abigail, a nurse taking care of the grandma, said: “Juliet deceived us that she was taking the children upstairs to sleep. When their parents came back and went upstairs, the kids’ room was

empty.” Adeyemi also kidnapped the two kids two days after she started working for the Esharegarans. The Esharegarans were said to have paid N10 million ransom, although the police denied knowledge of the payment. Adeyemi, a mother of four, said her husband, disclosed only N2.5 million ransom. Every day, faces of kidnapped and stolen kids flood the social media. The abduction of three-year-old Olanrewaju Obazua and others highlights the fact that kidnappers now brazenly abduct children anywhere, including worship centres, schools and homes. Olanrewaju was kidnapped on November 21, 2015, at their family home at Ajegunle in Apapa area of Lagos State. Its mother, Mrs. Maria Obazua, said the boy was her only son. She said: “About 6:30am, Olanrewaju was playing with other children in front of our compound. After sometime, I went to check on him but he was nowhere to be found. That was how we started looking for him.” There was also the kidnap of four-year-old David Gbadebo. He was kidnapped at First Baptist Church, Somolu, Lagos. The kidnapper attended the Yoruba and English church service before picking David from the church premises. Reverend Joseph Awoshoro, in charge of the church, said the

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THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Arase

The Orekoya family

kidnapper mixed with the congregation and even collected the church’s bulletin. The child was later found abandoned in Ogun State after much media noise and hot police pursuit. The kidnapper was believed to have developed cold feet and abandoned David. “The kidnapper was also given new comers’ reception and asked to drop his contact, name and phone number which were obviously fake. We never knew he had a hidden agenda. He calmly effected his mission and kidnapped the boy after service,” Awoshoro said. According to the reverend, divine intervention made David’s release possible. The church members took to prayers after his abduction and were still doing so when a call came from Owode Yewa Police Station in Ogun State. He added: “Three good Nigerians saw David where he was dumped near Seme border, with a phone tag on his neck. They took him immediately to a police station. The kidnapper had earlier demanded N700,000 but we didn’t pay anything. It was divine intervention.” Another three-year-old, a girl, identified as Oluwabumi Ajelero, was abducted at a Baptist Church on Ojuelegba Road, Surulere Lagos. She was kidnapped after a Sunday service. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dapo Ajelero, said the abductors demanded N300,000 ransom. Weeping profusely, Mrs. Ajelero said: “The church closed around 12:30pm. At 1pm, a small boy of about 10 years old and a member of the church came running, shouting that a man on a motorcycle took our daughter and rode off with her. The boy had the courage to confront the man. The man told him that he was going to buy biscuits for Oluwabunmi.” The Church Administrator, Mrs. Modupe Ladipo, said the kidnapper was present at the church service. The abductor even collected the church’s bulletin which he used to call the reverend in-charge of the church, Reverend Michael Afolabi, demanding to speak with the father of the child. In February 2016, three girls, studying in a classroom, in their

school, Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School (BMJSS), a private school in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, were also abducted by gunmen. The victims were later abandoned on Ikorodu Road, after the kidnappers realised police were closing in on them and the ransom they demanded was not forthcoming. Three abductors, Mr. Samson Shomorin, Olalekan Benjamin and Gbenga Sholaja, gave an insight into why people embrace kidnapping. Shomorin and Sholaja are both graduates of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State. While Shomorin read Political Science, his friend, Sholaja, studied Accountancy. Shomorin said that he embraced kidnapping because he couldn’t get any employment after his youth service. He explained that it was his friend, Sholaja, who lured him into the ‘bad business’. He said he was ashamed of being arrested for demanding just N20,000 ransom. Shomorin said: “There are kidnappers who demand millions of naira as ransom, but nobody has arrested them. We demanded only N20,000 and police arrested us. Can you imagine?” The gang said it had kidnapped up to three children, but police insisted the children were more than three. The suspects were arrested after one of the kidnapped children was able to trace where he was held captive for days and took his parents and policemen to the house. The suspects revealed that most of the kids kidnapped were abducted on their way to school. One of them, Benjamin, said: “We used to stop the kids on their way to school, make friends with them and later start giving them money anytime we see them going to school.” Once they are assured that the kids now trusted and see them as friends, they would kidnap the kids and start ransom negotiation with their parents. The kidnapped victim that led to the arrest of the trio was a student of the Golden Triangle College, Kola, Lagos.

After I killed him, I felt bad. I couldn’t continue with the negotiation

Benjamin said: “We also befriended him on the road. We asked for N500,000 ransom but his parents didn’t want to pay anything at all. It reached a stage; we were even begging them to send money for us to use in feeding the boy.” The boy was kept in the home of Benjamin, who lived in a twobedroom flat with his father. Benjamin’s father stumbled on the boy one day and ordered Benjamin to remove the stranger from his home. Benjamin contacted his partners and a decision was taken. They dropped the boy at IyanaIpaja and gave him N500. The little boy knew his school was somewhere around Kola area of the metropolis and asked direction from people on how to reach Kola from Iyana-Ipaja. He was able to locate his school and from there, his home. He later took police to Benjamin’s home. During investigation, it was learnt that Benjamin was a jailbird who had earlier been sentenced to prison for kidnapping. He came out of prison to continue with the ‘job.’ There was also the case of Police Corporal Paul Ibara. He should have been protecting kids from kidnappers; instead he became a kidnapper. Ibara kidnapped his neighbour’s four-year-old son and demanded N5 million ransom. His reason? He desperately needed money for his father’s surgery. Most times, when kids are kidnapped, parents and family members are plunged into anguish. It could end after reunion with abducted kids. However, not many parents are lucky to ever see their kids again. Some of these kids are killed because the kidnappers are worried about being recognised and identified by the young victims. Some victims are killed because the abductors became lily-livered or because parents refused to come up quickly with the ransom. A classical case is the murder of seven-year-old Ayuba by his abductor, Patrick Onyeka, 24, in 2013. Onyeka, an aspiring footballer, lived in the next building to Ayuba’s home. While Onyeka lived in his elder’s brother boys’ quarters, Ayuba’s father works with an oil company. Onyeka said he used to see fleet of cars in the victim’s compound and thought he could get his hands on some of their oil money by kidnapping their youngest child. Incidentally, the child used to call Onyeka, ‘uncle.’ They used to play football together. The boy used to enter Onyeka’s compound to look for him. He entered Onyeka’s

compound one day to look for him and was never found again. When a frantic search started for Ayuba, Onyeka led the search parties. He would later leave a ransom note at the front gate of the victim’s home, demanding N5 million. He also left a phone number on the ransom note, warning Ayuba’s parents not to alert the police. When he realised the heat was on for the kidnapper of the boy, Onyeka went to his quarters, where he had earlier tied up boy. He strangled him. He also smashed his phone SIM card, so that nobody would be able to contact the phone number on the ransom note. He bagged Ayuba’s body, dragged it through the estate and dumped it in a septic tank. He would have gotten away with the deed, but for his sister-in-law, who recognised the handwriting on the ransom note. She told her husband that she suspected Onyeka knew more than he was letting people know about Ayuba’s disappearance. The brother alerted the police. It was in police custody that Onyeka confessed to his crime. One of the detectives investigating the case said: “He demanded N5 million ransom. He also left his phone number on the note. He gave the parents the impression that the boy was still alive. Even when people were crying that the boy had been kidnapped, he joined them in crying. He led detectives to where he dumped the body in a septic tank after wrapping it in a sack. “He didn’t want to let the boy go after he collected the money because the child knew him. So he had to kill him.” Onyeka said: “After I killed him, I felt bad. I couldn’t continue with the negotiation. I had to back out. I dumped his body in a soak away. His father has about four to five cars. I strangled him with my bare hands.” Another case was that of two pupils, Tochukwu Ene and Chukwuemeka Ugwu, Junior Secondary School JSS III students of the Federal Government College, Okposi, in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. They were kidnapped on May 12, on the day they finished their Junior NECO exams. Exactly 10 days after they were kidnapped, their bodies were found floating in a local river in the area. According to the family, the bodies were found floating in a local river on May 22. Eleven-year-old Musa Salisu was kidnapped in Kano State after his father sent him on errand earlier this month. The primary six pupil was later killed by his abductors because his parents couldn’t cough up the N500,000 ransom demanded by the kidnappers. They abandoned the body where his parents couldn’t miss it. Last month, two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Emeka Okpara were kidnaped by an 18-year-old lady, who introduced herself as Rose. Rose applied as an apprentice hairstylist at the salon where Mrs. Okpara was a manager. Rose would later flee with the woman’s two little girls. Okpara said she went to the market when Rose disappeared with the girls. Rose abducted the girls, four CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

INSIGHT

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Preying on young and innocent CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

days after she applied as an apprentice hairstylist at the salon. The abducted girls are Chikamso (2) and Chinaza, (4). The girls’ father said he and his wife were still waiting and praying that Rose would contact them. At press time, Rose was yet to make contact. In 2015, 22 children were abducted in different parts of Benue State within two months. The ages of the kids ranged between four and six. The disappearance of children threw parents into panic. Some of the parents explained that their kids were kidnapped at different points. Apparently, all the kids were lured away by the kidnappers who gave them Bobo juice drink; a favourite juice among kids. A mother of three, Mrs. Ngodoo Amiase, said: “My son, Tersoo (4), a pupil of Jewel Model School, Gboko Road, Makurdi was last seen on August 29, 2015. “My son accompanied me to the market on that fateful day and I saw him play with his mates. Before I knew it, he had disappeared! He left my shop around 4pm, but by 5pm, when he usually returns, I didn’t see him. I went looking for him. “A young girl told me that she saw my son with a woman whom she couldn’t identify. When she asked my son where he was going, the woman said she was my sister. She said that I asked her to go and buy Bobo for my son.” Last month, it was reported that no fewer than 11 children were declared missing at Ajegunle community and its environs in Ikorodu area of Lagos State. The children, whose ages range between one and five years, were kidnapped at different times. At Ile-Anu, Ikorodu, on May 9, there was the abduction of a fiveyear-old Aminat Akanni. The victim was running an errand for her grandmother, after she returned from school when she disappeared. Aminat’s grandmother, Mrs. Roseline Akanni, said she became uncomfortable when Aminat didn’t return home on time. But the hope of ever seeing Aminat dimmed after a suspected kidnapper was arrested in the community. The kidnapper, a middle-aged woman, was apprehended while attempting to kidnap another kid, confessed to have kidnapped some other children from the community, including Aminat. She confessed she sold Aminat to ritual killers in Kwara State. Another four-year-old girl was abducted from a private nursery and primary school in the area. The missing girl’s schoolbag and uniform were found on the school premises. Residents said that the first case of kidnapping in the community was recorded at Chibest bus stop, where a child was kidnapped while waiting for school bus. A suspect, Samuel Adebanjo, told policemen attached to Ajegunle Police Station, Ajeromi, Lagos, that he and four other men had kidnapped at least three kids in the state. Speaking on children kidnapping in Lagos State, the Commis-

Jonathan

Ajelero

Onyeka

sioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, argued that kidnapping of children was not on the increase. He said: “We have pockets of child kidnapping, not many. Parents need to be alive to their parental responsibilities. You can’t abandon your kids. Police can’t follow every child around. Lack of parental responsibility is causing this. “Last week, two kids were abducted in Kaduna State; they found themselves in Lagos. They were abducted on their way to school. The oldest was 15 years’ old. They were rescued in Lagos and handed over to their parents in Kaduna. “We shouldn’t put aside cases of hypnotism. We should tell our kids to be careful who they speak with. They shouldn’t talk to strangers. In Ikorodu, a seven-year-old and fiveyear-old were together. A stranger gave the seven-year-old money to go and buy Tom-Tom. He picked the five-year-old girl. But information was quickly received and the girl was rescued.” When New Telegraph demanded the statistics of kids kidnapped in the last two years from the Inspector General of Police, Force Public Relations Officer and Lagos State Police Command, mum was the word. Many families pay ransom without contacting the police. There are even a good number of kids’ abductors arrested that are shielded from the media by the police. The police don’t want to heat up the polity. The police seemed to be at their wits end. Police lack proper statistics on number of kids kidnapped

Obazua

Orekoya kids’ kidnapper

We should tell our kids to be careful who they speak with

in Nigeria. They lack data base for kidnappers and no noticeable workable profiling of kidnappers, fleeing kidnappers or suspected ones. No doubt, the police are not fully prepared to tackle the scourge of child abduction. A security expert, Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Intelligence and Security Solutions Limited, Mr. Ethelbert Oney, said increase in kidnapping of kids could be checked through concerted security awareness efforts. Parents, teachers and children should have a good knowledge of their environment. According to him, everyone needs to know the entry and exit of wherever they live or are at any given time. He said: “When you make efforts to know the people around you, then you can be able to notice new or strange persons around and that strange person can be the kidnapper. Many people have no knowledge of their neighbours or colleagues at work. Unfortunately, this singular act can be very disastrous and make our children victims of kidnappers.” Assistant Inspector-General-ofPolice (rtd), Mr. Donald Iroham, said Nigerians and law enforcement agents should begin to allow the law to guide them. He said: “It’s one thing to make a law and another to enforce that law. I know that we have Child’s Rights Act in Nigeria. Right now in Nigeria, the Senate has reduced the age of consent from 18 to 14 or so. This means, a 14-year-old girl can accept sexual advances from a man. Someone can abduct a young

girl and claimed that she is of marriage age. It’s like the case of Ese Oruru, who was kidnapped by Yunusa Dahiru. He tried to force her to be converted. “Poverty is also a contributing factor to kidnapping. Parents can’t feed themselves, let alone their children. There is encouragement for kids to be involved in street trading. When you expose a minor to such dangers, there is every chance the minor can fall into danger. A little boy or girl, hawking could be lured and kidnapped.” Iroham also said that the basic reason for abduction of kids is money. “The case of kidnapping is on the increase, we all know that, but the police should be equal to the task. There’s also the Department State Services (DSS) and everyone. All hands should be on deck to check kidnapping. Nigerians should be security conscious. If you see stranger parading your area, you should be able to ask questions.” The Department of State Services (DSS), Lagos State Command, in conjunction with the Lagos State Security Council, in a document made available to New Telegraph, urged members of the public to take security measures into cognisance when hiring domestic helps. It is important to vet and re-vet domestic staff through the service of DSS. People who intend to employ maids are urged to write to the director of DSS on their intention. A security expert, the President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, said it was a totally imprudent act for someone to hire helpers or workers and entrust children to them without having good knowledge of who those people were. According to him, before a person entrusts his/her children to another person, there is need to conduct a background check. He said: “You don’t need to call anybody to do that for you, you can do it yourself. When somebody comes to work in your home or look after your children, it must be well documented. That is to know people who know them, so that if something goes wrong, you can hold those people responsible. “You must have their photographs, you must document them properly – their names, addresses, villages, parents and siblings – you must write these things down. “Your important assets are your children, not your houses or cars. You know your children are your future; they are the only things that make you not to be forgotten in life. They (maids) know you don’t know their details or anything about them so they do away with anything they want. We know we live in a modern society; everyone wants to be an island unto himself. But we should also know that crime is a product of opportunity and crime happens because people have the opportunity. So you have to beg your neighbour, ‘please can you keep checking my children and if anything happens, please call me.’ In the modern world now, wife is working, husband is working and children are alone, someone has to take care of these children.”

THURSDAY, june 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

SouthEastFocus

he story of NIGERCEM remains that of a gold mine in ruins and represents how too much government interference killed the number one Cement factory in West Africa. History shows that NIGERCEM is the first cement factory in West Africa. Following the completion of detailed scientific analysis and investigation of limestone deposits in Nkalagu and the reaching of an agreement with the Technical partners, F.L Smidth and its Associate, Tunnel Portland Cement Company Ltd, the factory was commissioned in December, 1957 and went into full production on January 1, 1958. During its glorious days, NIGERCEM was the pride of the Igbo in general. The company has been in comatose for nearly two decades now, even after its privatization. It was bogged down by legal tussles which prevented the initial core investor, Eastern Bulkcem Company Limited (EBCL), the then makers of Eagle Cement Port-Harcourt from full take over and rehabilitation of the firm. However, last week a major practical step towards the revitalization of the company was taken. It was the signing of Deed of Understanding between the company and Ebonyi State government and four host communities where the NIGERCEM is located. The host communities are Nkalagu, Nkalahia, Umuhiali and Amaezu. The resolution of lingering disputes that hampered the rehabilitation of the firm by the new core investor, Ibeto Cement Company (who bought Eastern Bulkcem and all the company’s assets and liabilities including NIGERCEM) also included agreement to withdraw any legal matter that was pending in courts. Speaking at the brief ceremony at Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre, Abakaliki, Dr. Clement Ibeto, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ibeto Company, explained that but for the misunderstanding between his company and the past administration in the state, NIGERCEM could have long been rehabilitated. He thanked the Umahi for his efforts to resolve the issues which he noted led to the process of commencement of the rehabilitation of the firm. He assured the people that with the settlement of the misunderstanding, the company would soon be brought back to its days of glory. Ibeto said the firm would not only serve the interest of the state but would benefit the Nigerian nation when back on stream. Umahi, while assuring the Ibeto firm of conducive environment for its operations, told Ebonyi people that the state’s 10 per cent equity in the company was intact and that the state’s Head of Service, Mr. Chamberlin Nwaele, was a representative of the state in the Board of the company. Umahi said that despite being his friend, he had to press hard on Ibeto as it concerns what benefits should accrue to the host communities and the state in general.

GEOFFREY EKENNA coordinaTor

goeekenna@yahoo.co.uk 08068774740

NIGERCEM: Waking up a sleeping giant

News Who took their corpses away?

22 SOUTH SOUTH FOCUS Edo’s week of sorrow

For observers of developments in Ebonyi State since the inception of the present administration under Chief David Umahi, as governor, one of the legacies that has the potential to launch the state into national and international limelight, as well as help the state make a quantum leap in her industrial and economic development strides is the ongoing efforts to revive the Nigeria Cement Company (NIGERCEM), Nkalagu in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. KENNETH OFOMA, reports from Enugu

A view of the cement factory

Observers familiar with the history and developments relating to NIGERCEM, will indeed applaud Ibeto for his courage, doggedness and optimism in the revival of the cement factory, which many had since written off. It would be recalled that mixed reactions greeted the report that Eastern Bulkcem Company Limited, the original core investor had sold the firm to Ibeto Group around April, 2012, even when legal issues surrounding the company were still pending in various courts. But Ibeto bought the company and the liabilities as well. The new core-investor was reported to have practically sacked all the staff and asked them to re-apply. Eastern Bulkcem, the original core-investor,

bought both assets and liabilities of NIGERCEM in 2002. The company (EBCl) dragged Ebonyi State Government to court on January 18, 2010 over misunderstanding arising from the ownership. It dragged Ebonyi State Government to a Federal High Court sitting in Enugu, challenging the government’s revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-0) and lease of NIGERCEM, as well as the setting up of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the operations of NIGERCEM from 2002 to 2010, by the former Governor Martin Elechi’s administration. NIGERCEM, the premier cement factory in West Africa, has suffered many closures and epileptic production before its privatization in 2002

by the government of the five states of the South East. But instead of improving, the fortunes of the company further deemed, resulting in the final closure and revocation of its C-0f-O by the Ebonyi State government in 2009. It would be recalled that the Eastern Bulkcem in 2002 bid for and eventually bought NIGERCEM (assets and liabilities) from the South-East State governments (60%) and the Federal Government (10%) making a total of 70 per cent shares. The remaining 30 per cent equity belonged to individual Nigerians and private companies. The exercise was conducted by the Technical Committee on Privatization (TCOP) an agency of the Conference of South-East CONTINUED ON PAGE20

south-east

The corpse of the late Mrs. Orie Chima was deposited at a Presbyterian Church Hospital Mortuary, but disappeared from the morgue on May 21. Also, the remains of the late Ako Augustine was exhumed after its burial over mistaken identity, UCHENNA INYA, in Abakaliki, reports.

THURSDAY, june 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Who took their corpses away?

hen Mr. Ibe Ate of Amaigbo community, Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State deposited the corpse of his grandmother, late Mrs. Orieoma Chima, in the hospital mortuary preparing for the burial rites, little did he know that the corpse will disappear from the mortuary when he went for the collection on the burial day. Angered by the development, Ate, who had reported the matter to the hospital authority, who could not provide his grandmother’s corpse, petitioned the state police command. The police then swung into action and arrested a mortuary attendant in the hospital, Raphael Amaechi, who is currently helping the command in its investigation. It was during the investigation that it was discovered that late Mrs. Chima’s corpse was removed from the morgue by unknown persons on February 20, 2016. The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP George Okafor, who confirmed the development, said that the case was reported to the police by Ibe Ate on May 21. “When Mr. Ibe Ate went to the mortuary to get the corpse ready for burial, the corpse was declared missing and information has it that the corpse was actually removed from that morgue on 20th of February by unknown persons. As it is now, the mortuary attendant is in our custody’’, he said.

Some mourners at funeral service

The situation is coming after the corpse of one Ako Augustine of Enyigba community in Abakaliki Local Government Area of the state was exhumed after the burial over mistaken identity. When the relatives of late Ako Augustine went to the mortuary of Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA II) to claim their corpse, the mortuary staff could not provide the body of Ako which had been released to some other persons from Effium Autonomous Community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state. Efforts to find the corpse at the mortuary proved abortive as the mortuary staff could not resolve the mystery. The search was said to contin-

The owners of the corpse were being delayed, waiting for their corpse

ued even as some of the personnel of the mortuary were sent to the parent hospital, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA I) to find out if the corpse was erroneously taken to the morgue in the hospital. Investigation by New Telegraph revealed that the cause of the confusion was the names of two dead persons deposited at the mortuary. While one of them had the name Ako Augustine, the other bore Alo Augustine. As the controversy raged, the burial ceremony of Ako Augustine was put off even when all arrangements concerning his funeral had been concluded. “The owners of the corpse were being delayed, waiting for their corpse. After a while, some of the

NIGERCEM: Waking up a sleeping giant C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 9

States Governors Forum then. Other bidders were Nigerian Flour Mills plc and Lafarge/WAPCO. It is pertinent to say that of all the bidders, EBCL was the only company that opted to acquire NIGERCEM assets and liabilities. Other bidders wanted NIGERCEM liquidated as they were scared off by the amount of liabilities and litigations (including contingent liabilities) discovered during the due diligence exercise. The Privatization of the NIGERCEM by the TCOP was ratified by the State Governors at a meeting of the Conference of SouthEast Governors in Enugu on Monday 11th August 2003, thereby concluding the exercise. A communiqué was signed by the State Governors. However, on the request of the Ebonyi State Government by then former Governor Sam Egwu, and in order to have the host’s cooperation and

good working environment, the core investor thereafter sold 10 per cent of the shares to the state, leaving it with 60 per cent shareholding. Unfortunately, several months after the coming of the core investor, the factory was still unable to commence operation while the rehabilitation work was abruptly stopped. The core investor alleged harassment by the Ebonyi State Government, under Elechi, who it accused of hiring armed militia men to intimidate the workers and contractors working in the factory, an allegation the state government denied. One of the major reasons given by the Elechi administration for trying to recover NIGERCEM from the core-investor was the allegation that the core-investor was cannibalizing the factory and using its licence to bag and re-bag cements using the name of NIGERCEM. But the company denied the allegation.

