Tuesday, april 26, 2016 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

$5.2bn fine: MTN executives paid N537.3m to leave Kunle Azeez

TN Group awarded former Chief Executive Officer Sifiso Dabengwa and the Chief Executive Officer

of Nigerian operation, Mr. Mike Ikpoki, N537.3 million for resigning from the firm after the telecom giant was fined a record $5.2 billion (N1.04 trillion) by the Nigerian Communication

Commission (NCC). The details of the payout were contained in the company’s annual report published yesterday. Dabengwa was awarded $1.6 million (N318.4 million)

while Ikpoki, who also left in the wake of the penalty, was awarded $1.1 million (N218.9 million) in compensation. The payout equates to almost three years basic sal-

ary and took Dabengwa’s total 2015 remuneration to 40.6 million rand (N537.3 million), Johannesburgbased MTN said in the company’s annual report published on Monday.

The Public Investment Corp., Africa’s largest money manager, described the payout as “excessive”. “PIC has communicated to MTN manageCONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

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4th Mainland Bridge: Lagos to demolish 800 structures }40

N150

Fulani herdsmen invade Enugu, kill 20 Magu

Kanu

Yusuf

Ambode

Cultists kill scores in Kogi, Benue }2 Gunmen kidnap Catholic priest, demand N10m ransom

L-R: Executive Director (Capital Market Development), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Haruna JaloWaziri; Director General, Mr. Oscar Onyema; Group Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc., Mr. Timothy Oguntayo and Deputy Managing Director, Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu, at a business meeting between NSE and the bank in Lagos... yesterday.

30% fuel supplied by NNPC diverted –Kachikwu lMinisters to Nigerians: Please, bear with Buhari }5

3.2 billion people at risk of malaria globally – WHO report }7

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TUESday, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Fulani herdsmen invade Enugu, kill 20

Kenneth Ofoma Enugu

major bloody invasion claimed scores of lives in Ukpabi Nimbo, an agrarian community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, yesterday. The invasion came a few days after the report of series of kidnap in the same area by suspected herdsmen. There were conflicting figures over the exact number of casualties as different sources put the figure at between 20 and 30. Fulani herdsmen were fingered for the attack. Sources in the area said that armed herdsmen, numbering over 100, reportedly invaded the sleepy community in the

early hours yesterday. Sources in the community disclosed that continuous gunshots were heard as the rampaging herdsmen moved to sack villagers from their homes. Apart from guns, bows, arrows and machetes, or swords, were also said to have been wielded by the herdsmen, it was learnt. Many of the villagers escaped to neighbouring communities in the UzoUwani area, but it was gathered that people in the nearby towns were also worried about possible attacks from the herdsmen. A security source disclosed that over seven corpses of persons who died in the attack had been recovered. It was learnt that the corpses, which were deposited at the morgue in Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka, were recov-

ered from farmlands. There were indications that more bodies would be recovered, as our correspondent learnt that the combined team of police and military personnel, who moved into the community to repel the attack, were yet to get to all the affected areas. Also, sources in the Ukpabi Nimbo community insisted that more than 20 of their kith and kin were killed before rescue could come. However, Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, told journalists that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nwodibo Ekechukwu, led other officers and men to the area. He said that the total number of casualties could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this

report. Amaraizu said the situation in the community had been brought under control. “We moved in to ensure that the situation did not degenerate beyond control and right now, everything is under control. “The Commissioner of Police is there with other officers and men and the area is being secured. “We can’t give the total number of casualties yet. It is when the operation is concluded that we will collate figures and give a definite number,” Amaraizu said. Many members of the Ukpabi Nimbo community, who are mostly farmers, have their homes around their farmlands. It was gathered that several houses, as well as farms and crops, were also destroyed by the herds-

L-R: Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Idiat Adebule; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema and Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, during a town hall meeting in Lagos…yesterday. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

men. Sources from the community disclosed to our reporter that the herdsmen had previously fallen out with the villagers over their grazing activities in the community. The villagers, it was learnt, had been resisting the use of their farmlands as grazing fields by the herdsmen. It was equally learnt that the situation further degenerated after some herdsmen who operate in Ukpani Nimbo and other communities in the UzoUwani area claimed that their cows were missing. There were also claims by the herdsmen that some of their colleagues were killed in the area. The villagers alleged that most of the herdsmen that were involved in the attack were ‘imported’ from Nasarawa State by other Fulani herdsmen, who were already operating in Enugu. Our correspondent gathered that, before the herdsmen struck yesterday, there was tension in Ukpabi Nimo and other communities in the UzoUwani area over widespread rumour that about 500 herdsmen were mobilising to attack them. It was learnt that the villagers, in anticipation of an imminent attack by herdsmen, had alerted the Enugu State Government, and the leadership of the Enugu State Police Command. According to sources, the Chairman, Transition

Committee, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Cornell Onwubuya, who was said to have informed the state governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and the police commissioner, Nwodibo Ekechukwu, of the fears nursed by villagers, also met the leadership of the Hausa-Fulani community in the area over the matter. The rumoured attack by 500 herdsmen was the subject of an emergency stakeholders’ meeting in the Uzo-Uwani area council during the weekend, hours before the herdsmen struck. The meeting, reportedly, also deliberated on incessant herdsmenrelated problems in the area, including several cases of murder, kidnappings and rape recorded in the recent past. At the meeting, Onwubuya reportedly disclosed that some leaders of the Hausa-Fulani community had confirmed the rumoured plan by the herdsmen to launch an attack in the area. Also at the said emergency stakeholders’ meeting, leaders of the Hausa-Fulani community in Enugu reportedly assured the people that they would take urgent steps to avert the planned attack. However, the attack still went ahead, as planned, despite the prior notice given to the authorities, and the assurances given at the stakeholders meeting.

20 feared dead in Kogi as cult groups clash Gunmen kidnap Catholic priest, demand N10m ransom Muhammad Bashir

...seven killed in rival cult clash Cephas Iorhemen MAKURDI

he Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Otukpo, Very Reverend Fr. John Adeyi, was, yesterday, kidnapped by gunmen. The kidnap of the Catholic priest came barely 21 days after a medical doctor at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Dr. Abah, an Idoma man, was also kidnapped. While Abah has been released by the abductors, Rev. Fr. Adeyi is still being held by the kidnappers, who New Telegraph reliably gathered have demanded a ransom of N10 million. That was as seven persons were killed at the weekend in Otukpo, following a clash between rival cult groups. Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, who

confirmed the cult clash, however, said three persons were killed while three others, who sustained varying degrees of injuries were receiving treatment in a private hospital in the area. Witnesses told New Telegraph that the incident, which occurred between 8p.m. and 11p.m., involved seven different cult groups that started a supremacy gun battle over control of the land. A pan-Idoma group, known as Opiatoha K'Idoma, has condemned the abduction of the priest. The group, in a statement by its secretary, Mr. Adoka Adaji, urged security agencies to ensure Adeyi's release. Meanwhile, in Cross River State, many people were feared killed in a communal clash between the Ebum community in Obubra Local Government Area and Inyima in Yakurr

Local Government Area of the state. According to an online newsportal, Premium Times, people from Ukpe community fought against their counterparts from Mbagede both in Ogoja Local Government Area. Residents and the police confirmed that the multiple clashes were triggered by protracted land disputes. A local said that Ebum community and neighbouring Inyima are locked in a protracted dispute over a parcel of land. The conflict between Ukpe and Mbagede communities is also said to have lingered for about a decade despite attempts at settlement by traditional rulers from the affected area. When contacted, the Cross River State Police Public Relations Officer, John Elu, confirmed the fighting.

Lokoja

here was pandemonium at the weekend in the ancient city of Idah, headquarters of Idah Local Government Area of Kogi State where no fewer than 20 persons, including a pregnant woman, were killed by rampaging cult groups. An unknown cult group was said to have engaged in a deadly revenge mission over the killing of one of their members by a rival cult group. The seeming unrest, which has thrown the people of Idah and its environs into fear, according to some witnesses, started on Friday night when one Danjuma Amodu, also known as (Murphy) was shot dead while relaxing in front of his family home at GRA, Idah. In what seemed like a reprisal, some unidentified gunmen in a Volkswagen Golf car, numbering over a dozen, shot

indiscriminately while driving through major streets of the city. In the process, many innocent persons were killed by stray bullets, while others sustained injuries. It was learnt that the gunmen mounted road blocks between the popular Ibro Junction and Bishop Road Junction between the hours of 8a.m. and 10a.m. on Saturday from where they proceeded to a drinking joint at Igalaogba in search of their possible targets. According to one of the eyewitnesses, the owner of the beer parlour, one Haruna Achema and his wife were reportedly shot, while three customers, who came in few minutes before their arrival, were shot dead on the spot. At Idah waterside, 12 persons were reportedly killed, while a pregnant woman, who was selling fish at the spot was killed by stray bullets. Unconfirmed reports said before police and military personnel could

be drafted to quell the attacks, which lasted three hours, about 20 persons were allegedly sent to their untimely grave. Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Yakubu Usman, confirmed the incident, saying that last Saturday, some suspected cult groups shot a 27-year-old man at Anyigba-Idah road. Usman said while the corpse was being taken to the police station, the gunmen attacked and wounded some of the policemen at the station. He added that in an attempt by the gunmen to escape from the fire power of the police, their vehicles hit five persons, who were rushed to hospital, but admitted that no arrest has been made yet.

N440.12bn

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

TUESday, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

NEWS

TUESday, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

30% fuel supplied by NNPC diverted – Kachikwu

Wale Elegbede

inister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday disclosed that 30 per cent of fuel trucks supplied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are being diverted to neighbouring countries. Speaking at the commemoration of one year anniversary of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which kicked off yesterday in Lagos with a Town Hall Meeting that had five other ministers in attendance,

Kachikwu, who doubles as Group Managing Director of NNPC, said the era of fuel subsidy was over in the country. His words: “Sadly, for the short term measures that we put in place, over 30 per cent of what are supplied into the country are diverted. For example, in the last five days, we have pumped 400 trucks of products into Lagos State. The total consumption of Lagos at the maximum is 250 trucks. Most of those trucks are diverted from Lagos. They moved from here and cross the border to Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon, among others.

We need, literally, a whole army to stop this from happening. So, I continue to supply and over-supply and so we struggle. “There is need for vigilance because most of our trucks don’t have trackers and we are looking at intelligence solution. We started publishing deliveries and telling you the filling stations they were allocated to, so if you don’t find products in those filling stations, there are hotlines to call and for police to report.” Kachikwu said pipelines and refineries, including the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, had been

revived, while the Kaduna refinery would begin to work in a week. “The Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP), which was the Offshore Processing Arrangement (OPA) which we reviewed, has saved us over $1 billion. “Payment of subsidies, which last year was over N1 trillion had been reduced to zero – except in April, which was prepared for because of over-recovery,” he said. He noted that the average loss of NNPC, which was about N300 billion per month, has been reduced to about N3 billion as of January 2016.

$5.2bn fine: MTN executives paid N537.3m to leave CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ment its strong opposition to what we see as gross misuse of shareholder funds,” the Pretoria-based fund manager said in an e-mailed response to questions on Monday. “Management and the board of MTN should be held accountable for actions taken under their watch.” The PIC, which manages the bulk of the South African government’s pension fund money, is MTN’s biggest shareholder with a 13 per cent stake in the continent’s largest wireless operator, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has almost two trillion rand in assets under management. MTN shares fell 1.3 per cent to 145.47 rand as of 12:47p.m. in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 268 billion rand. The stock has declined 24 per cent since the fine, later reduced to $3.9 billion (N780 billion), was made public in October. The two executives were rewarded even after they resigned to take responsibility for the Nigeria penalty, which equates to about three years of MTN’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the

country. It would be recalled that the penalty was imposed on the company for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million subscribers that the government had deemed to be unregistered in Nigeria. Phuthuma Nhleko, the former CEO, who returned as executive chairman to resolve the Nigeria crisis after Dabengwa resigned, was paid 5 million rand ($345,371) for work from November 9 until the end of the year. His contract is for six months, indicating a total payout of 17.5 million rand. He may also be due a bonus when his contract expires on May 9, according to the annual report. MTN and Nhleko have yet to settle the fine, despite hiring former United States Attorney General Eric Holder to represent the company and making a N50 billion ($251 million) down payment. In March, the wireless operator proposed a $1.5 billion (N298.5 billion) package that included cash, government access to its wireless network and an offer to buy Nigerian sovereign debt. Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo

Shittu, had recently stated that the offer hasn’t been formally rejected, negotiations are not currently underway. “I am sure shareholders are not happy to pay out exorbitant golden parachutes to management that were asked to leave because they were incompetent,” Michael Treherne, a money-manager at Vestact Ltd., which holds MTN stock, told Reuters by phone. However, the payout to Dabengwa may be the cheapest option if Nhleko can resolve the fine in MTN’s favour, he said. Nigeria is the biggest of MTN’s 22 markets across Africa and the Middle East, with about 61 million subscribers. Meanwhile, speaking on the MTN Group Limited Quarterly update for the period ended March 31, obtained by New Telegraph, Nhleko said MTN Nigeria reported a 6.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter decrease in its subscriber base to 57 million. He attributed this to the disconnection of 4.5 million subscribers at the end of last February related to the ongoing subscriber registration process. “We believe we have

CCT: Appeal Court strikes out Saraki's motion

he Court of Appeal in Abuja yesterday struck out an application brought by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, asking the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to stay proceedings pending determination of his appeal. The three-man justices of the appellate court, led by Justice Abdul Aboki, struck out the motion following an oral application for withdrawal of the motion moved by Saraki's counsel, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN). Agabi, who did not give reasons for his action, prayed the court for ac-

celerated hearing of the second leg of the appeal he filed challenging the competence of the charge at the tribunal. Saraki instituted the appeal, asking for the court to grant him a stay of proceedings at the tribunal pending hearing and determination of his appeal. When the case was called for hearing, Agabi announced that he was withdrawing it and apologised to the court for making the justices go through the voluminous processes he had filed. Aboki said the adjourned date would be

communicated to parties as soon as all court processes had been filed and exchanged by the parties. In the main appeal, Saraki is challenging his trial at the tribunal on the grounds that due process was not followed before the 13-count charge was preferred against him. He is also contending that he was not invited by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to make a statement on the alleged discrepancies in the asset forms he submitted to the CCB as required by law before he was charged to court.

now dealt with all the subscribers who were considered to be non-compliant. The operation continues to focus on reconnecting subscribers through proactive engagement and winback offers. “Following the re-instatement of regulatory services in March 2016, MTN Nigeria continued to engage the regulatory authorities and we hope to receive approval from the regulator for approval of promotional products and services during the current month," he said.

142.59m

The total number of active lines of Nigeria in February 2015. Source: Ncc.gov.ng

$23.2m

The total pay (including salary/ winnings & endorsements) of Dirk Nowitzki (Basketball) for 2014. Source: Forbes.com.

Moderated by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ministers used the occasion to review the key policy programmes of the administration within the context of the current plight and expectation of Nigerians. Other ministers present at the Town Hall meeting, the first in the series to be held across the six geo-political zones of the country, were Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Foreign Affairs, Mr. Godfrey Onyema; Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah Aside using the occasion to give the scorecards of their respective ministries, the cabinet members also used the event that was attended by different class of people to plead for

patience with government in the light of the current hardships in the country. Speaking on the essence of the interactive gathering, Mohammed said the event was not a fix-it measure, but an opportunity for Nigerians to air their views on the process of governance and to also create opportunity for those in authority to meet the populace directly. “We have squarely taken on the issue of corruption and this administration has zero tolerance for graft. We are not out to vilify anyone but to put paid to corruption. Between 2006 and 2013, just 55 people stole N1.3 trillion,” Mohammed said. Enelamah, the Minister of Trade and Industry, noted that the country need to create long term institutions, stating that the Federal Government has commenced the reactivation of Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) in order to reposition industries in the country. Speaking on the gains of the recent agreements signed by Nigeriawith China, the minister said the agreements will be deliberately monitored. “China is Nigeria’s largest trading partner, you know. Over 40 per cent of CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

NEWS

TUESday, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari, Masari, Nnamani meet over 2016 Budget Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday held closeddoor meeting with former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and former

Speaker of the House of Representatives and Governor of Katsina State, Bello Masari, over steps to resolve the 2016 Budget impasse. A number of grey areas have been identified in the budget which has prevent-

ed Buhari from signing the appropriation bill into law. Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Nnamani said that what he suggested to Buhari stands to reason and a good way out of the budget impasse.

Power outage disrupts Senate public hearing Chukwu David Abuja

he frequent power outage at the National Assembly complex yesterday disrupted the public hearing on the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act Cap N129, LFN, 2004 (Repeal and Reenactment) Bill, 2015. The public hearing, which was attended by various stakeholders in the transport sector, was brought to an abrupt end due to frequent power outages in the National Assembly. Stakeholders, senators and other attendees could not endure the suffocating condition of the hearing Room 022 of the Senate New Wing, venue of the session. A source told our correspondent that the National Assembly was indebted to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), making the company to give limited power supply to the complex while the institution was also facing cash crunch to maintain the internal power generator, which uses diesel. Meanwhile, the Senate, yesterday, said that it was set to revolutionise the

comatose railway transport system in Nigeria by reviewing the existing Act, which is obsolete and incapable of driving the system. While declaring open the public hearing, Senate President Bukola Saraki said that the Upper Chamber had no choice than to expeditiously pass the bill in order to actualise its set objectives. He pointed out that the passage and implementation of the bill would have the impact of a new economic revolution in the country. Saraki also stated that apart from the fact that the law under review had become obsolete, there was need to separate the regulator from the operator. His words: "We have no choice, but to speedily and comprehensively review and pass this bill. It is no exaggeration to say that the passage of this bill and the implementation of its provisions will have the impact of a new economic revolution. "The existing law in the rail subsector was drafted and enacted to support an outmoded model that restricts management and investments in railway to the public sector."

Nigeria loses $1.5bn monthly to robbery, piracy at sea – US official

igeria is losing about $1.5 billion a month to piracy, armed robbery at sea, smuggling and fuel supply fraud, a U.S. official said. Ambassador Michele Sison, US Deputy Representative to the UN, made this known yesterday in New York. He made the revelation at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Peace Consolidation in West Africa with the theme “Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea in the Gulf of Guinea.'' Sison said illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing also generate a sizeable income loss in the hundreds of millions of dollars a year, for many countries and communities that depend on this sector to survive. She said that earlier this month, on April 11, at 7.56 p.m., pirates attacked a cargo vessel off the coast

of Nigeria. She added that the pirates waited for darkness before ambushing the vessel and boarded with force. “The captain and crew sounded the alarm and hid in a protected space on the ship only to discover when they emerged the following day that two of their crew were missing. “A second officer from the Philippines and an electrician from Egypt; both are still missing. “This was neither the first pirate attack of the year, nor even the first attack that day. “Earlier on April 11, the very same day, pirates had attacked a Turkish cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria, kidnapping six of the crew, including the vessel’s captain. “The economic consequences for the people of the region are devastating,” she said.

Also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Gbenga Ashafa, noted that rail transport was a strong base of social and industrial activities in both developed and developing countries, but regretted that the dream of having an efficient rail transport system in Nigeria was elusive because of the obsolete state of the Act that set up the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

Nnamani said that he believed that what he suggested is being studied. He, however, did not disclose his suggestion to the president. He said: "The issue on budget? Well budget is an area where we practice what we call co-management between the National Assembly and the executive branch of government, both of them co-manage the economy through the budget. It’s a peculiar area, both of them will have to cooperate and collaborate for a proper budget to be passed and once it is passed, it becomes law. "So, as it stands today, the situation is such that the National Assembly has to do what is called introspection, how did we get to where we are now? The year is running out and we are still talking about 2016

budget, where is the fault from? "Wherever it is coming from, both the executive branch and the legislature must find a quick solution to it. It does nobody good to drag it any longer, remember it is an area of co-management, it is not left to the executive alone, it is not left to the National Assembly alone, there has to be collaboration. "I think he stands to reason, what I suggested is being studied. I think it is appropriate." Speaking on his rumoured defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said: "I will not join a party in secret. When it is time I am joining any party, I will make it public. Today, I am bipartisan." On whether he would

not advise Buhari to sign the budget as was passed by the National Assembly and later send a supplementary budget, Masari said that he too would never sign whatever he is not sure of. "You know, I am now an executive and I signed budget for Kastina State and before I did that, I made sure I knew what I am signing for. So take it as I said," he stated.

0.74

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of Benin Republic in 2000. Source: Itu.int

53,990

The total number of subscribers of Visafone Limited (fixed/fixed wireless) as at December 2014. Source: Ncc.gov.ng

Representative of the Bauchi State Governor, Dr. Halima Mukaddas (right), presenting a gift to Hajia Hauwa Shehu in commemoration of the 2016 World Malaria Day, at Kafin Madaki, Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State … yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Ministers to Nigerians: Please, bear with Buhari CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

our imports are from China, and it represents over $15 billion. “The Nigerian government also acknowledges that there’s much Nigeria can learn from China. For example, we view with admiration, what China has accomplished by lifting hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty over the cause of just one generation. “It has been said that it takes only one committed generation to rebuild a country, why can’t it be this generation? China has done it; Nigeria can do it.” Summarising the problem of power supply in the country, Fashola said: “I will summarise the power issue simply in one word; there is no enough power. Five thousand megawatts for 170 million people is just not enough. The solution is delivering more power on an incremental and sustained basis.” Speaking on the lull in the activity of the Ministry of Works, the former governor of Lagos State said

the ministry cannot spend any money until the 2016 budget is passed. “There’s a plan to deal with the road challenge, but unfortunately as I speak, there is no budget. “Those of us that are tuned to public service will understand that budget is the article of faith, without appropriation, you can’t spend money,” he said. Fashola, who noted that the government has not delivered some results but will still do so, stressed that housing is his most difficult responsibility. He said that the challenges of the sector were enormous. “The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing proposed N423 billion at the Federal Executive Council and the information reaching us is that we are not going to get all that. “On-going road projects alone awarded by the government before we came – about 266 roads awarded in the various states – the liability to complete them is about N2 trillion,” he said. On his part, Onyema, the Minister of Foreign

Affairs, noted that the government had predicated its foreign policy outlook on the three focal points of the administration, namely, security, anti-corruption and economy. His words: “The trips of the president outside Nigeria are not just selected on a random basis; they are carefully selected to fit into the priority of government. President Buhari has enormous goodwill and his assumption of office captured the foreign countries. They are falling over to host him. “When the president assumed office, the problem at that time was how to get the confidence of neighbouring countries to support the war on terror. “So, what the president did was to travel to Chad, Cameroon and other neighbouring countries to seek a joint coalition, and now we can all see the results the country is recording against Boko Haram.” Amaechi noted that the construction of the various proposed rail lines will create jobs for Nigerians

across the divide. The minister said the government is working extremely hard to ensure that the uncompleted Kaduna to Abuja rail line works between June and July. He said work will commence on the Lagos-Kano rail line before the end of the year. On aviation, the former Rivers State governor explained that new terminals are being constructed at some airports, adding that the government has scaled up regulatory and safety measures in the airports. Also present at the gathering are the representatives of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASSU), National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), secondary school students, leaders of market associations and artisans among others.

national | news

tuesday, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

5,614

The total number of subscribers of Multilinks Telkom (fixed/fixed wireless) as at December 2014. Source: Ncc.gov.ng

PDP will sack APC in 2019 –Lamido

L-R: Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, at the one-day public hearing on the Bill for an Act to Repeal and Re-Enact the Nigeria Railway Corporation in Abuja…yesterday.

3.2bn people at risk of malaria attack Appolonia Adeyemi and Clement James

s Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the 2016 World Malaria Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said about 3.2 billion people was at risk of malaria attack globally. This was contained in a report entitled: "Eliminating Malaria", released yesterday to mark the World Malaria Day, commemorated every year on April 25. It stated that in 2015 alone, 214 million new cases of the disease were reported in 95 countries and no fewer than 400,000 people died of malaria. Of these, 88 per cent of the deaths were recorded in Africa Region. Malaria is endemic in Nigeria. The intensity of attack remains constant throughout the year and from year to year. Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. P. falciparum is the most deadly malaria parasite and the most prevalent in Africa, where malaria cases and deaths are heavily concentrated. The first symptoms of

malaria – fever, headache, chills and vomiting – usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. Without prompt treatment, P. falciparum malaria can progress to severe illness and death. However, the “Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030”, approved by the World Health Assembly in 2015, has called for the elimination of local transmission of malaria in at least 10 countries by 2020. The Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 20162030, launched in January, seeks to reduce the rate of new malaria cases, and malaria death rate by at least 90 per cent. Part of its mandate include the elimination of malaria in at least 35 countries and prevent a resurgence of malaria in all countries that are malaria-free WHO's estimates showed that 21 countries were in a position to achieve this goal, including six countries in the African Region, where the burden of the disease is heaviest. To address malaria deaths and new infections, the WHO has recommended a multi-pronged strategy to prevent, control and eliminate malaria.

According to the world body, such key interventions include: the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying, diagnostic testing, and treatment of confirmed cases with effective anti-malarial medicines. In recent years, these measures have dramatically lowered the malaria burden in many settings, though, malaria transmission has continued in many countries around the world however, and causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. According to the WHO statement, "Since the year 2000, malaria mortality rates have declined by 60 per cent globally. It added that the efficacy of the tools that secured the gains against malaria in the early years of this century is now threatened. The WHO also said that mosquito resistance to insecticides used in nets and indoor residual spraying is growing. It also warned of parasite resistance to a component of one of the most powerful anti-malarial medicines. It added that further progress against malaria will likely require new tools that do not exist today, and the further refining of

new technologies. “It also showed that in the African Region, malaria mortality rates fell by 66 per cent among all age groups and by 71 per cent among children under five years.'' According to a fact sheet issued by Development Communications Network (DEVCOMs), a nongovernment organisation, malaria infection during pregnancy is a significant public health problem with substantial risks for the pregnant woman, her foetus, and the newborn child. “Malaria in pregnancy is a major risk factor for maternal anaemia, foetal loss, premature delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, spontaneous abortion, still birth and delivery of low birth-weight infants. “Low birth weight in babies is a significant contributor to infant mortality. “Children under five years are particularly vulnerable to malaria illness and death. In 2015, malaria killed an estimated 306,000 under-fives globally. This includes 292,000 children in Africa. “In Nigeria, malaria consistently ranks among the five most common causes of death in children under five years.”

former governor of Jigawa State, Mallam Sule Lamido, yesterday said that the present APC administration in the country was a national embarrassment. He said that the government lacked cohesion, direction, and laudable programs that would move the country ahead. According to him, the APC claimed that it would better the country under the Change slogan. He however, argued that there was no change. He said: “There isn’t any improvement in our social services. No light, no food, there is abject poverty, anger and agony, no employment opportunities. Is that the change,” he queried. Lamido, who said that he would contest for presidency on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019, said that his party would sack the APC. Lamido made this known to newsmen in his village, Bamaina, in Birnin-Kudu Local Government Area of the state. New Telegraph had exclusively reported about two weeks ago, that, the National Chairman of the party and former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff; a former Governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and the Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwabo were oiling their machines to run for the presidency in 2019. Yesterday, Lamido confirmed that he would be running for the presidency in 2019. He, however, said that the party’s ticket was not given to anybody on the platter of gold, adding

that a candidate must earn it. "If my party finds me worthy of the party's presidential ticket to serve Nigeria, I will thank God and oblige. "Although there are issues in the party that we are all working to resolve, we hope to have success soon and come out united. "As I'm talking to you now, we are working silently to resolve our differences and bring back to our fold those that left the party for APC", he said. The party had in recent time been meeting with some of its members who left for the All Progressives Congress, APC. One of such people is a former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who has been at loggerheads with his state governor and successor, Alhaji Umar Ganduje. It is also rumoured that the PDP would be willing to receive the Senate President, Bukola Saraki following his current trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The former governor held that the internal crisis in PDP was the reason for its defeat in 2015 general elections. He said that the party had the capacity to rule the country again but the members must work hard to achieve that. Lamido denied any rift between him and his successor, Gov. Muhammad Badaru of APC. He stated that both of them had mutual respect for each other and he had no differences with him other than political ideologies. He said “I can only answer the clarion call of my party faithful, having truly worked to earn it”

Academic activities disrupted at UI as Buhari tasks African leaders on media Oil prices shed 27 %, slides from the presidential villa, students protest rustication Anule Emmanuel five month high from their lecture rooms, Abuja. Abuja Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

cademic activities at the University of Ibadan were yesterday paralysed by some students, who staged a protest over a disciplinary action the school authority imposed on a colleague of theirs, Tunji Epeti Michael of the department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Technology of the University. The protesting students, who drove round the campus in buses around 11 a.m, chased out many students

barricading some of the roads within the school. As at about 3 p.m, they proceeded to barricade the gate of the institution, forcing people to trek into the campus. When contacted for details on the protest, the Director of Public Communication of the institution, Mr Olatunji Oladejo, said the affected student was rusticated by the Central Student Disciplinary Committee for one semester for his role in the protest in respect of electricity failure in the institution last year.

resident Muhammadu Buhari has challenged African countries to work harder in pursuing issues of social justice. The President said this was a sure way to achieving greater peace and political stability in the continent. The President stated this yesterday while granting audience to the Foreign Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Agapito Mba Mokuy at

President Buhari also maintained that as leaders of sovereign nations, African Heads of Government must be allowed to discharge their responsibility for peace and security within their countries, without external interference. The President said that this was why Heads of State and Government of the African Union decided against sending peacekeeping troops to Burundi during the country's recent political crisis.

Adeola Yusuf

il prices on yesterday slipped 27 cents to $44.84 per barrel after hitting $46.18 in the previous session. The price fell after an inventory spike at a key storage base for U.S. crude although a weaker dollar limited the market's downside, keeping it not far from five-month highs. The front-month contract in U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures was down 50 cents,

or 1 per cent, at $43.50 a barrel by 11:20 a.m. EDT (1520 GMT). It fell earlier to $42.81 after rising to a session high of $44.04. On Friday, it hit a five-month high of $44.49. Brent's front-month slid 27 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $44.84 per barrel. It hit a mid-November high of $46.18 in the previous session. Trading was choppy, with crude prices initially building on gains over the past three weeks before sliding on the Genscape report, crude brokers said.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

METRO Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

ABIODUN BELLO

...CRIME, CITY WATCH, COURTS

Man stabs lover to death for rejecting marriage proposal

or refusi n g h i s marriage proposal, a man working with one of the leading Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) service providers, yesterday stabbed his lover to death. The incident occurred at Tanke area of Ilorin, Kwara State. The man also stabbed his girlfriend’s mother, who tried to settle the dispute between the two. The lady’s mother escaped death with serious injuries, while the lover lost her life. Sources said the lady’s mother was rushed to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) where she was receiving treatment. Investigations revealed that the lovers, who had been going out for some time, had also been involved in serious argument over the issue of marriage. The lady, said to be in her 30s, had insisted that she could not marry the man because he was going out with several other women at the same time. It was learnt that they went out on Sunday night and returned to the girl’s house at Tanke area of

Ilorin where the mother had also come to visit her daughter. Early yesterday morning, the argument resurfaced with the girl still maintaining her position. The man was said to have threatened to kill the lady if she refused his proposal. It was at the height of the argum e n t that the lady’s mother came out of her room to settle the dispute. The man was said to have dashed into the kitchen, picked up a knife and attacked the two women. While he succeeded in killing his lover, the mother sustained injuries before neighbours were

alerted to the scene by the woman’s cries for help. However, another version claimed that the man, who is currently on the run, had first reported for duty at his office on the University of Ilorin Road before he told his colleagues he wanted to go and pick something at home. A source, who saw the body of the lady, said she was stabbed several times in the neck and around the back of the armpit. An autopsy was to be conducted on her body at the UITH yesterday to enable the institution to file a proper report. When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident. He said the police were already on the trail of the fleeing suspect.

City Briefs

Bus driver held for stealing bridge railings Muritala Ayinla

fficials of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested a man, Ademola Ibrahim, who claimed to be a commercial bus driver, for illegally removing the railings of the Eko Bridge. Although the suspect said he was only assisting the ‘real thief,’ now at large, police said he was caught ‘in the act’. Ibrahim was said to have conspired with one other suspect, identified simply as Kampo, to commit the crime on Sunday about 7pm but insisted that he was only called upon to assist in carrying goods which turned out to be stolen railings. It was learnt that the suspect was arrested while attempting to pack the railings into a waiting Volkswagen ‘Paragon’ bus with

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com 08023938212

registration number MUS 457 XK while the said Kampo took to his heels upon sighting the RRS patrol vehicle. The RRS operatives were said to be acting on reliable information that some miscreants were removing bridge railings. A police source said: “Yester-

day (Sunday), one of our patrol vehicles, RRS 153, went on routine patrol and when they were going, they saw the suspect parking his Volkswagen ‘Paragon’ bus. They suspected something fishy and intercepted the man and interrogated him on his mission in the area.

Ibrahim and the railings

Two arrested for repackaging expired biscuit Muritala Ayinla

fficials of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit have arrested two men for repackaging and selling expired digestive biscuits around Mosafejo market at Oshodi, Lagos. It was learnt that the task force first arrested a trader, Bimbo Oyewole, at Oshodi ‘under bridge’ while was cleaning off the expired date boldly written on a pack of a digestive biscuit. After interrogation, the lady took task force officials to where she bought the expired digestive biscuit at N1,900 per pack from Mr. Rabiu Olalekan and Mr. Hakeem Tiamiyu. Olalekan of C135, Bere-Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, told interrogators he and Tiamiyu of 26, Oremeji Street, IkotunEgbe, Lagos, usually repackage expired digestive biscuit and sell at a cheaper rate. It was learnt that the suspects claimed that they bought hundreds of packs of digestive biscuit before government demolished Mosafejo market. According to them, since they cannot sell the packs of biscuit be-

The suspects

fore they expired, they decided to change the expiry dates and repackage them for consumption. The suspects, who claimed they ventured into the illicit business because of poverty, said they usually sell a pack of repackaged digestive biscuit at the rate of N1,900 as against N4,500. According to them, they usually distribute the repackaged expired biscuit to various agents across Lagos State. Parading the suspects yesterday, the task force Chairman, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, warned members of the public to be wary of repackaged expired digestive biscuit selling in all markets across Lagos. Meanwhile, after screening, the task force freed 11 of 149 suspected miscreants it arrested.

Mob sets armed robber ablaze

Tony Anichebe

Uyo

n angry mob yesterday beat a suspected armed robber to death and set him ablaze in Akwa Ibom State. The victim was said to be a member of a gang which specialised in snatching motorcycles from residents of Abak and Oruk Anam local government areas of the state. The man and his accomplice were said to have snatched a motorcycle yesterday at gunpoint from the owner at Obio Ibet Nkanika village in Oruk Anam Local Government Area. The residents of the area, however, went after the robbers and caught up with them at Obio Ndot, near Abak Local Government Area. They arrested one of the two men with the motorcycle but his

accomplice bearing the gun escaped. The man, who could not be identified before he was beaten to death by angry mob and set ablaze before police could intervene, had reportedly confessed committing the crime. Interestingly, where he was set ablaze is close to the Abak High Court complex and about 500 metres to the Abak Divisional Police Headquarters. It was learnt that there has been an upsurge in the snatching of motorcycles in Abak and its environs. It was also learnt that two motorcycles were snatched at Obio Ndot community within one week before yesterday’s mob action. Soldiers had last year, in the same Abak area, rescued a thief who had gone to church to steal a motorcycle while service was still going on.

XXXX

METRO

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Why I chained my son for two months –Father

Men threaten to post girlfriend’s nude picture, demand N50,000

Taiwo Jimoh and Dare Akinwoye

Sola Adeyemo

man, Akanbi Lawal, who chained his 35-year-old son and locked him up in the room for two months, has blamed the son’s ‘disgraceful and shameful acts’ for his action. The victim, Yusuf Lawal, was over the weekend rescued in a room at 4, Ifekoya Street, Papa Ashafa, Agege, after one of his friends, Tayo Olukoju, reported the incident to the police. Yusuf ’s two hands have started to decay, prompting the police to rush him to the Oke-Odo General Hospital, where he is receiving treatment. It was learnt that Olukoju, a resident of Ogunbambo Street, Papa Ashafa, saw his friend in the abandoned room. Olukoju, who alongside other residents of the area had been looking for Yusuf for more than two months, quickly alerted the police at Dopemu Police Station. Olukoju had thought that his friend was dead but policemen, who arrived at the scene, discovered that he was still alive. The policemen unchained him and rushed

him to the hospital with his two hands swollen and decaying. In his statement to the police, Lawal admitted to have tied Yusuf. He tried to justify his action when he de-

scribed the victim as “shameful and disgraceful.” Although he did not explain the ‘shameful’ act, a source said Yusuf had mental illness. The state Police Public Relations Officer

(PPRO), SP Dolapo Badmos, said Lawal was in police custody. She also said that the man would be arraigned in court as soon as investigations were concluded.

Lawal and Yusuf

22-year-old man, Femi Godwin, has told police in Lagos that he started breaking into people’s cars and stealing at the age of seven. The suspect and his accomplice, Tayo Michael (29), told policemen attached to the Maroko Police Division that they had vandalised cars at Lekki area and its environs in the last five years. The suspects reportedly vandalised a Sport Utility Vehicle, carted away phones and laptop on Aboyade Cole Street, Victo-

ria Island, on April 20. Godwin and Michael were said to have gone back to the street the following day with the aim of stealing from another car. But unfortunately for them, their pictures had been captured by CCTV footage at a nearby supermarket. Immediately the security guards at the supermarket saw the suspects, they apprehended them and handed them over to the police. Godwin, born by a Ghanaian father, said he was seven years’ old when his friend introduced him to the ‘busi-

wo men, Oyindamola Ajowa (34) and Owolabi Akorede (27), allegedly lured a lady to their house, drugged her, took picture of her naked body and threatened to post it on social media if she refused to pay them N50,000. The principal suspect, Ajowa, had confessed to the police in Ibadan, Oyo State that he committed the act because of a misunderstanding he had with the victim. He said he got her intoxicated, snapped her nude body and threatened to post the picture on the net. The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Leye Oyebade, who paraded the suspects, said Ajowa was a married man who had the victim as his concubine. The suspect said her 25-year-old girlfriend came to his residence at Elebu area of Oluyole, Ibadan, on April 10, and he gave her red wine, which intoxicated her. After the

Oyebade

lady had got drunk, the suspect allegedly stripped her naked, raped her and snapped her nudity. Ajowa was arrested with his accomplice, Akorede. Addressing journalists, Oyebade said the suspects were arrested by detectives attached to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (SCIIB), after they lured the lady to their residence and sexually assaulted her. He said: “The suspects, in order to perpetrate the crime, induced the victim to sleep by adding sedative to her drink. Having done this, the victim was stripped and photographed.

Super lab: Four Mexicans, five Nigerians arraigned

I started breaking into cars at 7 –Suspect

Taiwo Jimoh

Ibadan

ness’. The suspect disclosed that he had stolen different phones, laptops and I-pads from vehicles parked on the road. He said: “I started learning tilling from tender age because my parents could not send my siblings and I to school. Some of my friends on our street then usually come to my workshop that I should leave what I was doing and join them to make money. That was how I joined them. “We always hang around Shoprite and wait for the occupants of ve-

hicles to leave before we strike. We would break into the vehicles and steal whatever the owner kept inside, especially money, phones and laptops.” Michael, an artisan, said he was introduced to the crime last December by a friend called Blessing, who, according to him, is now serving a jail term in Kirikiri Prison. He said: “We don’t use gun. Whenever we see a vehicle parked by the roadside without anybody inside, we would move close to it and use stone to break the windscreen. We would then steal whatever we find inside. That was how I have been sustaining myself since December. “I can’t remember the number of phones and laptops we have stolen from vehicles at Lekki and its environs. Immediately after the operation, we would rush to Obalende to sell the phone to someone in the area.” The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Dolapo Badmos, said the suspects had confessed to the crime. Badmos said they had destroyed several cars in Michael (left) and Godwin the area in the past five years.

our Mexicans and five Nigerians were arraigned yesterday before Justice A. O. Faji of the Federal High Court, Asaba, Delta State, for allegedly operating a super laboratory for the production of methamphetamine. The accused were arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on a five-count charge of conspiracy to form and operate a Drug Trafficking Organisation (DTO) to process and export methamphetamine. The Mexicans are Cervantos Madrid Jose Bruno, Rivas Ruiz Pastiano, Castillo Barraza Cristobal and Partida Gonzalez Pedro, while the Nigerians include Chief Chibi Aruh, William Ejike Agusi, Umolu Kosisochukwu and Umolu Ckukwemeka. They were also accused of illegal extraction of ephedrine,

preparation of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of 1.5kg of methamphetamine; a drug similar to cocaine, heroin, LSD contrary to NDLEA Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. The court could not take their plea because the four Mexicans claimed not to understand English language and the defence counsel, Benson Ndakara, objected to the use of an interpreter produced by the NDLEA on the grounds of bias. But the NDLEA counsel, Lambert Nor, told the court that the objection was a ploy to delay the trial and prayed the court to give the defence one week to produce any interpreter of their choice. In response, Ndakara said that they could not produce an interpreter but would accept another interpreter apart from the one in question.

The suspects inside the ‘lab’

NEWS

tuesday, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

CONFIRMATION/change OF NAME UDEAJA: I formerly known and addressed as Miss Udeaja Obiageli Eucharia now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ajaebili Obiageli Eucharia. All former documents remain valid. Lagos State Government and general public take note

Akputa

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Awoke Stella Njideka now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akputa Stella Njideka. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and the general public should please take note.

Omini

I formerly known and addressed as Okosu Monday now wish to be known and addressed as Tamaraseighe Kaizah Omini. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Gita

I formerly known and addressed as Preye Celina Gloria now wish to be known and addressed as Oyinkepreye Theresa Gita. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Ofure

I, Mrs. Benson Jenty Ofure do hereby confirm that the names Edeniyere Ofure Jenty refer to one and same me. I now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Benson Jenty Ofure. All former documents remain valid. NYSC, Zenith bank Plc, Access bank Plc, Fidelity bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Akasah

I formerly known and addressed as Ebitimi Collins now wish to be known and addressed as Tubo Akasah. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

Area

Ofana

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okwoche Blessing now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Blessing Ene Ofana. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Egole

I formerly known and addressed as Mr. Kojo Egone now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Eniye Egole. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc and the general public should please take note.

Bonnke

I, Igoniwari Bonnke do hereby state that my name was wrongly written as Igoniwari Bommke instead of Igoniwari Bonnke. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc and the general public should please take note.

Idon

Obichere

Alex

I formerly known and addressed as Fanama Oyins now wish to be known and addressed as Fanama Oyinkinimiwerimi. All former documents remain valid. Fidelity bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mieghen Enifiye now wish to be known and addressed as Mieghen Enifiye Alex. All former documents remain valid. Union bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Erepatei

White

Obinna

This is to confirm that Isidahomeh Jude with which my GTBank/BVN was registered is the same person as Obinna Chukwu Angus. That henceforth, I wish to be known and and addressed as Obinna Chukwu Angus. All former documents remain valid. GTBank Plc, Fidelity bank Plc and the general public should take note.

Amah

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Veronica .C. Allaputa now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Veronica Ogbeye Sylvanus Amah. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Anichigoziri

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Chinyere Patricia Muo, Chinyere Patricia Okeke and Chinyere Patricia Okeke Muo now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Chinyere Patricia Kenneth Anichigoziri. All former documents remain valid. UBA, Keystone Bank and the General public please take note.

Okhiso

I,Oluwakemi Okhiso still remain as Okhiso Oluwakemi Asisat. All former documents remain valid. First Bank and general public should please take note.

he Court of Appeal, Abuja Division yesterday adjourned the separate appeals filed by a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh and the leader of the Indegenous People of Biafra,

ment was served on him last week and that by the practice of the court, he has 10 days to file his respondent's brief of arguments. Jacobs then asked for brief adjournment to enable him file his brief of argument. The presiding, Justice Abdul Aboki, consequently held that the date for hearing will be reserved until all processes have been filed. Meanwhile, the appeal filed by Metuh has

I formerly known and addressed as Dennis Frank now wish to be known and addressed as Idon Dennis. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Oyinkinimiwerimi

Otokolo

ABUJA

Nnamdi Kanu. In the Dasuki's appeal, the court said it will communicate the adjourned date to parties. The appellate court could not hear the appeal following the inability of the Federal Government (respondent) to file the brief of argument. government's counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) had told the three-member panel of Justices of the Appeal Court that the appellant's brief of argu-

Ropeter

I formerly known and addressed as Kelechi Godswill Onuigbo now wish to be known and addressed as Kelechi Godswill Obichere. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Okpodudu Yinlayefa Joy now wish to be known and addressed as Otokolo Yinlayefa Joy. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Tunde Oyesina

I formerly known and addressed as Uropeter Zighe now wish to be known and addressed as Uropeter Ziyai Ropeter. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Perekememiyesega Ekpobaedene Odogu now wish to be known and addressed as Perekememiyesega Ekpobaedene Area. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Olozulu Ere now wish to be known and addressed as Olozulu Erepatei. All former documents remain valid. Union bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Appeal Court adjourns Dasuki, Metuh, Kanu's cases

been adjourned to May 5 to enable the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sylvanus Tahir, to file his brief of arguments to the issues raised by Metuh in his appeal. Metuh is asking the appellate court to set aside the ruling of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, that he has a case to answer in the money laundering and corruption charges brought against him by the Federal Government. Destra Investment Limited, a company owned by Metuh, has engaged Tochukwu Onwubuifor (SAN) to represent it in the matter.

I formerly known and addressed as Wealth Keffer Fagha now wish to be known and addressed as White Keffer Moses. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Paul

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Augustina Collins Opueze now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Augustina Paul. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Alphonso

I formerly known and addressed as Alphonso Mark Tingha now wish to be known and addressed as Alphonso Gbalipre Mark Tingha. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Moses

I formerly known and addressed as Issac Ebiboere now wish to be known and addressed as Moses Ebizimor Anita. All former documents remain valid. Stanbic IBTC bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Yussuff

I, formerly known and addressed as Babatunde Oluwatoyin Mary now wish to be known and addressed as Yussuff Oluwatoyin Mary. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

Demola

I, formerly known and addressed as Adebayo Azeez Ademola now wish to be known and addressed Adebayo Timileyin Demola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

L-R: Manager, Mining Advisory, Delloitte , Gbenga Ojo; Lead Partner, Energy and Resources, West Africa, Femi Abegunde; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Managing Director, Delloitte Africa, Thiru Pillay and Energy Renewal Leader, Africa, Andrew Lane, during a meeting with the minister in Abuja ...yesterday.

Arms deal: CD denies seeking Jonathan's trial he Campaign for Democracy (CD) yesterday denied seeking the prosecution of former President Goodluck Jonathan, for alleged complicity in the disbursement of the $2.1billion arms deal scam. The CD also urged the general public to be wary of impostors, who are going about to create mischief in the country in the name of the organisation. In a statement by its National President, Bako Abdul

Usman and Publicity Secretary, Lanre Ogunyinka, the organisation dismissed media reports credit to it, calling for Jonathan's trial. The CD said one Ifeanyi Odili, who reportedly demanded the prosecution of the ex-president by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is not an officer of the organisation and as such lacked the moral and constitutional status to speak on its behalf. It described Odili as an impostor, whose recent conduct is suggestive of mischief and a political

Taiwo Jimoh

Adams: Nigeria needs spiritual rebirth

Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

he Chief Promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation, Gani Adams, at the annual 'Wealth Festival' yesterday in Lagos, advised the Federal Government to seek spiritual solution to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic woes. According to Adams," Now is the time to appreciate Aje, the deity that is in charge of fortune and

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

he Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday said it will intensify poliomyelitis immunisation exercise throughout the length and breadth of the territory to

prosperity. It is apparently the most sought-after in life and God, the supreme being, has created a kind of unique spiritual affinity between man and wealth. In the developed world, they make adequate spiritual consultations before embarking on any developmental projects. This is the truth, because they

scavenger. The human rights group, which declared that it was not known for frivolities and toying with national issues, vowed to sanction any erring member. The statement reads in part; â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Campaign for Democracy (CD) hereby wishes to debunk and disclaim calls credited to it by one Ifeanyi Odili, a self-styled National President, asking the EFCC to commence the process of prosecuting former President Goodluck Jonathan over his alleged roles in the $2.1bn arms scam."

research into the spirit realm, mainly to have a clear-cut idea of what to do, how to do it, and when to do it in the physical world. And what this means in the real sense is that they know for certain that they can only succeed in whatever they do by aligning first with the spiritual world, before the physical world.