However, in apparent reaction to frustration by the “antics and desperation” of the then state governor to take over the factory, the Board of Directors of NIGERCEM instituted a court case at the Federal High Court Enugu, praying the Court for an Order restraining the Ebonyi State Government (the defendant/respondent) its agents, privies, assigns, servants or howsoever from taking over the premises and/or interfering with the operations of the Plaintiff/Applicant on all the land and property described as NIGERCEM land in the Notice of Revocation dated 6th October, 2009. The case, which was instituted on behalf of the Plaintiff by Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) before Hon. Justice Kafarati also prayed the court to issue interim injunction restraining the defendants/ respondents or their agents from conducting any inquiry into the operation of the com-

pany or taking any step which may have the result of interfering with the business of the plaintiff/applicant pending the determination of the motion on notice. Eastern Bulkcem sustained most of her reliefs in court. The main factor that may have influenced Elechi’s bold moves of revocation of the certificate of occupancy of the company and trying to enlist the support of the Federal Government in taking over NIGERCEM from EBC was the impression he had then that NIGERCEM was privatized by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). It was indeed this thinking in government then that prompted a letter to the Presidency. But this had been proved to be untrue as the former governor later got to know that the core investor did not buy the shares from the BPE but TCOP established by the South-East States Governments.

mortuary workers, who were already with the family brought the matter to the attention of the management, wondering whether the corpse was transferred to Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA I). “Some people were sent to FETHA I to find out if the corpse was there, but they went there and found out that the corpse was not there and they came back. “At a point, they checked other corpses and discovered they had a misplaced corpse. They then called the attention of the hospital PRO who addressed them (the family members) and told them that this thing is a problem. The family tried to react, but at that point, they had called their lawyer who took up the matter. “The lawyer directed that they should go to the police to make official entry which they did in the presence of the hospital staff and the Public Relations Officer. After the official report, they continued to search. Eventually, it was established that the corpse was missing and that it was released on the 14th of April, 2014; that the one they had at the mortuary then was the one supposed have been released on the said date. The corpse they found at the mortuary was Alo Augustine while the one earlier claimed was Ako Augustine. “The owners of the corpse began to make attempt to get to the people of Effium (who were said to have claimed the body of Ako Augustine).” Because of the intervention of the police, the family of Ako Augustine could not react in a disastrous manner. They got someone that took them to the place, even though the burial could not hold again. By now they have exhumed the corpse”, a family source, Ogeh Oroke, stated. The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA), Dr. Emeka Ogah, when contacted on the telephone, did not pick the several calls made to him. Whereas, the Public Relations Officer of FETHA, Uzodimma Orji, told our correspondent that he traveled out of Abakaliki.

THURSDAY, june 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

SouthSouthFocus Ordinarily, the passage of the late Monarch of Benin Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba Nedo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, was not much of a shock to the people of his kingdom. He died at a ripe age. But in a week when his funeral rites were being concluded, the state was shaken by the death of two sports icons in Benin within a threeday interval. CAJETAN MMUTA, reports from Benin

he proverbial saying that when the big Iroko tree falls, the ground quakes, the birds and other animals tremble and scatter, is incontrovertible. In nature too, there are often signs and wonders in the passage of time and season and so it is for men. The essence of time is aptly captured in the great mystery books, the Holy Bible and the Koran, which say that for everything, there is time and season. For Nigeria in general and people of Edo State in particular, the deaths of three of their own; late His Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba Nedo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Eredi-

Edo’s week of sorrow

auwa, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi and Shaibu Amodu, are too many pains to bear within a short time. Indeed, they are mortals and therefore are by law and order of nature, were bound to return back home to their creator but the timing has always been the puzzle and source of devastations, frustrations and pains of families, friends, associates, fans and subjects where applicable in these unfortunate circumstances. Indeed, the dramatic and intriguing passage of the three respected and high profile personalities, no doubt, has left a wide gulf or vacuum in not only their family members, associates, communities and states, but also the larger society where their respective impacts were felt in one way or the other. With the death and its announcement by the Benin Traditional Council on 29th April this year about the death of the sage and great Oba Erediauwa of Benin kingdom, the rich culture and tradition of the ancient town and its people as well as the vast arable land mass have continued to remain indelible historical reference points and testimonials to the Heart Beat state, the oil rich SouthSouth geo political zone and the entire country, Africa and the global communities. Since his ascendancy to the revered throne in 1979, the monarch had wielded loud, peaceful and unifying influence that assisted in no small measures towards the corporate existence of

Let no one speculate. For the avoidance of doubt, that is why we want to do an autopsy

different ethnic nationalities, the people and the nation together. As a former federal Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and variously as Commissioner for Finance in 1975 under Military Governor, George Agbazika Innih, in the then Bendel State, as well as such other high profile positions, he touched lives, brought fame, development and glory to both the kingdom, the then Midwestern region, Bendel State, Edo State and the country at large. His death however marked the end of an era, after about 37 years on the throne (1979-2016). While the state, its people and subjects in the kingdom were yet to get relief from the pains, sorrow and the rigorous traditional rites of the royal and glorious passage of the Oba and the much awaited coronation to usher the reign of a new king, the heir apparent, His Royal Highness Prince (Ambassador) Edaiken N’Uselu, Eheneden Erediauwa, the people were on Thursday last week hit with the saddening death in Benin City of Nigeria’s young and talented former coach and former captain of the national team, the Super Eagles, Mr. Stephen Keshi. The Delta State-born soft spoken player, coach and ‘Big boss’ as he was called by his colleagues and peers, had died in Benin City, a City he had spent a greater part of his life while growing up and during his career as a footballer of state, national and global repute. Keshi was rushed to Mediplex

Amodu’s remains before being laid to rest

Hospital Benin and family sources said he suffered from distress and pains in the leg and his sudden passage was one of the worst hits. As officials across the nation’s sports circles, politics, sports enthusiasts, fans, friends and associates and contemporaries mourned Keshi’s passage amid shock and mixed reactions, the family is presently devastated and reeling in pains as well as awe stricken. The death of their son came just about six months after his wife, Kate, passed on and was buried in January this year in the state capital. The body of the late former skipper is presently at the Stella Obasanjo hospital Benin, awaiting outcome of the autopsy report for the family to disclose to the world what actually killed him. The dramatic exit of the football maestro and former coach had elicited tears as his brother in-law Mr. Ricky Aburime disclosed that he died 12 midnight while being taken to the hospital just about 20 minutes drive between his palatial home on Ohenhen Street in the capital town. According to Mr. Aburime, Keshi had complained of pains and had asked that he be massaged and “as the massaging was going on and all of a sudden we noticed that his countenance changed and he was in distress.” He said: “Look, he didn’t like that way he felt. The person that was with him, Ebuka, rushed out and requested that he be taken to the hospital.” He disclosed that “from that moment when they put him inside a vehicle from his nearby house to the hospital between 11:30 and few minutes to 12midnight, he was dead by the time we reached here (hospital). It was the nurse that first checked the pulse and confirmed the nothing was there and the doctor came and confirmed that he was dead. And that was it.” He further explained that the late Super Eagles coach in the first instance was never “a patient of Faith Mediplex Hospital and protocol would not allow them any kind of report or even give death certificate. We decided to go and bring in the police, which we did last night. They inspected the body before the hospital staff were able to keep in the mortuary.” He added that the family would conduct an autopsy on Keshi’s body which he hoped should be carried out by the state command Police Autopsy doctor and commissioner of police, a consultant pathologist, Dr. Wilson Akiu, in order to ascertain the actual cause of his death contrary to wild speculations that he died of cardiac arrest.

CONTINUED ON PAGE22

south-south

THURSDAY, june 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Shock, tears, wailings in Edo

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 1

Aburime cautioned, “Let no one speculate. For the avoidance of doubt, that is why we want to do an autopsy. That is why we are not embalming now. We are going to preserve him until the expert can come and do the proper pathology on the body before we can now embalm and start talking about and I think at that point we can now lay everything to rest. No official statement as to the cause of death. Apparently, he was in distress but we are not medical experts because we would not want to speculate as to how Stephen Okechukwu Keshi died. Between the time we carried him from the house to the hospital was not more than 20 minutes before doctor confirmed him dead on arrival,” he said. A visit to the residence of the late Illah born sports star in Benin elicited more tears and revealed the emptiness and vanity of man’s endless sweating for pleasure and luxury due to absence of family members, especially, with the wife’s death in her prime and children who are overseas. Keshi may have lost grip with life due to more pains and anguish over the wife’s death than the pains of struggles for life and living. Chairman of the Football Association, Edo State, Mr. Frank Ilaboya, noted Keshi’s death as devastating and shocking to both himself and the football community in country. Ilaboya said: “I know that he used to have this leg pain, maybe because of playing days. But that is all I know”, stressing that Keshi’s loss had created a huge vacuum in the entire football community in Nigeria. H said: “Keshi is someone that we all love. We all know him as the ‘Big Boss’. He is one player and coach that is respected and will be missed. He was very unique. As a captain, he was very exceptional. As a coach, he was the only one that has won the Nations Cup as a player and as a coach. It is a big ‎vacuum in Nigeria, Delta and Edo States. It is a vacuum in the football community. We thought that he was going to do more and more for Nigeria. But today, we cannot question God. What do we do? We pray that his soul rests in perfect peace.” Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State described the death of Keshi, as a great loss to the nation and to Edo State where he was resident. He said the late Keshi was a thoroughbred professional, complete gentleman, a good citizen who impacted positively on his immediate environment where he lived a quiet life. Oshiomhole stated that, “His name will undoubtedly be written in gold as a great Nigerian Ambassador, who brought glory to the country and left an indelible mark in the sands of time and prayed that “the Almighty God will grant his soul eternal rest and his family the fortitude to bear this great loss.” Sadly, again, when heaps of condolence messages laced with eulogies and grief over the late young soccer legend were yet to die down in the ancient town and its environs including the country, the airwaves and various people were stunned with another grief, this time, about the death while in his sleep of another former Super Eagles Chief coach and Technical Director of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amodu Shuaibu.

Keshi

Family members said that he died on Saturday morning in sleep even as he was performing the Ramadan fast. Amodu’s demise also had brought shockwaves to the Nigeria’s sports sector which indeed has experienced its worst hit by sudden loss of its best brains and personalities. His death came barely three days after Keshi died also in Benin City. It was learnt that the demise of the former coach of Super Eagles came shortly after he entered the state capital to process some vital documents for his payments over his works as Technical Director in a project initiated by the state government to train young talents in football. He had complained of pain in his chest region and quickly made arrangements to see a medical doctor, who in the process of close examination certified him to conclude his Ramadam fast on Saturday. The doctor, whose name was not given was reported to have advised Amodu not continue with the fast, so that he could take drugs for necessary recovery following an observed history of high blood pressure after a thorough examination before he was discovered to have died in his sleep. The remains of the late coach were late taken to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, off Sapele Road in the ancient capital town first before being conveyed in a motorcade to his Okpella town in Etsako East Local Government for Muslim burial same day. The sad news of his sudden death had elicited wailing and shock amongst family members, fans, friends and associates as well as some government officials and sports men and women in the state, across the country and beyond. Amodu was among the top sports personalities, who had paid their last rest for departed Stephen Keshi in his home in the state capi-

tal on Thursday, last week but little did he know that same cold hands of death had its hard grip on his own door as he went in to sleep. At the morgue of the hospital complex lay on Saturday the lifeless body of Amodu, wrapped in white cloth on a stretcher. The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation and cousin to the deceased, Prince Kassim Afegbua, told newsmen that Amodu was discovered dead in his room on Saturday morning in his house at Delta Crescent, GRA, Benin City. According to Afegbua: “We were together yesterday. He came to my house in the morning and we were discussing about how Keshi died and he was saying how calm Keshi was and that death is the ultimate price every man must pay. He left my place and I asked what his programme was and he said he was going to go to Okpella on Saturday, only for us to realise that it is only his dead body that we will be taking to Okpella.” He said, “It is quite shocking. I still don’t believe it. It is like a dream to me. He told me he would be travelling to Okpella this morning (Saturday.) Later in the day, he was at the police station to see one of the family members who was arrested.” The commissioner described his death as “a mystery to us,” “because he led the last prayers yesterday and he only complained of having pain at the chest region. He was actually a BP patient and he was also observing the Ramadan, the doctor advised that he should stop the Ramadan fasting and that he should be taking his drugs. he went to sleep and he said they should wake him up 4am this morning for the (Suhur) prayers. He was discovered dead in his room at about 4.00am when they went to wake him up,” he explained. An assistant Coach to the late

Amodu, Mr. Godwin Izilenn, said he was with the late Amodu on Friday night where they agreed to meet on Saturday by 10 am for him (Amodu) to interview a driver he requested for “and that is the 10 o’clock that we are now”. Izilenn, who broke down in tears intermittently, said: “We have always been together. We were at the palace for condolence on the Oba. I tried him for several times yesterday (Friday). I couldn’t get him. So, in the evening at about 6.30pm, I called him again and said look the driver you said I should look for you is with me so where are you? He said he was in the police station. I said should I come with my friends? He said no, he only went there to take somebody on bail. He noted that, “Amodu Shuaibu was a great guy, a bosom friend, greatest associate and my children are embarrassing me already with calls to confirm the incident. He is gone. My greatest pain is what happens to the immediate family? I know him to be the last person in the family, if you see me shed tears, not because Amodu is gone but because of the family he left behind. The wife, the children, he was keen in getting his children educated. What will happen to them now is my question. It is a double tragedy to us (Amodu and Keshi’s death).” In a reaction also, Amodu’s eldest son, 26 year-old Abdul-Aziz Amodu, had narrated to newsmen his last moment with his father before he got the sad news about his death. Abdul-Aziz explained he had discussed with late Amodu on Friday about his (son’s) plans for the forthcoming mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps programme later this month. He said, “I am to go for the NYSC this month. So, I called him yesterday (Friday) to just discuss concerning the NYSC. He didn’t pick my call. He called me back and told me that he was very busy and I should calm down and that he would get to Okpella on Saturday, so that we could see and talk. That was the last thing he said to me.” He recounted that while discussing with his father about the death and burial plans for late Stephen Keshi, his father had merely told him that the ex-former Super Eagles skipper (Keshi) was yet to be buried because he was not a Muslim. Otherwise, he would have long be interred without anyone waiting. The late Amodu had since been buried according to Muslim rites at his sleepy Okpella community in Etsako East council area of the state. The elders, women, groups and youths had gathered in large numbers to mourn as the remains of Amodu was laid to rest. Family members and neighbours could not hold back their emotions as they cried and wailed uncontrollably. Amodu’s aged mother who had earlier been taken to the palace of Okuokpellagbe of Okpella, Alhaji Aye Dirisu, was brought into Amodu’s compound where she also stays after being briefed of her son’s death. Members of the Nigerian football family including the Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi; chairman of the Edo FA, Frank Ilaboya, Robinson Okosun and other football and sports enthusiasts gathered at the departed Amodu’s residence to pay their last respects.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Industry

Business What's new Nigeria’s DNS grows 20% in five months, says report

Spiralling job cuts as albatross to manufacturing

eWorld Price war: Telcos dangle data offer

27 29

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE April 2016...................................13.7% March 2016...............................12.8% February 2016............................11.4%

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

EXCHANGE RATE

(BDC as at June 10 )

(Interbank as at June 10)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N358 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N515 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N405

l Foreign Reserves – $26.401bn as at 8/6/2016

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

Source: CBN

p.26

Manufacturers decry gas shortage, others

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R - L : E xe cu ti ve Dir e c tor, A s s e t Mana g emen t C or p ora tion o f Nig eria (A MC ON ), Mr. A minu Ismail; Chie f E xe cu ti ve O f f ic er, Zimb abwe A s s e t Mana g emen t C or p ora tion ( Z A MC O), Dr. C o smas K anhai and E xe cu ti ve Dir e c tor, A MC ON, Mr. Kola Aye ye, w hen the Zimb abwe an c or p ora tion p aid a busine s s v isit to A MC ON in L a g o s

MANDATORY Regulator’s bid to make the voluntary code compulsory will engender healthier competition among industry players

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

he implementation of the corporate governance code (CGC) for telecoms industry designed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2014 will soon take full effect, as a document whose adherence by the operators shall be made compulsory, New Telegraph has learnt. It was learnt that the Commission is already taking practical steps aimed at reviewing the document once again in collaborations with industry stakeholders before its application takes off. Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, disclosed that the Commission is planning a forum to address the issues on how the industry can strengthen corporate governance among the operators. He explained that NCC initiated a voluntary Code in 2014, which was adopted by the sector in line with global best practices, stating that 2014 version is currently undergoing a review and amendment and shall become mandatory thereafter. “The NCC has, therefore, invited stakeholders, including telecommunications operators, investors, financiers, Value Added Service (VAS)

Telcos face compulsory use of code of corporate governance providers and experts, to a one-day forum scheduled to hold at Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, later this month,” he said. Already, Ojobo said industry players, including Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS), Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), and other stakeholders would be at the forum. “Deliberations at the forum shall usher in a new Code of Corporate Governance for the sector and the consultative forum is in line with the Commission’s practice of industrywide consultations before carrying out its regulatory functions,” he said. This newspaper learnt that the recent N1.04 trillion fine imposed on MTN Nigeria for violation of Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations and other infractions carelessly committed by players in the sector are key factors signalling the need to “begin compulsory adherence to the code of governance document.” Analysts say enforcement of strict adherence to the code would strengthen industry sanity, boost healthy competition and bolster industry investment from its current $32 billion to over $40 billion by 2018 when broadband might have hit 30

$40bn Being the expected telecoms investment by 2018

per cent penetration. The Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecommunications industry seeks to foster good corporate governance practices in the Nigerian Telecommunications industry and the provisions of the Code are based on international best practices. The Code adopts the principles, standards and laws laid down in existing statutes in Nigeria, particularly by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), the Nigerian Communications Act, among others. According to NCC, the Code is subject to the provisions of CAMA, as it relates to directors’ and officers’ responsibilities. In a prelude to the Code of Corporate Governance for Telecoms Industry document obtained by this newspaper, the NCC said that enthronement of good corporate governance standards and practices in organisations encourages corporate success and business sustainability. The document stated: “The importance as well as relevance of corporate governance codes is now firmly established. The need to develop a sector-specific Corporate Governance Code for the Nigerian telecoms industry is necessary to address the peculiarities of the secCONTINUED ON PAGE 26

BUSINESS |news

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nigeria’s DNS grows 20% in five months, says report POTENTIAL Growth of country’s internet domain ecosystem presents huge economic potential Kunle Azeez

igeria’s domain name system (DNS) adoption has grown impressively by 20.3 per cent in the first five months of this year, latest official data released by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has revealed. According to the data obtained by New Telegraph, between January and May this year, the country’s manager of Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), .ng, NiRA registered 12,199 new .ng domain names. In January, February, March and April, the country’s DNS market recorded 9,511 registrations and 6,062 renewals. In May, additional 2688 were registered with 1, 523 renewed. In total, 12,199 .ng domain names have been registered in the five months while 7,585 existing domain names were renewed. “The domain names, count from January to May 2016, include 12,199 registrations and 7,585 renewals. In May 2016, 2,688 new domain names were registered, 1,523 domain names were renewed and there were 77 transfers between the NiRA accredited registrars,” said President, NiRA, Mr. Sunday Folayan in the new report. The renewal rate is encouraging as well.” Industry analysts say increased awareness being created by NiRA has resulted in a month-on-month growth of Nigeria’s .ng domain names, adding that the steady growth could help in reducing the current annual capital flight of N600 million incurred by the country as a result of patronage of foreign domain names. Till date, the number of .ng domain names registered in the country have reached over 72,000 with more efforts being put in place to boost further adoption. As at last December, the total number of .ng domain names registered in the country stood at 60,000, according to data obtained from NiRA, the official managers of the country’s .ng domain resources. .ng is Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), the country’s identifier on the

nesses and governments is huge. In the first place, the local content policy of Federal Government starts with .ng. So, if you as a Nigerian want to promote the local content, you should be on .ng registry. That is the first thing.” Secondly, the NIRA president said that the policy of the Federal Government is also promoting local content for businesses to be online and preferably on .ng. “The more people find a business online these days, the better it is for the business owner and that is even where the world is going: ecommerce,” he added. He maintained that .ng provides a good visibility and progress for business, urging

World Wide Web (WWW). “It is interesting and refreshing to witness such growth. The renewal rate is encouraging as well,” said Folayan. “Growth in new .ng domain names registrations moved from 18,870 in 2014 to 22,113 in 2015.” According to him, the security of .ng is top-rated. “Even to scam with .ng is very difficult because we would be able to know the person that registered the domain name. Others do proxy, but we don’t do proxy in Nigeria. We know who is registering what; the registry is here with us.” Afolayan, while listing the benefits of .ng domain name usage, said: “The value of using .ng to individuals, busi-

businesses and individuals to bring their businesses online by opening such online presence in .ng. “From macro perspective, the money realised from the sales of .ng domain names is retained in Nigeria and used to development the local economy as well as create jobs to address the unemployment situation in the country,” he added. Meanwhile, a special youth workshop of the 2016 Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) held in Abuja early this month has examined the impact of the Internet on the youth to ensure they behave positively on the Internet usage. At the forum, the youths were informed that with over

L-R: Akwa-Ibom State Liaison Officer in Lagos, Mr. Samuel Bassey; Chief Operating Director, Africa Clean Energy Summit, Mr. Olawale Akinwumi; Director General, Dr. Victor Fodake and Director, Centre for Research Innovation and Discovery, Covenant University, Prof. Samual Wara, after a media chat on the first Akwa-Ibom State Climate Change and Clean Energy Mega Summit/Expo, in Lagos.

Manufacturers decry gas shortage, others CLOSURE Manufacturing firms are shutting down as acute gas shortage and AGO price hike persist

Taiwo Hassan

anufacturers in Nigeria have bemoaned the effect of the significant reduction in gas supply and scarcity on their businesses caused by the activities of militants in the Niger Delta area. Recently, militants have attacked the country’s two biggest oil and gas facilities- the Shell Petroleum De-

velopment Company (SPDC)’s Forcados export pipelines and Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL)’s Escravos-Lagos links. The Federal Government’s directive on gas supply to the power stations has not also helped matter either. These manufacturing companies have also raised the alarm over the sudden hike in the price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), otherwise known as Diesel from N145 per litre to N180 per litre. President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Jacobs, in a chat with New Telegraph, revealed that the militant group - Niger Delta Avengers’ (NDA) attacks on the international oil companies’

oil fields and government’s decision that most of the gas generated from Forcados and Escravos should be prioritised for power generation in the country, have brought about uncertainties in the country’s manufacturing sector. Most manufacturers, he said, cannot meet their production targets. Specifically, Jacobs said that its members are currently shutting down their factories as they could not cope with the acute gas shortage, which has raised the price of gas to N1,000N1,500 per cubic in the market. According to him, most of the manufacturing companies prefer to use gas in their factories because running on gas is

Telcos face compulsory use of code of corporate governance CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

tor that are not typically dealt with under broadly-aimed codes. “This is more so in view of the fact that the telecommunications sector though dominated by privately-held companies is of strategic importance to the economy at a macro level and has considerable impact at the

three billion Internet users worldwide, the youths have a large audience to market their brands and products. The 2016 NIGF forum brought about dialogue amongst stakeholders on how the Internet Governance Ecosystem potentials should be harnessed for Nigeria’s inclusive development, economic growth and ability for sustenance. Discussions ranged from unleashing the power of Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Mind (IoM) for a smarter Nigeria, harnessing indigenous innovation for inclusive development and the implication of Free Basic on Internet neutrality and innovation in Nigeria.

micro level. “Also, as the telecommunications industry’s regulator, the NCC, in keeping with our core values proactively undertook industry-wide consultations with a view to determining the industry’s corporate governance needs and the best approach to be adopted in addressing the issue of corporate governance in the

sector.” Thus, the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector Corporate Governance Working Group (CGWG) with membership drawn from across the Nigerian telecommunications sector, the NCC and Corporate Governance Consultants/experts was inaugurated on October 24, 2012 by the Commission.

The CGWG developed this Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecommunications Industry and the Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecommunications Industry, is a voluntary code of leading practices, which aims at regulating corporate behaviour and practices of companies within the industry.

three times cheaper than AGO. He added that the hike in price of AGO was ‘not acceptable’ as no manufacturer can sustain production in this new business clime. He said: “Yes, our members are affected by the on-going acute gas shortage in the country. We cannot find gas to power our generators for production of goods due to the militants’ attacks on oil companies’ gas pipelines and the Federal Government’s directive to the oil companies on supply of gas for power generation to the electricity companies. “What I can say is that our members are closing down their production factories over acute shortage of gas supply in the country. It is cheaper to use gas for production than AGO, that is why many companies have gas generating plants in their factories, in addition to AGO generators. Now, gas is too expensive in the market and also scarce to get from local gas distribution companies.” The MAN boss, however, stressed that government must address the infrastructural challenges in the country. These, he said, include power production, distribution and cost of governance.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

InDUSTRY

As the wave of job losses across various sectors of the economy continues, the survival of the manufacturing sector has become a cause for concern among the Organised Private Sector (OPS), TAIWO HASSAN reports

he country’s unemployment ratio has continued to increase following the instability in the economy, which arose from various policies initiated by the Federal Government. The sudden drop in price of crude oil at the international market and other economic challenges are also not helping matters. Already, it is alarming that the private sector and Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) have recorded about 57 per cent job cuts as companies continue to lay off workers. Precisely, the signals being portrayed are very worrisome, even though the multiplier effects have already taken a toll on the economy. The manufacturing sector, which is supposed to be the engine room of the economy, has been hard hit since the sharp drop in oil prices at the international market began in 2014. OPS’ dilemma The OPS, which is the umbrella body of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Economic Consultative Association (NECA) and other various chambers, has expressed pessimism over recent policies put in place by the current administration. According to the President, LCCI, Mrs Nike Akande, the reduction in workforce brings about further uncertainty in the economy. She expressed scepticism over the growing job cuts in the manufacturing and banking sectors in the last few months. Akande said that the private sector could not be blamed for the lull in the economy, adding that government had failed in its responsibility to provide an enabling environment for businesses to grow in the country. She noted that it was the primary responsibility of the private sector and SMEs to run the nation’s economy optimally without any undue interference from government. According to her, the survival of the country’s manufacturing companies and SMEs is strategic for the

Dangote’s Obajana cement plant

Spiralling job cuts as albatross to manufacturing growth and development of the nation’s economy, rather than the on-going shutdown of industries. “The private sector is pivotal to the transformation of the Nigerian economy and, indeed, any economy for that matter. We need the private sector to create wealth from which gover nment could generate revenue. We need the private sector to generate employment to address the acute and frightening unemployment, poverty and insecurity in our society. We need a virile private sector to make Nigeria a respectable country in the comity of nations. We would not relent in our advocacy to promote a conducive environment for the private sector to play the role expected of it in the realisation of the Nigerian vision,” she said. Investment losses President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Tony Ejinkeonye, had disclosed that recent foreign exchange policy regime (forex), especially the restrictions placed on prohibition list, had caused the private sector operators to lose about N1.6 trillion in profits in the last one year. Ejinkeonye, in a chat with New Telegraph, said the continued exclusion of 41 products from access to the foreign exchange market had resulted to loss of businesses among the country’s private sector operators. He said that some of its members were unable to fulfil their obligations with their

The private sector and Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) have recorded about 57 per cent job cuts

foreign partners in terms of transactions. According to him, the forex scarcity in the economy is severely impeding growth of businesses in the country as it has caused massive reduction in volume of trade transactions leading to unfavourable balance of payment. He said: “The CBN foreign exchange policy regime contributed hugely to the stunted growth in the nation’s manufacturing sector and the economy in general as manufacturers shut down operation, given the inability to manufacture due to lack of forex to import raw materials. “Members of the organised private sector have lost close to N1.6 trillion as a result of the forex policy in the last one year. Also the CBN exclusion of 41 products from access to the foreign exchange market led to loss of confidence on most of our members by their foreign partners due to their inability to fulfill their obligations especially in on-going transactions as at then. It also contributed massively to the reduction in volume of trade transactions leading to unfavourable balance of payment.” Poverty forecast According to the International Labour Congress (ILO), over 36 per cent of the emerging and developing world lives in poverty and on a daily income of less than $3.10 purchasing power parity (PPP). The economic crisis in Nigeria and other developing countries has further increased

27 the level of poverty globally, thereby increasing the cost of ending poverty by 2030 to a staggering $10 trillion. Using the latest available data, the ILO, in its new report on World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) 2016 – Transforming jobs to end poverty, finds that some $600 billion a year – or nearly $10 trillion in total over 15 years – is needed to eradicate and moderate poverty globally by 2030. The ILO noted that the global deficit in quality jobs and deteriorating economic conditions in a number of regions threaten to undo decades of progress in poverty reduction. This is even as it warned that developed countries are now inclusive as relative poverty is on the increase there. The report concludes that the problem of persistent poverty could not be solved by income transfers alone as more and better jobs are crucial to achieving this goal. It is estimated that almost a third of the extremely or moderately poor in developing economies have jobs. However, their employment is vulnerable in nature: they are sometimes unpaid, concentrated in low-skilled occupations and, in the absence of social protection, rely almost exclusively on labour income. Among developed countries, more workers have wage and salaried employment, but that does not stop them from falling into poverty. The ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, said: “Clearly, the Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030 is at risk. If we are serious about the 2030 Agenda and want to finally put an end to the scourge of poverty perpetuating across generations, then we must focus on the quality of jobs in all nations.” “Right now, while 30 per cent of the world is poor, they only hold two per cent of the world’s income,” said Raymond Torres, ILO Special Advisor on Social and Economic Issues. He added: “Only through deliberately improving the quality of employment for those who have jobs and creating new decent work will we provide a durable exit from precarious living conditions and improve livelihoods for the working poor and their families.” The study also finds that high levels of income inequality reduce the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction. “This finding tells us that it is past time to reflect on the responsibility of rich nations and individuals in the perpetuation of poverty. Accepting the status quo is not an option,” says Torres. Conclusion Stemming the tide of job losses in the nation’s industrial sector has become very crucial and will go a long way in bringing back the old days when the manufacturing sector contributed a lot to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

business \ industry

LOW CAPACITY Many graduates possess good academic grades but without employable skills

Muritala Ayinla

s part of the measures to ensure judicious usage of the N25 billion Lagos Employment Trust Fund (ETF) set aside by the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, stakeholders in the business environment have charted ways and initiated action plans towards wealth creation and identifying employment opportunities in the state. The experts who comprised business executives, Small Scale Enterprises experts, successful entrepreneurs, Human Resources Managers among others, called on the Lagos State Government to focus on comparative and ecological advantages peculiar to each local government area. Speaking during the maiden stakeholders’ summit organised by the state’s Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, explained that the summit was expected to cover policy issues and how the private sector could play a greater role in youth employment and sustainable wealth creation programmes. He gave assurance that the summit would provide new insight and fresh ideas while experiences would be shared among the stakeholders. Speaking on the theme of summit: ‘Strengthening Partnership for Employment Opportunities and Wealth Creation in a Competitive Environment’, the Director of Human Resources, Nigerian Breweries, Victor Famuyibo, said that many graduates with very good academic grades but without employable skills must be properly trained on the required skills in the world of jobs. According to him, those graduates and other unemployed youths need to have easy access to finance to alleviate capital constraints and facilitate the flow of new technologies and management practices. On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ab-

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Lagos’ N25b ETF: Stakeholders brainstorm on SMEs challenges

dulwaheed Mustapha, said for the small scale businesses to thrive, there is need for provision of enabling environment to drive and stimulate agro-allied business for improvement in efficiency in order to meet the evolving demands of buyers and consumers as well as enhance storability and transportability Meanwhile, Durosinmi-Etti said there is need for Nigerian youths to be creative and inno-

vative and eschew the culture of over-reliance on paid-job, if they want to be successful in their callings. The Commissioner said the new set of university graduates could be job creators as against job-seekers, if they think outside the box and come up with something new and productive. Noting that the creation of the Ministry was as a result of government’s desire to ad-

dress unemployment, he said efforts are ongoing in the ministry through intervention in vocational trainings. The commissioner, who also stressed the need for private sector collaboration to address the unemployment problem in the country, said that that Governor Ambode has not only fulfilled his electoral promise with the establishment of the new ministry. but has also demonstrated his

L-R: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Managing Director, Nipco Plc, Venkataraman Venkatapathy and Project Manager, Nipco Plc, Rajesh Prabhu, during the inspection of vehicles using compressed natural gas/ liquefied petroleum gas, an initiative of Green Gas Ltd. in Ogun State. PHOTO: NAN

NBC pays N40.3bn taxes to FG Taiwo Hassan

he management of the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) said it paid the sum of N40.3 billion as taxes to the Federal Government between 2008- 2015. NBC’s Legal, Public Affairs and Communication Director, Mrs. Sade Morgan, who made this known during a media parley in Lagos, said that the taxes were paid into government’s coffers in line with the country’s laws and regulation that govern

corporate companies and businesses. She said that the company was committed to improving the lives of millions of Nigerians through its various initiated Corporate Social Responsibility programmes that were aimed at bringing about growth and development in Nigeria. According to her, the company has begun major upgrading of its 11 bottling plants across the country, especially the Ilorin plant, which is being upgraded to international standards,

and being targeted to serve the South West region axis. Morgan said that the changes in the company’s manufacturing plants were critical to the long-term objective of NBC as a conglomerate company operating in Nigeria, adding that it is aimed at bringing efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. “Truly, we closed down our Ilorin plant for business reasons. The plant is undergoing a major upgrade in facility development. We are adding new lines to the plant.

Firm committed to improved living standard of Nigerians Taiwo Hassan

rieslandCampinaWAMCO, manufacturers of Three Crowns Milk has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the living standards of Nigerians by rewarding exceptional people who have demonstrated hard work in their fields of endeavour. Speaking at the grand finale of the 2016 Three Crowns Milk Mum-of-the-Year competition, Marketing Director, FrieslandCampinaWAMCO, Tarang Gupta, said that the com-

desire to address unemployment challenges through the commitment of N25 billion ETF for employment and job creation matters for the next four years. Durosinmi-Etti gave assurance that government would pursue its policy framework on productively engaging the youth vigorously and redefine their roles in the society by making them productive to the state’s economy.

pany is determined to recognise and reward women, especially mothers who have distinguished themselves in the company’s promo for Nigerians. Gupta stressed that the campaign is deeply rooted in the brand’s purpose of recognising and rewarding the key roles which the mother plays as an enabler in the daily upkeep of the family. Gupta noted that Three Crowns Milk, as a low cholesterol milk brand that cares for the health and well-being of its consumers, is joining the rest of the world to put a smile on the faces of mothers for

their love and care for the family. “One of the key things that we have identified is that the foundation of any family is the mother and with them being the foundation, they need to stay fit and healthy, which is what Three Crowns truly believes in. We strongly believe that if the pillar of the house, being the mother, is taken care of, the whole family is strong,” he said. Mrs. Nkechi Brayila emerged the 2016 Three Crowns Milk Mumof-the-Year. Nkechi was declared winner ahead of four other finalists at the

grand finale of the competition held recently in Lagos. The judges, made up of Nollywood stars -Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, Annie Idibia, and popular Chef, Uzor Orimalade -declared Brayila winner, having scored the highest points in the three stages of the competition -Fitness, Smartness and Fun Tests. For the year 2016, Three Crowns Milk Mum of the Year, Mrs. Brayila would be rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip for a family of five to an exotic location, with one-year supply of Three Crowns Milk.

The Ilorin depot is going to serve our South West operation axis. With the ongoing upgrade, we are now reconfiguring staff into different roles to bring efficiency in operation, which is critical to us now and in the long run,” Morgan said. On the company’s socioeconomic legacy, the image maker stressed that currently, NBC has created livelihood for about 15 million Nigerians. She also noted that over 130,000 jobs were created by NBC for manufacturing companies in the country. The NBC chief pointed out that the company has over 900,000 distribution partners across the country, adding that 70 per cent of them are women entrepreneurs. She, however, said that the NBC has about 950 suppliers nationwide with 90 per cent being local Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs). On the company’s water development initiative, Morgan disclosed that NBC was able to achieve 54 per cent in process water usage between 2004 and 2015. She added that NBC also provided water access to 8,000 households in 14 communities.

eWORLD

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Price war: Telcos dangle data offer

CEO, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya

A palpable price war has erupted in Nigeria’s mobile space with some telecoms operators essentially doubling mobile data subscriptions for their customers. KUNLE AZEEZ reports

Chairman, Globacom, Mike Adenuga

dustry”, saying it is part of the company’s commitment to “enrich customers’ communication experience.” In the same vein, Airtel recently partnered with Facebook to offer Free Basic service to Facebook users on the network, which allows them to access on texts minus picture and videos while browsing on the social media platform. As subscriber browse with Free Basic on Facebook, they are offered the various full data plans available on Airtel network, which New Telegraph gathered have also increased as a result of the competition. In addition, Airtel has increased data bundle by 75 per cent on all its data plans, riding on different bandwidth capacity sources and its 3.75G network to sustain and lure new customers on their network. Also, MTN Nigeria and Etisalat have joined the bandwagon, crashing their price and danging higher gigabyte of data to their subscribers. MTN, for instance, has increased its 1GB data plan to 1.5GB and then crashed the cost of this data by 75 per cent.

elecoms operators in Nigeria are locking horns in a data price war, as the urge to offer data subscribers increased bundles to outwit competitors, has become apparent in recent times. Following the liberalisation of the nation’s telecoms industry in 2001, the thriving market for mobile services has become intensely competitive with the entry of multiple players. Operators are constantly offering new promotions, enticements, and other marketing “hooks” to attract new customers and capture share from competitors. Analysts say the ongoing price war among telecommunications Revenue pressures New Telegraph gathered that companies, mainly Globacom, MTN, Airtel and Etisalat, is likely to continue in the near future, as the industry enters data revolution age.

Price wars promise much at the outset, but yield little in the end

the new gimmicks by the telecoms companies are part of their efforts to retain existing subscribers while contracting new ones, in the face of declining Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), making the operators battle with revenue pressure arising from intense competition in the market. When the GSM was introduced in Nigeria in 2001 and mobile operators began network roll-out, one critical index used in measuring performance was subscriber base. Telecoms companies, therefore, wrestled for a large share of the country’s voice subscription potential customers to stay on top of competition. The aggressive push for increased mobile lines on their networks has dramatically resulted in a unprecedented boom in mobile subscriptions from less than 500,000 to the current over 150 million lines with teledensity rising from less than one per cent to over 106 per cent currently. But as the market continues to grow, ostensibly tilting towards saturation in terms of voice calls revenue, ARPU has become an important gauge of performance among Nigerian telecoms operators, especially in terms of revenue generation. ARPU is the industry benchmark used to determine the average spending of mobile subscribers on their respective network. From an ARPU of $12 (N2,360) in 2010, for instance, the industry APRU in Nigeria has drastically gone done to $6 (N1,182). Added to this is the revenue losses accruing to the telecoms network, with an average losses of potential N78.475 billion, ostensibly because of the rising profile of inactive mobile lines on their network. OTT as threats Monthly voice revenue has been found to have declined by over 30 per cent month-on-month while the growth of the Over the Top (OTT) players such as Google, Facebook, Skype, Viber, WhatsApp and BBM, among others, further threatens operators’ revenues and profitability. OTT services are services carried over the networks, delivering value to customers, but without

any carrier service provider being involved in planning, selling, provisioning, or servicing them; thereby implying that traditional telcos cannot directly earn revenue from such services. According to a report on OTT by the NCC, to further worsen the issue, the traditional operators still have to make significant investments in upgrading their networks to handle the increasing volume of data generated by the same providers of OTT services. Short-term gains? Although, telecoms operators may be succeeding in tatting more subscribers to their network, analysts say price war does not offer long-term benefits to the combatants, as it appears as a ‘quick fix’ to up revenue. According to former President, Nigerian Internet Group (NIG), Mr. Bayo Banjo, from the outside, price wars appear to offer positive results, but the ramifications, however, run much deeper. “Price wars promise much at the outset, but yield little in the end: at first, gross additions strongly jump, as customers shift to another operator. Soon after, the ‘winner’ network capacity is tested, as traffic rises and the quality level decreases,” said a telecoms industry analyst, Mr. Akin Akinbo. He added: “In consequence, ‘losers’ have to redouble media expenditure and offer incentives to lure their customers back. This, in turn, forces the ‘winner’ to follow suit and spend more to survive.” Conclusion With just over 93 million Global Systems for Mobile (GSM) operators, Internet subscribers in a country with only 10 per cent broadband penetration, analysts say operators should focus on long-term approach towards making their data infrastructure pervasive to attract customers, rather than re-sorting to price war that, analysts believe, offer shortterm benefits.

DG:NOTAP saves Nigeria N188.2bn in four years

Dangling data offers Recently, Nigeria’s indigenous telecoms operators, Globacom, doubled the value of data offers without increasing the old prices, through its novel data offer tagged “Data Overload,” which gives an incremental data of up to 100 per cent to subscribers. The incremental data offer applies to all data plans on Globacom, as the company strives to boost its revenue generation. Globacom is riding on 10,000 kilometres-long, $800 million Glo 1 cable, which berthed on the Nigerian shore in 2010. Globacom described the move as “data game-changer in the in-

Kunle Azeez

he National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has, within the last four years, saved the nation N188.2 billion that would have left the country as capital flight. Director General of NOTAP, Dr. DanAzumi Ibrahim, who disclosed this, said the achievement was part of its consistent intervention in technology transfer into the country. Ibrahim, while speaking during a recent visit of the members of the Nigerian Army Research and Develop-

ment Committee (TRADOC) to NOTAP, according to a statement, called for synergy and closer collaboration amongst the Research and Development (R&D) cells of the Nigerian armed forces. Ibrahim emphasised that, for meaningful outputs in the area of R&D within the armed forces, collaboration amongst the Army, Navy and Air force R&D cells is vital for exchanging ideas and harnessing the abundant talents within the rank and file. This, according to him, is the best way to achieving success in R&D efforts towards

sustainable national development. He said NOTAP has also established 38 Intellectual Property Technology Transfer Offices in Tertiary Institutions and Research Institutes to promote patent culture amongst researchers, which he revealed is yielding positive results with the emergence of patents from such institutions. According to him, with industry support, a NOTAP-Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF) has been instituted to raise critical manpower needed to bridge the wide gap between Research

and Industry, which had hitherto hindered Nigeria’s economic development as a nation. Head of the delegation and Commander TRADOC, Major General Mobolaji Koleoso, said the visit was to interact with the leadership of NOTAP, as part of his organisation’s annual conference, which was converted to visits to research and technology promotion institutions. NOTAP and TRADOC are expected to draw out a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formally actualise the collaboration.

business \ eWORLD

COLLABORATION Partnerships between the regulator and operators towards efficient utilisation of USPF resources will deepen services in unserved and under-served areas

Stories Kunle Azeez

fficient utilisation of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) will accelerate the achievement of pervasive telecoms services across the nooks and crannies of the country, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has said. The ATCON boss, Mr. Olusola Teniola, made the call during an interaction in Lagos. He urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to partner the telecoms network and encourage them to deploy services in the areas not yet served in the country. According to him, while teledensity has grown from less 1 per cent in 2001 to over 106 per cent currently with mobile subscriptions rising from less than 500,000 to over 148 million, much of the access is still in the urban areas. “As such, there is a need for African countries, most especially Nigeria to effectively

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

L-R: Director, Customer Service, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Plato Syrimis; Etisalat customers, Hauwa Maureen Lazzari and Ibrahim Idris; Director Network, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Abdul Adegbuyi and Director, Brands and Experience, Etisalat, Mr. Elvis Ogiemwanye, at Etisalat Customer Forum held in Abuja.

‘Efficient USPF usage will bridge telecoms access gap’ utilise the USPF resources to extend telecoms services, both data and voice to the underserved and unserved areas of the country,” he said. Teniola maintained that, while the number of base stations already built to support service provisioning by the various network has grown in the past years, there remains a large investment gap to build ad-

equate base stations to provide improved quality of service to the growing subscribers in the country. According to industry analysts, in spite of the over 150 million active telephone subscribers on various mobile networks and scattered across the country, the nation is still faced with telecoms access gap. Over the years, telecoms op-

erators have concentrated their infrastructure deployment in the cities, which they believe are more commercially viable while there continues to be remarkable access gap in the rural areas. According to Teniola, till date, the country boasts of over 31,000 telecoms base stations servicing a growing population of over 180 million, but added that over 60,000 towers are needed to

VDT rolls out 4G LTE Advanced services

igeria’s Information and Communication Technology firm, VDT Limited, is rolling out the most advanced technology infrastructure platform to accelerate broadband deployment across the country to support government’s target of 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018. Chief Executive Officer, VDT, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi, disclosed this at the company’s ‘Triple Impact Effect’s held in Lagos. The event focused on celebrating the company’s 15th anniversary, appreciating the company’s customers and unveiling of the company’s new broadband technology service platform, the fourth generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced Internet services. He said: “With sufficient leased capacity on Main One submarine cable and West African Submarine Cable (WASC) submarine cable in Nigeria, VDT Communications Limited has enough redundancy and peering with Tier-1 service providers to enable the best possible traffic routing for individual and enterprise data.” The provision of the VDT’s 4G LTE Advanced services would rise on 2.3 gigahertz spectrum won by Bitflux Communications in February 2014, as VDT is doing the retail for Bitflux. “With Bitflux Communications, we are set to provide our

VDT 4G LTE Advance wireless mobile internet access to subscribers,” Omoniyi said, stressing that his company had started “selling now in Lagos, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Ikeja.” While the company focused on two major services, including broadband virtual private network (VPN) connectivity and corporate Internet service, he said the company has all along focused on last-mile services. “The Corporate Internet

Access solution provided by VDT is reliable, highly available and offers dedicated, secure and managed Internet access with the highest service levels. VDT offers multiple bandwidth options to provide tailor-made solutions to its customers,” he said. Omoniyi added that though VDT had a humble beginning when it started operation in 2001, it has grown from eight staff to over 200 personnel currently and from three service loca-

tions to more than 48 manned locations and 46 unmanned locations across all 36 states capital and Abuja. Also, he explained that VDT currently has over 2,500 Enterprise Customer Access Points (ECAPs) spread across 23 of the 26 banks in Nigeria, the oil and gas, government agencies, institutions, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), among others. “Our portfolio, no doubt, is increasing as the clock ticks,” he added.