FCTA to immunise children in IDP camps completely eradicate the disease even though it was last reported in Abuja in 2013. The campaign, according to FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, would be extended to the children

of Internally Displaced Persons, nomadic settlements and other high risk communities. Ajaikaiye gave this assurance during the flagoff of the FCT 2016 African Vaccination Week at Saburi community.

Saraki's office alleges sponsored protest today Chukwu David Abuja

he Office of the President of the Senate yesterday claimed that plans were in the offing by some politicians to create public disorder today through a sponsored demonstration intended to ground human and vehicular activities in some major streets of Abuja, particularly, those leading to the National Assembly complex. The allegation was contained in a statement signed and circulated by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, to the President of the Senate, Yusuph Olaniyonu. He said sponsors of the alleged protests were determined to ground the operations of the National Assembly to prove the point that the members should move against the leadership of the senate. Olaniyonu said: "We have information that the sponsors have been deploying resources to ensure that a sizable crowd was mobilised to create chaos, confusion and tension around the streets of Abuja. Money and other materials are being provided for the organisers by the sponsors.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Purchase of vehicles Labour dares Senate

Politics

Interview Buhari on vendetta mission – Eradiri

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Oyegun, Frank renew battle TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE writes on the renewed battle of wits between the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John OdigieOyegun and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank, over party affairs

here is no doubt that the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie- Oyegun and the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Timi Frank, are not on the same page. Both members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) have persistently expressed divergent views on issues concerning the ruling party. But the recent position of the national chairman that APC may trade off the Senate presidency if that would bring about desired ‘change’ in the country, has renewed the war of attrition between them as both expressed different views about the ongoing trial of the Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). Odigie-Oyegun in a recent media interview, said if the removal of Senator Saraki would bring a new dimension to the country’s fight against corruption as APC is ready to do the right thing by sacrificing the Senate president. His words: “I don’t think we will lose that position (Senate presidency). We don’t take anything for granted. As Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is planning, we are also planning. The situation is under control. The whole situation is unfortunate but it is real. But sometimes, for ‘change’ to take place, there is price you have to pay. So, losing the position may be sacrifice for the ‘change.’ ‘Change’ means allowing the law to take the

FELIX NWANERI

GROUP PoLITICAL EDITOR nwanerif@newtelegraphonline.com

Odigie-Oyegun

proper course. I can tell you the president won’t interfere.” While many APC leaders kept mute over the position of the national chairman, Frank like he had done on many occasions, kicked against it, saying the pronouncement of the national chairman implies that the party has already decided Saraki’s fate even before the commencement of the trial. He said: “It is on record, that there has not been any National Executive Council (NEC), National Working Committee (NWC), Board of Trustees (BoT) or Caucus meeting of the party where such decision was taking to abandon the Senate president to his fate. This move undoubtedly proves once more, that the chairman is acting on an already prepared script to incarcerate and make the Senate president pay for his disobedience for not adhering to the party’s decision in contesting for the seat of the Senate presidency. “The chairman further emphasised that the party wouldn’t mind to lose its number three seat to the opposition PDP. This action as ridiculous as it may sound, only goes to confirm that indeed the party may have hit the final nail on the coffin, having taking a position already on the fate of its number three man before the conclusion of the verdict of the court in confirming if the Senate president is guilty or not. This supposedly hurried speech is another confirmation that an already prepared script is in the offing by those who will stop at nothing in seeing that

Frank

We will not fold our arms and watch Frank destroy what has been erected by us

the Senate president is used as the scapegoat of the anti-corruption war of this administration.” The discordant opinion expressed by both members of the ruling party’s NWC is a clear indication that APC leaders are divided over Saraki’s ordeal. Since the emergence of Saraki as Senate president on June 9, 2015, the APC national chairman and deputy national publicity secretary have not worked at cross-purposes as both of them, on several occasions; have expressed different views on issues relating to the ruling party. It would be recalled that Frank had called for Odigie-Oyegun’s resignation following the outcome of the party’s mock elections for polls for the National Assembly leadership election. He said the national chairman and other party leaders ought to have resigned for throwing the APC into internal crisis, adding that the mock election conducted by the party two days to the inauguration of the National Assembly was an embarrassment. The APC national chairman and deputy national publicity secretary also locked horns late last year over who speaks for the party after the appointment of the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as Minister of Information and Culture. Odigie-Oyegun and Frank, while addressing different press conferences on December 10, 2015 laid claim to the position of APC spokesperson. Whereas the national chairman said the mantle has fallen on him and the National Secretary of the party, Mai Buni,

pending the election of a new national publicity secretary, Frank insisted that he was constitutionally authorised to step into the shoes of his former principal (Mohammed). “It was a great loss of Lai Mohammed to the executive but he is still within the system. He was truly very special and unique but as we speak, the national secretary of the party has largely on temporary basis taking up the job of communication to the press and myself (as the chairman) is always available to any enquiry,” Oyegun told journalists. But in a swift reaction, Frank insisted that he is the national publicity secretary under acting capacity. He said outside of him, any other person issuing statements on behalf of the party was doing so under personal capacity. “I am the acting spokesperson of the party. I can tell you without fear or favour that when the substantive person in the office of the national chairman or the national secretary or anybody that is not there, the deputy takes over automatically. Any other person issuing statements is doing that maybe on a personal capacity but constitutionally I am the acting spokesperson of the party. It is not something I need to lobby for, it is something meant to be the trend and I stand by it,” he said. While the disagreement between the duo is getting deeper, political observers are of the view that the development is the CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

POLITICS

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Purchase of vehicles: Labour dares Senate CHUKWU DAVID reports on the rage over the recent purchase of Sport Utility Vehicles by the Senate for its members

ince the Senate gave indication of its intention to buy exotic cars for its members last year, the Upper Legislative Chamber has come under severe public criticism. Many analysts and commentators have described the members of the Red Chamber as people who are highly self-centred and insensitive to the plight of the electorate, who entrusted them with their mandate. Even within the Senate, it appears that some members, who are working against the current Senate leadership under Senator Bukola Saraki, joined the public to portray the Chamber in a negative light. Similarly rage has trailed similar acquisition of official cars by Saraki at the cost of N330 million in February. The Senate president went ahead to purchase the vehicles despite reservations expressed by Nigerians. The National Assembly has always been in the eye of the storm whenever it ventures into anything that has to do with spending of money or legislation that can be interpreted to serve their personal interest rather than public interest. When the news filtered about two weeks ago that the Senate has started taking delivery of 108 Toyota Land Cruiser Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) it ordered for members at the cost of N3.8 billion, various individuals and groups rose to condemn the development. The lawmakers did not actually procure the 108 vehicles. It was learnt that the first set of the cars, numbering 36, was delivered two weeks ago and distributed to senators. One of the issues that attracted serious public outcry against the Upper Chamber was the information that the Senate purchased the vehicles at double the price of each. For instance, it was reported that the lawmakers bought each for N36.5 million, while it was gathered that a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV V6 2016 model is sold at N17 million. Another reason why the Senate came under fire was that the cars were distributed the same day some senators at plenary complained to the Senate president that the standing committees could no longer carry out their statutory functions due to paucity of funds. The first group to swoop on the Senate was the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The workers’ umbrella body, in its reaction, cautioned that the action of the apex legislative chamber would be injurious to the feelings of the generality of the people. NLC lamented that the lawmakers, who were elected to represent the interests of the masses, are

Saraki

Wabba

simply in the National Assembly for luxury and self-aggrandizement at the expense of public good. In a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, NLC said: "We consider appalling, insensitive and greedy the decision of the Senate to acquire 108 Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps, one for each member less the Senate President) after collecting car loans in August last year for the same purpose. "It is equally morally despicable and shameful that they are doing this after publicly admitting that the standing committees of the Senate are unable to perform their statutory functions due to paucity of funds. "We at the Nigeria Labour Congress equally consider it a willful and grievous criminal act, the inflation of the unit cost of each of the cars by over a 100 percent, as each car supposedly cost N35.1 million instead of N17 million." Wabba noted that apart from this contentious issue, Nigerians were keen to know from where the lawmakers got money for the purchase of the cars without ap-

Their multiple acts of criminality... constitute not just corruption, but a crime against the Nigerian people

propriation. He also observed that the defence offered by the Senate spokesperson, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, was laughable and childish. Senator Abdullahi had in defence of the purchase of the vehicles, said: "Special Advisers use jeeps, why not senators or do Nigerians expect them to trek to work? And in any case, cars are capital projects.” But Wabba faulted this, saying: "Couldn't this have been put to better uses such as the constituency projects of these same senators? At a time of severe economic challenges and deepening poverty in the land, can the Senate afford this level of reckless luxury and arrogance? "Their multiple acts of criminality, ranging from acquiring these cars after previously taking loans for the same purpose; spending money without appropriation and over inflating costs constitute not just corruption but a crime against the Nigerian people whom they claim to represent." The NLC president, therefore, demanded that the senators should return the cars to whoever

supplied them or the appropriate agencies prosecute them for corruption. He added that in the event of none of these happening, the lawmakers should be prepared to keep a date with Nigerian workers and their civil society allies including market women and students. However, after receiving series of bashing from Nigerians, the Senate decided to defend its image. In this regard, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Services, Senator Ibrahim Gobir, clarified that no senator received a car loan in the Eight Senate as widely speculated. Gobir also said that the Senate did not purchase 108 vehicles as reported. He explained that only 36 out of the proposed 108 vehicles have been purchased. He further said that it was because the Senate is sensitive to the plight of Nigerians in the face of the present economic hardship in the country that made it to buy only 36 at a time instead of the 108 needed. The lawmaker also stated that it was the depreciation of the naira to the dollar that made the cost of the vehicles to go high. Gobir said that it was wrong for analysts and commentators to allege that the Senate purchased the cars without appropriation, noting that it was provided for in the 2015 budget. His words: "A lot has happened concerning the issue of cars visa-vis car loan, and cost of the car, and we feel it necessary to come out and inform the public about what it is so that people can have a better understanding of the whole thing to avoid wrong perception as being created among Nigerians. "First, I would like to say that the issue that we bought 108 cars is totally wrong; it is not correct. We bought 36 cars because each senator in each state is either a chairman or a vice chairman, and we gave one car to each state to share among themselves as utility cars. "The issue of buying cars without appropriation is totally wrong because this has been appropriated in the 2015 budget. So, we used what we have in the 2015 budget to buy the 36 cars so that it can go round to each state.” After making this clarification, it appears that the various raging publics have got understanding on the matter, and the senator are now enjoying some respite from those who had earlier threatened to fight them through protests.

Oyegun, Frank renew battle C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 1

manifestation of the different camps battling to have control the APC structures. In its position on the bone of contention between Odigie-Oyegun and Frank – who speaks on behalf of APC – the Conference of APC State Publicity Secretaries (CAPS) threw its weight behind the national chairman and warned Frank to desist from issuing unauthorised statements. CAPS in a statement issued and signed by its chairman, Engr. Joe Igbokwe; Secretary,

Arc. Okelo Madukaife and zonal coordinators stated that only the national chairman can speak for APC at the national level until a new national publicity secretary is elected. It also advised the party national leadership to take steps to elect a new national publicity secretary to speak for APC, giving all who are qualified a chance to compete. The group said: “The state image makers of the APC under the aegis of the Conference of APC State Publicity Secretaries (CAPS) deprecate the serial unguarded utterances

issuing from Mr. Timi Frank, Deputy National Publicity Secretary who for similar conducts and utterances in the past has found it difficult to automatically step into the big shoes of Alhaji Lai Mohammed. “We note that our deliberate long room and diplomatic overtures, since this matter came to the fore was methodical and deliberate, with clear intent to allow a self-correction. Yet, Mr. Frank, buoyed by whatever false sense of security he enjoys from those intent on causing disaffection with our great party has acted out of tact.

“As an organisation of image makers, whose product and stock-in-trade is the good name of our great party, we will not fold our arms and watch Mr. Frank destroy what has been erected by us in the years gone by, for lack of recourse to the due process, for which our party is reputed.” While there seem to be no end in sight to the disagreement between the duo, analysts are watching with keen interest whether the APC leadership will continue to ignore it or reconcile them before it does more harm to the ruling party.

POLITICS

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari on vendetta mission – Eradiri President of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Udengs Eradiri, in this interview with Felix Nwaneri, speaks on security in the oil-rich Niger Delta and the state of the nation. Excerpts: How would you react to the state of the nation? There is a new government and it is expected that policies will change because it is very difficult to see continuity in leadership in Africa. So, when policies change, there is bound to be consequences and that is what we are facing today. For a nation to make progress I don’t prescribe our type of democracy because if you look at the strongest nations in the world, none of them in their formative stages went through the democratic process. They had focused monarchies or authoritarian leaders. If you look at Nigeria’s history, the infrastructure that have stood the test of time were built during dictatorial leadership. So, when we say we must swallow hook, line and sinker everything western without looking at our prevailing culture and where we are coming from, there is bound to be effects and that is part of the problem Nigeria is facing. This is not the first time is happening, it has happened before, so the economic hardship is expected because you don’t do something the same way and expect a different result. Are you saying that dictatorship is preferable? Maybe I used a wrong word by using dictatorial leadership, what I’m trying to say is having a different form of governance that will create time for a focus leadership to be able to lay down a footprint and say this is where we are going to and then see it through. This is because change itself doesn’t come in four years; you need time for people to begin to change ways of doing things. Look at the Chinese model and other models in the Middle East. They tailored their democratic process in line with their culture. Somebody may say they are democratic but they spend up to 20 years in leadership and you find out that they have achieved a whole lot of result. It is quite different from what we have, whereby every four years, a new government comes and starts everything anew and at the end we keep going round the circle. It’s not that dictatorship is good but we should think about tailoring leadership in line with our African outlook. Is economic hardship expected because there’s a change in leadership? There is hardship because there is a change in policy direction. The former leadership wanted a second tenure and so from the onset, policies were tailored

will anybody in his right senses throw away that policy? As we speak, the policy is neither here nor there. Now you see an influx of foreign goods into Nigeria when there was a policy that saw local participation in every sector of the economy. The auto policy for instance; over 20 car manufacturers came to set up their plants in Nigeria. What did that do; transfer technology, created jobs for young people and stimulated the economy. I don’t know what is really wrong with such policies that you will just pack everything in the dustbin and throw them away. Another policy is the Amnesty programme, which its funding is key to peace in the Niger Delta. I think that anybody who jettisons that kind of programme as has been done with the budget is bankrupt in ideas.

in line with the political expectations, believing that first term will be the foundation and if they get a second term, the country will start gaining from the works that have been put in place. But today, what we have seen is a complete U-turn because a new government that didn’t believe in what the previous one was doing assumed power and decides to do things differently. The period of the Uturn must come with casualties and that is what Nigeria is in now. We only hope that they have a direction they are going to and then use this first term to cement it and hope that they get the second term in order for whatever policy they are putting in place to impact on the nation. Tension is mounting in the creeks of the Niger Delta following regrouping of some ex-militants despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s threat to treat them like Boko Haram. What is responsible for this and what should be done to avoid an escalation of the crisis? The president’s statement is inflammatory; it’s a statement against oneself. You cannot be in an international audience and you tell them that you will send an aircraft to bomb a part of your country where all the investment you bank on to discuss an expected projects are located. No investor will put his money where he is expecting you to bomb. So, the president sometimes makes misguided statements and some of these statements are unfortunate because you just shoot yourself on the foot. If somebody wants to build a refinery for instance and he hears that you are going to bomb the Niger Delta, he will no longer build because the bomb there will destroy the pipelines that will carry the product to Lagos or wherever you expect to take it to. The president seems to lack understanding of what is happening in the region and my advice to him is that it is time for him to sit down with genuine stakeholders and not all these his party bedfellows who are part of the problem. He needs to sit with genuine stakeholders, community leaders to fashion out a better approach of handling things in the area. In any case, for the president to cut the budget for the amnesty programme from N65 billion to N20 billion is a call for crisis in the region. You are no longer paying these boys and N20 billion cannot solve the financial obligation for educational programmes. It means there will be crisis. The president cut the budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from N260 billion to N41 billion. He also cut that of the Niger Delta Ministry from N58 billion to N19 billion. This clearly shows that he does not have economic engagement for the people and anywhere there is no economic activities going on, crime naturally will go up. So, I think that the president needs to go back to the drawing board. Forget about the diversification they are talking about, without the oil sector, no other sector functions in Nigeria. So you need a working oil sector

Eradiri

Government is supposed to be a continuum, but the present government is exhibiting a vendetta attitude

for every other sector to be up and doing. All discussions during the president’s recent visit to China were centered on oil. We are producing about 1.6 million barrels per day from 2.1 million barrels and it continues going down. This country learns nothing. It is very unfortunate we keep doing the same thing; we are always penny wise pound foolish. This country was producing 700,000 barrels per day before the amnesty programme. The entire amnesty budget is not up to one day production of oil and because of one day production of oil dedicated to a programme, which brought peace and ensured 2.1 million barrels unfettered, you have refused to fund the programme, of course you should expect conflict from the region. The indicators are just too obvious for anybody to expect the otherwise. Are you saying that the change in policy direction is responsible of the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta? Government is supposed to be a continuum but the present government is exhibiting a vendetta attitude with its believe that everything done by the last administration must be jettisoned, using corruption as a window. When a new government comes in, it should be able to sift policies of the previous government and continue with the good ones. Policies like the Nigeria local content development that saw young Nigerians taking over the oil sector;

So, you believe that the timeline set by the government on the Amnesty programme is not feasible? Anything that has a beginning must have an end. The 30,000 youths under the amnesty programme is just a fraction of over 15 million Niger Delta youths, who are civil. So, let us not create a condition like carry arms and you will be rewarded with training and stipend. It’s a negative feedback to the society. I was part of the process, and it was supposed to be a tripartite. States were receiving as low as N1 billion per month from the federation account but when the amnesty programme started, they started receiving up to N30 billion monthly. Where is their savings to take care of the other youths who were not carrying arms so that they don’t see carrying arms as a thing to be rewarded for? Where is there savings to make the economy robust so that the people will be busy and don’t go for the alternative? Has there been any effort by the people of the region to resolve the amnesty issue? We have written open letters but there seems to be no political will to move the nation to the next level. If former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan sat down to discuss with the people and factored in their opinion in government’s policies, I’m surprise that President Buhari, who is a onetime leader of this country and had held positions concerning the development of the Niger Delta, is not showing any sign that he sees the oil sector as a critical one that will support his administration. So far, the president seems not to be disposed to hearing from us. The Chinese are looking at no other place other than the oil area. They are opening their doors to Nigeria because Niger Delta is producing oil, which they need and you are telling them how you will bomb the area. The economic sabotage the president is talking about is not the making of our people. He should look inwards for those responsible for that; those in his cabinet and the National Assembly as well as some very powerful Nigerians. Our people are only at the bottom of the ladder.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion The Fulani herdsmen and the rest of us My Word CLEM AGUIYI totalpolitics@ymail.com 0803-474-7898 (sms only)

have been told we must live side by side with evil; that we can’t speak against the evils around us neither can we write against the evils we detest; I am told to endure because this is their time; I am told things have changed; that we risk being framed and charged with treason because our freedom after speech is no longer guaranteed and I am neither shocked nor surprised because I know that it will eventually come to this sorry state.

The worst thing to fear in life is fear itself. I am not scared neither are am I afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot destroy the soul. The truth as we know it must be spoken not for the love of self but for the greater interest of the country and humanity. I insist on the right of every citizen to be treated equally and fairly. I insist on a better Nigeria for the common good of all. All over the world national interest is defined in terms of the quality of life, security and comfort enjoyed by citizens but not in terms of the wellbeing of cows and cattle. The problem is not the cattle because cattle do not bear arms and do not commit mass murder. The herdsmen whom the Inspector General of Police said are not Nigerians but foreigners from Mali, Senegal, Sudan and Niger are the problem and we must do something about them. Between 2015 to 2016 the herdsmen have killed thousands of citizens including women and children, pretentiously to make way for their cattle to eat fodder and drink water. The US classified the Fulani herdsmen as the World’s 4th most deadly terrorist organization due to the ferocity of their killings yet not a single herdsman has been arranged in court for murder and terrorism but 76 South Easterners who resisted their invasion were quickly rounded up by soldiers and charged to court. If indeed the herdsmen are foreigners why is the Federal Government protecting them over fellow citizens? Who permitted the herdsmen to enter into the country with military assault rifles, including AK 47? Why is the mainstream media silent on the atrocities of the herdsmen? Whose

interests are the police and the military serving? Mr. President your silence in the face of all this is no more golden. You should speak out against the violence of the herdsmen and if possible resign your membership and patron-ship of the association at least in protest against their turning Nigeria into a killing field. You must show that the lives of the people matter more than the lives of Fulani cattle. Last time I checked on why you were elected president, my understanding is that you were not elected president to serve one party, one religion , one tribe or the herdsmen but to serve one nation that includes the Igbo, Tiv, Igala, Igbira koto and Igbira Okene, Bassa, Agatu, Igede, Yoruba, Nupe, Hausa, Tangale, Taruk, Birom. Angas, Afor, Doma, Gbagi, Bini, Izon, Uhrobo, Efik, Annang, Ibibio, Kanuri, Kaje, Bokkos, Ishan, Afemai, Itsekri. Jukun, Kataf, Chiboki, Mada, Obi, Gwandara, Idoma, Kanuri, Bachama etc. and others who inhabit the Sahel savannah and the rain Forrest regions of Nigeria. General Muhammadu Buhari as the President of Nigeria is the president of every single Nigerian of every religion, association or tribe. The same way you are ruthless against Boko Haram and determined to give the Boko Haram treatment to IPOB and pipeline vandals I expect you to crush the Fulani herdsmen now for the peace, safety and security of Nigeria. In the national interest, crush them now because they are terrorists, infact the 4th deadliest terrorist group in the world. What I ever say here cannot be put better than what our common sense Senator, Mr. Ben Bruce has said and I will quote him profusely: ‘Nigeria is not the only country where nomadic pastoralists’ herdsmen come and go. In Kenya, they have the Maasai herdsmen who have been herding cattle around the River Nile Valley area from the days of Joseph in ancient Egypt. Other nations have their own form of pastoralists too. But never in the history of the 20th and 21st Century has the world encountered a scenario such as that which stares Nigeria in the face, whereby Fulani pastoral herdsmen simultaneously and nationally and almost systematically are wiping out indigenous Nigerians for the benefit of their cattle. I challenge the people to take the time to do a Google search and collate the number of reported casualties from unprovoked Fulani attacks on innocent, unarmed Nigerians in 2016 alone. The results will shock you! I will not throw out a number in order not to give my political foes fodder to use against me in a case of incitement, but please carry out even a cursory research on the matter. And what has been the response of the Nigerian Government? I was shocked to read the reaction of Nigeria’s