MTN offers StartPack to customers

igeria’s telecoms network, MTN Nigeria, has introduced a special tariff plan for new subscribers its network in line with the resolve to champion the new digital revolution in the country. Dubbed: ‘MTN StartPack’, the service according to a statement, is designed to welcome new customers with great and exciting voice and data offers. The offers are automatically activated as soon as a customer successfully registers a new MTN number. Commenting on the initiative, MTN Executive, Amina Oyagbola, said the introduction of MTN StartPack was in line with MTN’s commitment to giving more value to its cus-

tomers from the very beginning. “This is why new subscribers will immediately enjoy six times the value of any recharge, 10MB on every recharge of N200 and above as well as free data on the MTN Deal Zone. The new value proposition also aligns with MTN’s quest of deepening Internet penetration in Nigeria,” she said. General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Richard Iweanoge, stated that the new data and voice service pack is designed to excite new subscribers on the network. “Our new MTN StartPack has been specially created to give new subscribers a unique experience both on

MTN’s voice and data servicing. MTN as a company is passionate about providing world class services to our esteemed customers and positively impacting their lives. This is just one of the ways through, which we do that,” he said. On how to enjoy the new offer, Iweanoge stated that new subscribers should purchase a new MTN SIM and register at authorised outlets. “They can then proceed to enjoy the service offering by recharging the line to get six times the value of the original recharge and make calls, send Short Messaging Service (SMS) or browse within 48 hours of purchase to remain active on the network,” he said.

provide robust coverage in the market. Meanwhile, the regulator recently restated its commitment towards address the infrastructure access gap in the country, leveraging USPF. Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who spoke at a recently-organised ‘Focused Industry Stakeholders’ Forum and Hackathon Award’ by the USPF in Lagos with the theme: ‘Universal Access: Eliminating The Inclusion Barriers’, said 33.7 million people are still being underserved and unserved in the area of telecom access in the country.

NCC wins global best practices award

ess than 14 days after it was adjudged as the Regulator of the Year, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has again won the European Award for Best Practices 2016. The European Society according to a statement from the regulator hosted the award ceremony, which held in Brussels, Belgium. The award was from Quality Research (ESQR), an affiliate of the European Union (EU). No fewer than 63 countries participated in the award ceremony out of which the NCC won the European Award for Best Practices 2016. The award, which is the Gold category is “in recognition of its outstanding commitment, support and results in quality management strategies” in the Gold category. The award was received by Mr. Tony Ojobo, Director Public Affairs, NCC, on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta. The NCC’s management style, impact on the community that it serves and the professional way it carries out its regulatory activities in supervising a sector that contributes immensely to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria were some of the considerations for the award, the statement explained.

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

News Proper management will cut hypertension, stroke

Health

Interview Role of diet in dental diseases

32 33

Blood collection from voluntary, unpaid donors, whose blood was screened for infections, is the cornerstone of a safe and sufficient blood supply in all countries. But, getting more Nigerians to adopt this global best practice is a huge challenge, APPOLONIA ADEYEMI writes

t age 26, Chinedu Uzoagu did not have an idea what voluntary blood donation was all about including what it meant and how it is done. This changed when he visited his cousin, 17-year-old Amagu who was on hospital admission at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idiaraba, Lagos last January. Amagu was being treated for blood cancer, an umbrella term for cancers that affect the blood. On the day, Chinedu visited his sick cousin, Amagu’s condition had deteriorated to the extent that he needed blood transfusion to re-gain vigour and boost his health, according to the consultant paediatric oncologist in charge of his treatment. Although, the consultant had informed Amagu’s father to arrange for two pints of blood to be transfused to his son over two weeks ago, getting a voluntary blood donor to do the needful, stalled Amagu’s treatment. All further medications for him were temporarily halted. The doctor had explained that the blood would boost Amagu’s immunity and make him strong enough to withstand the rigours of new medications. As minutes tickled into days and days into weeks, it became clear that getting a voluntary donor was a herculean task. Amagu was however on the verge of losing consciousness as a result of blood shortage in his system when Chinedu arrived the hospital ward. On sighting his cousin who had become very weak and pale, he raised the alarm. “Are you alright, he asked his cousin who lay unresponsive on the hospital

Appolonia Adeyemi Health Editor

appolonia.adeyemi@newtelegraphonline.com

Blood products

PHOTO: www.englishforpharmacists.com

Saving lives through blood donation bed. Apparently, Amagu was too weak to utter a word. That prompted Chinedu to move closer to his sick relation. He reached out and held his hand, asking for the second time: “How are you feeling?” Yet, the word was mum. Chinedu had hardly heard about the predicament arising from the delayed blood transfusion because of lack of a donor when he volunteered to give one pint of his own blood freely, after assurances that he was safe to donate. To further help Amagu out of the dicey situation, he quickly put a call through to another friend of his and convinced him to donate the second pint of blood. After the processes of ensuring the blood product was safe, it was transfused to Amagu who thereafter recovered slowly.. In Nigeria, getting people to donate blood to save lives, is an uphill task. Most Nigerians are not interested due to cultural and traditional beliefs that link the practice to diabolic things. It is therefore normal to hear claims that donated blood being used for ritual purposes. For instance, the Lagos State Government makes it mandatory for husbands of women that are booked for antenatal services, to donate blood, as a strategy to boost supplies in blood banks in the state. This policy has been widely criticised as falling short of the standard practice. It raises risk of single pregnant women

Statistics show that voluntary non remunerated blood donation accounts for only 10 per cent of the total blood collection

not getting booked for antenatal care, critics have pointed out. However, the Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr. Jide Idris has often justified this policy on the basis that facilities and governments must demonstrate responsibility to ensure availability of blood products in case of emergencies that may require them for life-saving purposes. According to him, if the policy in Lagos does not mandate some categories of individuals to donate, blood would not be available to save lives. The position of the World Health Organisation (WHO), however differs from that of the Lagos State Government. On its part, the world body recommends that voluntary blood donation that is nonremunerated, is the key to sustainable blood bank, but prevailing circumstances in Nigeria make this impossible. A Paediatric Heamatologic Oncologist, Prof. Edamisan Temiye said Nigerians do not want to donate blood. This is contrary to the practice in other parts of the world. “In other societies, people walk up to blood banks and donate blood freely but in Nigeria, we do not do constant donation.” He reasoned that if Nigerians do not donate blood, there would be no blood to be used in hospitals. Temiye said, “we cannot

manufacture blood and animal`s blood cannot be used. So, it has to be a human blood that should be used for a human being. “If blood keeps going, in the form of usage without being replaced, where are we going to get replacement from,” he asked. This is the crux of the matter, added Temiye. Much as what Temiye highlighted is best practice, adopting this style in the country remains the hindrance militating against proper implementation of the country’s blood policy. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) estimates that blood needs in Nigeria stands at between 1.4 million to 1.7 million units per annum. Unfortunately much less is collected, leading to avoidable deaths and morbidity particularly among our women folks, newborn children, victims of road traffic accidents and insurgencies, among others. According to the former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Mr. Linus Awute, the situation could improve if only one per cent of our counCONT INU E D ON PAGE 32

Benefits of donating blood • Reducing iron overload • Anti-cancer benefits • Healthy heart and liver • Weight loss • Production of new blood cells • Screening for some disease conditions • Reduced cardiovascular risk

Health\News

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Proper management will cut hypertension, stroke Appolonia Adeyemi

cardiologist has affirmed that the proper management of hypertension would reduce the risk of people coming down with stroke, heart failure or kidney disease. Delivering a key note speech at a scientific symposium on cardiovascular diseases in Lagos recently, Casmir Amadi who is a consultant cardiologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), admitted that the highlighted diseases are quite common in Nigeria. Current data shows that about 28.9 per cent of Nigerians are hypertensive. Hypertension is the leading risk factor for the incidence of stroke in Nigeria which happens to be the principal cardio-

vascular disease in the country. In this part of the world people generally lead a sedentary lifestyle, coupled with unhealthy eating habits. The symposium was organised by Kraft Heinz Company, manufacturers of Complan, to educate health care professionals on the impending epidemic of cardiovascular diseases and how Complan can be of benefit as an adjunct in the management of cardiovascular diseases. The incidence of cardiovascular disease has been on the rise in sub Saharan Africa with Nigeria being the most populous country in the region. This implies that a significant number of persons may be at risk of fatal outcomes of cardiovascular diseases if not well managed or prevented altogether.

Amadi said, “cardiovascular disease is a serious issue. I work in LUTH, and you would hardly do a call in LUTH without taking in a stroke case or heart failure and the common high risk factor for

stroke, heart failure, even kidney disease in our environment is hypertension.” In his remark, Country Manager of Kraft Heinz for West and Central Africa, Vincent Egbe said,“We talk about the epidemics

that are impacting the country. We talk about malarial and HIV AIDS and few times we talk about cardiovascular challenges, a silent epidemic that is taking over the developing world, especially Nigeria.

A nurse takes a patient's blood pressure measurement

Oreoluwa Aboderin

Beer enhances social bonding – Study

new study has revealed that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol in a group setting boosts people’s emotions and enhances social bonding. The study, published recently in the journal Psychological Science also found that moderate consumption of alcohol can minimise negative emotions — or at least reduce displays such as being silent in a group

The study, funded by the United States (U.S) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism submitted that Alcohol fueled social bonding and increased the amount of time people spent talking to one another. It also increased the frequency and enhanced the coordination of “true” smiles, the researchers said. According to researchers, beer allows us to loosen up

You can have erection after death

when we indulge with moderation and respect, while it selves. “Too many of us go about our daily lives suffocating in our own uptightness, in a constant state of worry, focused on work and not life, being nitpicky and oblivious to the wonderful people and moments that surround us. Too many people never take a break to sit down with a pint of their

PHOTO: jay-harold.com

favourite, to look over at the person next to them and say "hello," to make a connection -- an important connection,” the researchers said. In carrying out the study, researchers randomly assigned 720 men and women to groups of three people who didn’t know one another. They said previous studies have focused on alcohol’s effect on individuals.

Saving lives through blood donation CONTINUED FRO M PAG E 3 1

try’s adult population commit themselves to voluntary nonremunerated blood donation on a regular basis. “This will go long way in getting rid of touts and blood racketeering,” Awute said. He said that the use of blood and blood products had become an integral part of modern medical practice, adding that about 108 million units of blood were utilised per annum in the world. Awute, however, urged Nige- A man donating blood rians to take important decision of becoming voluntary non-re- for voluntary non-remunerated munerated blood donors. blood donation, who do ad-hoc Similarly, Temiye urged Nige- donation from time-to-time. Awute said there was need to rians to rise up and donate blood freely. “When we do, issues of urgently reverse the trend and emergency blood donors will make more Nigerians donate disappear because we have to blood voluntarily. replace what has been given. Similarly, the WHO has been That is the only way we can en- in the forefront of organisasure that we have blood in our tions advocating to countries hospitals. to adopt best practices on blood According to Awute, “the use donation, saying it was key to of blood is far too critical to be sustaining global blood supply. left in the hands of touts and According to the WHO, the racketeers, who commercialise theme of 2016 World Blood Dothis precious gift of life,’’ he nor Day is: "Blood Connects said. Us All". It focused on thanking The former permanent secre- blood donors and highlighted tary in the FMOH, said that sta- the dimension of "sharing" and tistics show that voluntary non "connection" between blood doremunerated blood donation ac- nors and patients. The World counts for only 10 per cent of the Blood Donor Day is marked globtotal blood collection. Much of the ally on June 14. quantity of available blood in the “Blood collection from volunnation’s blood banks come from tary, unpaid donors, whose blood members of various stakeholder is screened for infections, is the groups championing the cause cornerstone of a safe and suf-

PHOTO:www.redcross.org

ficient blood supply in all countries,” said Dr. Hernan Montenegro, Coordinator for Services Organisation and Clinical Interventions Unit in the Department of Service Delivery and Safety at World Health Organisation (WHO). “More voluntary blood donors are needed to meet the increasing needs and to improve access to this life-saving therapy.” A World Health Assembly resolution adopted in 2010 highlights that a secure supply of safe blood components, based on voluntary, unpaid blood donation, is an important national goal to prevent blood shortages. “Safe blood transfusion is one of the key life-saving interventions that should be available for patients in need,” said Dr. Edward Kelley, Director of Service Delivery and Safety at WHO. “Yet, equitable access to safe blood still remains a major

challenge in many countries. How to meet the year 2020 WHO set goal that 100 per cent of all blood for transfusion should be from voluntary blood donors, is a challenge. Blood shortage is still recorded in the nation’s blood banks and many people are shying away from blood donation because of perceived reasons, said Dr. Moruf Adekunle abdulsalam, a surgeon at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). According to Abdulsalam anyone within the age of 18 and 55 years can donate blood. Besides, a man or woman donor whose pax cell volume (PCV) is 40 per cent is fit to donate blood. On the average, most people have PCV that is between 30 to 45. PCV explains the oxygen carrying capacity in the blood of an individual. However, if the PCV of an intending donor is low, he will be encouraged to see a doctor for the administration of medications to boost it. “The total amount of blood in a human body is about five litres and those donating give about 500 mills, which is about one tenth of the blood in their body. Thereafter, within two months the donor’s body regenerates that blood. Whether or not the woman is menstruating, Abdulsalam said “she can donate as long as she is not breastfeeding and not pregnant.”

his is a death erection, which often being referred to as ‘angel lust’. It is a post-mortem erection that occurs when a male individual dies vertically or face-downside and as long as the body remains in this position, the effect will not subside. When a man is still alive, the heart pumps blood evenly around the body. When he dies, this mechanism stops and the blood acts by the force of gravity. As with any mass, the blood will settle at the lowest point of the body and cause swelling. So if a man dies vertically, the blood will settle in the legs and collect at the feet. Oxygen role in red blood When you see blood oozing from a cut in your finger, you might assume that it is red because of the iron in it, rather as rust has a reddish hue. But the presence of the iron is a coincidence. The red colour arises because the iron is bound in a ring of atoms in haemoglobin called porphyrin and it's the shape of this structure that produces the colour. Just how red your haemoglobin is depends on whether there is oxygen bound to it. When there is oxygen present, it changes the shape of the porphyrin, giving the red blood Appendix still useful The appendix gets a bad press. It is usually treated as a body part that lost its function millions of years ago. All it seems to do is occasionally get infected and cause appendicitis. Yet recently it has been discovered that the appendix is very useful to the bacteria that help your digestive system function. They use it to get respite from the strain of the frenzied activity of the gut, somewhere to breed and help keep the gut's bacterial inhabitants topped up. So treat your appendix with respect. Supersised molecules reside in body Practically everything we experience is made up of molecules. These vary in size from simple pairs of atoms, like an oxygen molecule, to complex organic structures. But the biggest molecule in nature resides in the body. It is chromosome 1. A normal human cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes in its nucleus, each a single, very long, molecule of DNA. Chromosome 1 is the biggest, containing around 10bn atoms, to pack in the amount of information that is encoded in the molecule.

Health\INTERVIEW

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Diet contributes to dental diseases, says Ijarogbe Dr. Bode Ijarogbe is the National President of the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA). In this interview with APPOLONIA ADEYEMI, he highlights human practices which damage the teeth and other factors hindering good oral health What is your take on the local study on dentine hyper sensitivity presented by researchers in the country recently? Well, what we found out from the study is that in what people consume there are things that promote the wearing away of the protective layer on the teeth called the enamel. By the time the enamel is worn away it exposes the sensitive part of the teeth called the dentine. Dentine is the inner layer of the tooth that has nerve endings going through what we call dentine tube. When that is exposed and then you take some food into your mouth, maybe hot drink or cold drink or sugary drink or whatever, the person feels intense pain in his mouth. Even if it is pain that lasted a short time, it can be discomforting and so that’s why we have come with the study to encourage our people, to tell them what to do, especially the diet to avoid to prevent such and when the case of the wear arises what can be instituted to alleviate the discomfort. What are the specific diets that can cause that kind of problem? A lot of us take very sugary diet such as refined sugar including soft drinks and snacks. Naturally, there are bacteria in our mouth. That is the way it has been designed by nature but the bacteria have their roles to play. They are harmless if the environment is as natural as it is expected to be. A lot of us take a lot of all these refined foods that tend to cause the wearing away of the protective layer which we call enamel of the tooth structure, exposing dentine leading to direct contact of some harsh-like cold or hot drinks. Sugary drinks and soft drinks make contact with the sensitive part of the tooth, that is the dentine and the nerve inside it. That is what results to hypersensitivity. Apart from that we also have what we call tooth well legions. The way some of us brush our teeth, at times is improper. Some people use hard brush and because that is not what we are expected to use, it wears away the teeth. The hard tooth brush is also very harsh on the enamel’s protective layer of the tooth. It causes the wearing away of the protective layer exposing that dentine. Some of us grind our teeth. By the time you do that, you are removing the protective layer of the tooth and exposing the dentine to oral environment directly such

that when you take some of these things, they have a direct contact with the dentine and invariably the nerve within the dentine, resulting in dentine hypersensitivity. So when we go about giving oral health talks we tell people the effects of some of these things. So, we tell them the things they should avoid, the things they should do so that we educate people, but it does not matter how we cry and shout people, some people still do the wrong things. We must now teach people how to properly handle these conditions when they arise. That’s the essence of everything. How affordable is dental care services? Well on the average I must confess to you that dental services don’t come cheap. The materials we use like the hardware are very expensive. These things are not manufactured in Nigeria. We import them with hard currency. It is not like medical practices where you get a space, put a couch, examine the patient, then institute treatment and prescribe drugs. Dental practice is a whole lot different because of the processes involved. There is no material we use that is manufactured in Nigeria. Does it mean now that the cost is passed unto the patients? Invariably for you to be able to maintain the practice, of course, you have been trained as a professional to make profit or else you run yourself aground. There is no business venture you do that if you don’t make profit the busi-

Ijarogbe

ness would not collapse. If you have a practice and you cannot pay your workers; and you cannot run your machines; how do expect that practice to survive?

We have only nine accredited dental training institutions in Nigeria

Do we really have enough dental practitioners in Nigeria? We don’t even have enough in the first place because even the process of training is very expensive. We have only nine accredited dental training institutions in Nigeria today because the government looks at the cost before embarking on it. The cost of establishing a dental clinic is very expensive compared to general medical practice. Invariably by the time we are able to put lot of factors together, awareness is created and if we are able to get some of these materials that we use at a lower cost, may as a form of rebate or discount or maybe provision of loan, not at a commercial rate to dentists, the cost of these things will come down definitely. How many patients to a dentist? As it is right now we have roughly about 5,000 dental practitioners to a population of about 170 million. So, you can imagine what that is. What is the standard ratio? The ratio varies from country to country depending on a lot of factors but I have given you a fair idea of what it is in Nigeria. So, we still have a lot grounds to cover, not only dentistry but also other dental professionals. Like I told you we have dental nurses, we have dental technologists, we have therapists like that.

How would you assess the attitude of Nigerians towards to oral care? It’s still the economic problem that we have in the country. Until a lot of people come down with a very serious tooth ache or swelling that is almost killing them, they do not go to dentists to seek care. Of course, we have lost patients who died from facial swelling, abscesses which were not properly taken care of in time, maybe because of poverty they could not seek treatment in time, warranting the thing to spread and then compromising their air ways, leading to their death. We still record cases like that. How common is such a case? Well it is common in rural areas actually maybe people are not too enlightened or they don’t have money to seek treatment. Like I said information too is very vital. People have to be informed. Also, I think as an association, the approach that “prevention is better than cure” is very important. To be able to teach a lot people some of these things that are eventually causing problem, the better it is for all of us. What are the major challenges dentists face managing oral care in the country? Economic situation is not helping matters at all. The ratio of dentist on ground now to population is really far from the ideal. A number of dentists are not even employed. You see dentists graduating from dental school and after doing horsemanship, as well as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), they would be looking for job. They don’t even have money to establish a private dental clinic. Presently, the government is saying it doesn’t have fund to employ and pay so where do we go from here? Even we cannot make maximum use of the few dentists that are on ground in spite of the fact that they are not enough. When you are talking about population of about 5,000 dentist to care for over 170 million Nigerians, you can imagine the gap. The earlier we begin to address this problem, the better it is for us. That is why we are bringing up seminars to teach our people. This for dentists to be able to survive in the harsh economic realities of Nigeria. There are some factors we have to put into focus. We are still trying to see if we can approach government to get loans for people who have graduated to set up dental practices such that it won’t be on a very high interest. That way you are able to reach the populace and at the same time the cost of treatment will go down. We have to talk about public private partnership (PPP) in other to still keep the profession running and ensure that we are able to reach far more Nigerians as we are reaching right now and at the same time still practice the profession and make profit out of it because in spite of that huge gap we still have a lot of dentists who are on the streets looking for jobs either in private clinic or in government settings. The space for employment is not even there.