Mr. President your silence in the face of all this is no more golden

minister of Internal Affairs, retired Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazau, who blamed Social Media users for exacerbating these attacks! I mean really? So what are we to do when we become aware that Fulani herdsmen are accused of killing, raping and maiming Nigerians Are we to keep quiet in the national interest? Excuse me, but I thought the national interest was the interest of human beings rather than the interest of cattle! And then President Buhari from faraway China, rightly goes ahead to issue a lethal warning to pipeline vandals: desist from your actions or else be dealt with as I dealt with Boko Haram! Yet this same tough talking President does not have similar words for Fulani herdsmen? Mr President, how many Nigerians have to die before you give Fulani herdsmen the ‘Boko Haram’ treatment? Buhari must be willing to suspend the fact that he is himself a Fulani by ethnicity and remember what he has been preaching to us since he first forced his way into our national consciousness after his coup against President Shehu Shagari in 1983. I can never forget when the then military head of state, Major General Muhammad Buhari said “This generation of Nigerians and indeed the future generation have no country other than Nigeria, we shall stay and salvage it together. Indeed, the President must remember that he wanted us to stay and salvage Nigeria together and not stay and be savaged in Nigeria by Fulani herdsmen! And the absolute worst part of this story is the attempt by some Legislators to add salt to injury and injustice by floating a so called National Grazing Commission Bill to compulsorily acquire large swathes of Nigerian land and give them to the Commission for the benefit of Fulani herdsmen! In fact, it makes better sense to establish a Victim Support Commission for the many thousands of victims of Fulani herdsmen than it does to set up a National Grazing Commission! Honestly, I do not understand the idea behind this Bill.’’ I align myself completely with Ben Bruce. He said all I needed to say including condemning the proposed Grazing Bill as evil and lacking in common sense. What we need to do is to encourage the herdsmen to see agriculture as a business that demands considerable investment and responsibility. They should take a page from the poultry industry by acquiring ranches. That will even stimulate the economy, create more jobs and opportunities, we must not allow the private business interests of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), a trade association with membership in the civil service, politics and other Fulani investors clash against and undermine national security and corporate well-being of Nigeria.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Students living under barrel MANY students across the country have met their deaths inconveniently. And the schools are gradually turning to a killing field. They have either died as a result of cult related matters, shot by the Police, flogged to death or through something menacingly. A-number-of the killings take place in broad day light, while others at night. To Nigerians, the tragedies are an irony to the victims who thought that their lives would be logged out when they never expected. When it happens, fear will grip the livings, who are mostly survivors. Dejectedly, in some situa-

tions, the killings continue unabated, no matter the efforts being made by the appropriate authorities to halt the situation. In some development, the victims are rushed to the hospital after receiving several gunshots from their assailants, or lashes of the cane from their teachers. Killing of students in the country does not have a drawn line. In March, 2016, Abia State University, Uturu, stood motionless as supposedly cultists beheaded fellow students over rival cult activities. While Nigerians were shouting over the dishonourable act, they went as far as using the heads of their victims as goal-

posts. The two students who were victims of the prowlers were as 300 level students of the university. One was of the Department of Estate Management and the other, of the Department of Political Science. Their names were given as Ebuka Nwaigbo and Samuel Ethelbert. Irked by the ugly incident, the Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Ezekiel Onyeke Udeviotu told newsmen that the state Commissioner of Police, Joshiak Habilah was in top gear through the Criminal Investigation Department. • Odimegwu Onwumere Port Harcourt

Confronting the scourge of tuberculosis TUBERCULOSIS popularly known as TB is an infectious bacterial disease characterized by the growth of nodules or tubercles in the human respiratory organs, especially the lungs. It is a curable communicable infection that is transmitted by inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of a carrier or an infected person. Tuberculosis (TB) mainly affects the lungs, though it can affect any other part of the body, including the glands, bones, and nervous system. Typical symptoms of TB include a persistent cough that lasts more than three weeks and usually brings up phlegm which may be

bloody, loss of weight, high temperature or fever, night sweats, tiredness and fatigue, loss of appetite, overstayed swellings, among others. TB is generally caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which could be found in food, water or unsafe environment. The type that affects the lungs is the most contagious type, but it usually spreads after prolonged exposure to someone with the illness. Most times, it is transmitted within family members who live in the same house. In most healthy people the immune system, which is the body’s natural defence against infec-

tions or illnesses, kills the bacteria thereby making the patient free from any form of symptom. Sometimes the immune system cannot kill the bacteria, but manages to prevent it spreading in the body of the carrier; this means the carrier in question would not have any symptoms but the bacteria will remain in his or her body. This mode of infection is known as Latent TB. If the immune system fails to kill or contain the infection, it can spread within the lungs or other parts of the body, and symptoms will develop within a few weeks or months. •Fred Nwaozor Owerri

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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This police recruitment must work

n August 2015, at the National Security Summit in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Police Service Commission (PSC) to recruit 10,000 men. Many people had anticipated that the commission would begin the process immediately but for about six months nothing was done in that regard. The recruitment process did not take off last year, it was learnt, because the funding was not captured in the 2015 budget. The excitement, which greeted the announcement by the President, emanated from the fact that for many years there had not been recruitment into the service. And secondly, it was seen as a means to reduce the high rate of unemployment whose impact has continued to reflect on the nation’s economy. About seven months after the presidential directive, the PSC announced that the recruitment would commence on April 1. “The process leading to the recruitment of 10,000 policemen as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari at the National Security Summit in Abuja last year, has commenced,” the PSC Chairman, Mike Okiro, said while unveiling the portal for the exercise. Okiro, a former InspectorGeneral of Police (IG), said

the exercise was remarkable because there had not been recruitment into the police for more than five years. According to him, thousands of policemen who died in the course of service, were dismissed or retired, had not been replaced in the last five years. The former IG added that the recruitment would strengthen and re-energise the service to tackle more security challenges facing the country. According to Okiro, the recruitment is in three entry points of Constable, Cadet Inspector and Cadet Assistant

Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief

Funke Egbemode

Managing Editor, Business & Strategy n Yemi Ajayi

Managing Editor, Publication & Operations n Emeka Obasi

Managing Editor, South n Emeka Madunagu Managing Editor, North & Abuja n Laurence Ani Editor n Ayodele Ojo Editor, Sunday n Juliet Bumah Editor, Saturday n Waheed Bakare Deputy Editor, Group Head, Newsroom n Geoffrey Ekenna

Bureau Chief, Abuja n Onwuka Nzeshi Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz Bureau Chief, Washington DC n Marshall Comins Editorial Coordinator, Europe n Sam Amsterdam

Business Development Manager n Taiwo Ahmed Sales/Circulation Manager n Oyebanji Abiodun Head, Arts & Creative n Ugochukwu Nnakwe Head, Admin. n Robinson Ezeh

According to a statement by the PSC, by that Tuesday, 202,427 applicants had applied for the position of Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), 169,446 for the position of Cadet Inspector and 333,479 for the position of Constable. At the close of the application, it is possible over a million applicants would have applied. The huge response of Nige-

Modern-day policing depends more on scientific approach

Superintendent of Police (ASP), while there is also recruitment into the Specialist cadre. Despite glitches encountered by the applicants in terms of difficulty in accessing the portal and submitting form after filling it, thousands of people had, within the first three days of the exercise, applied for the police job. By Tuesday (April 19), 705,352 applicants had submitted their applications. The number, which came about three weeks to the close of the application, is 695,352 higher than the 10,000, which President Buhari had given approval for recruitment into the police.

DAILY TELEGRAPH PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED

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

rians to the recruitment has thrown up a lot of salient issues. One, it shows there is high rate

of unemployment and underemployment in the country. Secondly, there seems not to be clear instruction on the modalities for the screening of the applicants. There are fears, genuine though, of possibility of re-enacting the ugly episode of the infamous recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) a few years ago where many applicants died while scores of others were injured during screening. While it is important that those who want to police Nigeria in the 21 Century are physically, medically and mentally fit, picking the best among the thousands of applicants must

not lead to avoidable deaths. Proper medical tests must first be conducted to determine the fitness or otherwise of the candidates before subjecting them to rigorous physical screening. Modern-day policing depends more on scientific approach. It, therefore, thrives on mental alertness. Although Okiro said “the process of receiving the forms has been smooth and transparent,” and assured “the applicants of fairness and equal opportunity,” there are fears that politicians, of course that is natural to them, would hijack the recruitment process. But if they are allowed to use the recruitment as political patronage, it will rubbish the process and defeat the President’s noble intention to create jobs on the one hand and combat the surge in crime on the other. This also represents a litmus test for the police hierarchy and the administration of President Buhari because it is the first to be conducted by the Inspector General of Police (IG), Solomon Arase, and the President. If it fails, it will also be an indictment on the police whose job is it to check crime and police the nation. On the other hand, a proper and successful recruitment exercise will do the sagging image of the police some good.

POLITICS

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

My takeaway on Buhari’s foreign trips in similar vein about our President's reputation and our nation’s strategic position in Africa and the world. They pledged support for Nigeria on terror and the economy.

Babatunde Fashola

n making this public intervention, I seek to highlight the benefit of global relationships and cooperation in a world that is changing daily as a result of globalization and trans border economics, social and even criminal activities where no one is safe, except all are safe, and to leave the dispassionate observer his opinion after deep reflection on the value, or lack of it, of the President’s foreign trips. This way I hope every Nigerian who cares about our country will have some information about what their President is doing about the things that concern them. First I will start with context. Barely two decades ago (between 1994 and 1998), we would not have quarreled with the description that we were a pariah nation. We were ostracised from global events because of bad governance. We had lost the respect accorded Nations like ours were they well-led and well-run. I recall that not a few Nigerians complained that the green passport was becoming, if it had not already become, a burden. That was at the height of the dictatorial government that broke the rules of international relations. It was from there that we started to heal. Investors entered our country. Many brands that we sought after abroad started coming to set up shop in our country. The tourist footfalls in our country increased slowly but surely, but again we began to slide. That was when Buhari declared at a meeting in Lagos during his campaign in 2015, that if elected, he would make us proud about our country again. Proud to be Nigerian again. That is the context in which I view his foreign trips and the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Foreign Relations which promised to: Make the Nigerian national interest the overriding factor in its foreign policy and international relations; work to reform global governance in multilateral institutions and agencies; work to strengthen the African Union to become a more effective organization on global affairs; engage the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) on the basis of equality and play a leadership role to develop a MINT (Mexico, India, Nigeria, and Turkey) as a counterforce to BRICS. I will limit my takeaways to four trips that I attended with the President namely: the G7 Summit in Germany, the Oil and Gas Summit in Iran, the Renewable Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi and the State visit and Business Forum in China; and two trips that I did not attend, but whose deliberations I followed, namely: Paris for the COP 21 and USA for the Nuclear Energy Summit. G7 in Germany Their agenda was global security, global economy and global health in the aftermath of Ebola, which was still raging in some African countries. Apart from the personal aides of the President, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno, General Abdulrahman Dambazau and myself were the only ones who accompanied PMB.

Iran Oil and Gas Summit For those who are not aware, one of the reasons why oil prices went up, and from which we benefited in the past, was that Iran, the world’s 7th largest producer of oil, was facing global sanctions from which she was due to emerge in 2016. Because Iran was soon to be selling oil, the likelihood of a further crash of oil prices that had drastically fallen was a threat to Nigeria's economy if oil prices crashed further.(Our 2016 budget proposals had just been formulated on a $38 per barrel assumption) I was witness to PMB's persuasion to Iran to come to the market slowly instead of pushing out large volumes which will raise supply and crash prices, even though Iran also needed the cash. You can't do that type of diplomacy by letter or by phone, in my view, not when the major players were all there in person. I witnessed the meeting with the Venezuelan prime minister, who was leading the South American producers to sell more and get cash even if the prices were lower. PMB's logic was different. Hold your volumes, steady the price, and don't let us hurt one another.

Buhari

I recall that upon our arrival in Germany they expressed surprise that our delegation was small and asked if others were still coming. In the pre-departure briefing, in addition to highlighting how the security and economic agenda of the G7 coincided with 2 (Two) of his campaign promises, security, (corruption) economy, PMB stated the reasons 3 of us were invited. Governor Shettima was in the front line of terrorists and criminal activities in the north east; General Dambazau, was a former Chief of Army Staff, and also a faculty associate of Harvard University Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; I had run the single biggest economy of a state within Nigeria for eight years and was in the frontline of Ebola. Without ministers, one week after taking office, he felt we were the ones best suited to assist, if he needed it, on the issues of security, economy and health on the G7 agenda. In the event, he did not need us. He held his ground admirably. He was the first person called upon to speak at a Summit in which Nigeria was not a member. I was proud to be a Nigerian. At global summits we usually got to speak when others had spoken and the hall has emptied. President Obama was the first G7 member to speak after PMB and he said that Nigeria has elected a President that brings a reputation of scrupulous integrity to the table. I was proud to be a Nigerian. The opening session was robust and welcoming, we saw some of the world’s most powerful men and women take off their jackets, call each other by their first names in a club-like setting while addressing the world’s most serious problems. Problems that affect you and I daily. I was proud that my President was in a room where decisions concerning my planet were being deliberated upon. Prime Minister Cameron, Chancellor Merkel and others also spoke

As he meets with world leaders outside Africa, he has not forgotten the home front

Abu Dhabi Renewable Energy This is reputed to be the richest of the Emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Apart from seeking cooperation to recover Nigeria's stolen wealth stored in the UAE [His anti-corruption commitment pursued in person], PMB addressed a renewable energy summit where we learned about initiatives to bring solar power price down to 5 (Five) US cents per kilowatt hour, (approximately N10) as against the price of 17 (seventeen) US cents (N34) per KW/h tariff in Nigeria fixed at privatization by the last Government. PMB's mandate was for us to explore collaboration for the manufacture of solar panels in Nigeria to bring down the price and deploy it to the sunlit areas of Nigeria, especially the North that is most prolific for irradiation. We are currently working on the Energy Mix for Nigeria which is the implementation process of the energy policy that will take us there. Hopefully we will soon be signing the first set of solar deployment agreements for Nigeria. In this way, more solar and hydro will be used in the North, more coal and hydro in the Middle Belt, and more gas in the South; so that we take power generation closest to the most prolific source of fuel to bring down the cost and make it more affordable. China Investment Forum and State Visit This is the visit that provoked this write up, because I had bottled what I knew. But it was time, I believe, to share some of it. China is the second largest economy in the world with a per capita income of $8,000 which they are planning to raise to $12,000 by 2020. By her own assessment, according to President Xi Jinping, they are still a developing nation seeking to achieve what he described as "initial prosperity" by 2020.

For such a nation, (with trillions of dollars in reserves, that plans to spend $2 trillion on imports in the next five years and earn $100 billion annually) who still sees itself as a developing nation, such modesty in the face of success, assiduous hard work and productivity is a destination to seek cooperation in the pursuit of economic development. This is where PMB led an array of Nigerian investors including Erisco Foods, (who now makes our tomato paste at home and employs people locally including farmers who supply the tomatoes), Power operators (DisCos and GenCos), and the Dangote Group, to meet with and address their Chinese partners. During the meeting with the Chinese President, six collaboration agreements were signed including for agriculture and food production improvement techniques, rail and power infrastructure development, for funding the Dangote group to continue to expand and create jobs at home and keeping some of our reserves in the currency of the richest nation in the world. This last mentioned agreement was a legitimate coup by PMB because the intelligence was that some West African countries were going to sign before us. PMB seized the moment. Of course he had to apologise for our previous failures on our agreement made to part-fund 4 airport projects in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna rail project. The Chinese had provided their agreed part of 85 per cent but the remaining 15 per cent Nigeria did not honour during the last administration. Some of the recent revelations about financial scandals estimated at $2.1 billion in the office of the National Security Adviser alone during the last administration suggest how impactful such funds would have been in delivering this critical infrastructure; but we all know what happened. This is why PMB is traveling. To repair our reputation severely damaged by the last government, and to assure our partners that Nigeria has CHANGED. And from there to renegotiate an existing funding agreement to complete critical Transport infrastructure. As he meets with world leaders outside Africa, he has not forgotten the home front. He is regularly visiting and receiving his sister and brother presidents on the African continent. PMB has earned their trust for all of us and I am proud to carry my green passport. Yes, some results are not yet manifest, and may take a little while to do so, but a solid foundation for a sustainable, respectable and prosperous future is being laid, block by block. This is how to build a solid "home" from whence we can project respect abroad with confidence. How many of us will do business with total strangers without a reference or a good reputation in this age of due diligence? PMB is building affiliations everywhere that if well-managed in future, will develop into a global network of friendships, trust and respect for Nigeria and Nigerians. •Fashola is the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Kugbo Furniture Market An untapped gold mine

Inside Abuja

Arson Love turns sour

18 21

One of the houses in Kobi Makaranta

For residents of Kobi Makaranta, they are close to luxury, but live in squalor, reports CALEB ONWE

obi Makaranta, one of the oldest settlements in Abuja, is sandwiched between the Asokoro and Guzape Districts of the Federal Capital Territory. It is located a few kilometres from the Kpaduma Hills, the high rocky terrain where the Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Ray Power Radio stations are situated. In spite of its proximity to the highbrow area of the city which has all the trappings of modernity and affluence, this village has retained its rural nature for decades. Like most communities in the hinterlands of Abuja, Kobi is a haven for low income earners, who love the lure of the city so much, but cannot afford

Onwuka NzeshI

ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF nzeshi@newtelegraphonline.com

Close to splendour, wallowing in squalor to live in it because of financial constraints. In the day, residents of the rural community troop into the city to have a feel of its well paved streets and social amenities. They would take pleasure in observing the flashy cars cruising through the streets as well as the privileged people living in their sophisticated luxury apartments. But at dusk, they must retire to their shanties where they are unlikely to experience the life of their dreams. When one is lucky, some government officials or private individuals may buy a plot of land in the village to build some fairly modern homes for rent. Going by the sparse history relayed to Inside Abuja, Kobi Makaranta is home to the Gbaygi tribes that settled there long ago as farmers. The community is separated from the city by a little stream that flows only during the rainy season. It is about five minutes drive from Asokoro, but the road is very dusty during the dry season and muddy during the rainy season. For residents of the community who are not mobile, the transportation options they have to choose from are the services of motorcycle riders or the rickety cars that ply the route as taxis. While many residents would

The money spinning ventures of the elites in Kobi community are not only in the area of housing but also in the area of farming

prefer to go by the rickety cars not minding the unnecessary delays usually encountered by commuters, some residents who desire a fast tracked movement would go for the services of the motorcycle operators (Okada) who often times throw caution to the wind and ride with amazing recklessness. Those who go by the cars apparently do so to avoid being covered by dust or the embarrassing muddy waters that could leave one with terrible stains. A fare by these cars from the popular AYA Junction to Kobi is N100, motorcycle riders do not convey their passengers up to the point where the cars can go, due to subsisting ban on Okada riders in some parts of the Abuja metropolis. Most of the residents of this community confessed that no matter what they encounter due to the condition of the road, poor amenities they prefer taking refuge there to going too far away from the City Centre. Inside Abuja’s checks revealed that most of the well built houses in the community are owned by the elites who are not resident there. Mama Rukaya, a resident of Kobi told Inside Abuja that the five units of one bedroom flats which is on rent in the community are owned by one ‘ Hajia’ who lives in Asokoro. To rent the

one bedroom apartment, a tenant must be prepared to pay between N200,000 and N250,000 per annum. Another cluster of eight units of one bedroom flats that are also available for rent there were said to belong to another undisclosed owner who is said to be living at Maitama. The money spinning ventures of the elites in Kobi community are not only in the area of housing but also in the area of farming. There are about three big poultry farms located in Kobi Makaranta, and none belongs to the low income earners who are resident in the community. One of the farms is so large with about three large segments of Chicken, Turkey and piggery pen. While many residents choose to live there because of its closeness to the City Centre; the elites who are investing there do so obviously because of the large expanse of land which they have acquired from the natives with relative ease. Mr. Robinson Chidiebere said he had lived in Kobi for many years. Chidiebere who runs a computer school in Kobi provided an answer to why the elites are taking the risk of building houses on lands not acquired through the CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Inside ABUJA

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Kugbo Furniture Market

Kugbo International Furniture Market, located within the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital city, is arguably the largest furniture market in West Africa. But the Nigerian government pays less attention to this market and its products. AMADI NNAMDI reports

An untapped gold mine

ith over 500 privately owned furniture producing companies and the potential of creating over 20,000 extra jobs, Kugbo International Furniture Market might just be one of the game changers needed by the Federal Government to reduce unemployment, curb crime and youth restiveness and general insecurity in Nigeria. In these days of demands for the diversification of the economy, this market holds the potential of increased productivity in furniture products both local consumption as well as for the export market. Some stakeholders have posited that if properly harnessed, Kugbo furniture market has the potential of becoming a major foreign exchange earner. Located about a kilometre away from the Mogadishu Military Cantonment, along the ever busy Nyanya-Keffi expressway, the Kugbo International Furniture Market is arguably the largest furniture market in West Africa. The sprawling market sits comfortably on top of the Kugbo hills and is a beehive of activities all year round. On daily basis, enterprising men and women transact business deals worth millions of naira. Their merchandise range from furniture of all types and shapes to interior decoration accessories, household goods, building materials, raw wood, carpentry equipment and tools. It was started by a group of local furniture makers but in recent years, the market has witnessed an influx of foreign furniture enterprises owned by the Chinese and Lebanese. These expatriates are currently on the market producing furniture like their Nigerian counterparts and are reaping the fruits of their investments. But the traders are lamenting that in spite of the huge revenues they generate for the government in terms of taxes and levies, successive governments have failed to assist them on expanding the market. President of United Furniture Association, Kugbo Market, Abuja, Prince Emeka Egwuekwe, said that if the Federal Government through the Federal Capital Territory Administration had paid enough attention to the market, it could have been transformed into an enviable business destination in Nigeria. According to him, the country will not only benefit from production and sales of furniture products locally but also become exporter of furniture to places such as China and Italy and the

Displayed furniture at Kugbo Furniture Market

rest of the world. Egwuekwe lamented that whereas Nigeria had the best raw materials in terms of superior quality woods, these materials are exported out of the country and re-imported as finished products at exorbitant rates. He urged the Federal Government to look inward, provide finance to the furniture makers as well as patronise made in Nigeria furnitures as it will go a long way in boosting the local industry. He said that the much-talked about plans by the Federal Government to create jobs will not be realistic without a concerted effort to revive and sustain small and medium scale enterprises in the country. He expressed optimism that some indigenous companies can produce the needed machinery and accessories for the nation's fast growing furniture industry as well as prevent capital flight which may arise from importation. Egwuekwe beckoned on the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to assist the furniture firms operating in Kugbo market by showcasing their products to investors. "I started this business in a hard

Egwuekwe

way with just N70 in the year 2000. I started with stool production, because I was focused and didn't want to go into the street begging. I stayed firm with my vision and here I am 16 years after, doing well in the furniture business. Starting up this business involves idea, commitment and focus. "Currently, for an individual to start up a modernised furniture producing business, he needs about N2 million, that is if he already has the structure on ground, all he needs is to buy machines and woods. Moreover it can only take up to 90 days to learn the basics of this trade. "However, it is sad that whenever the Chinese and Lebanese clients come here for business, they go straight to their own people, but our own government will never come to us to place orders, rather they rely on importation where they can make quick money for themselves. Yet they still expect us to pay taxes and revenues. How can we grow if they don't patronise us," he queried. New site Shedding more light on the delay of the furniture dealers in moving to the new permanent site allocated to them by the gov-

Uncompleted structures at the new site of Abuja International Furniture Market, Uphill Kugbo.

ernment about some years back, Egwuekwe stated that unavailability of finance has been the main albatross hampering the completion of the new site project. "We are working seriously towards it, we have written to Bank of Industry (BOI) to see how they will finance us to complete the site so that we can move into the new site which is far more spacious. It is a capital intensive project," he told New Telegraph. He expressed optimism that all things being equal, before the end of the year, most of the furniture dealers must have moved to the new permanent site assuring that at least a 50 per cent development is expected to be present there. He however suggested that government authorities can as well adopt the Chinese model of setting up infrastructures for their industry to strive and then later recoup its investment gradually from the manufacturers by way of revenues and periodic remittance, adding that today, Chinese furniture market contributes 30% to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Challenges Managing Director of Nat-Bee Furniture, Mr. Sabastine Emerengini, also lamented that the government has abandoned the market as government institutions don't patronise locally made furniture even when they are cheaper and of better in quality. He also lamented the untold hardship they had to go through in the face of fuel shortage and epileptic power supply. "Electricity is one of our challenges here. In a month I spend between N300,000 and N400,000 on diesel to power my generators. We also have the problem of bad roads in the market, as well as the traffic jam along the Nyanya-Keffi expressway which really discourages people from coming down CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Inside ABUJA

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Participants at RCCG's training

YEKEEN NURUDEEN reports on the skill and capacity building programmes organised by a faith-based organisation and the Bank of Industry (BoI)

he Redeemed Christian Church of God, Province 5 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation, Capacity Development and Skills Enhancement Initiative, have commenced a four-week skills acquisition programme for members and non-members of the Church in Abuja. Over 661 participants of the training were drawn from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasarawa, Kogi and Niger states. They were trained in shoe making, beads assembling, soap making, air-fresher, hand bags, hats, caps, computer, catering, decoration, baking, make-up, cloth dyeing, among others. The Provincial Pastor of the Church, Amos Tugbobo, while addressing participants, said the gesture was one of the corporate social responsibilities aimed at assisting members to douse the effect of unemployment. He said the desire was borne out of the directive of the General Overseer of the Church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, directives that each parish should assist members to wade the tide of unemployment in the country. Tugbodo said his belief is that when skills were developed, the beneficiaries would no longer be dependent, but self-reliance and they would in turn train others who needed to depend on them. “We are in the training to equip people so that they could be a blessing to the church, others and the country at large,” he said and advised the participants that the empowerment programme should not end with them. While commending the seriousness of participants and the large turn-out, he emphasised: “You are