Health\News

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Lagos increases services at PHCs to boost maternal, child health

L L-R: Medical Detailing Manager-Nigeria, Kraft Heinz, Mr. Victor Rowland; Consultant Cardiologist & Lecturer, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr. Casmir Amadi; Country Manager, Kraft Heinz West and Central Africa, Mr. Vincent Egbe; and National Treasurer, Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), Alhaja Fatima Amodu at a Scientific Symposium organised by Kraft Heinz Company in Lagos recently

Firm initiates Ginklat to reduce high stress

ne of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical companies, Klat Pharmaceuticals has initiated a drug christened Ginklat, which eliminates physical and mental stress as well as boosts erection in men. That’s why it is tagged as the Super Magic Vitamin. The launch was carried out in Abuja recently. Given that the increasing high rate of stress in Nigeria has been described as alarming, Klat, introduced the strategic solution for the teeming population who often undergo stress from the daily life routine. According to the Managing Director and CEO of Klat Pharmaceutical,

Emmanuel Olouha, the decision to introduce the Ginklat capsule into the Nigerian market stems from the need to solve teeming stress related issues that affects both male and female, young and old. “The secret combination of Ginseng, Vitamin E and Zinc Sulphate makes the Ginklat capsule to work like magic. It restores energy, reinvigorate erection for a satisfactory sexual performance in men, renews stamina, serves as anti-oxidant and relieves your whole body”. “The components of Ginklat are Ginseng, Zinc, and Vitamin E. Ginseng helps to stimu-

late physical and mental activities among people who are weak and tired. It improves thinking ability and cognition, and has anti-inflammatory effects. Zinc, present in the drug, supports male and female reproductive health and fertility, improves athletic performance and strength, boost human immune system and prevent cancer, improves cardiovascular health, sleep, cognition and energy level, prevents diabetes and more sensitive to insulin. Zinc is a super antioxidant which promotes brain health, and elevates mood while avoiding depression.

agos State Government is using the 2016 Maternal and Child Health week to create more awareness about healthcare services for child-bearing women and children under age five in the state, particularly at the primary healthcare centres (PHCs). The special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga who disclosed this plan in Lagos on Thursday, said all the care services to be provided would begin during the Maternal Child Health Week scheduled to take place from June 13 to 17. Apart from mothers and children, he said the programme would involve people at the grassroots and those in the riverine areas, in as much as they live and stay in Lagos”. The National Demographic Survey data of maternal and child health indices show that the mortality rate is deteriorating and most of these deaths could have been prevented if adequate measures were incorporated. Maternal and newborn health are the most important health indices that were used by global and national

bodies to determine the performance of nations. According to Onanuga, there would be low-cost services to be rendered to both the babies and the women in their child-bearing age. “The Ministry of Health in Lagos, has their figures and they know what they are out to achieve. The community leaders and schools are expected to partake in the information so as to save lives.” However, the special adviser said pregnant women would be included as antenatal care services and preventive drugs would be given for their unborn babies to prevent both the death of

Maternal and Child Health week aims to promote good health in babies

Medicinal values of mistletoe M Nature istletoe, the parasitic plant, is a peculiar plant. Its roots sink into the branches and trunks of other trees, instead of into the soil. The seeds need sunlight to germinate, unlike most other plants that need darkness. The leaves produce chlorophyll even in the darkness, unlike other plants that turn yellowish when there is no light. Mistletoe is an evergreen plant that does not die easily. As a parasite, mistletoe is a disease on other plants, which makes farmers to dread the plant. Mistletoe produces toxic berries, which are eaten by birds that spread them to other trees. Being gelatinous, the seeds stick easily to the trees and so germinate there. Mistletoe, Viscum Album belongs to the Lorantaceace family of plants. The leaves contain choline and acetylcholine, which act directly on the autonomic nervous system. The berries contain alkaloids and toxic substances. For this reason we advise against any form of internal application of the berries. How to preserve mistletoe Collect fresh leaves from the tree. The best time to collect mistletoe in a tropical country like Nigeria is between 12 noon and 1 pm. As soon as you collect the leaves, rinse them in water, and then spread them out on a mat or zinc in an airy place. Do not expose the leaves to direct sunlight for more than one day. This is generally true of all herbs. It is always better to dry fresh leaves in a shady but airy place. It takes seven to ten days for mistletoe leaves to be properly dried. As the leaves get dried they tend to turn

illnesses, mistletoe on any edible fruit would help.

Power

Anselm Adodo

naturepower@paxherbals.net twitter: @anselmadodo

dark in colour. Indeed, mistletoe is a very peculiar plant. Kinds of mistletoe The mistletoe on Guava, Kolanut, Cocoa and trees of the citrus family are the most potent kinds of mistletoe. All others are also good but may not be as effective as the ones mentioned above. For the treatment of cancer, the mistletoe on Guava is the best. This is because it contains the highest concentration of lectins, a kind of proteins that science has discovered to destroy cancerous tumours and cells. It is the mistletoe on Guava that actually cures cancer. This important piece of information is known to some herbalists who keep it close to their chest. I give it here so that humanity may profit from it. For the treatment of cancer, then, I recommend the mistletoe on Guava trees. For the treatment of hyperten-

For the treatment of cancer then, I recommend the mistletoe on Guava trees

sion, nervousness and insomnia, I recommend the mistletoe on kolanut and the citrus trees. The mistletoe on cocoa is best for diabetes. However, these are observations based on practical experience rather than on orthodox scientific research, unlike in the case of Guava. I invite our scientists to verify these observations. For all other forms of

Mistletoe on tree

the mother and child during birth. School Children would similarly be reached for nutritional evaluation and the Primary Health Care Centres would disseminate Public Health Education for everybody in the state. The Ministry of Health is imploring all mothers to access services at these health facilities which would give out free products including insecticidetreated mosquito nets, give immunisation and health education at the nearest primary health care centres around their residents for the success of the government's motive to eradicate child and maternal death.

Methods of preparing mistletoe Method one: infusion Soak three dessertspoons of dried and powdered leaves into a cup of hot water. Allow it to infuse for ten to fifteen minutes before drinking. You may add honey if you wish. Do this two times daily. Method two: cold extract Soak two handfuls of the fresh or dried leaves in one cup of cold water for eight hours or simply overnight. The following day add one cup of hot water to it. Sieve and store in a flask. Drink one cup in the morning and one cup in the night.

Sleeping late linked to more fast food

f you sleep late rather than getting up early, you are more likely to be eating more fast food. This is contained in a new study published in the journal ‘Sleep’. In addition to eating more fast food, researchers found that healthy adults who sleep at least six-and-a-half hours, but sleep later in the morning, also consume fewer vegetables and are more sedentary than those who get up earlier. "Our results help us further understand how sleep timing in addition to duration may affect obesity risk," said principal investigator Kelly Glazer Baron, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illenois. "It is possible that poor dietary behaviours may predispose individuals with late sleep to increased risk of weight gain." The group of study participants was healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 50 who slept at least six-and-ahalf hours each night. The newsmaxhealth. com reported that during the week-long study, length of sleep was measured, the volunteers kept food diaries to track calories and dietary patterns, while study monitors measured physical activity and evaluated body fat.

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Parenting Terrorists on the prowl to radicalise children

Mom&Parenting

Mom's Alert When silence is not golden

36 36

he Stanford rape case in which a university athlete was charged with sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster has made headlines globally. As parents, it might be easy to categorize the events as ‘adult’ in nature-a topic too sensitive to broach with our children. Yet, the anonymous victim is someone's daughter, and the perpetrator convicted on three felony counts is someone's son. Although there's no easy way to determine if it was the way Brock Turner (the rapist) was raised that led him to believe it was alright to perform an egregious act of sexual assault, the cavalier remarks made by his parents call into question what we should be teaching our children, what values we should instill in them when it comes to sex, boundaries, and consent. Rebecca Branstetter, a child and adolescent psychologist, believes this tragic event marks an opportunity for parents to educate their kids at every age and stage of life. "Parents can often be uncomfortable bringing up topics such as sexuality and consent out of the blue, especially if their parents didn't ever talk to them about such topics," Branstetter tells POPSUGAR. "Parents do not have to wait until their children are old enough to be thinking about sex to bring up issues of consent, boundaries, and healthy sexuality." So where does one begin? There is no minimum age limit when it comes to teaching these types of lessons, Branstetter says. Here's what she recommends you start teaching your kids at each key stage of their lives. Young children Discuss their bodies openly. Even when your children are young, you can start to discuss their bodies. Branstetter's simplest advice to follow- "use correct terminology when describing private parts," she

Mom&Parenting

Oluwatosin Omoniyi City Editor

Stanford University Paul Harrison carries a sign in a show of solidarity during the university graduation ceremony

photo:newsheadlines.com.ng

Why you need to talk to your kids about sexual consent recommends. Teach them that their bodies are their own and no one else's. That includes you: "Ask your child for permission to clean their private parts and explain that you are asking permission because their bodies belong to them," Branstetter says. "If they say no to you cleaning their private parts for them, have them do it themselves. These are the seeds of learning about consent." School-aged kids Teach them to ask a friend for a hug before giving one. Those in grade school can handle somewhat more sophisticated concepts of consent, embedded in a larger discussion about respecting each other's bodies and body safety. "Parents can talk with their children about keeping personal space, respecting when others do not want to be touched, and being comfortable telling others when they do not want to be touched," Branstetter notes. "For example, teach your child to ask if a friend wants a hug before giving one, and if the friend declines, give an alternative, such as a high five or waving goodbye." Don't force them to hug or kiss

don't keep body secrets. "This removes the burden of a child having to decide if someone is being inappropriate or not, which can go beyond their skills," Branstetter tells us. "Instead, teach them that if anyone ever asks them to keep a secret about touching their bodies or having them touch someone else's body, they should tell you right away and they will not be in trouble." Turner the rapist photo:www.cosmopolitan.com

relatives when they don't want to. You might think you are teaching your kids respect when mandating that they kiss their grandmother goodbye, but that's actually a bad message to send, and in the worst cases, it can leave them vulnerable to and more accepting of sexual abusers. Branstetter maintains: "Don't force your kids to hug or kiss relatives. Rather, ask them how they would like to say hello or goodbye." Focus on the importance of not having any secrets. Another important concept to discuss is body safety. Instead of discussions about "good touch" and "bad touch," or "safe" or "unsafe" people, parents can talk about how we

Tweens and Teens Have the stereotypical sex talk — but include the importance of consent. During these adolescent years, parents can broaden the discussion to concepts of sexuality and sex. Discussing changing bodies crushes and sexual feelings and ways to consent to or decline sex should be a part of the dialogue. Explain what role alcohol may play in sexual scenarios "Parents can also discuss how alcohol impairs people's decisions to consent or know if someone is consenting, but ultimately, actions under the influence of alcohol are not exempt from responsibility," Branstetter says. "Again, parents may not always feel comfortable with the discussion, but if they don't teach their kids, then chances are their friends and the media

will, and the messages will be rife with misinformation." Boys vs. Girls In the wake of an insensitive letter released by Turner's father, many on social media called into the question the way boys like the "all-star swimmer" are raised today. Although there's certainly a need for parents of boys to take particular note of the circumstances, Branstetter thinks the topic is imperative for all kids, regardless of gender. "The case highlights the equal importance of having a conversation about consent with boys as well as girls," she says. Kids with questions about the case itself Most of Branstetter's recommended talking points approach sexual consent generally, but in some cases, it's important that parents consider addressing aspects of the Stanford case itself. "The younger the child, the less specific details need to be given," Brainstetter advises. "Young children do not need to know all of the gory details, but adolescents, who have access to the internet, might already know the details and have specific questions." • By Kate Schweitzer of POPSUGAR from www. circle of moms

36 MOM&PARENTING

THURSday, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

i-Protect

Childhood Protection & preservation culture

with

Taiwo Akinlami principal@taiwoakinlami.com

In most cases, they are trained to carry out ‘retail terrorism

MOM’S ALERT with

Grace Essen

grace.essen@gmail.com

Terrorists on the prowl to radicalise children When silence is not golden

oday, I address a disturbing trend in the protection of the African child today. I am concerned about radicalization of children by terror groups like Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Al Qaeda, Al-Qa’ida inthe Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Hamas, the Taliban, Hezbollah etc. It has become a worrisome global phenomenon for children to be recruited, radicalized and deployed as suicide bombers, soldiers, human shield, spies, messengers, lookouts etc. These children are either exported from their countries to the training sites of the recruiting terrorist groups. In some instances they are asked to return to their countries after they have been indoctrinated to carry out acts of terrorism or they are posted to other locations countries. Where the terrorist group reside in the same countries where the children resides, they are recruited, radicalized and deployed to carry out terror acts in their countries like we have found in the case of Boko Haram. In some cases, terrorist groups, who are not located in the countries, where the children reside, carry out the entire recruitment and radicalization virtually. In this case, the recruited and radicalized children do not get to leave their countries. In most cases, they are trained to carry out ‘retail terrorism.’ This is a concept created by the terrorist groups to recruit and radicalize western children and youths to carry out terrorism activities within their own soils. This solves for the terrorist groups, the problems associated with tightened immigration and security measures taken by the governments of western states to deal with the escalated cases of terrorism in their countries. An example of ‘retail terrorism’ was the case of the Cherif and Said Kouachi brothers, who were behind the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terror attack in France and the recent case of Omar Mateen, who claimed allegiance to

ISIS, who killed 49 people and injured many in Orlando, America. The attack has been referred to as the worst terrorist attack on the American soil after 9/11. Studies reveal that children, as young as five years old are recruited and radicalized. They recruit children of both male and female genders, low and highly, from developed and developing countries. Their recruitment of children also cuts across religious beliefs, Islam and Christianity. In Nigeria today, Boko Haram is in the habit of recruiting and deploying children as suicide bombers and soldiers. Anthony Lake, head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has described Boko Haram use of children as suicide bombers and all of the categories identified above as ‘depraved act.’ Boko Haram uses children as young as eight years old to carry out suicide attacks. What is the social status of the children being recruited by terrorists groups all over the world? The first are the children of the poor and uneducated, the second are orphan and abandoned children, the third are the children of the terrorists, the fourth are the children of rich and informed. Still fresh in our memory is the story of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was born with silver spoon in his mouth but was recruited and radicalized by AQAP. The strategy for the recruitment of the children of the poor and the rich and educated are completely different. In most cases the children of the poor and uneducated are either captured without the consent of their parents or the children are released by the parents, after being deceived by the terrors groups of a better life. The strategy for recruiting the children of the rich and the informed is to reach the children directly without the knowledge and the consent of their parents/ guardian.

THE VIRTUOUS MOM with

Hameed Opeyemi abdulvirtuepen@gmail.com

Women of faith Through the touch of divine thought to life she lives Like java plus in cable supplying gigs in bit she gives Wondering in fun like the Pretoria hen in relieves Guiding of our world with faith in heart she believes Take one of her as a woman, you will not be deceive Here I meet the woman of faith and I feel so relieved Save the world of calamity and worrisome, her watchword Let the family stand in her way, she is of life and good hold Like crowning the queen with the king, it a turn of good fold She will say, for the palace for peace, let the truth be told Those in this lane feel less of pain even in hot or time of cold As a woman of faith, the man of hers stay around with firm hold Embrace the world of virtues mum, they are of trust and faith

Like the rabbit goes gently for peace, peace and nothing more Catch the reindeer off guide, but feel the real life of the gentle The mum behind our smiles is of divine thought, her way is prayer Even when in the Eden of life, she touch not of the forbidden fruit She will say, our first mother’s mistake means we should learn to live Guide my Angel of life, guide our angels on earth called mothers The first love of all human take this or leave it, mothers are angels She put the food and our dinning and will say please let us pray Divinely pushed all days, she wakes at night for the peace of all Next to God on earth, mothers are better and best by far than all Prayer warrior like the prophet gone for days on a mountain trip At her own point of thought we have the best of life She gives, pray even in the rain, she goes on drained

Mothers are full of the drive we use in climbing heaven From the spiritual book the love for parents is paramount Cogent in fact that our parent serve as the ladder to life Mothers’ takes all she make the house with divine spirit From Kumasi to Abuja, Washington to end the world road Women of faith takes the stage for world peace to stand More fragile is woman but in spirit, most highly inclined For every bit of her word speaks peace for the world Women are to be honored says the word from God Honor your parent for peace here and end of the world Great is for my wura, iya aladura, iya ni iya Oluwatosin… Of all creatures, let’s give an applaud to the purposely divined Our mothers make things happen in the house at all time.

ast week, I got a message and take her mobile phones away. via social media from a Sometime last year, we heard young lady going through about a man who took his two some challenges in her children out while he seized his marriage. It had been all pain wife’s phone and locked her in the and embarrassment for her in a house. On return, he found her marriage just under two years foaming from the mouth. Instead and with no baby yet. According of taking her to the hospital, he to her, she had cried more than she gave her palm oil and brought out had laughed ever since she said “I his phone and recorded her for 40 do”. I asked if anyone – family, pas- minutes until she died. tors, counselors, had tried to help One of the children said her resolve the issue. She said no, she father was not nice to her mother wasn’t going to share her marital and usually beat her. The mother issues with people, not even her of the deceased claimed her daughfamily - typical of us women es- ter was not happy with the marpecially those of us in this part of riage and always called her to rethe world. port how her husband maltreated It appears when we get married her. Unfortunately, nothing was something just happens to us – we done about it. see everyone else even the family A certain man was arrested in that loved, nurtured and raised us Ejigbo, Lagos by police officers for as ‘outsiders’- third party we call beating his wife to death because them. The most common scripture she called him ‘irresponsible man’. you would hear at any wedding It was gathered that the couple, ceremony is “… so shall a man who had been married for years, leave his mothwere known for their er and father constant domestic and cleave unto violence. According his wife…” It is to an eye witness, an not a mistake argument ensued Yes, we were raised between the couple that ‘man’ was that way - to keep s p e c i f i c a l ly over feeding expense. mentioned and The wife called silent, to bear our the husband ‘irrenot ‘woman’. pains quietly no But why is it sponsible’, and he dethat we womscended on her with matter how terrible en have taken countless punches the situation is. It is till she collapsed and it more seriously than the died on the spot. considered a virtue men folk for Another woman whom it was lucky to be alive told intended? her story from the hospital bed. Some women go through hor- She said because she didn’t open rifying experiences in their mar- the gate for her husband on time, riages and it’s mind boggling how he picked up his belt and started we choose to keep silent. Yes, we beating her. As she tried to run were raised that way - to keep si- away from him, she fell down. lent, to bear our pains quietly no During the struggle, a mirror matter how terrible the situation fell and broke on the floor and he is. It is considered a virtue, ‘the stabbed her with a splinter. He poked a finger into her eye and right thing to do’. It shows that we are strong and gave her several blows in the face. resilient, yet to our own detriment. Her husband was arrested by the Little wonder men who treat their police but some family members wives badly are emboldened to later prevailed on her to let go of continue in the dastardly act, of- the case because of the children. ten hurting and humiliating their This experience is not limited to own wives, their ‘better half ’, the this part of the world. A man from very ones they vowed to have and Texas in the US, was arrested for to hold, to love, cherish and pro- beating his wife because she didn’t tect, knowing they would not say ‘like’ his Facebook status! The man a word about what they're going told police he was pissed so he through! punched her and pulled her hair! It’s such an irony we allow our- Another man from Pennsylvania selves go through such repeatedly, beat his wife with a wooden spoon yet we tell our children to talk to because she did not address him us when someone, anyone, treats as 'sir'. He lashed out at her because he them badly. How can they, when we continually demonstrate to them found her 'disrespectful' towards that it’s okay not to speak up? him in front of their children. Just last month, the media was He routinely beat her with the awash with the news of a man who spoon or his hand, and gave her a killed his wife, locked her lifeless 'count of three to comply' with his body in their home with the kids demand of addressing him with and fled with her mobile phones. a 'yes, sir' and also threatened to Residents in the neighborhood la- 'cast the demons out of her' next mented that the deceased had been time she disobeyed him. Why would women who suffer enduring an abusive marriage. According to them the man domestic violence in their hushad serially abused and assaulted band’s hands choose to stay on his wife until the attack led to her in the marriage? Let’s continue death. He would tie her, beat her week…

thursDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Money Line

Forex dealer: CBN sets N200bn shareholders’ fund Caveat

company must meet two of three key criteria as at May 31, 2016. According to the guidelines, “for primary dealership in foreign exchange products,” posted on its website yesterday, the CBN said the three criteria include the financial institution having shareholders fund unimpaired by losses of at least 200 billion; having a minimum of N400 billion in total foreign currency assets and a minimum liquidity ratio of 40 per cent. In addition, the apex bank said it would evalu-

Authorised dealers must have minimum liquidity ratio of 40%

Tony Chukwunyem

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that for any financial institution to be qualified for appointment as a Foreign Exchange Primary Dealer (FXPD) under its new forex policy, such a

ate the FXPDs on criteria such as their forex trading capacity, their deployment of approved forex trading systems, adequate computerisation of their trading, reporting and settlement processes. The CBN further stated that the FXPD registration will be valid for a period of one year, adding that “renewal is subject to meeting the necessary criteria as determined from the annual CBN FXPD Registration Evaluation exercise.” Other requirements of FXPDs, according to the

guidelines include that they must resell a minimum of 70 per cent of any uptake from the CBN in the inter-bank market on the day of purchase and have a maximum limit of +0.5per cent/-10per cent of their shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses as foreign currency trading position limits. However, the regulator said it will not designate as FXPD, “any Authorized Dealer that is, or recently (within the last year) has been subject to financial market-related litigation or regulatory action or in-

CBN’s YEDP records over 9,000 entries stream 1 applicants of YEDP. According to him, following the opening of the application portal after the launch March this by CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over 4,833 applicants had completed their applications with Heritage Bank Plc within two months. “Of this number, first phase of the pilot had 1,547 successful applications selected after the initial screening and that number constitutes the applicants that are benefiting from this capacity building

Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

arely four months into the launching of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Youth Entrepreneurial Development Programme (YEDP), the scheme’s portal has recorded over 9,000 entries. CBN Director of Development Finance, Dr. Olaitan Mudashiru confirmed this yesterday in Abuja at an event to kick-off a three day training programme for

programme nationwide. This training programme is being flagged off today in Lagos and Abuja while applicants from other states will be trained from 29th June to 1st July 2016,” Olaitan declared. He listed activities to be covered under YEDP to include startups and expansion projects in areas like agriculture value chain, cottage industry, miming and solid minerals; creative industry (tourism, arts and crafts, Information and Commutations Technology (ICT) and any other activity that

may be determined by the CBN from time to time. He said, “successful applicants will benefit from a robust post disbursement support that includes peer mentoring and attachment programme where applicable, eye ponder for new entrants but also enhance the values and ideals of existing entrepreneurs. Upon completion of this training exercise, you will have a 5 working days window to complete and submit your business proposals for consideration and funding.”

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 13.7 12 10.77 US$48.6 US$26,449,794,621

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 April, 2016 23/03/2016 Mar 2015 15/6/2016 14/6/2016

Tenor (Days) Call 30 90 180

FGN Bonds

TTM

Price 104.65 114.59 111.96 120.58 109.60 100.54 83.82 97.56

1.07 3.24 3.87 5.82 7.95 9.81 14.31 18.29

NIBOR

Rate (%) 4.4583 9.1071 11.0102 12.3790

Bid Yield 10.38 10.55 11.60 11.44 12.27 12.40 12.44 12.49

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

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

Price 104.80 114.89 112.26 120.88 109.90 100.84 84.12 97.86

Tenor (Months)

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

NITTY

Rate (%) 6.9949 7.2368 8.0819 9.2061 9.5872 10.5042

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Offer Yield 10.24 10.45 11.51 11.38 12.22 12.34 12.39 12.44

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

Money Market

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

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.14

Offer 199.24

Change (%) 0.57 ▲

NIFEX

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.0000

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

196.00

197.00

market, to deal with it on large trade sizes on a twoway quote basis. The apex bank further stated: “Participants in the inter-bank FX market shall include authorised dealers, authorised buyers, oil companies, oil service companies, exporters, end-users and any other entity the CBN may designate from time to time.”

eTranzact rebrands, hits N8.6bn turnover Kunle Azeez

Tranzact International PLC has undertaken corporate rebranding as part of its strategic repositioning across its markets, where its annual turnover has risen to N8.6 billion. The company said the strategic rebranding of its identity, vision, mission, products and people, reaffirms its leadership position in transaction switching, mobile banking, mobile money, bulk payments, remittances, bills and utilities payments, collections and other payment technology areas. eTranzact has grown its turnover from N7.1 billion in 2014 to N8.6 billion in 2015, and profit before tax from N0.6 billion in 2014 to N1.1 billion in 2015. “The new eTranzact identity shows how much our brand has evolved since we launched in 2003

and expanded to other countries. The “e” represents electronic, empowerment, ease and efficiency, showing where our company is today, our vision for the future and our commitment to simplify payments across Africa,” Founder and Chief Executive Officer, eTranzact International PLC, Mr. Valentine Obi, said at a media briefing in Lagos. He said: “We have always been at the forefront of innovation, providing complex and powerful technology with simple interfaces to enable efficient, convenient and cost-effective means of payment on all channels.” He said “With new and refreshed product offerings for business to business and business to consumer segments of the market, we are committed to our vision of being the leading payment technology provider for individuals and organisations.”

BoI to boost telecoms subscribers

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

vestigation that the CBN determines material or otherwise relevant to the potential FXPD.” In a related development, the CBN also yesterday released the revised guidelines on the new forex policy. According to the regulator, the FXPDs will operate with other authorised dealers (nonFXPDs) in the inter-bank

0.00 ↔

Offer 199.1000

Change (%) -1.75 ▼ -2.08 ▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

he Bank of Industry (BoI) said it would of fer business support to telecom subscribers and lucky winners in the ongoing consumer promo by Globacom to ensure the money won in the promo in invested wisely. The Ag. Managing Director of BoI, Mr. Waheed Ola gungu, stated this during the presentation of cash prizes to the first set of winners in the ongoing Glo Hamma Millions promo. “Globacom has done exceptionally well in supporting indigenous entrepreneurship and on our side, we would be willing to support the cash prize winners on how they can use the money to run a very successful businesses with the little they have won,” he said. The first set of win-

ners according to a statement, featured about 200 winners of N100,000 each and a star winner of N5 million, Hameed Olatunji, who is a transporter. The promo is expected to produce 1,000 luck winners of N100,000 each and five star winners of N5 million each. Globacom’s Executive Director, Legal Services, Mrs. Gladys Talabi, said the promo was an initiative to reward the company’s subscribers for keeping faith with the network. “The reward scheme was launched by Globacom despite the current economic challenges to appreciate our customers who are the focal point of our operations by making over one thousand of them richer and turning others into multimillionaires,” she explained.

BUSINESS |Financial Market News

thursDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS |Financial Market News

thursDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BULLISH CBN’s new framrwork on exchange boost market activities

Stories by Chris Ugwu

ctivities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday closed on the positive territory, as the bulls returned to drive the NSE All Share Index and market capitalisation higher by 3.17 per cent each. Bargain hunters reacted positively, leading to a gain of N295 billion in market capitalisation following the release announcement of the new forex policy. More than three stocks gained for every stock that lost even as banking, consumer

Stock market gains N295bn on new forex policy goods, industrial and Oil & Gas equities all closed upwards. Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited, said the new CBN policy, which adopts a single market structure, solely recognises the interbank market as the only channel for foreign exchange supply to the economy. “In addition, the apex bank has allowed the foreign exchange market rates to be determined by the forces of demand and supply, which implies the removal of fixed exchange rates. Also, CBN is committing to periodically intervene in the market, being the major supplier of forex, in order to stabilise the market. The CBN will therefore operate as a market participant where it will either buy or sell

NSE reviews composition of market indices

he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced the review of the NSE 30 and the six sectoral indices of the Exchange. These include NSE Consumer Goods, NSE Banking, NSE Insurance, NSE Industrial, NSE Oil & Gas and the NSE Lotus Islamic Indices. The Exchange in a statement yesteday said the composition of these indices after the review would be effective on July 1, 2016, adding that with the review, the Exchange will witness the entry/re-entry as well as exit of some major companies. Besides, the local bourse said that the list of the actual incoming and outgoing companies would be announced on June 24, 2016. The Nigerian bourse began publishing the NSE 30 Index in February 2009 with index values available from January 1, 2007. On July 1, 2008, the NSE developed four sectoral indi-

ces with a base value of 1,000 points, designed to provide investable benchmarks to capture the performance of specific sectors. The sectoral indices comprise the top 15 most capitalised and liquid companies in the Insurance and Consumer Goods sectors, top 10 most capitalised and liquid companies in the Banking and Industrial Goods sector and the top seven most capitalised and liquid companies in the Oil & Gas sector. In July 2012, the Nigerian bourse launched the NSE Lotus Islamic index (NSE LII), which consists of companies whose business practices are in conformity with Shari’ah investment principles, with the aim of increasing the breadth of the market and creating an important benchmark for investments as the alternative ethical and non-interest investment space widened.

at the prevailing market rate. “These should now be attractive to investors as their earlier fears of foreign exchange illiquidity/scarcity and likely devaluation would have been mitigated. “The introduction of derivatives such as customised forward contracts should help investors further hedge against foreign exchange volatility while simultaneously being a major step towards developing this important alternative asset market. “Furthermore, forex primary dealers will be registered to deal directly with the CBN for large ticket transactions, which could favour large manufacturers as well as foreign direct investors,” they noted. The analysts noted that the primary dealers are expected to break the bulk to other authorised dealers, adding that

this should help boost financing of economic activities in the country. “The removal of controls on non-oil exporters’ proceeds and the allowed participation of non-oil exporters in the interbank market should indirectly help spur activity of outbound transactions, thereby increasing economic output. We applaud the new foreign exchange policy stance and view it as complementary to positive developments in the external sector – the increase in global crude oil prices. The policies are bound to reduce uncertainty in the markets and could help reduce pressure on the foreign exchange reserves,” they said. Consequently, the All-Share Index gained 857.91 basis points or 3.17 per cent to close at 27,891.96 basis points as against 27.034.05 recorded the

previous day, while the market capitalisation of equities appreciated by N295 billion or 3.17 per cent to close at N9.579 trillion from N9.284 trillion, as market sentiment remained on the green zone. Meanwhile, a turnover of 588.4 million shares exchanged in 5,088 deals was recorded in the day’s trading. Banking subsector of the financial services sector was the most active during the day (measured by turnover volume); with 396.9 million shares exchanged by investors in 2.285 deals. Volume in the subsector was largely driven by activities in the shares of Skye Bank Plc and UBA Plc. Other financial subsector boosted by activities in the shares of FCMB Plc and United Capital Plc followed with a turnover of 77.5 million shares in 510 deals.

Firmassures investors better value

ivestock Feeds Plc, a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria Plc has promised to deliver sustainable value to its shareholders. Chairman of the Company, Mr. Larry Ettah, stated this while addressing shareholders at the Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM in Lagos yesterday. He said that the company would continue to sustain its culture of ensuring shareholders’ value. Ettah said that the company is restructuring its operations for an improved performance against the backdrop of an extremely challenging economic and business environment. He said: “Your company recorded revenue of N8.9 billion, a growth of 13 per cent over 2014. However,

due to the prevailing tough and difficult operating environment, cost of sales increased by about 16 per cent over 2014, leading to a profit before tax of N300 million, a 25 per cent decline on 2014. In the same vein, profit after tax fell by about 26 per cent to N187.9 million. “You will recall that your company paid a dividend of N0.10 per share on the 2014 results after several years of non-payment of dividend. This was done to reward shareholders for their steadfastness in keeping faith with the company through the lean years. However, in view of the 2015 results and the need to conserve funds to fund the growth plans and working capital of the Company in 2016, the Board has not recommended pay-

ment of a dividend for your approval. We are hopeful that dividend payment will resume shortly”. On the feed milling industry, The Chairman stated, “The feed milling industry encountered acute shortage of the major raw materials of maize and soya bean meal. The prices of these products increased by 40 per cent in the course of the year, leading to increased cost.” Ettah noted that the acute shortage of foreign exchange and the worsening exchange rate also affected the company’s business, as importation of certain ingredients became difficult and expensive. “All these increased costs which could not be recovered through price increases led to shrunken margins in the industry,” he said.

NEWS | south-west

thursday, june 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Hijab: Schools on security watch as monarch averts riot in Iwo Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

eligious unrest rocking schools in Osun on the court judgement which empowered female students to wear hijab yesterday took another twist as some schools were placed on security watch. However, students at the Baptist High School, Iwo appeared in school yesterday in different religious attires despite threat of expulsion by the government. This is even as security personnel laid siege to the Baptist Girls High School,Osogbo where Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) held a prayer rally to condemn the judgement of court ruling on hijab. A mini war between the Muslims and CAN was however averted in Iwo as the police which were head bent to prevent Christian students from appearing in religious attires allegedly teargased the group. It was gathered that, trouble broke out when the security men claiming to be enforcing the law al-

lowed only the Muslims to appear in hijab and other attires. Eyewitness account told newsmen that "this infuriated CAN members who insisted that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander and maintained that, if those female students wearing hijabs were allowed into the school premises which is in the actual fact is even the missionary School, then, those Christians cladding in choir ropes should not be denied their fundamental rights of wearing their garments as well. "There was a sharp disagreement which nearly led to a fiasco over the matter between the Muslims and the Christians who went berserk against each other at the school gate before the prompt intervention of Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi Telu 1 who left his palace and royal seat to settle the rift between the two warring religious sects at the scene before taking them to his palace. “The prompt intervention of the traditional ruler in the town who took the two sects to his palace for a

peaceful meeting however averted what could have resulted in religious war in the town.” Speaking on the development, the Monarch confirmed that he invited the two religious sects to his palace for a peaceful meeting and assured them of his intention to make both parties live in harmony. This was however confirmed by one of the CAN executives, Catechist Paul Olagoke. Chairman Assembly of Muslim Organizations in Iwo, Alhaji Idris Fasasi Magaji appealed to the two religious bodies to sheath their swords and allow peace to reign, saying the Christians had a right of appeal rather than taken laws into their hands. However, CAN Chairman, Rev.Elisha Ogundiya lambasted Governor Rauf Aregbesola over his comment that "any student who

disobeys regulations in our schools risks expulsion.” Speaking through his Vice Chairman, Pastor Moses Adeniyi Ogundeji in Osogbo, the CAN leader maintained that "there will be no retreat, no surrender in fighting for fundamental rights of the Christian body in the state saying no amount of intimidation and oppression could deter the body from righting the wrongs in the state. "What we are telling this government is that wearing of hijab is not acceptable in the missionary schools and if he wants to expel all our students for this we are not afraid of this. We have our schools

€16.5m

The annual salary of coach Fabio Capello of Russia in 2015 season. Source: France Football

up to university level." Aregbesola had on Tuesday threatened to expel any student found disobeying school rules and regulations. His Director of Bureau of Communication, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon in a statement made available to newsmen in Osogbo quoted Aregbesola to have said this while commissioning the ultra-modern St Michael’s RCM Government Middle School in Ibokun of the state. Aregbesola stressed that all aggrieved parties in the court’s judgement over Hijab should channel their grievances according to the rule of law and not result to self-help and distanced his administration from the court judgement, saying the Judiciary as an independent arm of government its decision was not subject to any influence by other arms of

government. He said: "There are other legal options opened to any party who feels strongly about the judgement and appeal is the best option in this situation. "It is funny for some people to insinuate that government has a hand in the judgement. The government is a democracy, not a theocracy. Any students found disobeying schools’ rules and regulation risk expulsion from our schools. “It is not the business of any government through the schools to lead a child in a particular religious direction. That will be for parents and religious institutions in private capacity until the child is grown enough to make a decision on religion. “The government therefore cannot support or be seen to be supporting a particular religion."

Ambode asks corps members to embrace Buhari’s job creation Muritala Ayinla

overnor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State yesterday charged youths in the country to support the national change agenda, saying that the government was committed to job creation,fighting corruption, security and revamping the economy through diversification and infrastructural development. Governor Ambode made the appeal during the swearing-in of the 2016 batch ‘A’ stream II orientation course at the NYSC orientation camp ground, Iyana- Ipaja, Lagos. Speaking through his deputy, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, Ambode congratulated the corps members for the successful completion of their academic programmes which had enable them to participate in the one year mandatory service. He said: "I also charge you to exhibit the highest degree of possible loyalty, dedication, discipline and commitment to national ideals and be a testament of wishes and aspiration of our people for continued development.” The governor urged them to be vigilante and security conscious due to the current security challenge in the country. Ambode lauded the youth service scheme for still being relevant and

living up to the vision of the founding fathers in spite of the challenges being experienced in recent times, assuring them of his administration’s commitment to providing the enabling environment for them to excel in their career. He however urged them to pay serious attention to all the programmes in the camp especially the entrepreneurial training in order to be adequately equipped for self-employment after service. Earlier, the State Coordinator, NYSC Lagos, Mr. Akhanemhe Cyril reiterated that the youth service scheme was borne out of the necessity to reconcile the various sections of the country after the nation’s civil war which lasted thirty months, assuring that activities on the camp will equip corps members the needed practical and leadership skills.

Security Vehicles stationed at the entrance of Baptist Girls High School, Osogbo, Osun State...yesterday

LASWA warns boat operators on safety measures Muritala Ayinla

agos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, yesterday warned boat operators in the state that it would not rescind its decision to ensure safety on waterways. The managing director of Tarzan Marine Enterprises, Mr.Tarzan Balogun had accused LASWA of threatening to evict the firm from the lease agreement it dully entered and paid the state government for a period of 25 years for the Badore, Ijede, Oke-Ira Nla and

Fayose swears in new Works Commissioner Sulaiman Salawudeen Ado-Ekiti

kiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose yesterday swore in a new Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mrs Theresa Funmilayo Ogun. Ogun was until her new appointment, the special assistant on Widows Matters to the

governor. The appointment came about two months after the exit of Mr Kayode Oso, who allegedly resigned on health grounds. The new works commissioner pledged to commit herself afresh to the service of the state for the attainment of Fayose’s dream of taken Ekiti to greater heights.

Ibeshe Jetties in Lagos. But LASWA warned against blackmailing the government as it vowed to enforce safety standard on the state’s waterways not minding whose ox was gored. In a statement, LASWA's managing Director, Abisola Kamson said the authority was being blackmailed by Tarzan and other jetty operators, vowing to go ahead to ensure that the disputed jetties met stipulated standard set by the government. She said LASWA had begun an enforcement ex-

ercise to correct operational irregularities identified in some jetties within the state with a view to ensuring strict compliance to stipulated standards by all operators in its waterways. She informed the public to see the enforcement exercise as part of the restructuring efforts aimed at repositioning waterways operational activities in line with international standards for the benefit of all Lagosians. Kamson said: “In a bid to improve the quality of water transportation on our waterways, efforts

INEC to provide 396 DDCMs in Ondo A head of the November 26 governorship election in Ondo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has provided 396 Direct Data Capturing Machines (DDCMs) for the 203 Registration Areas during the upcoming Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise in the state. Olusegun Agbaje, the

Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, made this known yesterday at a CVR Stakeholders’ forum. Agbaje said the DDCMs would be made available at the 193 voting points in the state. According to him, the exercise would take place in the state between June 22 and June 26 as no fewer than 792

are ongoing to effectively regulate operational activities with a view to ensuring that standards and guidelines are adhered to strictly. “While taking stock of operational activities at jetties, breaches were identified and needed to be addressed. Concerned parties have been communicated with and directed to comply. “It is the responsibility of government to ensure compliance through enforcement. Subsequently, rehabilitation and improvements of jetties will be carried out where necessary."

Assistant Registration Officers, made up of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and INEC staff would handle the machines. The REC said the essence of the exercise was to enable those that had attained 18 years after the last CVR exercise to register and obtain their Permanent Voter’s Card.

News|SOUTH-EAST

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nimbo killings: Community demands N17bn compensation from FG

Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

he Ukpabi Nimbo community in UzoUwani Local Government Area of Enugu State has demanded N17 billion in damages from the Federal Government following the April 25 inva-

sion of the community by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Testifying yesterday at the first seating of the Commission of Inquiry into the incident, the traditional ruler of the community, Chief John Akor, said that the sum would be a recompense for the losses suffered by members of the community and

MASSOB commends NDA’s ultimatum over pro-Biafra agitators

he Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, under the watch of Uche Madu-led leadership has commended the Niger Delta Avengers for its seven-day ultimatum to governors of the SouthEast to release all Biafra agitators. This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the group’s National Secretary, Ugwuoke Ibem Ugwuoke. Niger Delta Avengers had on Monday given governors of the South East and South-South regions seven days to unconditionally release all detained pro-Biafra agitators. The statement reads: “MASSOB, under the leadership of Comrade Uchen-

na Madu has reiterated our earlier support and backing of NDA, a group that has shown total commitment, selfless service and spirit of consistency to Biafran struggle for actualisation and restoration. “MASSOB hails their demands for the unconditional release of all proBiafra agitators detained across South Eastern states. Governors of the South-East must release all Biafra agitators detained in their respective states now. “Igbo governors should stop supporting clampdown and subsequent incarceration of their brothers. We advise them to learn and emulate Yoruba governors like Ayo Fayose.”

Aba cloth makers can produce NYSC, military kits, says gov Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

overnor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has said that garment and leather artisans in the commercial city of Aba can produce uniform and foot wears of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, as well as kits for military personnel in the country. Ikpeazu stated this while receiving the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Suleman Zakari Kasaure in Umuahia yesterday during a visit. He said that the artisans in Aba could even do better in meeting the time schedule in producing all apparels of all the military and para-military organisa-

tions in the country, urging the authorities to patronize the garment makers rather than spend foreign exchange in importing such goods. He emphasized the need for Nigerians to reflect on issues that unite the country and commended the government for continuing with NYSC scheme, which he said had united the country. Ikpeazu disclosed that youth corps members in the state would be involved in the on-going youth training in fabrics, electrical, modern building technology in the state. According to him, NYSC is a vehicle that could drive government policies, especially in the achievement of the agriculture value chain.

rebuilding of the area. The monarch said that the community also needed a traumatic hospital to rehabilitate victims of the prolonged herdsmen incursions. He stated that a total of 11 persons lost their lives during the April 25 invasion while several others were injured, adding that the corpses were still at the morgues while those who fled to neighbouring villages had not returned. Akor said that as a traditional ruler he never collected any form of gratification from the herdsmen to allow their cattle graze on the community’s land. The traditional ruler said that the economy of the rural community had been shattered following the activities of the herdsmen. Also testifying, the President General of Nimbo Town Union, Mr. Ekere Matthias,

said that the community had coexisted peacefully with the herdsmen for over 30 years. Matthias said that from the onset different cattle rearers resided in their community, “and our people insisted that each group must have identification mark.” He said that at their return, the herdsmen did not come with their wives and families, but entered the community through Kogi State. He said that from their experiences members of the community were still in fear and would no longer want herdsmen in their community.

€8.5m

The annual salary of coach Andre Villas-Boas of Zenit in 2015 season. Source: France Football

ABAKALIKI

bonyi State House of Assembly yesterday gave the state government approval to receive N14.16 billion bail-out from the Federal Government. The letter to that effect was sent to the House by Governor Umahi, who had explained that the Federal

Government through the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, had offered the state the funds as a conditional budget support facility, requesting approval of the House. The leader of the House, Hon. Joseph Nwaobasi read the letter on the floor of the House during a plenary in which the approval was made. Umahi in the letter not-

Kenneth Ofoma ENUGU

he current investigation of the former Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over an alleged N450 million campaign funds given to the former governor for disbursement by the former Peoples Democratic Party for the 2015 general elections was belated and a tip of the iceberg. An Enugu State based civil rights organization, Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network

N5.51bn

The total value of non-crude oil export to Indonesia in 2014 fourth quarter. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

Community, herdsmen to embrace peace Umuahia

ommunity leaders in the Ohafia community of Abia State, have held a peace meeting with Fulani herdsmen with a view to ensure that peace reign in the area especially against the backdrop of likely eruption of violent clash between herdsmen and the host communities.

The meeting was at the instance of a non -governmental organisation, Partners for Peace in the Niger Delta held at the Ohafia Local Government headquarters Ebem. To this end, the Preventive committee of the NGO, had called on both communities to cooperate to ensure lasting peace in the communities. The main bone of con-

Ebonyi Assembly approves FG’s N14.16bn bailout funds Uchenna Inya

Chime’s N450m EFCC’s investigation, tip of the iceberg –Group

The former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi (3rd left), presenting a cheque of N1 million to Director, MASDEVAN farm, Urum, Rev. Fr. Sebastine Anokwulu, for loans to those that underwent training at the farm on techniques of modern farming.

Igbeaku Orji

ed that the offer if accessed would help cushion the financial challenges facing his administration. He also explained that the state executive council had considered the offer and given its approval, which was the reason he was seeking the House approval. Thus, Nwaobasi moved a motion urging members to support the governor’s

request as the facility came at the right time when the country was faced with economic hardship. While seconding the motion, Deputy Speaker Hon Odefa Obasi Odefa urged his colleagues to give their support, saying given the numerous projects the governor was handling across the state, the N14.16 billion naira facility was going to help in no small measure.

tention of the villagers was that the herdsmen often devastated their farm crops, sometimes uprooting their farm produce to feed their cattle. Speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee, Comrade Pedro Azuogu explained that the truce which was called to ensure lasting peace in the Niger Delta region was to avert impending crisis within individual local governments in the states. He appealed to both parties to see why good neighbourliness should be encouraged and sustained. Speaking on behalf of the Hausa Community, Mallam Abdullahi Mohammed absolved his people of responsibility for destruction of farm crops by cattle. He explained that they only brought cattle for slaughtering and not rearing, stating that the Hausa/ Fulani community was ready for peace.

(CRRAN) disclosed this yesterday in Enugu while reacting to the investigation. In a statement signed by CRRAN President, Mr. Olu Omotayo, a copy of which was made available to New Telegraph, the group stated that the allegation was one of the several petitions against the former governor which had gathered dust in EFCC’s shelves for years concerning Chime’s alleged financial mismanagement of the state resources. The group urged the commission to do a holistic investigation regarding all the petitions over the poor handling of the Enugu State treasury by the former governor and his cronies and not to limit its investigation to the N450 million campaign funds.