RCCG, BoI train youths on skills acquisition expected to pass your training and experience to others. You are also expected to sponsor people. “This edition is not the end, we shall continue to train as many as 500 people in each state of the federation. We have just started in Abuja and we would go round all so that many people, whether members or not, would benefit from it,” he said. The 661 participants, according to him, would be graduating tomorrow, and he advised them to go out there and practice what they have learnt and “grow big” in the society. In his contribution, Assistant Pastor Adebisi Abayomi, in charge of social responsibility, said the training was a way of giving back to the community, not limiting everything to the church sermon, but impacting on lives. He stated that the church was hoping to collaborate with government to ensure that people have something to do because with that, there would be peace in the society, churches and the nation in general and “unemployment would be forgotten in Nigeria.” Coordinator of the programme, Dr. (Mrs.) Angela Opkala, said the initial plan was to train people on event management, but when ideas were put together, they decided to expand the scope. The vision, she said, is to empower people, saying that not everybody could have the privilege of working in an office, therefore, the dire need for them to involve in their own small businesses. To spread the training for effective reach out, she disclosed that the group is divided into morning and evening sessions, stressing that training covers diverse trades. Those, who are exceptionally good, would be used to train others and wished government could encourage and therefore called on other faith-based organisation, ir-

We have just started in Abuja and we would go round all so that many people, whether members or not, would benefit from it

respective of their beliefs to embrace the concept and train their members in various trade to wade the tide of unemployment in the country. One of the participants, Miss Omotayo Mohammed, a graduate of economics from Kogi State University, enumerated the gains of the training. “University degrees are like pure water, if you want to succeed, you have to diversify from your university training to skill development training,” Omotayo, who is participating in hand bag making, said. While putting the cost of producing a quality hand bag at N3,000, she assured that if she could have the resources of producing in large quantity, she would source for customers, whom she sell them at N6,000, thereby hoping to make a profit of about 80 per cent. Mrs. Bola Boyade and Miss Juliet Nnaji are into soap, detergent, perfume and dish washing soap making and they believe they could turn the market with their products. “We produce body cream, insecticide, laundering soap of high quality, among others and we believe that it would give us market since they are essential commodities,” Boyade said. A participant in bead assembling, Ebiri Nancy, said: “At first it was not easy, but as time progresses, it became simple and I believe I can overcome it.” Her assertion is that when graduating, she would produce large quantity at about N2,000, but sell between N4,000 depending on size and quality. “I believe I can break even,” she said. The RCCG is not alone in the training of housewives, young graduates and artisans in skills development. Recently the Bank of Industry (BoI) also organised similar programme for young Ni-

gerians and housewives. Amarachi Agufobi, a graduate of Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Kehinde Oluwafemi, a Higher National Diploma in Business Administration, were also trained. According to report, the young graduates recently beat others to clinch first and second positions in fashion designing category in this year's National Skills Competition, an event organised by the bank. The awardees started their journey into the competitive fashion making industry at the Field of Skills and Dream Academy (FSD), an Ikeja-based foremost vocational training centre, last year. The Imo State-born Agufobi, who won the fashion competition with a wedding gown made with local fabric, was still an NYSC member when she registered for the nine-month intensive course in fashion at academy. She said: "I have always wanted to be a successful business woman. But I needed to acquire education first. With my sowing skill, I think I am close to fulfilling my dreams. I don't have to look for a job anymore. I want to start my business so that I can grow to become an employer of labour." The 26-year-old economics graduate said her confidence had been boosted. She also said many clients had more confidence in what she could do after the honour. "I cannot believe that I, the same person who was making clothes in a corner of a room has received a national award in fashion designing. Apart from the prestige and the financial reward, what interests me most is the fact that successful fashion designers have accepted to mentor me. For me, this is the most valuable aspect of the honour. But above all, I appreciate the FSD who took time to train me in the art of cloth making. The award would not have come without the centre," she said.

INSIDE ABUJA \ NEWS

Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

he Embassy of Spain in Abuja, last Thursday, hosted the Jos Repertory Theatre as it performed Rinconete y Cortadillo, a play based on the novel written by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes. The stage drama, was to commemorate the 4th Centenary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of worldwide famous masterpiece El Quijote. It was also part of activities marking this year's World Book and Copyright Day. Rinconetey Cortadillo is part of the exemplary novels written by Miguel de Cervantes and pub-

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Spanish Embassy marks 400th anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes

●UNESCO laments illiteracy, poor reading culture lished in 1613, a period of troubles, crisis and splendour, in which the Renaissance gave way to the Baroque. Rinconetey Cortadillo tells the story of two young men, Pedro del Rincón and Diego Cortado, Rinconete y Cortadillo, that meet and decide to go to Sevilla where they join a thief guild led by Monipodio. The Ambassador of Spain in Nigeria, Alfonso Barnuevo Sebastian de Erice

said the commemoration serves to remember and pay homage to a man whose work is a cornerstone of the diverse and plural Spanish culture. "Miguel de Cervantes was, without any doubt, a genius and both he and his literature live on. Cervantes is transcendent because he is larger than his own life. What he wrote is not only excellent literature but also a lesson in ethical and moral life, in the permanent search for liberty and idealism," he said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has disclosed that more than 170 million adolescents in the world, mostly girls and young women are unable to read a single sentence. Director, UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, Mr. Benoit Sossou, who disclosed this at the special Book Day event said that the situation has made UNESCO committed to harnessing information

and communication technologies, especially mobile technology to reach the uttermost parts of the world with quality learning. He said that the World Book and Copyright Day was an opportunity to recognise the power of books, support books and those who produce them with a view to changing the world to a better place. Sossou condemned the recent attacks on school children and the burning of books in some parts of

the world. "UNESCO is leading the fight against illiteracy. In the same vein, I urge everyone to make efforts in promoting all fairs of reading and writing so as to fight illiteracy and poverty, to build sustainable societies and foundations for peace," he said. The World Book and Copyright Day is an annual event organised by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. It was first celebrated on April 23, 1995.

AEDC to invest $200m in metering Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

T Chaotic queue at Total filling station opposite Force Headquarters, Abuja

How fuel scarcity promotes corruption at filling stations Chukwu David Abuja

he lingering fuel scarcity has become source of corruption for petrol attendants and security operations deployed to ensure sanity in the filling stations in Abuja. Within the nation's Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and environs, people now spend as long as three to six hours, and more in some cases at the filling stations, to get fuel for their vehicles. Why do people have to spend long hours even when fuel is available at the station? This is so because petrol attendants do connive with some customers and security personnel such as the police and the members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to ensure that there is no orderly queues in most of the stations. The attendants and these security operatives,

who should maintain law and order, usually reach a pact whereby they extort money from desperate customers, who would not want to join the actually intimidating queues but will rather give bribe to the security manning the entrance and exit gates of the station. Once this bribe is given and taken, the customers will usually go and position their vehicles by the exit gate, thereby, obstructing smooth movement of traffic in the filling station. Those who come early to join the queue are abandoned while those who give bribe are served first. This sometime degenerate to chaos, especially when the frustrated customers in the queue decide to revolt against the filling station managers. The most embarrassing situation in the scenarios witnessed so far by Inside Abuja, is the one happening at the Total filling station, which is located directly oppo-

site the Nigeria Police Force National Headquarters, Area 11, Garki, Abuja. The policemen are usually there, and even help the outlaw fuel seekers and attendants to totally block the roads leading from the Mararaba/Nyanya axis to the federal secretariat, thereby causing gridlock and compelling motorists to use one way, instead of the expressway. This singular experience has made many Nigerians who have witnessed this ugly trend right under the watch of the Police, to conclude that corruption in Nigeria is succeeding because it is a grand conspiracy involving those that should fight the menace. A concerned Nigerian, who spoke to our correspondent on the scenario at the Total filling station in question, asked: "How can corruption be fought and won in this country with what is going on? "Are you not seeing that the security agen-

cies who supposed to help maintain discipline and order at the petrol stations are the ones assisting people to get fuel through the backdoor, while those in the queue can be there without getting the product at the end of the day? "The issue of corruption in Nigeria is worrisome because the more people are shouting that they want to fight corruption, the more the same people are perpetrating it. It is a great deception. Nobody is fighting corruption in Nigeria, even Buhari cannot fight it because those in this government are also not free from the entanglement of this intractable disease. "The only effective way to fight the menace is by self-will, selfdetermination and selfpurging. Let everybody resolve to have attitudinal change and turn a new leaf, and hate evil with passion; then you will see corruption will naturally disappear from the system."

he Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AECD) has perfected plans to invest about $200 million in the provision of metering devices for its consumers. The project, which will commence this year, is expected to be implemented over the next five years. Managing Director of the company, Mr. Neil Croucher, announced this when the leadership of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) visited him in his office in Abuja. In a statement from the Head, Public Relations and Media, Ahmed I. Shekarau, the AECD also solicited the support of NUEE in getting Nigerians to embrace the new tariff regime. He emphasised that the tariff adjustment was intended to stimulate investments that would improve

power supply nationwide, stressing that tariffs will come down in the next few years. Meanwhile, the NUEE has commended the management of AECD on the transformation of the company. NUEE President, Comrade Martins Uzoegwu, said that the union appreciates the efforts of the current management to turn around the company and put it on the path of growth and profitability. General Secretary of the NUEE, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the union was encouraged by the transformation programmes and the improvements recorded so far by the AEDC, particularly staff welfare. “We want you to do more in terms of staff welfare. Although we’re not here for a negotiation but for interaction, we’re urging you to do more so that you can motivate your staff further to ensure that the company achieves better results,” the NUEE scribe said.

University to host entrepreneurship fair Amadi Nnamdi

s part of efforts to the bridging of the gap between Nigeria's business community and the academia, Nigerian Turkish Nile University has announced its readiness to hold an entrepreneurship trade fair in Abuja. The fair is expected to attract the participation of the organised private sector, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a host of other financing and development institutions. Head of Department of Economics in the University, Dr .Gylych Jelilov, who said it had become imperative to create an

effective working relationship between the business community and the academia. He said that with the growing knowledge-based economy and the need for innovation, both the academia and the industry need to work closely for the benefit of the economy. According to Jelilov, the Entrepreneurship Trade Fair (ETF) which will kick of next month at the university campus in Abuja is co-packaged by the Social Science Faculty under the auspices of the Economics Students Association of Nigeria, Nile Chapter and the business club of the institution.

INSIDE ABUJA

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

or over 10 years that Malam Adamu Kaura had lived in Tundun Fulani, Bwari, a sprawling settlement in the nation's capital, Abuja, the peace of the area had never been threatened like what he witnessed on Thursday April 14 when suddenly one of his neighbours' houses went up in flame. Sitting on a plastic chair in his compound, Malam Kaura who's just recuperating from an undisclosed illness told Inside Abuja of how a tenant, now in Police custody caused the death of a landlady popularly known as Mrs. Grace Peter, her daughter, Iswan, two grandchildren and a nephew. "We are neighbours, I have been sick for sometime now and I don't go out except in the night when the incident happened that all of us went out. I'm the first settler here. If you check this street bears my name, Kaura avenue but because of my poor health, my neighbour, M.J Ladan has been the one attending to people on that incident," he said According to him, a man in his 20s named Sunday set a house where he's a tenant with his mother ablaze on that fateful Thursday night following a misunderstanding over love affair between him and the landlady's daughter who was also said to be married with two kids. "The story you heard is correct," the frail looking Kaura told Inside Abuja. "I was lying down here around 10p.m. when I heard the noise fire, fire, help, help. I brought out my family to this place. But by that time, the fire was not much. A gas cooker in the house exploded like a bomb and the whole house went up in flame" he added. He confirmed that the suspect, Sunday, allegedly locked all the entrance and exit routes in the house with four padlocks, soaked the house with Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) before setting it ablaze though his own mother was said to be in the house at that time. Corroborating this narration, Abubakar Sulaiman, a son to late Grace Peter's close friend, Hajia Safiya Sulaiman, said they woke up from their sleep about 11p.m. and saw that the house was on fire. "We went out to rescue them, we the neighbours. We even

The burnt landlady's apartment

Burnt house at Tundun Fulani, Bwari 2

Love turns sour ...as tenant's son burn landlady, daughter, grandchildren called the Fire Service but it was too late because they were already dead between 11:30p.m. and midnight. They were five in the house, the mother, her nephew and her two grandchildren. Only one person survived, a boy named Moses who was rescued by one of the victims through the window. But

Entrance to the compound

the person who rescued him also died in the fire. "We called ambulance and they took their corpses that night to Bwari General Hospital. But they were taken to their home town in Edo State on Saturday where I understand they were buried," he said According to Sulaiman, the late Mrs. Peter had lived in Tundun Fulani for about nine years, describing her as a very peaceful and easy going woman. He, however, disclosed that her daughter, Iswan had come from Kaduna with her two children to spend holiday with their grandmother. Speaking on what could have prompted Sunday, who nobody in the neighbourhood could ascertain his work to set the house ablaze, Sulaiman told Inside Abuja that there was a misunderstanding between him and late Iswan over love advances. "Some say he is a student but I'm not sure. Other people say he is a bricklayer. "There was a little misunderstanding between the boy and

A corp member's room in the house, also burnt

the landlady's daughter. We just heard that and we can't really say that is true," Sulaiman said. But Malam Kaura provided more insight into the motive behind the arson. According to him, "from what we gathered from the compound, the landlady has a daughter who is married. The boy fell in love with her and used to tip her from time to time. But this unfortunate day, that's two days before that Thursday, precisely on Tuesday, he asked to take her out but she declined. She beat her up and her nephew called Moses. "This might be what prompted him to burn the house and its occupants. Before the inferno, he and her mother who also lived in the compound were said to have removed all their belongings. He also escaped his mother when the fire was up. That's what prompted people to conclude that the mother was in the picture of what her son did," Kaura said Sunday, it was gathered after he was sure that the people could no longer survive, then proceeded to Bwari Police Station to report himself. It was further learnt that he had vowed after the face-off with the landlady's daughter to deal with the family ruthlessly. When Inside Abuja visited the Nigeria Police Outpost at Sabon Gari, Bwari, officers on duty declined comments. They said the matter had been transferred to the Bwari Police Divisional Headquarters. However, officers at Bwari Divisional Police Headquarters also kept mute on the matter noting that only the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Anjuguri Manzah can comment on the incident. When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, FCT Command, Mr. Anjuguri Manzah, confirmed the incident and said that investigations were still on to unravel the mystery surrounding the incident. He, however, declined giving the names of the culprit and the victims of the inferno. "Yes, the case is still under investigation. The file has been sent to our Legal Department and we are awaiting their advice," Manzah told New Telegraph.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

EU hails signing of Paris Agreement on Climate Change Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

he European Union (EU) has hailed the signing of the Paris Agreement last Friday in New York, describing it as an important step towards implementing the world's first global deal on climate change. The event which attracted a number of countries was an indication that the whole world was committed to turning to concrete action, the promises made in Paris, France last year. In a joint statement issued by the EU High Representative and Vice President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Federica Mogherini and the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Mr. Miguel Arias Canete, the EU said the signing of the agreement will result in a more secure and stable world. The EU officials recalled that in the past years, there had been so many gloomy predictions that it would be impossible to achieve a universal agreement on climate change.

They admitted that there were strong reasons for such scepticism but attributed the success recorded on European Union's faith in diplomacy and multilateral cooperation. "In the run up to the Paris climate conference, our Union mobilised its network of 3,000 EU delegations and Member State embassies across the globe. This dialogue with our partner countries, the general public, the business community and civil society organisations has helped us build a global coalition to fight climate change. This is European diplomacy at its very best: working together for the good of Europe and the whole world. "During the conference, Europe was a strong voice for ambition. Our climate diplomacy set up a network of alliances with the group of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. We engaged with both big players and smaller developing countries to aim for the highest level of ambition. This now famous High Ambition Coalition was the game changer in Paris," the statement noted.

The EU, they said, would continue to build on the successful alliances as such collaboration will be crucial in achieving a global clean energy transition and the dream of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and temperature increase to 1.5°C. According to them, collective action was needed to tackle global temperatures which have reached record levels and mitigate the impact of climate change which has continued to threaten lives and destabilise entire regions. They posited that addressing the direct and indirect security effects of climate change will be an important part of the new EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy to be presented to the European Council next June. In the face of limited financial resources and time constraints, the EU said, the priority now should be to go for an early ratification of the Paris Agreement to send an important signal to the world that European governments are serious about climate change.

Displayed furniture at Kugbo Furniture market

An untapped gold mine C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 8

here to patronise us. Government should dualise these roads and make it accessible for people. It will go a long way in boosting economic activities here," he said. Emengini further revealed that the high cost of raw materials like leather also hampers profitability of the business, adding "that we can revitalise our leather processing industries here in Nigeria to enable local sourcing of the commodity." Emengini, however, hailed the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) for the perimeter project but urged the government to complete the project with the installation of the gates for the purpose of securing the market. Multiple taxation He also expressed disappointment at the series of taxes and levies traders in the market were made to pay on a regular basis. According to him, there is a fee called Ground Rent, whereby small

shops are required to pay N9,000, big warehouse pay N20, 000 while big factories pay between N40,000 and N50,000 among other levies. Emengini urged government to put in place the necessary infrastructure at the new site allocated to the market for business to effectively take off there. Similarly, Mr. Michael Akpa Micodec, another furniture and interior decoration dealer in the market, said the market lacked basic water and toilet facilities in spite of its international status. "You can imagine the embarrassment we face when our customers in the course of transacting business, request to use the convenience and then we can't direct them to a decent place. "It doesn't end there; we also have the issue of inadequate parking space for vehicles as well as the unavailability of water. We require water for washing of some of the leather seats we manufacture and sell here," he said.

Kobi Makaranta: Close to splendour, wallowing in squalor C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 7

Federal Capital Development Authority. “Kobi has existed for many years and is one of the settlements that survived the Nasir el-Rufai demolition onslaught. Many people who are investing on land business here know that they are taking high risk and are prepared for whatever will be the outcome,” he said. Makus Lukas, another resident and native of Kaduna State, said that since there were other villages closer to the city than Kobi, and are yet to be resettled by developers who acquired them, government may not by-pass them to come and demolish Kobi community. The good, bad and ugly sides of Kobi Kobi community may not have the basic amenities that those living in other parts of Abuja enjoy; however, one thing that has distinguished the community from other Abuja rural settlements is low crime rate. Imagine a community that is populated by almost all ethnic groups in Nigeria, in an environment that might be regarded as temporary settlements, enjoys such a high level of trust and security. Apart from little stealing often perpetrated by scavengers who roam about the community in search of used metals bottles and plastics, Kobi is said to be largely free of robbery incidences and other criminal activities. One of the community leaders, who pleaded anonymity, because according to him, he was not in the position to give any official statement without authorisation from the Madaki, said that crime rate is low in Kobi community due to an age long tradition of the Gbaygi people, that whoever takes what belongs to another without authorisation must be

Inside Kobi

The primary school in Kobi

caught. Although, Kobi has no Police Post, Police Patrol Vans are often seen in the community. Another residents, who simply identified himself as Ibrahim, said that most of the operatives of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) lives in the community, he inferred that

such knowledge would have contributed in keeping criminals away from the area. Kobi can be said to be blessed when it comes to power supply because while most communities in its category complain of being in blackout most of the time, Kobi residents can boast of a rela-

tively steady power supply. The community is also lucky to have benefited from some of the government’s water projects. Two fully motorised boreholes with overhead tanks are visibly located at the entrance of the community. The borehole was said to have been donated by the government and some elected officials who managed to fulfil their electoral promises. There are other water borehole systems installed by various individuals for business purposes. The community as small as it appears to be have more than 50 churches of all denominations. Some of the big congregations include, ECWA, COCIN, Roman Catholic, Assemblies of God, Anglican Communion as well as the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The Muslim faith adherents also have two mosques where they hold their routine prayers and other religious activities. The oldest educational institution in Kobi Makaranta is the Local Education Authority Primary School established in 1976. However, the community has no government secondary school; but has a private secondary school and several mushroom private schools. Although most residents of Kobi appear to be happy with themselves and their enclave, there are obviously certain conditions in the community that they desire a change. Sanitation and public hygiene are two major aspects of the people’s life that requires a radical change, considering the rate of open defecation that is the hallmark of the community. Both children and adults still defecate in the open, a condition that suggests that many of the houses there were built without making provisions for a proper toilet system.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Energy Oil industry, EFCC and $1.3bn Malabu deals probe

Business What's news Nigeria, others lose $65.3bn to China on illegal rosewood trade p.24

Absence of mortgage may raise housing deficit –Experts p.24

Aviation Appraising airlines, aviation agencies’ recurring debts impasse

25 29

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE March 2016...............................12.8% February 2016............................11.4% January 2016..............................9.6%

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

EXCHANGE RATE

(BDC as at April 15)

(Interbank as at April 15)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N321 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N450 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N359

l Foreign Reserves – $27.405bn as at 22/4/2016

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

Source: CBN

L-R: DirectorGeneral, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda; Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar; Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University, Mr. Peter Bamkole and Head, Enterprise Marketing, Bidemi Ladipo, at the Market Access Forum organised by the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University in Abuja.

Impasse on EEG costs Nigeria N100bn in forex earnings, says OPS CASUALTY The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Bayo Akomolafe

The suspension of the EEG scheme since January 2014 has affected the non-oil export growth of nation’s economy

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

Taiwo Hassan

he lingering Export Expansion Grant (EEG) scheme, which had been suspended since 2014, has cost the Federal Government over N100 billion in foreign exchange earnings, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) has said. President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Tony Ejinkeonye, disclosed this in a chat with New Telegraph. He said: “I can tell you that since the suspension of the EEG, the country would have lost foreign exchange close to N100 billion if proper investigations should be carried out because most of our members who could not meet up with the burdens of high operating costs associated with export

activities, have lost most of their foreign partners as a result of the suspension of the EEG. “If the Federal Government is really sincere with the diversification policy and stimulation of non-oil export, I think there is need for Government to re-introduce the EEG and ensure transparency in its administration for the growth of the sector and overall interest of Nigerians.” The EEG scheme was introduced in 1999 by the Federal Government to encourage non-oil exports and reduce the effect of cost disadvantages faced by Nigerian exporters due to infrastructural gaps in the country. The scheme had recorded $2 billion growth between 2006 and 2013 before it was suspended. The private sector operators, which include the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), have advised the Federal Government to revisit the scheme in order to encourage more exports and attract foreign exchange earnings into the country – especially at this period when the country is desirous to about diversifying her economy.

N50 billion Being the amount owed exporters - the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) - as at May 15, 2015

The OPS said many of the private sector operators have been facing difficulties in the export market due to the suspension of the EEG scheme. Ejinkeonye said: “First, the idea of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) scheme was to motivate the exporters and also encourage exportbased activities in a bid to diversify our economy from the mono-export economy. “The Suspension of EEG in January 2014 affected the non-oil sector growth, which slowed in the fourth quarter of 2014. “The sector recorded 6.44 per cent growth in real terms, lower when compared with the 8.78 per cent recorded in the corresponding period in 2013, and the 7.51 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2014” Similarly, Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Chief Remi Ogunmefun, said that the government should review the scheme, as many exporters believed it was the catalyst to the revival of the country’s real sector growth. He said that the EEG guidelines should be properly reviewed in order to remove all the bottlenecks CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS |news

NOTORIOUS Nigeria has become the single largest exporter of the ornate logs to China Bayo Akomolafe

espite some legal frameworks to protect rosewood specie,

‘Impasse on EEG costs Nigeria N100bn in forex earnings’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

that hinder its proper implementation. The DG noted that the EEG scheme was conceived as a very vital incentive required for the stimulation of exportoriented activities that will lead to significant growth of the non-oil export sector. The Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria, (FACAN) had in 2015 urged the Federal Government to pay the EEG, running to over N50 billion, owed to exporters since 2013. The suspension of the EEG grant was marred with lots of crises, which brought about corruption in the system, as allegations and counter allegations trailed the scheme. Specifically, the grant was to be disbursed to qualified exporters in the form of the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC) and utilised by beneficiaries for the payment of customs and excise duty on their export shipments. The impact assessment of the scheme on the Nigerian economy was to be carried out annually by external consultants, as may be determined by the Minister of Finance. The implementation committee consists of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Even with all its promises, at full implementation, the scheme failed to record seamless implementation among the government agencies tasked with making a success of it. The scheme was, however, suspended in January 2014 for it to be reviewed.