Umahi is rolemodel to other govs–Aide Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

pecial Adviser to Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State on InterParty Affairs, Hon. Onwe Gideon yesterday advised states in the country that owed workers, salaries and arrears to borrow a leave from the state. Addressing reporters in Abakaliki, Onwe said despite the economic challenges confronting the nation, Umahi had continued to pay workers salaries along with the infrastructural development across the state. He said: “Many states are already lamenting their inability to pay workers but here in Ebonyi State the case is different because before the 20th of every month workers always receive their salaries.”

42 News|SOUTH-SOUTH Cajetan Mmuta

BENIN

he leadership and members of the Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP) yesterday condemned acts of desperation by some governorship aspirants who are involved in alleged criminal and fraudulent purchase of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) ahead of the scheduled primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday in Edo State. This is even as the vari-

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Stakeholders decry fraudulent desperation to hijack PVCs in Edo ous aspirants of the APC and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intensify lobby to sway delegates to their side just two days to the epic battle by aspirants of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to file out for delegates to elect who becomes the party’s flag bearer at the Samuel Ogbemudia

stadium Benin, the state capital. They would be followed by the primary elction of the opposition party PDP, a week after at the same venue. Chairman of the CRPP in the state, Dr. Samson Isibor, who stated this at a press conference held in Benin yesterday, urged the leadership and all the

governorship aspirants of the APC, to ensure a level playing field, transparent voting and a rancor free process in the conduct of the primaries to elect the party’s candidate without molestation and intimidation. Isibor also stressed the need for the National leadership of the APC to make

necessary security arrangements for the safety of all the delegates at the venue of the primaries. Members of the group use the opportunity to pledge their unalloyed support for the incumbent deputy governor of the state Dr. Pius Odubu to clinch the party’s governorship ticket.

The CRPP stated that the adoption of Odubu for the party’s governorship ticket was borne out of the various consultations with stakeholders and their stand that the future of the state would best be handled by an experienced and selfless person as well as hard work of Dr. Odubu’s character in the art of governance. Isobor said: “After the report of the various consultations, the CRPP resolved to support Odubu as the man Edo State needs this time around to take us to the ‘promised land.”

Kachikwu: FG strategising to end militancy in Niger Delta Chris Ejim YENAGOA

he Federal Government has assured the people of Niger Delta that the on-going efforts aimed at addressing the issue of insecurity were not cosmetic, but intended to achieve enduring peace and stability in the region. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, gave the assurance during a courtesy call on the Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson. He was accompanied by the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Gen. Paul Boroh (retd). Kachikwu said the Federal Government was committed to “a financially driven and economically motivated pattern” of resolving security concerns and development

in Bayelsa and the entire region. He appealed to the Niger Delta agitators to embrace dialogue for the common good of all stakeholders, noting that oil as a God-given resource was endowed in the region to unify the people of the country. Also speaking, Boroh described the on-going peace initiative as allencompassing, as it was designed to engage all stakeholders, including fishermen in the creeks, in terms of information gathering and dissemination towards achieving “a seamless and peaceful Niger Delta”. In his response, Governor Dickson commended the Federal Government for its approach in building consensus towards proffering lasting solutions towards ending insecurity in the Niger Delta. He stated that there were “no military wars to be fought in any community in the Niger Delta with armoured tanks and bullets but that of development, peace and prosperity.”

Delta ethnic nationality rejects contractors, consultants Dominic Adewole ASABA

he people of Isoko ethnic nationality has called on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to sack the contractor handling the electricity projects in their land without delay for performing below expectation. The people also called for the sacking of the consultant managing the contract over his allegedly unholy alliance with the contractor to frustrate the project. While contracting the firm, the News Engineering Nigeria Limited, was accused of failing to fix the 132KV Line, linking Ozoro to Afiesere, within the stipulated time. The consultant was said to

have demanded N20 million gratification from the community. Lamenting when the situation of governor visited Isoko land yesterday to inspect and commission projects, the PresidentGeneral of Isoko Development Union (IDU), Chief Iduh Amadhe, listed the electricity problem as part of the security challenges that may soon lead to breach of law and order. According to him, when completed the project was expected to resolve the electricity crisis between Isoko nation and the two local government areas in Ndokwa ethnic nationality. “It is with a deep sense of regret that I report the News Engineering Nigeria Limited.”

Protest by Market women and Youths, seeking Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), approval for the construction of superhighway, in Calabar, Cross River State… yesterday

Why we sacked our staff in Edo –Daar Communications Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

he management of Daar Communications PLC, owners of African Independent Television (AIT) and radio stations yesterday gave reasons why its Benin branch in Edo State sacked 13 out of 40 of its staff, saying that it took the action after examination of the attitude and productivity level of the

workers and its capacity utilisation, among others. In a statement signed by Mr. Johnson Onime, the organisation said the general conduct of the sacked workers “was found to be inimical to the attainment of the lofty ideals of the organisation”. The statement reads: “Their professionalism and competence was not at par with that of their colleagues and it was adversely affecting the

Workers threaten to shut Rivers agency over 10 months salary Emmanuel Masha

PORT HARCOURT

taff of Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) has appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike to pay their 10 months salary, or face the consequence where they would shut down the agency. The workers, who are members of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUCPTRE), said they can no longer meet their family responsibilities due to the nonpayment of their salaries. The chairman of the workers’ union, Mr. Jus-

tice Eleru, said that the staff would have loved to continue to carry out their duties, but were seriously considering shutting down until the Wike-led government pays them. He said: “We are suffering because we are being owed for over 10 months. Most of the workers can no longer meet their obligations to their respective families. We are finding things very difficult and want our amiable Governor to intervene. “The workers are fully in support of the giant development strides of the Governor. We know things are not the way they used to be, but we want our amiable Governor to come to our aid, because things are very difficult for us now.”

overall productivity and the expected capacity of both stations. “For the benefit of our various stakeholders, out of a total of 40 operational staff strength, only 13 were laid off. “For the sake of our most esteemed clients, advertisers and our audiences, both Raypower 105.5 FM and African Independent Television UHF 26 were never off air, and are still fully operational. At no time since the organ-

isational audit process did any of the stations shut down or go off air. “The issue of financial obligations to our staff is receiving management’s utmost attention as we ensure payment of salaries as funds are generated. In spite of the inclement economic situation in the country, we are committed to the welfare of our staff and promise to discharge this responsibility dutifully and diligently.”

Delta deputy speaker restates commitment to citizens Gabriel Efeduku UGHELLI

he Deputy Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Friday Ossai Osanebi has said that he is compelled to do more after one year in office considering the endless needs of the people, irrespective of the global economic challenge. Osanebi stated this in Asaba while fielding questions from newsmen at a public function. He reaffirmed that as representative of one of the most poorly developed areas in Nigeria, he needed no encouragement to put in his best a group of people that needs attention more than ever. “The wants and desires

of the people are countless. Even as we thank God for the ones he has privileged us to achieve, we also thank him in advance for the much that needs to be done in the years ahead,” he said. Osanebi also called on well spirited individuals and Deltans, to do their best in order to facilitate the prosperity of all Deltans, saying that the business of development was not for the government alone. “Even as we continue to focus on those big things that we have not achieved, we must also have the courage to celebrate the things that we have achieved.” One year ago, our people appeared irreparably divided against itself.

north | news

thursday, june 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Niger gov flays calls for scrapping of NYSC Dan Atori MINNA

iger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, yesterday berated the recent calls for the scrapping of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) programme, saying the primary objective of the programme was still relevant for national integration. The governor, who made his stand on the issue known at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Batch 'A' Stream Two orientation course and swearing in ceremony of corps members deployed to the state, said the scheme only needed to be reinvigorated. Bello, who said that the NYSC still remained

an enduring vehicle for national unity, urged the Federal Government to reinvigorate the scheme rather than scrapping it. According to him, "the NYSC established 43 years ago still remains an enduring vehicle for national unity and integration in the country. In my opinion, the primary objective of the scheme is to develop common ties among Nigerian youths and to promote national unity and integration and I feel this is still very relevant. "However, in the implementation processes, we need to be more innovative and we need to reinvigorate the programme by giving youths the opportunity to learn higher ideas that will prepare them for the reality of life after service."

Ortom denies plan to trim Benue workforce

Cephas Iorhemen MAKURDI

enue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday dismissed widespread allegation that his administration was planning to reduce the state’s workforce because of the financial challenge facing the state that had resulted in the non-payment of workers’ salaries. Ortom stated this while fielding questions from journalists shortly after a marathon meeting with officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) at the Government House, Makurdi. The meeting, which lasted for four hours sought to fine tune ways of addressing the growing problem of non-payment of salaries of civil servants for which presently stands at four months, while lo-

cal government workers, including primary school teachers, were in arrears of six months. The governor, who lamented the difficulties he had faced in paying salaries coupled with the dwindling allocation to the state, which he said had dropped to N1.3 billion and was too meager to meet the challenges confronting him, said Benue workers are part of him, having contributed immensely to his emergence as governor. He reiterated that he had no intention to reduce the workforce now. He said: "I am not thinking of downsizing the workforce for now until we are able to industrialise the state so that even civil servants can go into industries and forget about the civil service." Workers in Benue State are part of me, they contributed immensely in making me governor and there is no way I will toy with their welfare.

Tambuwal increases NYSC allowance

Umar Abdullahi Sokoto

okoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday announced an increase of the allowances of youth corps members serving in the state. He said the increase will take immediate effect. Announcing the increase during the swearing in ceremony of 2006 Batch ‘A’ Stream II corps members at the state NYSC orientation camp in Wamakko, the governor pledged to commence

the payment of the new allowance immediately. He said the state government appreciates the services of corps members and that government would continue to make their welfare a top priority. According to him, the new increase affects all categories of youth corps members with those in medicine-related services getting more funds than the others. “Graduates of medicine will now be paid N50, 000 against the current N36, 000."

FG releases 70 trucks of grains to Adamawa

Ibrahim Abdul Yola

he Federal Government yesterday released 1, 470 tonnes of grains to the 21 local government areas of Adamawa State to help cushion the effect of the hardship currently being experienced in the country. Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. David Babachir, who released the food items to representatives of the 21

$19.3m

The total amount of salary/winnings of Chris Bosh (Basketball) for 2015. Source: Forbes.com

local government areas in Yola, said the gesture was to cushion the hardship caused by the Boko Haram menace in the state. “In the last two years, thousands of farmers and their families have not been able to farm due to Boko Haram attacks. “The development had caused a lot of adversity to the people of the state. “The food items donated are aimed at reducing the difficulties that the insurgency has caused, especially in the seven local government areas most hit by the menace.” Babachir said. The SGF, represented by the the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Planning and Strategy,

Mr. Ibrahim Bapatel, said the exercise was part of government’s effort to assist communities of the six states in the North East affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. He said the seven most hit areas of the state Madagali, Michika, Mubi North, Mubi South, Maiha, Hong and Gombi- would be given special consideration in the distribution of the food stuffs. Responding on behalf of the state government, Acting Governor of the state, Mr. Martins Babale, thanked the Federal Government for the support. Babale said government at the state level would continue to partner with the Federal Government in the rehabilitation, re-

construction and maintenance of peace in the state and the region. In a related development, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday said it had distributed clothes to over 7, 000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa State. The agency’s Camps’ Coordinator in the state, Mr. Sa’ad Bello, said the clothes were distributed in the spirit of Ramadan, ahead of the Eid-Fitr celebration. He noted that the agency had equally distributed food items worth millions of naira to Daware and Malkohi IDPs’ camps and Yolde Pate host community in Girei and Yola South Local Government Areas respectively.

Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, inspecting guard mounted by youth corps members, during the swearingin ceremony of 2006 Batch A Stream II corps members, at the state NYSC Orientation Camp in Wamakko Local Government Area (LGA), in Sokoto State… yesterday

Bauchi farmers to access CBN’s interest-free loan

Kwara lawmakers ask gov to produce master plan

Bauchi

Ilorin

Nankpah Bwakan

ollowing the release of N1.5 billion by the Bauchi State Government as contribution to farmers’ equity, farmers in the state can now access the N15 billion agricultural loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar stated this at a town hall

meeting between the state government, the Central Bank of Nigeria, financial institutions, anchor companies, agro dealers and farmers in the state. He said discussions had reached advanced stage with financial institutions on how to release funds to benefitting farmers, adding that the provision of N1.5 billion in the 2016 budget as the government’s contribution to farmers’ equity was also expected to cover inter-

Group cautions Lalong over grazing reserves policy Musa Pam Jos

group in Plateau State, the Berom Educational and Cultural Organisation (BECO), yesterday cautioned the state government over the tension brewing around the grazing reserves policy in the state.

The group said that bringing up such a policy now would serve no useful purpose, but generate another round of violent conflict in the state. In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Davou Choji Davou and Chairman, Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Sam Godongs, the group is demanding that

ests charged by the banks. According to him, “Agriculture no doubt remains the mainstay of our economy and more than 80 per cent of people who reside in both urban and rural areas engage in it and it remains the only source of food and raw materials for our agro-based industries, hence is a major source of income in the country." Abubakar urged Nigerians to contribute to the success of the new dispensation in the country, saying the small scale farmers needed to be carried along by empowering them to produce more. He said: “It is in line with the above that the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, launched an agricultural finance programme tagged; ‘Anchor Borrowers Scheme’ in November last year in Kebbi State as a pilot project, which is now being replicated in the whole country.”

Biodun Oyeleye

embers of the Kwara State House of Assembly have asked Governor Abdul Fatah Ahmed to produce the master and regional plans for urban settlements in the state, to ensure that urban settlements in the state conform to universal best practices. The legislators, who directed that six on-going and completed filling stations be demolished within one month by a task force headed by the Town Planning and Development Authority (TPDA), also asked the governor to immediately set up a Town Planning Tribunal in the state. The tribunal was expected to handle town planning-related matters as well as strengthen the TPDA to make it perform its statutory functions effectively and enforce the existing laws to the letter.

NEWS

WORLD \ NEWS

Ikeja Disco launches monitoring initiative to enhance safety

o further strengthen its commitment towards ensuring the safety of lives and property, Ikeja Electric has launched its novel Network Safety Monitoring initiative. This initiative allows for round-the-clock electrical asset surveillance across its network by special teams specifically set up for the purpose. The teams, made up of safety specialists and technicians, divided into monitoring units, patrol the entire network armed with multimedia gadgets, which allow them to capture damaged assets and

imminently dangerous connections in real time. The data captured is then relayed to a central control centre from where it is passed on to the nearest undertaking office at which point the network operations logs the information and ensures resolution within the shortest possible time. Speaking on the initiative, the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Felix Ofulue, said safety in a high-risk sector such as the electricity sector cannot be overemphasised, because if the safety standards are compromised, the resultant effect could be disas-

trous, leading to damage to property and even loss of human lives. He said: “Ikeja Electric will not compromise on safety. It is a high-risk environment and coupled with the rains and high winds of this season, we have to continue the campaign of safety across our network. We are also aware that by putting forward these initiatives, we are raising the bar of safety across the entire company with other industry players also raising their own standards of safety. In the end, if we are able to keep people safe, we will be justified.”

Dangote Cement names Ufot as Director

angote Cement Plc (DANGCEMNL), Africa’s largest cement producer, has announced the appointment of Mrs. Dorothy Udeme Ufot (SAN), as an independent non-executive director. Ufot is one of Nigeria’s most experienced legal practitioners. She has more than 26 years’ experience in commercial litigation at trial and appellate levels, having been admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1989 and then admitted to the Inner Bar as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in April 2009. She also qualified as a Chartered Arbitrator at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, in 2003.

An internationally recognised expert in commercial dispute arbitration, particularly in the area of international arbitration, Ufot was appointed member of the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration, Paris, in 2006. She later became one of eight global vice-presidents of the ICC Commission on Arbitration, in 2014. She was appointed to the Council of the ICC Institute of World Business Law by the Global Chairman of ICC, Mr. Harold (Terry) McGraw, in Paris on April 22, 2016. The ICC Institute of World Business Law draws together the finest legal minds to strengthen

the links between international businesses and the legal profession. Ufot is the Managing Partner of Dorothy Ufot & Co, a firm of legal practitioners and arbitrators, which she founded in 1994. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON, founder and Chairman of Dangote Cement said: “I am proud that Dorothy Ufot, SAN, has become the first woman to serve on Dangote Cement’s board. She brings formidable legal skills and business insights that will strongly enhance the company’s governance. “Her appointment represents a positive step forward in our goal to improve the diversity and functioning of our board,” he said.

Buhari condoles with Ghanaian President over mother’s death Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday condoled with the President of Ghana, John Mahama, over the death of his mother. President Buhari yesterday telephoned the Ghanaian leader to offer heartfelt condolences to

his family on the passing away of his mother, Hajia Abiba Nnaba. According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, Buhari in the telephone call prayed that Almighty Allah will grant the soul of Hajia Nnaba eternal rest and comfort all who mourn her.

President Buhari told the Ghanaian leader that his personal thoughts and prayers as well as those of Nigerians are with him as he mourns the passage of a beloved mother. He further prayed that the loving memory and virtues, which Hajia Abiba Nnaba lived for, will continue to inspire all who knew her and generations to come.

NNPC, NAPIMS, PPMC owe NIMASA $4 billion Philip Nyam Abuja

he House of Representatives, yesterday gathered that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Pipeline Products Marketing Company and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC are

jointly owing the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), almost $4 billion. This disclosure was made at the one - day investigative public hearing by the House Committee on maritime safety, education and administration on the revenue leakages and operational deficiencies in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency

(NIMASA). Chairman of the committee, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, who broke the news, said while the NNPC and PPMC are jointly owing NIMASA $3 billion, NAPIMS is owing the agency $780 million out of the alleged $10 billion owed the Agency. The debts are defaults on sundry charges and levies meant to be paid to NIMASA over a 10year period.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Pistorius walks on stumps in courtroom in display of vulnerability

scar Pistorius walked on his stumps in a South African courtroom yesterday as part of his defense team’s argument that the double-amputee athlete, convicted of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, is a vulnerable man who deserves leniency when he is sentenced. Defense lawyer Barry Roux asked Pistorius to remove his prostheses, and the former track star then hobbled in front of Judge Thokozile Masipa, who will deliver the sentence after hearings end this week. He appeared unsteady at times, and the demonstration drew gasps from some onlookers in the courtroom. The former track star, who had changed from a suit into athletic clothes for the demonstration, then returned to a bench where he

sat alone, head bowed. Pistorius was on his stumps when he fatally shot Steenkamp through a toilet cubicle door in his home 2013; he testified at his murder trial that he felt vulnerable and thought an intruder was in the house. Prosecutors have said Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp after an argument. Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel later spoke, countering the defense argument that Pistorius is a “broken man” because of the grief from killing Steenkamp and the trauma that followed as the world focused on his case. Nel referred to the emotional testimony a day earlier of Barry Steenkamp, father of the victim. “If you ever want to talk about a broken man, we saw a broken man there,” Nel said of Barry Steenkamp. Pistorius is currently living under house arrest after initially serving one

year of a five-year prison sentence for manslaughter for shooting Steenkamp multiple times in 2013. That conviction was overturned last year by an appeals court, which convicted Pistorius of the more serious charge of murder. Masipa, who initially acquitted Pistorius of murder, will decide the new sentence. The hearing is scheduled to run through Friday this week. South Africa has a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison for murder, although a judge can reduce that in some circumstances. Earlier yesterday, defense lawyer Roux said there are misconceptions over Pistorius’ murder conviction as he asked Masipa for leniency. Roux said “substantial and compelling circumstances” existed that would allow the judge to deviate from the minimum term of 15 years in prison.

The doubleamputee athlete was on stumps when he fatally shot girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a door.

Obama’s Dalai Lama meeting angers China

S President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet the Dalai Lama in private at the White House despite Chinese objections. China has denounced meetings between foreign leaders and the exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, whom the country considers a separatist. The pair, who have met

several times before, will talk behind closed doors in the White House Map Room. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman condemned Wednesday’s meeting. “If the United States plans this meeting, it will send the wrong signal to Tibet independence and separatist forces and harm China-US mutual trust and cooperation,”

said Lu Kang. Mr Obama has previously described the Tibetan Buddhist leader as a “good friend”. The Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. The Buddhist leader has pushed for more Tibetan autonomy while China accuses him of encouraging outright independence.

Croatia’s Deputy PM resigns, seeks new parliamentary majority

roatian Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko resigned yesterday and said his HDZ party, the biggest in the ruling center-right coalition, aimed to form a new government after a scheduled vote of noconfidence set for today. His resignation brings to a head a political crisis that has dogged the fivemonth-old administration of technocrat Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic

and has hampered plans to improve Croatia’s business climate and revive a moribund economy. Parliament is expected to back the motion of no-confidence filed by the conservative HDZ in Thursday’s vote. Earlier yesterday a state monitoring body accused Karamarko of a conflict of interest due to his wife’s business ties with a consultant of Hungary’s energy group MOL. Karamarko said his resig-

nation had nothing to do with that ruling and that he would seek redress in court. “Tomorrow we will hold a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Oreskovic as this government is dysfunctional,” Karamarko told reporters. If Oreskovic loses the vote the government must resign. “I hope Croatia will get a government aware of the (economic) difficulties Croatia is facing at the moment,” Karamarko said.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Did you know?

Sport

That Juventus and Liverpool have the most representation in Euro 2016 squad, with each having 12 players in the tournament.

Team Nigeria going for jamboree –Toriola

Toriola

started preparation and I don’t think any athlete can do much in Brazil. It is disheartening that nobody is even telling us (athletes) what is the next thing we need to do. Nobody should expect much from the athletes because most of our opponents are rounding off their preparation now while we have not even started,” he said. “I want our administrators to know that qualifying for the Olympics is not on a platter of gold as you have to compete to qualify for the Games. But we have to know that it is the biggest stage for every

Iceland players blast bad loser Ronaldo

igeria women’s basketball team, the D’Tigress’ on Wednesday crashed out of the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics after group rivals Korea defeated Belarus 66-65. D’Tigress were eliminated on points difference following Korea’s victory over the European favourites. D’Tigress had on Tuesday bounced back from their opening day defeat to Belarus by edging South Korea 70-69 in their second game at the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in France. The win had given the Nigerian women hope after they had lost to Belarus by 11 points. If Belarus, as expected, had defeated Korea on Wednesday, Nigeria would have advanced in the play-offs for a Rio 2016 ticket.