Nigeria, others lose $65.3bn to China on illegal rosewood trade Nigeria and 10 other countries lost $65.3 billion to some Chinese traders, New Telegraph has learnt. Most affected among these countries was Nigeria, followed by Guinea Bissau. According to a report by Chinese Customs, which was obtained by our correspondent, Nigeria had become the single largest exporter of the wood to China by the end of 2015, accounting for 45 per cent of the total imports to China. The study also revealed that by the end of 2015, 30 containers of 20 feet of rosewood were leaving the Nigerian ports for China daily. According to the Chi-

nese Customs, by 2014, Nigeria had exported 18 folds of what it imported in 2013. It noted that while 30,866m3 of logs were shipped from the country in 2013, some 242,203m3 of rosewood were ferried from the country in 2014. Besides, the report revealed that rosewood imports into China had increased by 1,250 per cent since year 2000. Also, a Washington D.C-based non-profit organisation, Forest Trends, said that the imports were estimated $2.6 billion between 2013 and 2014 alone. It said that several species of rosewood were being used by Chinese furniture manufacturers to

make products that were highly coveted status symbols. It noted: “The majority of rosewood imports into China traditionally come from Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, but they have shifted to countries such as Nigeria, Ghana Ivory Coast and others. “But in 2014, when imports were at an all-time high, nearly half came from Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries, whereas those countries supplied just 10 per cent of Chinese rosewood imports a decade ago. From 2010 to 2014, China’s rosewood imports from West Africa jumped 700 per cent,

making West Africa the largest source just a decade after occupying only a minor position in the market.” The non-profit organisation lamented that Guinea-Bissau had not made forest conservation a priority, especially when Chinese buyers were offering cool cash for rosewood but it noted that as deforestation takes its toll on Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Mali, GuineaBissau, Guinea, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Togo were working to annul the illegal trade. In February 2016, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Ogun State Area Command, intercepted

some unprocessed wood being exported out of the country illegally in seven truck-loads with Republic of Benin number plates in the Ijoun area, Yewa North Local Government Area. Also, at a recent regional workshop in Guinea-Bissau, delegates from Senegal, Mali, Nigeria Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Ghana, Niger, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone had blamed officials in their countries for the challenges they faced on illegal rosewood trade. The representatives acknowledged a lack of reliable customs data that could help to track rosewood shipments.

L-R: Divisional Head, Large Scale Enterprises, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr Babatunde Joseph; Acting Managing Director\CEO, Mr Waheed Olagunju; Edo State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Commrade Abdul Oroh; Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Jemitola Nanah and Executive Director, Corporate Services and Commercial, BoI, Mr Jonathan Tobin, during the inauguration of LowCost-off Grid 24KW Solar PV M Ingrid Project at Obayantor 1 village, Edo State.

Absence of mortgage may raise housing deficit –Experts DANGER Lack of foreclosure laws governing default mortgage loans poses a challenge

Dayo Ayeyemi

ntil the issues s u r ro u n d i n g mortgages are adequately tackled, Nigeria’s housing deficit of 17 million units would continue to rise, New Telegraph has learnt. According to housing experts, financing has remained a major bottleneck in the sector, as mortgages continue to account for a low single-digit percentage of

banks’ loan books. The Federal Government needs to build one million housing units every year in the next 20 years to meet the deficit, but with the low mortgage penetration in the country, this is not an easy task, as only 250,000 units are currently being delivered annually. Chairman, HOB Estates Limited, Chief Segun Bamgbade and former President, International Real Estate Federation (FIABCINigeria), Chief Kola Akomolede, identified some of the major challenges facing the mortgage banking sector to include lack of foreclosure laws governing the default mortgage loans, high cost associated with the task of title transfer, poor infrastructure to pro-

vide support for house constructions and highly complicated and lengthy legislative and legal frameworks for land acquisition. Also in the latest report of FBN Capital, analysts said that until the issue of mortgage is adequately tackled, “housing deficit is set to remain substantial.” Entitled: “Down Tempo for Real Estate,” the FBN Capital analysts said that the persistent macro challenges have negatively affected the country’s real estate sector, resulting in a slowdown in activities. Given the shocking inflation data released last February, they said that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has resumed tightening by hiking its monetary policy rate (MPR) by

100 bps to 12.00 per cent, pointing out that banks would have passed most part of the increase to borrowers, who are real estate developers and mortgagors. The experts added that foreign exchange (forex) sourcing challenges have put a strain on the real estate sector, as difficulties in securing imported building materials have led to higher costs in developing housing units. They noted: “Based on a recent survey carried out by a domestic financial advisory institution, the number of properties up for lease in Lagos was more than double the number put up for sale in March.” The latest national accounts from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that

in 2015, Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth in the real estate sector slowed to 2.0 per cent year on year (y/y) from 5.1 per cent recorded in 2014. For construction, the sector grew by 4.3 per cent y/y in 2015, compared with 13.0 per cent y/y the previous year, according to Statistics office. At the National Economic Retreat held last March, President Buhari had reiterated his administration’s commitment to deliver one million housing units per year. The minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, also disclosed recently that a new housing model designed to supply 17,760 flats across the country was underway.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

he EFCC, last Thursday (April 21), kick-started its investigation on the $1.3 billion Malabu oil deals, as it concluded plans to quiz the Managing Director of the Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (NAE). A day earlier, the anti-corruption agency had invited the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO), Mr. Bayo Bashir Ojulari. The anti-graft agency’s mandate is to unearth the whereabout of N218.4 billion paid by Agip and SNEPCO into an escrow account. Global search Weeks before the EFCC’s action, officials of Shell at the company’s global headquarters at the heart of one of the largest oil heist in Nigeria, were on March 30, questioned by Dutch investigators for their roles in the deal. Shell and Italian oil giant, Eni, allegedly agreed to secretly pay $1.3 billion to Malabu, a company owned by former minister of petroleum resources, Dan Etete, through the Nigerian government in 2011. The money was meant for Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245, one of the largest oil blocs in Africa, which was awarded to Malabu in 1998 when Dan Etete was the petroleum minister under the late dictator, Sani Abacha. After Shell and Eni paid the money into Nigeria’s accounts in JP Morgan bank, London, the federal government transferred $801 million of the money into Malabu accounts controlled by Mr. Etete in Nigeria. While Mr. Etete later claimed he only got $250 million from the money, investigations showed the rest was paid as bribes to several officials of the Nigerian government under the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration and some private officials including Bayo Ojo, a former Attorney General, who allegedly got $10 million. Jonathan also, is being investigated for his roles in the scandal, after Italian officials found evidence of his activities. “The suggestion from the wiretaps is “Fortunato” was implicated and I am told that this was a reference in code (not subtle) to the former President of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan,” Justice Edis of the Southwark Crown Court, UK, said in December 2015, while refusing to release the last tranche of $80 million left in the Nigerian government account to Mr. Etete. EFCC probe After a long time underground investigation, the anti-graft agency in Nigeria came up of a long list of those with links to the deal. From the MD of SNEPCo to his counterpart at the Agip, the commission has begun a probe. A source at the EFCC confirmed the commission’ plan to invite the MD of Agip for questioning, maintaining that this was a continuation of the interrogation of Managing Director of its subsidiary, SNEPCO, Mr. Bayo Bashir Ojulari over the where-about of N218.4 billion

Energy

Oil industry, EFCC and $1.3bn Malabu deals probe For the first time in over a decade, the global web of corruption relating to the controversial $1.3 billion Malabu oil deals is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). ADEOLA YUSUF looks at implications on the oil industry

Oli rig

paid into SNEPCO’s escrow account. The SNEPCo boss, he said, has been re-invited for “further questioning at a later date pending the outcome of the quizzing of the Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) boss”. The EFCC had also invited the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke for questioning on his involvement in the deal. Adoke, however, denied any wrongdoing, saying he as Attorney-General only acted as an intermediary to resolve “a multilayered contentious matter”. He said he is currently in school for an LLM at Leiden University in Netherlands, therefore, he could not appear before the EFCC. Shell confirms interrogation NAE could not be reached for confirmation of its MD’s invitation but Shell confirmed the invitation and questioning of Mr. Ojulari to New Telegraph last Wednesday. “We can confirm that Mr. Bayo Ojulari, Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), was invited for an interview by the EFCC,” the company said in a terse statement sent by its spokesperson, Precious Okolobo, to this newspaper late last Thursday. “He was subsequently released on the understanding that he would be available to respond to further questions if required,’ the statement said. The EFCC had last Tuesday quizzed the Mr. Ojulari over the controversial Malabu oil block

Proceeds from the oil well is said to be capable of servicing the country’s debt for the next 30 years

(OPL 245) deal. The anti-graft agency was beaming its searchlight on whereabouts of N218.4 billion ($1,092 billion) allegedly paid by SNEPCO and Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) into an escrow account. The key area of investigation was to determine where the money was diverted. Ojulari had said that there were two agreements on Malabu Oil Block deal – Block 245 Resolution Agreement and the SNUD Resolution Agreement. He was quoted to have said: “The signatories to Block 245 Resolution Agreement were: The Hon. Minister of Petroleum Resources (Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke), the Attorney- General of the Federation (Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke): the Hon. Minister of Finance; NAE Vice Chairman and Managing Director; NAE Company Secretary; SNUD Director; SNEPCO Director; NNPC Group Managing Director and its Company Secretary. “The SNUD Resolution Agreement was signed by the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Petroleum Resources; SNUD Director, SNUD Secretary; SNEPCO Director and SNEPCO Secretary”. Ojulari said the signatories to the terms of settlement were Mr. Chikelu Onyejekwe, Mutiu Sunmonu and Rasky Gbinigie for SNUD, SPDC and Malabu. He said: “By the terms of Block 245 Resolution Agreement, SNUD agreed to the release of the outstanding Signa-

ture Bonus of $207,960,000 and to appoint an escrow agent for the purpose of paying to FGN a sum of $1,092,040billion”. OPL 245 in eye of the storm Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 is a massive (1,958 square kilometre) and potentially highly lucrative oil block in Nigeria. It encompasses two deep-water fields, Zabazaba and Etan, at depths of between 1,500 and 2,000 metres respectively in the offshore waters in the Gulf of Guinea. The field is estimated to hold up to 9.23 billion barrels of crude oil, equivalent to nearly one quarter of Nigeria’s total proven reserves, according to industry figures. Proceeds from the oil well is said to be capable of servicing the country’s debt for the next 30 years. Implications for industry The probe of Malabu oil deals by EFCC is seen as a major step towards cleansing the Nigeria’s oil industry, which was hitherto known as hub of corruption. A petroleum engineer, Bayo Alamutu, said that the EFCC probe has raised hope that the country is determined to get rid of grafts in its oil industry. He charged the commission, nay the President not to blackout of the probe when the heat gets hotter. “The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is keen on ensuring that Nigeria’s image is laundered among the comity of nations. The Malabu deals are a few of the many corruption deals CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Energy

NIPCO converts 4,000 vehicles from petrol to gas COMMITMENT Oil firm boosts investments in Nigeria Stories by Adeola Yusuf

he number of vehicles whose engines have been converted from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) gas has increased to 4,000, NIPCO Plc has said. Managing Director of the Company, Venkataraman Venkatapathy, said this at the company’s 12th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and presentation of the company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, in Abuja. In a statement, he said that NIPCO had also bolstered its investments in Nigeria, expanding its storage capacity to 84 million litres. He said that the significant investments were made in the construction of additional tanks with a total storage fa-

cility of 34 million litres of petroleum products. “Our foray into the Compressed Natural Gas Market has continued to grow with over 4,000 vehicles currently running on gas. We have also seen an impressive increase in patronage from industries, as

more of them are converting to CNG to power their plants. The surge is gathering momentum and we will not stop until every car in Nigeria runs on Natural gas,” he said. In the statement signed by its Manager of Corporate Communication, Taofeeq Lawal

in the oil industry that soiled the country’s image and how far the EFCC is able to go on this will determine the overall success of the president’s anticorruption stance,” Alamutu said. Catalogue of deals and probes During the regime of late military dictator, Sani Abacha, the OPL 245 concession was originally awarded in 1998 by the then Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete, to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company that he set up and owns. In effect, Etete awarded one of Nigeria’s most lucrative oil blocks to himself. The deal effectively converted into money, an asset that had been acquired by Malabu Oil and Gas in highly suspicious, possibly illegal circumstances. In 2011, Shell and ENI paid $1.1 billion, plus a signature bonus of $210 million to the Nigerian government for the concession. In a back-to-back deal negotiated by the country’s In attorney general of the federation and minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), the Nigerian government then undertook to transfer $1.1 billion to Etete’s company, Malabu. Shell and ENI deny paying any money to Malabu Oil and Gas but they were aware and in agreement that the deal was for the benefit of Malabu. Etete, who was convicted for money laundering in France, claimed in a British court in 2013 that people close to former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, demanded a slice of the oil block as bribe. In October 29, 2014, a high court in the United Kingdom lifted a secrecy order imposed

“It is our firm belief that all great companies were built with the spirit of team-work and constructive partnership. Without your help, support and loyalty over the years, NIPCO PLC would not have become the corporate icon it is today.”

A gas plant

Oil industry, EFCC and $1.3bn Malabu deals CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

read, NIPCO told shareholders: “Our distribution network in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market was also further enhanced in 2015. Your Company continued its nationwide campaign to see that all Nigerians fully embrace the use of domestic gas.

on a 2013 legal challenge by a UK-based, environmental and social justice, not-for-profit organisation, The Corner House, of a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to freeze some $215 million in alleged proceeds of crime from the OPL 245 sale. In 2011, a middleman acting for Malabu sued the company in the United Kingdom commercial court for fees he claimed he was owed for services rendered to Malabu in the sale of OPL 245. Pending the outcome of the case, the court froze some $215 million from the proceeds of the oil concession sale. The Corner House, together with anti-corruption watchdog, Global Witness and Re: Common, an Italian non-government organisation, and Dotun Oloko, a Nigerian anti-corruption campaigner, wrote to this court raising concerns that the frozen funds were proceeds of crime. The group also requested the London Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit (POCU) and the Italian authorities to investigate. Although the police sought action under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) declined to initiate proceedings. The Corner House therefore sought a judicial review of the CPS’s decision, arguing that the OPL 245 deal was corrupt and illegal under both Nigerian and UK law and that it was likely, on the available evidence, that a substantial part of the monies paid to Malabu had been used to pay bribes and the CPS’s failure to act was unlawful. The application for permission to bring a judicial review of the CPS failure to act was held in secret, at the request of

the CPS, because of the danger of “tipping off ” those being investigated by the police. In March 2014, the high court refused permission to bring a judicial review because the CPS had assured the court that it was still considering taking action. In July 2014, however, following the commercial court ruling in favour of the middleman, more than $110 million of the suspect funds left the UK for Switzerland. The CPS did nothing to prevent the movement of this money. By contrast, at the request of the Italian authorities, the funds were frozen in Switzerland. Only following a mutual legal assistance request from Italy did the UK authorities freeze a further $80 million of the funds remaining in the UK. Police in the UK and magistrates in Italy formally investigated the OPL 245 sale, following allegations of bribery and round tripping of sale proceeds that had trailed the deal by London-based anticorruption campaign group. There has been an ongoing international campaign to expose the illegal dealings surrounding the OPL 245 and to subsequently bring parties connected to the contentious sale and bribes to book. Conclusion The EFCC cannot back-out of the probe due to the global interest, which the Malabu oil deals had generated. The commission should however, ensure that it stands straight when the probe closes in on the big names. This singular act would guarantee the integrity of the anti-graft agency before the world, which is keenly watching how the probe will end.

Total rewards young innovators

otal Nigeria Plc and Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria have deepened their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the N12 million rewards for young innovators who won the companies’ “Startupper of the year” challenge. Managing Director of Total Nigeria Plc, Mr. Alexis Vovk, unveiled the winners at a ceremony in Lagos. He said in a statement that the challenge initiated simultaneously by the Total Group in 34 countries in Africa, was aimed at identifying, rewarding and providing support to the best business creation and business development projects under two years of existence in Nigeria by Nigerians aged 32 years and bellow. Stating that his company was prepared to do more to support innovation by young Nigerians, Vovk said that three best projects were selected and awarded at the official awards ceremony in Lagos based on their unique problem solving attributes. The winners, he said, are Mr. Opeyemi Owosho of Fitco Tech Integrated Venture, who took first place position; Miss. Uzoma Eleke of Zeta Prime Alternative Technologies, who came second and Mr. Emeka Nwachinemere of Kitovu Ltd., who took third place in the challenge. These winners according to the statement, received the Startupper 2016 Award by Total, as well as financial assistance and guidance from Total in Nigeria. While the winner received

N6 million for his gas cooking stove technology, which guarantees safety, the first runnerup received N4 million while the second runner-up went home with N2 million. Winner of the challenge, Opeyemi Owosho, according to the statement, said that the training and other supports he had from Total would boost his business. “I was producing 50 unit of gas stove per day before but now with this support from total, I will be doing up to 1,000 units. This is not all, I have been sourcing about 30 per cent my materials locally before but now with this support, I will be sourcing 95 per cent of the material locally,” he said. Giving a back ground information on the challenge, the Total boss said: “The online registration and submission portal was open from November 1, 2015 (8:00 GMT) to January 31, 2016 (23:00 GMT). A total number of 1,934 projects were submitted and evaluated to get the top 30. This was conducted, in accordance with the contest rules, by the first level reviewers who comprised of carefully selected professionals, business experts, professors and senior lecturers in Nigeria. “Thereafter there was a second level evaluation by a jury of professionals who reviewed and selected the top 10 projects based on specific criteria, which include innovation, originality, audacity and potential to impact on socio-economic development of the Nigerian society and its people.”

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Homes&Property

Falomo Roundabout, Lagos

APPRAISAL Experts want government to review all outdated master plans for cities

Dayo Ayeyemi

uilt environment practitioners under the auspices of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) have called for urgent regularisation of land use planning, development and controls within Nigerian cities. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of NIESV’s 46th Annual Conference in Abuja. Besides, the experts tasked the government at all levels to review all outdated and distorted master plans in their jurisdictions to enable cities accommodate sustainable living standard. They pointed out that in order to accelerate structural transformation for inclusive sustainable growth, city potential must be harnessed through adequate allocation of financial resources, promotion of inclusive economic growth, and integration of urbanisation into national development plan, among others. They noted that the paltry fund allocation to the merged ministries of Power, Works and Housing, out of a total budget of N6.06 trillion, might hamper infrastructural development of Nigerian cities. During the brainstorming at the conference, themed: “City Growth: Issues and Challenges of Urban Sustainability in Nigeria,” the experts observed that most of the cities in Nigeria have no master plan, hence, issues bordering on sustainability were observed in high growing cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and others. The new focus of the United Nations is for countries of the world to entrench sustainability in all aspects of city development to achieve sustainable

Estate surveyors push for sustainable city devt city growth qualitatively and quantitatively. The estate surveyors noted that the potential of city growth was largely untapped, stressing that anti-city factors such as inefficient policy implementation, environmental degradation, social and economic vices, had weighed down the development of Nigerian cities. “There is no adequate provision made by government to cater for the poor and low income earners that usually complement the day-to-day activities of the affluent in the cities,” they noted. The built environment professionals want government institutions and systems to be strengthened to promote changes in human settlements

Most of the cities in Nigeria have no master plan

through enhanced technical and financial capabilities for rural and urban planning, governance and management. They canvassed the need for government to provide resilient infrastructure capable of reducing the impact of disasters in slums and informal settlements as well as promoting green building and encouragement of investment in sustainable renewable energy sources. They also urged government to give priority to the development of satellite towns in order to decongest the already congested cities to minimise ruralurban migration. They said: “Estate surveyors and valuers should not be seen only as property managers but should also be involved in the

management and development of cities to deploy their wealth of experience and expertise to salvage the cities. “However, this could only be achieved if government assigns enabling role to estate surveyors and valuers. This could be done in collaboration with other allied professionals,” they said. Besides the professionals urged the management of NIESV to intensify capacity building efforts for its members to enable them face the emerging challenges of the built environment towards sustainable growth of cities. Professionals from the academia, public service, private sector, allied professionals and policy makers attended the conference.

NIESV to FG: Modify your housing programme

he Federal Government has been urged to reform its housing programme to accommodate all cadres of the society in need of roof over their heads. President, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Dr. Patunola –Ajayi, made this call at the weekend at a conference in Abuja. Besides, he said government should inject more money into housing and power generation to generate quick employment for citizens and also create economic activities in the country. He pointed out that the prohibitive cost of houses in the country had denied many citizens of homeownership, noting that people could no longer

afford some of the housing units. According to him, if housing prices were made affordable, many citizens would be able to access them. Unless the government reforms its housing programme, there would not be enough houses for the masses, he stressed. The newly elected president of NIESV also tasked the government to develop a concept that could produce houses on rent to own basis to reduce the nation’s housing deficit of 17 million units. He said: “Government at all levels should inject money into housing and power. Any money available now should be injected into these projects to generate quick employment for all cadres. The

situation in the country presently is really tense and people need a programme that will give relief to them. “By the time some of these projects kick off, activities will start and by the end of the year when we are assessing, we will see that things have really improved.” He noted that if power supply could be boost to 50 per cent, most of the national problems would be solved. Patunola-Ajayi promised to promote the profession and the name of NIESV in the area of property management, valuation, facility, project management and estate agencies during his stay tenure. “My desire is to see that

NIESV attains international standard and stands out as the best in the world wherever it is mentioned,” he said. According to him, the beauty of housing projects lies in job generation for all cadres. He urged the government to take quick action to ensure that projects are initiated to relieve all sectors of the economy. He bemoaned the low budget allocation to works, power and housing sectors, calling on the government to have a rethink by putting more money into capital projects to stimulate the economy. Advising the housing minister, he said: “The Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Babatunde CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Business | Homes & Property

Firm floats tiles, sanitary wares factory in Nigeria UNSUSTAINABLE Nigeria imports over 65 million square metres of ceramic tiles yearly Dayo Ayeyemi

foreign investor, Dr. Khater Massaad has concluded plans to float tiles and sanitary wares manufacturing factory in Shagamu, Ogun State. Massaad, who is the Chief Executive Officer, CDK Integrated Industries, told our correspondent that Nigeria would become a major hub for ceramic tiles and sanitary wares’ exportation to other African countries and Europe in the nearest future. He said the factory, which is billed to Commence operations next month, would certainly help Nigeria to stop importation from Italy, China, Brazil and Spain, among others. Sitting on one million square metres (sqm), the CDK boss said the modern porcelain and ceramic manufacturing company, with the state-of the-art facilities, would meet global industry demand, particularly in Africa and Europe. Besides, he said that the factory would contribute to the development of Nige-

Expert to FG: Modify your housing programme CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

Fashola, is really trying, though leading is a matter of delegation of authority, he should be able to manage all the ministries. “Works, power, housing are all connected. All he needs is synergy for those managing the sectors, when they come together on the same drawing board, they can map out strategies on how to put things in place for national interest”. Accessing the present government, Patuola-Ajayi stated that the Federal Government was yet to commence work since some of the issues surrounding the budget have not been sorted out. According to him, until money is allocated and contractors mobilised, there would not be any major construction work. He also wants the issue of land resolved, appealing to the government to engage professionals in the management of land. “The institution is ready to see that all land parcels, houses and titles are well managed. People can have access to land, use their land to access loans either to buy land or to do their business,” he said.

ria’s economy and also shift world focus to the country. Massaad stated that with active contribution to the construction of over 50 factories across the world, the new investment in Shagamu would help to transform the economy of neighbouring communities. According to the chief executive officer, the factory will be producing 5,000 pieces annually of several models of European designer collections, using best technology, best raw materials, highest standards, world class fittings and soft clos-

ing hinges, amongst others He added that the factory would be producing 60 by 60 centimeters, 30 by 60cm and 40 by 40cm glazed polished and soluble salt tiles with superior quality, using latest digital printing equipment. It would be recalled that over 65 million square meters of ceramic tiles are being imported into Nigeria yearly, according to Ceramic World review magazine published in Italy. Massaad said he was convinced and proud of the relationship with Nigerian in-

vestors, a gesture that made latter describe CDK integrated industry as a “solid company with a strong commitment to excellence in service.” Massaad said: “Our aim is to produce high quality ceramic tiles and sanitary wares products since everyone is in need of high quality products. We aim to meet the best quality in the world matching and possibly sur passing the American and European standards. “CDK Integrated Industries’ vision is to be num-

ber one in Africa in ter ms of product quality and pricing,” he said. Massaad said that the company was already engaging Nigerians that are buying into the vision of the company, adding that its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmentally friendly business had already been set on the right track. “Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) certificate is currently under processing with plans for ISO certification in the shortest possible time,” he said.