Okagbare

Odunayo

Sport News

Olusegun Giwa

Ajibade Olusesan

Zlatan to face Nigeria at Rio Olympics

D’Tigress out of Rio Olympics

Rio 2016:

frica’s most decorated table tennis player, Segun Toriola, has hit out at the Ministry of Sport, saying the build up to 2016 Rio Olympics has been the worse ever since Nigeria featured at the 1952 edition of the Games in Helsinki, Finland. Toriola, 42, who will be making history in Brazil as the first African athlete to feature in seven Olympics said he had never witnessed preparation as shoddy as the one for Rio since his debut at Barcelona 1992 Olympics in Spain. He said that the country had planned to fail at the Games and no one should blame the athletes if things go wrong in Brazil this summer. He said it was like the authority did not appreciate the athletes that had gone through difficulties to qualify for the world’s biggest sporting show with the poor handling of their participation in Rio Olympics. He said: “I don’t think we ever had it so bad like this because even the last Olympics in London, by this time we had

International Sport

athlete and all those that have been winning Olympics medals had quality preparation and I think our athletes should be given enough support.” Toriola, after nine years of playing professionally in the French table tennis league, has quit Argentan Table Tennis Club to move to Belgium. He played his last game for Argentan on May 3 and was honoured at the weekend by officials of the club. Reports on the official website of the club read, “After his last match at the Bayard Argentan on Tuesday evening, May 3, 2016, Segun Toriola said goodbye and many of his fans will follow him at the Olympics in Rio. He was in Argentan for nearly a decade. Argentan finished in 3rd place of the Pro B, and at home in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, the evening provided an opportunity for supporters to celebrate with Toriola.”

D’Tigress’ forward, Adora Elonu

Sports reform: Odizor sheds tears during presentation The Sport Team

…says govt officials approached him to ‘buy’ national award

Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Sport Editor

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

Odizor

igeria’s tennis great, Nduka Odizor, shed tears while making a presentation at the Sports Reform Committee Retreat taking place in Abuja. Odizor who achieved a world ranking of 52 in 1983 and reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon the previous year, cried when he recalled how Nigeria missed an opportunity to reach the World Group of the Davis Cup because tennis officials at the time were “not straight forward” and de-

nied players their entitlements. The former tennis professional whose paper was titled: “ “Recognition of Athletes” said for any country to excel in sports, athletes and coaches had to be accorded maximum recognition and respect. “My biggest disappointment was when I was approached by some government officials to give them some money so they can recommend me for a national award. That was unthinkable

and absurd. My achievements speak for themselves and I do not have to have a national award to be recognised around the world.” the tennis star said. Odizor’s presentation was preceded by one from Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, one of Nigeria’s most achieved football coaches, who said there was an urgent need to reform the process that throws up incompetent and self-seeking persons as sports federation presidents and board members.

Edo govt not owing Amodu, says Oshiomhole

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THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Edo govt not owing Amodu, says Oshiomhole Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

Zlatan to face Nigeria at Rio Olympics

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (left)

Emmanuel Tobi

weden top striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is on course to play against Nigeria at the Rio Olympics after being included in Sweden’s provisional Olympics squad. Nigeria’s U-23 Eagles will battle Sweden, Colombia and Japan in Group at the 2016 competition billed for Brazil. The 34-year-old is currently with his national side

at Euro 2016 and played in the opener with Ireland on Monday. He has previously stated his interest in playing in Rio later this summer, despite having little rest after the tournament in France. He was named in Sweden’s 35-man squad by coach Hakan Ericson on Wednesday. “In the initial phase we felt that those playing the Euros can’t double up, but I’ve had a talk with Zlatan,” Ericson

said. “It could be a new phase in his career; and Zlatan has said that he is willing to wait until after the Euros (to decide). “I want to keep open the tiniest gap that might exist, because it would be fantastic to bring Zlatan.” Ibrahimovic is yet to decide on his club future although he is expected to move to Manchester United and reunite with Jose Mourinho.

do State Government has denied claims by the Shaibu Amodu’s family that the state was indebted to the late Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation to the tune of N25m. Amodu died in his sleep in the early hours of Saturday but just two days later a document went round the media that the government was owing the late tactician. In a statement from the government house, Edo stated that: “He was not just a proud Edo son but also a perfect gentleman and a community leader. This is why he was invited to work with our young footballers when he was unceremoniously relieved of his appointment as Coach after he qualified Nigeria for the World

Keshi’s children arrive Nigeria

he children of late Nigeria captain and coach Stephen Keshi have arrived in Nigeria ahead of preparations while debunking the story that the family had fixed a date for their father’s burial. Stephen Keshi Jnr, 27, arrived at the NFF secretariat on Wednesday morning and met with the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi. He was in company with US –based chemist and friend of late Keshi, Victor Ugoh and former Super Ea-

gles’ star Victor Obinna Nsofor. “I just came into Nigeria on Tuesday night, and we read in the papers today that somebody had fixed a date for the burial. I am shocked like my sisters and my brothers. Since our father died, nobody has spoken to us about how he died, and we have not even seen his corpse. Yet, someone is fixing a date for his burial!” Keshi’s daughter, Ifeyinwa and husband, who are based in North Carolina, USA also flew into

Prime dump Pillars out of Fed Cup Charles Ogundiya

igeria National League side, Prime FC of Oshogbo, continued their yearly upset in the Federation Cup after defeating four-time league champion, Kano Pillars, 2-1 on Wednesday. The round of 32 game saw Prime scoring two first half goals before Kano Pillars scored their consolation goal as Prime secured their passage to the Round-of-16 of the competition. Shooting Stars of Ibadan for the first time in five seasons progressed to the next round after beating Al-

mar FC 3-0 with Sunday Adetunji’s brace and Joy Olubodun’s goal. Sunshine Stars also advanced to the last 16 after defeating Abia Comets 4-2 on penalties with the regulation time ending 1-1, as Rivers United whitewashed Kaduna United 4-0. The game between Rangers and ABS was stopped after the first half due to heavy downpour and will be continued on Thursday (today) with Rangers leading 1-0 after 45 minutes. Another NNL side, Crown FC also progressed to the next stage with a 5-4 victory on penalties against NPFL side, Niger Tornadoes.

Cup.” Amodu however resigned his appointment after getting another job in the secretariat of the Federation as a Technical Director. Amodu in a letter to the state government made some demands. In his letter he wrote: “This letter is predicated on the need for the Accountant-General to pay my outstanding salaries for the period of June-September 2015. As a result, therefore, I humbly wish to request the Governor to kindly consider and approve the payment of my outstanding salaries for the period indicated above.” The statement noted that, although the late Amodu’s contract had expired his ‘Resignation Letter’ which ‘took effect’ from September 30, 2015, Governor Oshiomhole, however, approved his claim for N8m purely on compassionate grounds.” He said, “It is therefore totally false and misleading that the state government owed the late Amodu the sum of N25 million. We, therefore, make bold to state that the contents of a letter in circulation, purportedly written by the late Shaibu Amodu, is patently false. All workers, from lowest to the highest paid, including Committee Members are enrolled in our Oracle-based payment system and we do not owe anyone.” The state government described as “unfortunate and sad that while Edolites and Nigerians are still mourning this great icon, mischief makers have gone to town to reap from his death by crying more than the bereaved.”

Nigeria on Tuesday. Keshi Jnr, an events producer in Atlanta, praised the Federal Government and state governments for the support since the demise of his dad. “I cannot thank everyone enough. We have only heard good and great words about our father since his death. I am going to Benin City now. The family will sit down and come up with a date for the funeral, but we also appreciate L-R: Obinna Nsofor, Stephen Keshi Jnr and NFF General that he was a national Secretary Sanusi in Abuja... Wednesday figure and will harmonise our plans with that of the government and the NFF. “Our father was a lovction continued Park Sports Complex, ing family man and we on Wednesday Yaba with Lagos Seawill miss him greatly. Our at the ongoing s i d e r s a n d D e l t a joy is that he left a worthy 3rd Sam Ocheho/In- Force recording viclegacy for Nigeria football nJoo Handball Cham- tories in the men’s and for his family.” pionship at the Rowe cate gory.

Sam Ocheho/InnoJoo Handbal : Teams battle for top spots

FOSLA, Excel clash in NNPC/Shell Cup final

OSLA Academy, Abuja and Excel Education Centre Port Harcourt will today (Thursday) clash in the final of 2016 NNPC/Shell Cup competitions organised for all the 36 Secondary Schools in the country. FOSLA defeated Asegun Comprehensive High School 3-0 in the first semifinal encounter in a match decided at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere. In the second semifinal, Excel beat Science School 4-0 in another entertain-

ing encounter to qualify for today’s final. So much fireworks could be witnessed in this encounter because the two finalists won their respective semifinal game with a high margin without conceding a goal. The External Relations Manager of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Igo Weli, has assured that this final will be special in many ways. The players are also aware that the best two

players in the competition which will be chosen from the last four teams would be sponsored to Feyenoord Academy training in Holland. A member of the Feyenoord team and former Nigeria international, Mike Obiku, has expressed satisfaction on the standard exhibited by the young lads in the competition. “We have seen so much energy and talents here and we expect more in the final match on Thursday,” Obiku said.

Lagos Seasiders beat Idah Pillars 35 to 31 in an interesting match that saw both teams slugging it out to win the contest. But the Lagos boys triumphed at the end of the day. However, another game in the boys’ battle, Delta Force i n a n e x p l o s ive game, humbled Sokoto Rima 25-24. In the female category, Civil Defence of Abuja defeated the Seasider girls in 30-21 scoreline, while ASPAC of Benin Republic humiliated Queens of Cote d’Ivoire 20-12 in the second match of the day to brighten their hopes of topping the table.

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Iceland players blast bad loser, Ronaldo

The Muyiwa Daniel Column md_muyiwa@yahoo.com 08023525087 (sms only)

Farewell, Keshi, Amodu!

never dreamt or thought I was going to write tributes in tumbling fashion after that of “The greatest” Mohammed Alli who was the twin brother of my uncle and senior colleague, Segun Adenuga. Alli had got all of us spell bound including US President, Bill Clinton, his wife and now Democratic front-runnerHillary Clinton and daughter, Chelsea-scurried out of the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Park close to the CNN Centre, a day earlier as he lit the games cauldron despite the shaking stance from Parkinson’s’ disease. At 74, the world stood still that day as the remains was laid at a private ceremony in his native Louisville where the boy, born- Carcius Marccelus Clay- but was famous not only for defeating the dreaded Sonny Liston but refused to accept the mandatory draft for the US Army to fight in Vietnam, went to jail, got stripped of the heavyweight crown only to return later to reclaim the title and will forever be remembered for the “Rumblein-the-jungle” and “Thrilla-in Manila” against “Smoking” Joe Frazier and George Foreman. The ink from the pens had hardly dried when the news broke of the passage of former national teamEagles-player and coach who was to equal Egypt’s AlGohari’s record of winning the Africa Nations Cup as player and coach-Stephen Okechukwu Keshi. The man from the village of Illah in Delta State passed on- five months after he accepted fate by burying his ailing spouse. Keshi dogged the “Big Boss” was resident in Benin City-a famous place for the discovery of soccer stars only second to Lagos with the neighborhood of Ajegunle being the “basket” It was from AJ City that legions of them-including Samson” yeibowei” Siasia, Emmanuel Amuneke, Jonathan Akpoborie, Henry Nwosu, Sunday Oliseh amongst others cut their teeth in the Nations Cup at the Navy Ground where the ‘Greater tomorrow” was put together by the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) when Prince Dokun Abidoye was President and journalistTony Eke-was Secretary and that “rich” Nigerian-Alhaji Garba Hamza-was patron who ensured that those youth arrive well from school football of Principal’s cup to rise through the “kiddies” levels of playing at the Gothia Cup in Sweden and Denmark. The reporter who made it his main task of putting their faces and talents in the Evening Times newspaper-Joe Audu-received them at the Elders Club in Surulere area of Lagos where we all-including Adenuga, Robert Ndabai, Paul Okolo, Yemi Ojo and Chris Okojie hang out with coaches-Daniel Ajibode, Alex Lasisi, Femi Siwoku, Chris Udemezue. Sebastian “Sabara” Brodericks and Isiaka Yakubu amongst others. We monitored, promoted and watched them “grow” from the streets” to stardom. I didn’t see much of Shaibu Amodu as a player for Niger Tornadoes between 1979 and 1981 because the Minna club wasn’t really as challenging in our League reportorial activities but our paths crossed in 1989 when he coached BCC “Lions” of Gboko-the cement company side to the FA cup finals in Bauchi against Lagos team-Stationery Stores. He was decked in a well-cut suit and received the trophy after a 1-0 win. Later, I was on duty as his team backed in a adequately ran professional side as Chief Barnabas Germade was the Company’s Board Chairman who allowed those who knew the game run just like it happened then with Lagos clubs, Shooting Stars,-with Chiefs Lekan Salami and Nathaniel Idowu, Enugu Rangers led by Jim Nwobodo, Spartans, DIC “Bees” as New Nigerian Bank(NNB) presented challenge to Bendel Insurance. While Keshi led the NNB players to clinch the West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup, they had to take a “leggy” flight for C’ote di Voire and Europe after the ban by Sports Minister-Samson Emeka Omeruah through Nigeria Football Association (NFA) Chairman, Tony Ikhazoboh, for arriving “late” to the Ibadan Bembo Games Village camp- enforcing General Muhammadu Buhari’s War-Against-Indiscipline (WAI) programme -Amodu claimed the African Winners’ Cup for the country in faraway Tunisia with striker Amir Angwe’s goal. Both Keshi and Amodu remained prominent at the national team until their passages and what is left for a mourning nation is for Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, to institute the Sports Information Centre where profiles of sports people -in all spheres- are properly documented. Rest-in-peace patriots and please lets spare a thought and prayers for ailing Eke and Ndabai. !

ristiano Ronaldo was condemned as ‘a sore loser’ and ‘an ungracious human being’ as Iceland’s players reacted to the Portugal forward’s ferocious criticism. Ronaldo had angered Iceland by dismissing them as a country with “a small mentality” who are “not going to

do anything” at Euro 2016 after taking exception to their tactics in the 1-1 draw in StÉtienne on Tuesday night. Iceland had trailed to Nani’s first-half strike but the minnows – making their first appearance at a major tournament –equalised five minutes after half-time when Birkir

The Real Madrid star (2nd right) only shook the hand of one opponent before leaving the field

Bjarnason volleyed home. Ronaldo accused Iceland of “putting the bus in the net” and showing no ambition to win the game. The Malmo defender, Kari Arnason, has hit back at the Real Madrid forward, telling him it was “tough s---” he was disgruntled and that his reaction was an example of why many people favour Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as the world’s best player. “We got a draw and could have nicked it. Obviously we’re not going to create as many chances as a fantastic team like Portugal but his comments are the reason why Messi is always going to be one step ahead of him. It shows we got under his skin. It was lovely to hear that. You wouldn’t expect Messi to have said that,” he said. “He’s just a sore loser. He didn’t want to lose the game. What does he expect - for us to play like Barcelona against him? He fannies about and dives around.”

Pistorius to be sentenced for murder on July 6

ix-time Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius will be sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on July 6, a judge has ruled in South Africa.

EPL FIXTURES August 13/14 Arsenal

v Liverpool

Bournemouth

v Man United

Burnley

v Swansea

Chelsea

v West Ham

C’Palace

v West Brom

Everton

v Tottenham

Hull City

v Leicester

Man City

v Sunderland

Middlesbrough

v Stoke City

Southampton

v Watford

COPA AMERICA Mexico

1 - 1 Venezuela

Uruguay

3 - 0 Jamaica

WEDNESDAY RESULTS EURO 2016 Romania

1-1

Switzerland

Russia

1-2

Slovakia

COPA AMERICA Chile

4-2

Panama

Argentina

3-0

Bolivia

THURSDAY FIXTURES EURO 2016 England

Wales 2pm

Ukraine

N.Ireland 5pm

Germany

Poland 8pm

The 29-year-old could face a 15-year jail term for shooting dead Steenkamp through a toilet door at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013. Pistorius was initially

handed a five-year sentence after being found guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter), but after serving almost one year behind bars, the double amputee’s conviction was upgraded to

Slovakia overcome Russia in Group B

lovakia have thrown Group B wide open after beating Russia 2-1 in their Euro 2016 clash in Lille on Wednesday afternoon. Jan Kozak’s team entered the match bottom of the section after losing their opening match of the competition to Wales, but an impressive win over Russia has seen them move onto three points after two matches. Denis Glushakov halved the deficit in the 80th minute after firsthalf goals from Vladimir Weiss and Marek Hamsik, but Slovakia

managed to resist a host of late pressure to record a vital win. It was Russia that made the brighter start to proceedings and Artem Dzyuba’s physical presence caused Slovakia some problems in the opening 10 minutes, with the striker having two powerful strikes blocked inside the box. Russia will complete their Group B campaign against Wales on Monday night, while Slovakia will take on England. Tomorrow afternoon, group leaders Wales will take on third-place England in Lyon

murder on appeal. On day three of the sentencing hearing, Pistorius sobbed as he removed his prosthetic legs to demonstrate his limited movement as part of the defence’s argument. The Paralympian’s lawyer Barry Roux told the court that “there is no purpose served” in sending his client back to prison, while prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius should serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars because he has still not provided an “acceptable explanation” for his actions.

Pistorious

Arsenal, Liverpool in crunch EPL opener

remier League champions Leicester City have been handed an away fixture at Hull City on the opening day of the new season. The Foxes stunned the football world last year as they claimed the top-flight crown by 10 points but they will begin their attempt to defend their title with

a trip to the newlypromoted Tigers, who secured promotion through the Championship playoffs. The most high-profile game of the opening weekend sees Arsenal play host to Liverpool, while Jose Mourinho begins his spell at Manchester United with a trip to Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are at home to Sunderland, while Antonio Conte starts his reign at Chelsea with a London derby against West Ham United. Everton and last year’s third-place side Tottenham Hotspur will clash at Goodison Park while Southampton host Watford on the South Coast.

On Marble

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.

– Victor Hugo

Sanctity of Truth

Mike A. Wilkie State creation and further agitations

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

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THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016

Religious love from Pakistan Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – The Bible: James 1:27

atriotism demands that good citizens should go out of their way, if need be, to engender peace and harmony among the people. Therefore any step taken to reduce hate in the land should be encouraged by all well-meaning persons irrespective of religious belief. The hate that preceded the polity ahead of the general election in 2015 remains deplorable and one had thought that the April 1 2015 landmark concession of defeat phone call from President Goodluck Jonathan to General Muhammadu Buhari could have been enough to finally end that aspect of the campaign. It was thought that the admirable spirit, the first of its kind in the country’s political history, was enough to open a new phase of political harmony in the land, especially when the greatest beneficiary of that call, President Buhari, had in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2015 remarked thus; “I would like to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us that has now made our people proud to be Nigerians wherever they are. With the support and cooperation he has given to the transition process, he has made it possible for us to show the world that despite the perceived tension in the land, we can be a united people capable of doing what is right for our nation. Together we cooperated to surprise the world that had come to expect only the worst from Nigeria. I hope this act of graciously accepting defeat by the outgoing President will become the standard of political conduct in the country”. But regrettably, it did not happen so as hate continues to endure in our environment and spreading more dangerously even to the downtrodden. The political elites have continued to manipulate the system to their selfish gains. They have found religion an easy vehicle to the extent that despite many years of preaching harmony in the land and friendliness in our society, nothing seems to be changing rather it is getting worse. Oftentimes in the course of my crazy moment about the happenings in this country in the name of religion, I had intended to think that this country would have been more harmonious if there were no religion. But am quick also to pinch myself that without religion the situation would have been worse to the extent of getting close to hell. If the heat in the desert is the much it is, then imagine the one from the furnace. Henry Ward Beecher sure had society like Nigeria in view when he said in one of his pulpit pungencies that “Men use religion just as they use buoys and lifepreservers; they do not intend to navigate the vessel with them, but they keep just enough of them on hand to float into a safe harbour when a storm comes up and the vessel is shipwrecked; and it is only then that they intend to use them. I tell you, you will find air-holes in all such life-

Political Musings IKE ABONYI igwebuike2001@yahoo.com 0802-402-4029 (sms only)

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Christian leader

preservers as that”. It is these air holes he referred to that have kept Nigeria in perpetual religious tension because of the refusal of our elite to take religion as St. James defined in the opening quotes above. The call to religion is not a call to be better than your fellows, but to be better than yourself. The religious bigots, who attacked the Christian carpenter Emmanuel Francis in Kaduna for eating at the time Muslims were fasting are by all indication products of hate teachings. In 1996, when Gideon Akaluka was beheaded in Kano by some religious mob for an alleged offence committed by his wife, the fanatics then believed, as they were taught, that women should never be visited with violence. But curiously, in the same Kano, 20 years after, a woman was clubbed to death for alleged blasphemy. The question is, what has happened in last 20 years to warrant the killing of a woman if not the mood of the selfish elites at the time. Truth is that both Jesus and Mohammed did not need bigots to get their gospels across. It is therefore against this backdrop, that I got excited when I stumbled on this story from yonder that has deep message for all humanity, especially those who intend or have been manipulating religion to their selfish gains. The story goes that in Pakistan’s northeastern Punjab province, Muslim villagers were raising funds to help their poor Christian neighbours build a church. The initiative was begun shortly before Easter by a group of Muslims from a village in Faisalabad, Pakistan’s textile-manufacturing hub. “There is a tiny Christian population in the village – only 20 families – who have no place to worship….Only days before Easter, the initiative was taken up by our Muslim brothers,” Fr. Aftab James, the local priest, told Anadolu Agency. According to Fr. James, Christians of the village had to use someone’s home – or some other site – to perform prayers on

Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Saad Abubakar

holy days. “Muslim residents of the town, however, offered to build us a chapel as a gift…We are thankful to our Muslim brothers for this wonderful gesture. It makes us feel proud,” the priest said. Also speaking, Faryad Masih, a Christian labourer said, before we had to rent or borrow a house in which to hold Christmas, Easter and other festivities. But now we will soon have our own chapel…. At first I didn’t believe it when Muslim community leaders said they would build us a chapel. But to my surprise, construction work began within one month of the initial announcement. Our community’s longtime dream is now

coming true,” he said. Christians, Pakistan’s largest religious minority, account for roughly three percent of the country’s total population of some 180 million. Most of them reside in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, where they are mainly involved in the sanitation, nursing and teaching sectors. Almost 60 percent of Pakistan’s Christian community is Protestant, while the rest are Catholic. The country’s Christians are represented in Pakistan’s government and Senate, and in national and provincial assemblies. The local community has already raised 150,000 Pakistani rupees (roughly $1,500) towards the total cost of the church’s construction, estimated at some 700,000 rupees ($7,000). Mian Ejaz, one of the Muslim fundraisers, told Anadolu Agency that additional funds would eventually be raised to finish the chapel, which would include a mediumsize prayer hall and another room. “We had four mosques in the village but no place of worship for Christians, as most of them are poor and lack the funds to build a church on their own,” Ejaz, who also provides funds for the village’s four mosques, said. “We want to tell the world that Pakistan isn’t a country of extremists – who are only a small minority – but a country of people who believe in religious tolerance and harmony,” Ejaz said. “Moreover, the Christian world is doing a lot for Muslim refugees, so we should pay them (Christians) back in the same coin,” he said, referring to the flocks of Muslim refugees now trying to reach Europe from Turkey. End of story. Note that the majority Pakistan Muslims did not make effort to annihilate the small Christian community or convert them forcefully as it would have been in Nigeria.

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