Units of duplexes at Cornerstone Estate, Oregun, Lagos

Developer partners US firm on investments Dayo Ayeyemi

ornerstone Real Estate Limited (CREL) has concluded arrangement with the largest real estate franchise in the United States, Keller Williams Realty (KW); to provide solutions to the needs of Nigerians who desire to buy homes or invest in properties abroad. According to the deal, CREL is now in a position to buy, sell, lease or manage properties for Nigerian seeking such services in any parts of the US. Cor nerstone Chair man, Mr Lanre Okupe, disclosed these to journalists at the weekend. He said the partnership was aimed at bringing solutions to the needs of Nigerians and to proffer solutions to those that want to sell their US properties or need a reliable organisation to manage their investment for them. He said the arrangement to actualise all these transactions had been concluded with the Keller Williams team in Houston Texas.

Okupe said: “The strate gic partnership of KW as the number one real estate franchise in the US with over 120,000 agents in more than 700 offices across and Cornerstone’s almost three decades experience in delivering homes to Nigerians with more than 10 successful housing estates to its credit, will bring value to these home owners and investors”. He said the coming of the two companies, with local expertise and strong international contact, would definitely bring smiles to the faces of property investors, who are keen on investing in any part of the US. The chairman said his firm was currently developing 26 units of duplexes and terraces on a fouracre estate in Oregun area of Lagos, adding that the phase one had already been completed while the phase 2 was ongoing. “The Cor nerstone’s Oregun Phase 2 housing estate consists of 14 units of various duplexes, comprising two units of three-bedroom detached houses with one boys’

quarters; six units of four-bedroom semi-detached houses with one room boys’ quarters and six units of three-bedroom terrace houses,” he said. According to Okupe, each duplex, which sits on an approximately land area of between 350 and 400 square meters comprising four bedrooms, is all en-suite. Each consists of ground floor space, which includes the entrance lobby, foyer, main living room, dinning, kitchen, visitor’s toilet and ensuite guest room. He disclosed that the firm had put flexible and friendly payment procedures in place to help home buyers access the housing units. According to Okupe, installment payment is allowed, with 30 per cent down payment while the balance could be spread over a year. Besides, he said the company had bungalows and serviced plots for sale at its 50-acre Cor nerstone Ofada Estate located within the strategic real estate development corridors of Ogun State.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

AVIATION

Appraising airlines, aviation agencies’ recurring debts impasse

Arik-Air

WOLE SHADARE writes that the frequent airline debt crisis puts carriers and agencies on the edge Face-off The run-in between Nigerian carriers and various aviation agencies over settlement of debts is becoming a recurring issue that is threatening the smooth operation of airlines as their operations are frequently disrupted. Each time the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation (NCAA) wield the big stick; it leaves so much pain not only for passengers, but a big blow to airlines. For the past four years, virtually all Nigerian airlines have had not too pleasant experience from these three major aviation agencies, which put the total indebtedness of domestic carriers to about N100billion. While other airlines are alleged being treated with kid glove, Arik, Nigeria’s biggest airline, has always clashed with the authorities with claims that the carrier is heavily indebted to all the agencies. Agreed that Arik is hugely indebted to the agencies, stakeholders are worried that the agencies, particularly the FAAN is at a loss to exactly what Arik owes. All over the world, airlines operate on debts, but what should not be tolerated; stakeholders said is allowing the debts to accumulate to a level that it becomes very difficult to reconcile. FAAN, through the unions alleged that Arik owes it N12.5billion, which the carrier swiftly dismissed.

Arik boss kicks Chairman of the company, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, accused FAAN of not adhering to the rules and regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, describing the decision to resort to self-help in disrupting its operations as a violation of rule of law, considering the fact that the matter is in court. He accused FAAN of frustrating amicable resolution in spite the fact that they had paid N18.9billion, which he said was acknowledged by the agency in a letter sent to them. He apologised to thousands of the airline’s passengers whom he said were left stranded over the disruption of its operations. He however, announced that the airline resumed flight operations. “We have been paying our debts regularly to FAAN despite the fact that the airport landlord had some amount of money to pay to it arising from the incident to its aircraft at the Calabar Airport some few years ago,” he said. Arumemi-Ikhide also displayed a letter dated February 3, 2016 acknowledging the lodgement of N11.4 billion to the coffers of FAAN from the airline. He maintained that it had since the commencement of operations in October 2007, paid a total sum of N18.9 billion to the agency. He alleged that FAAN recently confirmed getting “a mysterious additional N7.5 billion in its account,” but insisted that the money didn’t come from Arik Air despite its insistence that the large sum was from the carrier. Recurring issue The same scenario played out four years ago when the FAAN through the same unions picketed Arik over unresolved debts settlement. The action led to excruciating pain for travellers. The agony was unbearable then because just three

Government policies are chief among the reasons for the underdevelopment of the industry

airlines, Arik, Aero, Overland were in operations then. They lacked the capacity to provide air services to thousands of passengers, as Arik controlled over 60 per cent market share then. This situation forced the Presidency to summon an emergency meeting to resolve the imbroglio, which forced the sector to it’s kneels. Former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah was forced to eat the humble pie after Arik alleged that the sudden shut down of its operations by the union was orchestrated by the Minister because of the carrier’s refusal to cede some shares to her. Oduah swiftly denied the claim, describing it as a pure blackmail to evade payment of what Arik owed. The company was last Wednesday picketed by the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) over claim that Arik is indebted to the authority to the tune of N12billion. Same day FAAN was dealing with the airline through the unions, the NCAA directed all airlines (domestic & charter) operating in the country to forward in full un-remitted funds accruable to the Authority without further delay. NCAA talks tough Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, said the directive was with regards to the five per cent TSA/TCA collected at source from the air passengers by the airlines on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. He noted that these sales charges are to enable all aviation agencies carry out their responsibilities of providing safe, secure and efficient regulatory services for the overall benefits of all aviation stakeholders. The NCAA chief stated that it is imperative that all un-remitted funds are forwarded in full to

NCAA immediately. The airlines must desist from using these funds “held in trust”. He said the ongoing five per cent Ticket/Cargo/Charter/Sales Charges automation of payments, which offers real-time transparent transactions, must be completed within two months. He said:“This will remove end. less reconciliation of data and reduce high debt profile of Airlines to NCAA. “Reconciliation of all outstanding debts must be completed within 60 days; the five per cent Ticket/ Cargo/ Sales Charges must be on Gross Ticket excluding Value Added Tax (VAT) and Passenger Service Charge (PSC) only. All airlines must provide to the Authority the breakdown of the recently introduced ‘’Taxes+Fees’’ component on all passenger tickets, which include the amount due to each government agency.” Bad debt New Telegraph leant that the said debts to the agencies, running into several billions of naira might not be settled in the nearest future, going by the present harsh economic realities the airlines are operating in. Meanwhile, huge operational costs, emasculating charges imposed by different agencies and the resultant heavy debt burden are sounding the death knell for most domestic airlines in Nigeria. Some airlines are said to owe their workers in all categories, arrears of monthly salaries and allowances, a situation so fraught with danger that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the regulator, may intervene to forestall the negative impact it could have on flight operations. The airlines, according to industry watchers, are ‘bleeding profusely’ over the high costs of CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | AVIATION

Airbus Helicopters unveils H175 aircraft INNOVATION The aircraft is perfectly suited for oil and gas operators in Nigeria Wole Shadare

irbus Helicopters has unveiled its state-ofthe-art HI75 aircraft, targeting several key oil and gas operators for business. Unveiling the helicopter at the Ever Green Apple Nigeria (EAN) hangar in Lagos, Vice President, Head of Operational Marketing, Airbus Helicopters, Regis Magnac, who put the retail price of the H175 at about $14.7 million, explained that the aircraft was designed with the support of oil companies and helicopters operators. He explained that the H175 offers cost competitiveness, performance and new standards of safety and comfort, adding that the aircraft is perfectly suited for oil and gas operators in Nigeria. The Vice President stated that the seven ton class H175 was developed by Airbus Helicopters, as its new-generation medium-sized rotorcraft, certified in accordance with the latest and most demanding regulatory requirements. He listed the benefits of the helicopter to include: enhanced flight safety, more volume per seat for passenger comfort, mission versatility, simplified maintenance and cost effectiveness to match customer expectations. Magnac pointed out that within its class, the H175 offers the best operating range

•Targets oil and gas sector

in relation to the number of passengers. He stated that with 16 passengers aboard in an oil and gas configuration, it could fly to distances of 140 nautical miles (332KM), increasing to nearly 200 nautical miles (435 KM), when 12 passengers are carried in a long range configuration, with no auxiliary fuel tank required. He said, “In a higher den-

operation. To them, they are constrained by circumstances beyond their control, due to increasingly high operational costs of running the airline business in Nigeria caused by the scarcity and high cost of aviation fuel (Jet-A1) and, indeed, the multiple charges, levies and taxes imposed on them by the agencies. Some of the airlines have suspended some routes either because they are no longer viable or because the cost of operating them is no longer tolerable. Expert’s view Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, recently described the Nigerian aviation sector as ‘dead on arrival’. He lamented the difficulties airline operators are going through in doing business in the country. His words: “The airlines in Nigeria are dead on arrival because of the harsh conditions under, which they operate. Government policies are chief among the reasons for the under development of the industry. “Multiple taxation by govern-

He said that the first delivery of the Airbus H175 helicopter took place in December 14 2015. On the comfort the H175 provides, Magnac disclosed that the helicopter’s fast cruise speed, large windows and low sound and vibration levels create a comfortable passenger journey offshore. To further showcase the latest product in the Airbus Heli-

copters brand, the helicopters undertook a demonstration flight for its new H175 product in Lagos on Thursday, April 21, 2016. On the cost of the newly unveiled rotary wing, Magnac did not state the exact price but said that the cost of H175 is above $10 million, adding that the aircraft is presently operated in Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana and Angola.

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, NHV, Oostende, Belgium, Lars-Henrik Thorngreen, , Chairman of Integrated Oil and Gas ltd and former Minister of Interior, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, Vice President and Head of Operational Marketing, Airbus Helicopters, Regis Magnac, , Commercial Manager of Atlantic Aviation, Jimmy Ini and Managing Director of Atlantic Aviation, Shaf Syed, at the unveiling of the H175 Helicopter in Lagos, recently.

Appraising airlines, aviation agencies’ recurring debts impasse CONTINUED FROM PAG E 29

sity configuration, it can carry as many as 18 passengers up to 105 nautical miles (269 KM)”. Speaking on why Airbus decided to carry out the promotion of the helicopter in Nigeria, the Vice President said, ”Nigeria is a very important country, as it concerns oil and gas and the Airbus H175 will perform well in oil and gas and for Search and Rescue ((SAR)”.

ment agencies, high cost of aviation fuel compared to elsewhere, high cost of overhead, prohibitive interest rates from banks, lack of easy access to foreign exchange, lack of night flying infrastructure in over 97 per cent of the airports in Nigeria, the people’s low purchasing power and the one directional passenger movement in Nigeria, clog the wheel of development of the industry in Nigeria”. Conclusion Unlike many service businesses, airlines need more than storefronts and telephones to get started. They need an enormous range of expensive equipment and facilities from airplanes to flight simulators and maintenance hangars. They also need to pay up their debts to maintain their integrity and keep the system going. The airline industry is a capital-intensive business, requiring large sums of money to operate effectively. Whatever arrangements an airline chooses to pursue, its capital needs require consistent profitability.

Overland to launch Akure-Abuja flight

verland Airways has concluded plans to launch scheduled flight services from Akure, the Ondo State capital, to Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Ter ritory. The launch according to a statement from the company, is slated for April 25, 2016. The fligh t s , w h i ch will be operated three times weekly, demonstrate a strategic partnership with the government and people of Ondo State, to accelerate econom i c d e v e l opment in the State and i t s e nv i r o n s . “ We a r e h u m b l e d t o serve the Sunshine State and support its economic and social development, such as cocoa far ming, local ar ts and craft, touri s m , e t c . As the only airline older than six years in existence in Nigeria not t a ke n ove r by t h e A s s e t Mana g ement Cor poration of Nigeria (AMCON) today, Overland Airways has the eco-

nomic stability to continue to empower Nigeria’s hinterland economies with sustainable, safe and comfortable flight services,” said Mrs. Aanu Benson, Chief Operating Officer of Overland Airways. Benson stated that economic sectors includ i ng a g riculture, tourism, arts and craft, etc., would immensely benefit from the new f l i g h t s, which would make the S t a t e a n d i t s e nv i r o n s more quickly accessible f o r t r a d e a n d i nve s t m e n t as well as political and other eng agements. O ve rl a n d A i r w ay s i s o ne of Nigeria’s longestserving most consistent airlines offering uninterrupted scheduled passenger services in Nigeria over the past 13 years. T he car rier recently launched its City Ticketing Of fice in Jalingo, Taraba State as part of efforts to contribute to the economic growth of the State.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Interview Edo varsity to address lopsidedness –Commissioner

Education

Campus Club celebrates anniversary amid fanfare

33 35

CRITICISM

Palpable outcry has continued to trail the newly-revised Universal Basic Education (UBE) curriculum for primary and junior secondary schools Mojeed Alabi

eligious crisis is looming in the nation’s education sector, following the revised Universal Basic Education (UBE) Curriculum introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education in the basic and junior secondary school levels. The curriculum, developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), is facing wide criticisms from key stakeholders in the sector, who described it as ill-advised and out to create confusion in the system. In the revised curriculum, five subjects including Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK) and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK), were merged to form a broad subject, which is now known as Religious and National Values. The critics expressed their displeasure over why the two subjects, which are regarded as the opium of religious education, moral training and rectitude, should be subsumed under other subjects, especially at this period the country needed moral rejuvenation and character development. In the centre of the criticisms are mostly the adherents of Islam and Christianity, the nation’s two prominent religions. But, NERDC, the proponent of the curriculum, listed the other subjects merged to form the new Religious and National Values as Civic Education, Social Studies and Security Studies, which it claimed will be taught from primary school all through the junior secondary school. The rationale behind the new title, according to a source at the NERDC, was not only to address the challenge of the overloaded syllabuses in schools, but to also emphasize the importance of values in the education system. The source, who craved anonymity, expressed surprise at the criticisms, even as he noted that the development is not new but that it has been in operation since 2012. The source explained: “The de-

kayode olanrewaju Editor, education

kayode olanrewaju@ newtelegraphonline.com

Cross section of school pupils

Outcry over revised UBE curriculum ●Catholic, MURIC seek suspension ●It’s a product of wide consultation, says NERDC velopment was in response to the call for review of the perceived heavy workload for pupils in Basic 1 to Basic 9, and the urgent need to emphasise national values. Before the implementation, the curriculum passed through the three necessary stages of writing, critiquing and editorial, before it was eventually approved by the National Council on Education (NCE), which comprised all the state Commissioners for Education and the Education Minister, as Chairman. “So it is unfair for anyone to say he is not aware of the curriculum because throughout the formulation stages, relevant stakeholders were carried along.” However, four years into its acclaimed implementation, many teachers in the primary and junior secondary school levels, including the Second National Vice-President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr. Saka Adesiyan, who spoke to New Telegraph, denied knowledge of the new curriculum. According to Adesiyan, except the government is at the pilot phase of the implementation, he can conveniently say that such a policy is yet to be implemented in many states of the Federation. He added that as a member of the national leadership of the teachers’ union, he was in a vantage position to know about the new curriculum, but chided the government for what

Adamu

Our policy makers love to build castles in the air

he described as the poor attitude of neglecting key stakeholders in policy making processes in the education system. Adesiyan said: “It is unfortunate that in this country the government usually places the cart before the horse. We make too many policies that even before we complete the implementation of one, another one would have been introduced. Meanwhile, these policy makers hardly know anything about what they are introducing because once they sit under a tree sipping wine, they stumble on ideas and without sieving it properly, especially in view of its modalities and implementation, they introduce it to the system without seeking experts’ opinion. “I may not know much about this new policy, maybe the National President will do, but I doubt if the National Secretariat of NUT knows about this.” But, when New Telegraph contacted the National President of NUT, Comrade Michael AlogbaOlukoya on phone to seek further clarification on the matter, he said he would call back, to clarify. However, as at the time of filing this report, he was yet to call back or attempt to make any clarification on the issues. Meanwhile, the Nigeria Book Fair Trust (NBFT), the umbrella body of major stakeholders in the nation’s book industry, compris-

ing booksellers, publishers, printers, authors and librarians, among others, which claimed that it was aware of the new curriculum, said it strongly advised the planners against the modalities adopted. Speaking at a briefing ahead of its 2016 edition of the annual international book fair, scheduled to hold next month at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the leadership of the group lamented what it described as the confusion the development has caused the book publishers in the country. The immediate past Chairman of the NBFT, Mr. Samuel Kolawole, said publishers were initially told to make a single text containing syllabuses for each of the merged subjects including IRK and CRK, and that students taking either of the CRK or IRK could read, whichever they preferred. “Not long after, apparently in response to criticisms by stakeholders, the government came back asking us to revert to the old system of publishing the books separately. That is inconsistency at its peak. Why should pupils be made to buy books they do not require for their learning?” Kolawole argued. Consequently, the Catholic Arch Diocese of Lagos, in a recent statement issued on the matter, strongly condemned the policy in its entirety, demanding for its immediate suspension and reversion to the hitherto existing status quo ante. The statement, which was entitled: “New Education Curriculum: We Are Watching,” and which was signed by the Director of Social Communication for the Diocese, Monsignor Gabriel Osu, said the policy could only further heighten the religious tension in the country, particularly with the ongoing unending war with the violent Boko Haram sect. The statement reads in part: CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

education

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Rector restates commitment to foster collaboration Kayode Olanrewaju

ector, Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu, Mr. Samuel Oluyinka Sogunro has reiterated the readiness of the polytechnic to foster linkages and collaboration with organizations and institutions that are committed to the delivery of functional technology education, research and community service. This is as he said such collaboration had become necessary to reposition the polytechnic to meeting its core mandates, and leapfrog Lagos State to its technology destination in line with the dreams and aspirations of its founding fathers. The rector spoke during the 24th convocation ceremony of the institution, which opened its doors to the first set of 287 students in January 1978 in five

Don tasks FG to ban sexenhancing drugs Musa Pam Jos

orried by the proliferation of sex enhancing drugs and energy drinks in the country, a don and Professor of Neuropharmacology and Toxicology at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Jos (UNIJOS), Noel Nenman Wannang, has called on the Federal Government to place a total ban on their advertisement and sales. This is as he wondered that the country has become a dumping ground for contaminated foods and drugs of which its business is unfortunately booming. While saying that research from NAFDAC has shown that some of the drugs had been banned in other nations, he lamented that such drugs still have their ways into the country, even with high patronage and its attendant damage. Wannang, who is the first Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the University of Jos and also the first pharmacy graduate of the university to rise to a Professor, made the call during the 78th inaugural lecture of the university. The theme of the lecture was: “Suicide by Installment; A Tale of Poisophilicity,” held at the Law Auditorium of the university of Jos. He, therefore, cautioned that appropriate legislation with implementation strategies should be put in place, especially on some drugs and foods items imported into the country. The don urged the Federal Government to make frantic efforts on health promotion especially now that life expectancy in the country is nose-driving. “What is clear for now is that we tend to neglect and despise natural foods such as fruits and vegetables because of social status in the society and affluence, but the real irony here is that these vegetables and fruits which we often neglect increase erection in males, as a sure signal for fertility and reproduction.” He added.

departments, and currently has a student enrolment of 25,250 students in its full-time and parttime National Diploma (ND) and the National Higher Diploma (HND) in 66 accredited academic programmes in the seven schools run by the polytechnic. Under this programme, he recalled that the polytechnic has fostered strategic collaboration with the National Automotive Council (NAC) in which the construction of a N1 billion Automotive Emission Testing Centre is about to be completed at Ikorodu main campus of the institution. Similarly, Sogunro added that other partnership is with South Korea Embassy, under which two members of academic staff of the institution are currently on a study trip to South Korea; and Israeli Embassy, which the polytechnic is working with towards the estab-

Sogunro

lishment of a High-Tech Centre, among others. The polytechnic, as part of plans to improve its level of infrastructure, at the occasion launched a N5 billion endowment funds, which according to the rector, is aimed at constructing an administrative

building complex, ultra-modern medical centre, establishment of Fire Sub-station, students hostels, 50-room resort centre, intensification of research activities in the areas of Biomass to power projects 250KW, intelligent Traffic Light Control System and Domestic Bio-Gas Digester (Renewable Energy), among others. Despite this, the rector listed some of the giant leap of the polytechnic under his watch in the past one year to include the four cardinal thrust of his administration, especially in the areas of Students’ Empowerment Programmes. “In fact, there is the Compulsory Computer Education Programme and Students’ Entrepreneurship Scheme, which are vital part of our academic programme,” the rector said. Meanwhile, no fewer than 8,519 graduating students, the

Gregory varsity to establish College of Law

Ibe (2nd right) and other management team of the university during inspection of the facilities

Religious crisis looms over revised UBE curriculum C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

“Education cannot thrive in a dictatorship. For, in a land so ruled, the government and its officials determine what is to be taught and what is not to be taught, who teaches and who does not without reference to those whose wards are on the receiving end. Experts without political connections are ignored, while their competence is left untapped in a country that needed them. When education is in shambles, authentic development is impeded and where authentic development is absent, poverty is present; and where poverty is present, insecurity prevails. “There is glowing relationship between injuries inflicted on education in this country by successive governments and the current situation of economic deprivation, insurgency and generalized lawlessness. The solution cannot be found in an omnibus (gbogbonise) subject that would confuse and compel young and impressionable minds to take existential decisions in matters of religion at an age when they are not equipped to take such decisions.” In a similar development, the

rector hinted had been wellgroomed, adequately trained and highly enterprising, and who are worthy in learning and character, received their scrolls for the award of ND and HND in various disciplines required for socio-economic development of the country. The Best Overall student in HND, and who led the pack, Babalola Omosalewa Adnike (HND) Biochemistry with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.0 points, was offered automatic employment by the rector after her one-year compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. In her valedictory speech, she advised her fellow graduating students to brace up for the challenges and realities of the current socio-economic situation in the country, where there is no employment opportunities for the fresh graduates.

Muslim Rights Concern (MRC), an Islamic organisation, has also kicked against the new curriculum, citing various reasons including constitutional provisions. According to the group’s Coordinator and Professor of Islamic Studies at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ishaq Akintola, the new curriculum, rather than addressing the challenge of value system, will add to the nation’s moral and spiritual challenges. He said: “Our policy makers love to build castles in the air. They also love to entangle the citizenry in the abyss of complicated conceptualization. Why not make things as simple as possible for everybody to understand? Why are we always changing from one policy to another like a chameleon? We have lost count of the number of times the Federal Ministry of Education has changed the curriculum. “We are, therefore, constrained to put it to the Federal Ministry of Education that its purported plan to merge CRK, IRK and Civic Education into one subject is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional. The plan should therefore be put in abeyance.” A teacher of Civic Education

in one of Lagos State secondary schools, Mr. Olatunde Falodun described the curriculum as “alien,” saying as a teacher of Civic Education, he had never heard of such curriculum merger, or taught anything like Religious and National Values as a distinct subject. “This is strange and what I know is that the curriculum is not being implemented in Lagos State. That is what I know and which I can tell you,” he said. But in an interview with New Telegraph, one of the facilitators that trained teachers on the new curriculum and a lecturer at the Department of Educational Management at the University of Lagos, Dr. Jacob Adeyanju, said the policy document actually came into being in 2013 and the implementation started in 2014. He said the new curriculum was not different from what used to be in operation in the past, but has only further confused the already destabilised system. Adeyanju, however, recalled how he and other trainers were almost attacked by some irate Muslim teachers, who he said frowned at the subject merger, during one of the training sessions on the curriculum in Kaduna State.

ll arrangements have been concluded by the authorities of Gregory University, Uturu (GUU), Abia State to establish a College of Law for the private university. This cheering news was broken by the Chairman of the Project Implementation Committee, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu after an inaugural meeting of the committee, which took place at Justice Izima Council Chambers of the private university. Ojukwu, who lauded the visionary leadership of the founder and Chancellor of the university, Dr. Gregory Ibe, said his vision, “has led to the establishment of many sought-after programmes in the institution such as Engineering, Medicine and Environmental Sciences.” He promised to ensure that the College of Law would rank among the best in the country. Speaking, while conducting the members of the committee round the project site, the Chancellor assured the committee of the preparedness of the university management to ensure strict compliance to operative standards guiding the establishment of the college as stipulated by the National Universities Commission (NUC). While inaugurating the committee at a ceremony preceded by the meeting of the University Board of Trustees and Governing Council, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Mr. Ebele Okeke, an engineer, lauded the Chancellor for the on-going massive infrastructural development in the institution, even as he urged the management not to relent on their determination.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Edo varsity to address lopsidedness in higher institution’s location –Commissioner

Interview | education

The establishment of Edo State University located in Iyahmo, the home town of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, has raised a lot of dust, especially as it is coming in the twilight of his administration. In this interview with CAJETAN MMUTA, the state’s Education Commissioner, Mr. Gideon Obhakhan, explains some of the knotty issues, including examination malpractices, among other issues. Recently, the National Universities Commission (NUC) approved the license of the new Edo University at Iyamho. What does this mean to the state? It is good news for Edo State Government and the people because what that means is that the number of schools where we can educate our people has increased. And indeed, for a state that prides itself in education that will always be good news because it would have been sad if the approval was not given. It also shows that from what the NUC met on ground they were satisfied that that institution could provide quality education for people of Edo State and beyond. But the approval has elicited reactions from members of the public and critics of the policy. Well, I am not aware there is any law that determines the number of universities that a state should have. And, as far as I am concerned, the more the better because if you look at the number of universities that you have mentioned today the number of people who apply to them are not admitted. What that means is that the number of universities today in the state is not sufficient otherwise the people applying into all the schools would have been admitted. So, as a state government one of the responsibilities that we have is to provide qualitative education which is one of the social responsibilities of any government; to provide education, to provide welfare and to provide security. So, if the number of schools that we have cannot admit everybody, then the more the merrier. The university is coming at the twilight of this administration; will that not affect its take-off? The take-off will be very soon. Very likely it is going to be this month because students have already gone through the processes of qualifying examination and advertisements like you are aware have been placed in some national dailies for recruitment of lecturers, non-academic staff and the level of construction work that has been done in the institution in terms of hostel facilities and lecture halls we are ready to take off. After all we have secured the nod of NUC to go ahead. As a new university how many academic programmes and faculties is it

taking off with? Well, the plan is to take all these one after the other. I am sure of five academic programmes. We have about five faculties for a start but we are starting with three faculties now. They are: the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences. As we progress and get more facilities on ground and secure accreditation for the courses, we begin to expand. Our target is to make the institution a world class university where people can get quality education. The people of the state are agitated why is the governor establishing a university when he is about to leave office? Like I said there is really no law that determines where and when a university should be established. The university is not tied to the governor, because governance is a continuum; it is not a birthright, it is not a personal property. So, just as he is building schools and roads in the state, he is also building hospitals, what is the difference between the university and all the other infrastructural development that are currently happening in Edo State? The governor is still building and questions are now being asked about why is it now that he is leaving that he is establishing a university. The governor has been working from day one and he couldn’t stop because he wants to leave. However, wherever he stops, the next governor will continue. That is why you can’t really hold the governor responsible as a person, but as a governor of a state. He is only occupying a seat and the timing is obviously aligned with the resources at any point in time. He couldn’t have done everything at the same time. One of the governorship aspirants in the state has alleged that the funds sunk into the institution was inflated. How will you react to this? Okay, I have heard that rumours about what the aspirant has been saying. I believe the aspirant you are referring to is Pastor Ize-Iyamu because it is in the papers and there is nothing to hide about which aspirant said what. The first thing is, normally, I wouldn’t want to glorify any comment that I can consider as rumour because there is no truth in what he is saying. But to put it on paper, let us assume that what he is saying is correct, what we are looking at is what

We have laid the foundation because the evidence is there

is the value you are getting from the investment. You know when people prop up figures like N12 billion or N30 billion, what you should look at is why are you spending N30 billion or N12 billion on the institution, but the question is what is the value that you are getting from the money you are spending; what is the value you are getting from the money? Is it better to spend three hundred and sixty million on a juice making factory that will never take off and later sell off as a government? Or it is better to spend N12 billion on infrastructure that delivers value that is more than the N12 billion. These questions must be asked properly and because of politics people are looking for governorship position they now want to whip up sentiments. What is the percentage of the funding in terms of the public-private-partnership, and how much is spent to upgrade facilities in Ambrose Alli University and Tayo Akpata University? I am not aware of the percentage in terms of the PPP. I am not aware that the institution is supposed to be under Public-Private-Partnership. As far as I know it is owned by the state government. Again, in terms of comparison with the Ambrose Alli University and Tayo Akpata University, the truth is that when you talk about comparison you talk about why the government didn’t spend the money here or there. In economics, we talk about opportunity cost, scarce resources. So, it is not possible for you to spend the same amount of money in all your institutions at the same time. From the planning stage, we must begin to create centres of excellence. And indeed, what we have done so far is actually raising the infrastructure from the level of decay that we met it about eight years ago. If you go to a place and find out that the roofs in the schools are dilapidated

and the walls are broken, you are not going to start to focus on teaching materials in a building without a roof, you must be fooling yourself. So, the first reasonable thing to do is to upgrade the infrastructure, make sure that the environment is conducive for learning, and then you can begin to talk about building the institution in terms of quality of teachers, provision of learning materials so as to create centres of excellence. We have laid the foundation because the evidence is there; we have seen the red roof revolution. In the same university, AAU that you are citing as an example, the subvention has moved from N100 million to N254 million on monthly basis, despite the scarce resources that we are talking about. So, our target is that why don’t we begin new centres of excellence and ensure that we take it to the best level it can be and the next governor can take it over from there. The state is being used as miracle centres during examinations for candidates from other states and this has affected the image of the state. What is the state government doing to redeem its image in the education sector? As far as I know there is no miracle centre in Edo State and in the report I was given last year in terms of cases of malpractices during examinations, from about 24 per cent in 2007, when issue of malpractice was high, it has come down to less than two per cent today, and our target is to ensure that it comes down to zero per cent. So, if you talk about examination malpractice in Edo State, the state last year came second in NECO Senior School Certificate Examination and third in WAEC examination. Of course, improvement has been noticed and we are putting in efforts to ensure that the level of performance is increased.

education | public discourse UNILAG’S PROSCRIption of STUDENTS’ UNIONISM

Olaniyan: Agitation’ll continue with or without undertaking

the reason for the protest and till date, the management has remained unyielding. Now, they have pronounced our union suspended and that we have to sign an undertaking. Our parents and guardians are to sign indemnity forms before we (students) could be readmitted into the institution, failure of which we would not be allowed to write examinations. This is very unfor-

Plateau varsity admits 744 pioneer students Musa Pam Jos

Muhammed Olaniyan is the President of the suspended students’ union of the University of Lagos, Akoka igning of an undertaking cannot and will not stop protests on campuses. This is because there will still be decisions that the management will take which students will definitely not be in agreement with. For instance, our plight at the University of Lagos right now is a case of insensitivity to the welfare of the students on the part of our management, that was

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

tunate because the reasons for the protests are yet to be fully addressed. Therefore, protests cannot be curbed on Nigerian campuses by merely asking students to sign undertakings. The issues of students’ welfare must first be addressed such as hostel facilities and the provision of municipal facilities including power and water.

Soweto: Banning students’ union will breed cultism

lateau State University, Bokkos has admitted its first set of 744 students for 2015/ 2016 academic into the 17 academic programme approved for the institution by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the agency supervising university education in the country. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Doknan Sheni said the matriculating students were admitted into the four faculties; the faculty of Art, Social Science, Management Science, Natural & Applied Science, which took place at the Bokkos main campus. He said out of the 3,724 candidates that applied into the institution for admission in the 2015/ 2016 academic year, 744 students were offered admission, due to the increase in the carrying capacity of the university from 1,000 to 1,150 students as approved by NUC and the Join Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). “With the accreditation of 17 aca-

demic programmes of the university,” the vice-chancellor insisted that “our graduates could now go for the oneyear compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).” Sheni noted that as a state-owned institution, the management is determined to admit best brains across the country, saying: “Our policy of admission is still to include at least 10 indigenes from each Local Government Council of the state. We expect the Chairmen of the 17 Local Government Council would identify such students with poor socio-economic background and send the list to the vicechancellor for admission.” The vice-chancellor, who thanked the National Universities Commission and Governor Simon Lalong for establishing the institution, however, warned the matriculating students to shun cultism, examination malpractice and any act of indiscipline in the institution. He assured the students that the university management under his leadership would do everything in his capacity to make the learning process conducive and to bring the institution into limelight.

Hassan Taiwo Soweto is the National Coordinator of the Education Rights Concern (ERC).

n situations like this, signing an undertaking by students has never resolved conflicts. Rather, it will only encourage cultism which I am afraid it appears as what the University of Lagos management is more comfortable with instead of a thriving mass-based and democratic students’ union. The latter has potential of challenging au-

thorities’ anti-poor policy in a legally manner. I am convinced this ban on UNILAG students’ union as well as the undertaking oath by the students is uncalled for, illegal and despotic. It is an attack on democracy, an assault on freedom of expression and association. With the undertaking oath, UNILAG authorities are set to tie the hands of its students so that they can never dare to oppose any of its anti-

students education policies. What the management is doing is similar to the penchant of Sani Abacha’s military junta to silence any expression of opposition from the citizens. Universities are citadel of learning and not military barracks. We will fight alongside the students to oppose this proscription, re-absorption oath and other planned victimisation with every legitimate means at our disposal.

Labaika: Decision’ll worsen situation

Mr. Kazeem Labaika is the Assistant Secretary, Lagos State chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC)

he first issue is that Vice-Chancellors do not have the right to ban students’ unionism because the freedom of association is guaranteed in the Constitution. The second issue is that rather than addressing the problem, proscription of students’ unions all over the world have always complicated the situations as long as the things that caused the unrests are left unaddressed. The best solution, which I will recommend for the leaders not only on our campuses, but all those holding leadership

positions, is to ensure that all issues that could lead to frictions are addressed in a mature manner. Students are no animals, there is no way you can provide them with stable power supply, water and other basic facilities and you think they will still flood the streets, that is just not possible. But, when you refuse to prioritise the students’ needs and instead the mangers of these institutions are living in comfort at the students’ expense, then you cannot fault the students for engaging in protests. Part of the challenges

facing the nation’s new generation is the orientation of the military era, where freedom of association was not guaranteed and everyone had to struggle to get what they wanted. It is that culture that has refused to leave us as a nation and people, but our leaders should know that conflicts are societal and solutions are also in dialogue but as long as they deny the students’ opportunities to associate the result may not be too good for our society.

Elder stateman and former MD of the defunct Federal Mortgage Bank, Chief Samuel Falegan (right) during the presentation of some of his books to the VC of Ekiti State University, Prof. Samuel Bandele.

Old students pledge support for alma mater Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

ld students of the Remo Secondary School (RSS), Sagamu, Ogun State, under the aegis of 74-79 set, last week returned to their alma mater with the pledge to uplift the school with quality infrastructure and education facilities. It was at the Annual General Meeting and awards ceremony organised by the set, which took place on the school premises. While restating their commitment to reposition the school, the old students challenged well-meaning indi-

viduals and corporate organisation to complement government’s efforts in the education sector. The highpoint of the event was conferment of award to no fewer than six old students of the school in recognition of their exemplary contributions to the development of the alma mater. The President of the set, Lanre Solarin said that education was too important to be left alone to the government, saying that with the current situation of the country, private individuals need to contribute their quota, especially through the provision of classrooms and other facilities to make education more qualitative and accessible to the citizenry.

New Registrar for UNIJOS

Musa Pam Jos

new Registrar has been appointed for the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State. He is Mr. Monday Danjen, who until his appointment was the Deputy Registrar in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office. The appointment, according to a statement signed by the Principal Assistant Registrar, Information and Publications for the university, Abdullahi Abdullahi and made available to New Telegraph, said the appointment will take effect from June 24, 2016, fol-

lowing the approval of the university Governing Council based on the report of the Selection Board raised for the appointment of a substantive Registrar for the university. According to the statement, Danjen, a career university administrator succeeded Mr. Danjuma Jilli-Dandam, whose tenure expires on the June 23. The new Registrar is to served for a single term of five years. Born 52 years ago, Danjen obtained his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Public Administration from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in 1990 and Masters Degree also in Public Administration from the University of Jos.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

campus

Ekiti varsity plans hostels for students T

his will be cheering news to the students of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), AdoEkiti: Beginning from next academic session, fresh and final year students will now live on campus when the hostels under construction are completed. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Samuel Oye Bandele, who broke the news during a media briefing and declared that having realised the students’ challenges, especially as it concerned lack of hostel accommodation the university is battling with, the management swung to action to build hostels blocks for the students in order to accommodate them on campus. Bandele, however, stressed that the idea was in line with the vision to transform the university to a citadel of academic excellence, saying on completion of the hostel facilities, it would be compulsory for fresh and final year students to live on campus. The vice-chancellor said that the university has a lot of human resources with ideas, skills and knowledge at its disposal that could easily be turned to wealth with the right implementation, adding that the two summits organised recently on academic and internally revenue generation have gone a long way in bringing this to the fore. Bandele, who said that the university’s Part-Time Programme has now undergone total overhaul through the removal of the corrupt elements from the system, however, noted: “Integrity is now being recognised as a norm and there will no longer be room for manipulation of results anymore.”

The student photographers with the anniversary cake.

Club celebrates anniversary amid fanfare Eddy Uwoghiren UNIBEN

mid fanfare, members of the Students’ Photography Enthusiasts Club (SPEC), University of Benin (UNIBEN) chapter, last week rolled out the drums to celebrate the first anniversary of their club. The event, which took place at the Orchard of the Faculty of Social Sciences, marked a turning point in the existence of the club, which was established to equip the students and train them in the new trend of photography. While welcoming the students, fondly referred to as photographers and other guests to the event, Chux Anthony, a Final Year student of Medical Physiology and Founder of the club, said that the club has every cause to cel-

ebrate in view of its achievements in the past one year. He added that the need to sound the club a year ago was borne out of the desire to connect student photographers with their peers in other institutions and to avail them the platform to interact and air their voice on campus, especially on issues affecting their welfare and operations. Despite all odds, Anthony expressed delight that membership of the club has continued to increase in number and strength. He said: “Barely a year ago, the thought of forming this club became imperative following the harassment of the university security operatives, who made it so difficult for members of the club to practice photography as they ought to be. Meanwhile, forming a club and registering it with the university, we believe that the harassment would stop. There

is complaint of mass unemployment in the country, but with SPEC in place, the students’ photographers can now earn income from their profession while still in school. In the past one year, our membership has increased, while we train ourselves about the different genres of photography and editing of photographs as well as organise training programmes on campus.” On the club’s plans in the next one year, Anthony added: “Our plan is to establish SPEC in other universities, but our plan is to first reach institutions around UNIBEN such as the Ambrose Alli University, Benson Idahosa University and Igbinedion University in Okada. We are also looking forward to organise a national

Bauchi

uniben

DVC Prof Ezemwonye shaking footballers from Bimgham University at the opening ceremony

UNIBEN wins 2016 National Medical Students games UNIBEN Sports Complex, the Vice-Chancellor, who was represented by his Deputy in charge of Administration, Prof. Lawrence Ezemwonye, cautioned the students to desist from shunning sporting activities as a result of their busy academic schedule. He stated that the era of medical students shying away from sporting activities was long past, urging them to desist from triangular lifestyle by looking beyond the stethoscope

to employ other legitimate ways of eking out a living, which sports is one of them. Ezenwonye, who called on administrators of medical colleges not to discourage the students from participating in sports by not fixing lectures and tutorials to coincide with sporting hours in line with the National Universities Commission (NUC) policy, noted that such act was detrimental to the well-being of the students.

photography exhibition, where we will connect with other student photographers and artists in the country and beyond. On social media in UNIBEN, we hope to make our presence better felt than we did in the past one year.” The high point of the event were the cutting of the anniversary cake and launching of the SPEC magazine, as well as election of executive members of the club. In the election, Osahon Evbowman was elected the President of the club to pilot its affairs for the next one year and to consolidate on its activities. The anniversary celebration, which was fun filled featured games, wining and dining, as well as entertainment of the

Corps member renovates classroom block in Bauchi Nankpah Bwakan

Eddy Uwoghiren and Ekene Ahaneku he curtains were last week lowered on the 16th Biennial National Medical Students’ Games with the University of Benin (UNIBEN) leading the pack of the medal table. The sporting fiesta, organised by the University of Benin Medical Students’ Association, had over 22 medical schools in attendance with no fewer than 1,500 participants across Nigerian universities. The Akin Deko Auditorium of UNIBEN, the venue of the games, was a beehive of activities, where participants, who trooped there as early as 10 am on Monday, underwent online screening to ascertain their studentship and to checkmate use of machineries in the competition. After the accreditation exercise, the students assembled at the Medical Hostel football pitch for a welcome party that spanned late into the night. In his keynote address, while flagging off the competition during the opening ceremony, which took place at the Hockey Pitch,

he hardship pupils of Government Day Primary, Junior, Senior Secondary School, Gwallamji, Bauchi pass through to acquire education is now a thing of the past. Thanks to a newly renovated dilapidated classroom block by a corps member, Igbinoba Avahenhen Osarhiemen, who is undertaking his compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state. While handing over the project to the school management, Osarhiemen, a Batch ‘A’ corps member deployed to the school for his primary assignment, said the gesture was borne out of his feelings about the poor state of facilities in the school. “When I stepped into the school environment the very day I was posted to the school, I felt bad because of the dilapidated condition of the school,” he recalled. He said right from that time he made up his mind that he would renovate a block of classroom in the school before the end of the service year to serve as his legacy. According to him, his decision to renovate the school was

as a result of his desire to impact meaningfully on the lives of the pupils as part of his contribution to improve the standard of teaching and learning in the school. Osarhiemen, who regretted that before the renovation of the classroom block the students were sitting on the floor to receive lessons, recalled how devastated he was the first day he stepped into one of the classrooms to teach due to the poor condition under which the pupils were learning. He said: “I felt the need to impact on the lives of the pupils of Government Day Primary, Junior, Senior Secondary School, Gwallamgi, Bauchi State, who are learning under a very terrible condition. Over the years, the school had been denied approval as a centre for the National Examination Council (NECO) and West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) examinations.” While commissioning the block, the District Head of Birshi, Isa Chiroma Birshi commended the corps member and urged the people of Birshi community to rise up to the challenge of renovating other blocks of classrooms and build new ones, even as he noted that the government alone cannot provide all the needs in the education sector.

education

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

VC to varsity: Proffer solution to nation’s economic woes

call has gone to the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), named after the Second Republic Governor of old Ondo State, late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, to lead the pack in the quest for solving and moving the country out of its present economic quagmire. Its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, made the call, while declaring open the one-day workshop on: “Aggressive Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Drive,” organised by the university management as part of efforts to boost and shore up its internally generated revenue base, and to address the nation’s prevalent fiscal challenges. He said: “As a knowledgebased institution, a university should be a solution ground for the various challenges confronting the country, par-

ticularly the current nagging economic woes betiding the nation. “I, therefore, challenge Adekunle Ajasin University to lead the nation in its resolve to finding lasting solution to the economic strain facing the country. Indeed, I am convinced that the university is replete with the human resources and intellectual potential to achieve this. I urge that we put on our thinking cap and provide ingenious solutions to the numerous challenges.” According to Ajibefun, the one-day talk-shop was organised as a platform for charting a new course for the university and to help in boosting its internally generated revenue. The vice-chancellor added: “This workshop is organised deliberately for members of the university community to interact on issues bordering on the prevailing economic

hardship in the country by putting heads together to brainstorm and chart a new path for the university, as well as help to amplify its internally generated revenue. “The economic challenge confronting the country in one way or the other is greatly affecting us as an institution, and whatever affects the university invariably affects us as individual members of the institution. Now is not the time for complaints, regrets or blame game, but a time to rise up collectively to shape the university’s destiny for the better.” The workshop, which was coordinated and moderated by the Director of the Advancement Office of the university and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Francis Oyebade, was segmented into syndicate groups for effective deliberation.

The pupils at the event

hy does the country have aversion for promoting History and Liberal Arts, which mirror the society? Why is the country relegating History as a school subject, with high concentration on material culture such as technology, as if history and liberal arts are antithetical to modernity? These were some of the questions the pupils and teachers of Skyflyers International Schools, Ibafo in Ogun State, raised and seeking answers during the 2016 edition of Arts/Social Science Week, organised by the school. This is as they called on the government at all levels and policy makers to re-adjust the national curriculum to embrace History and other Liberal Arts subjects.

Proprietor bemoans relegation of History in school curriculum The week-long activities featured choral rendition by the school choir, choreography, inter-schools debate, inter-schools quiz, drama, students’ media rendezvous, creative art exhibition and a lecture on “Relevance of Arts/Social Science in a Technological Age.” According to the Founder/ Proprietor of the schools, Mr. Chijioke Asuoha, bemoaned the relegation of History in the school curriculum, tracing it to the introduction of the UPE in 1977, when subjects such as History, Geography and Civics were merged into Social Studies.

“This was the genesis of History’s match to extinction at all levels of education, and at present History is almost non-existent in secondary and tertiary institutions,” he said. In his lecture on: “Relevance of Arts/Social Science in a Technological Age,” Asuoha expressed dismay at the level of disdain the subjects and other liberal arts subjects are been treated, saying even at the tertiary institution level, Faculty of Humanities are not accorded any attention, as academic research in this field and not only encourage, but treated with contempt.

Nasarawa poly pledges adequate security on campus Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

he Rector, Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, Dr. Silas Gyar, has pledged the commitment of the management to collaborate with security agencies in the state to protect lives and property of the polytechnic community, within campus and outside the campus.

He made the pledge during the matriculation of the polytechnic, where no fewer than 2,107 fresh students admitted into the state polytechnic, undertook the oath of allegiance of the institution to be of good behaviour. Gyar, however, warned the fresh men and women to shun all forms of social vices such as cultism and examination malpractice that could brought their education to an abrupt

end at the institution. The Rector further advised them to be of good behaviour and avoid acts that could jeopardise their academic activities, even as he hinted that the polytechnic, which has zero tolerance for anti-social behaviour and activities, would not hesitate to show any student or group of students found culpable in involving in any of the acts the way out.

EDUPEACE

with Mahfouz A. Adedimeji (08066372516, sms only)

 Dr Adedimeji is a Senior Lecturer and Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, Unilorin

El-Rufai’s post, Reza’s comedy

his Sunday (April 24, 2016), Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s post on Facebook made my day. The Action Governor wrote: “The most vicious evils in the world have been perpetrated by those who believe with absolute certainty that what they think is the right way is the only way. We must open our minds to the possibility that our long held beliefs may not be correct. In this constantly evolving world, we must listen to all views and evaluate them to increase the chances of getting public policy right. May God Guide and Guard us aright. Amen.” We cannot live happily in the world without conceding our views and opinions on some occasions in order to achieve something bigger. This message is apt because much of the problems we have in the world would be solved or averted if we don’t believe that our own way is the only way and our own truth is the absolute truth. Just as one man’s meat is another man’s poison, one man’s truth is another man’s fallacy. There is nothing we can do about that. Governor El Rufai’s post summarises the message that struck me on January 27, 2006 at Illinois Theater Center through Yesmina Reza’s comedy (translated by Christopher Hampton as “Art”). As part of a course, “American Culture and Media”, I was there with a few colleagues and our Professor to see the play on stage. The message was touching and it is worth sharing. Reza’s “Art” is about three middle-aged friends, Serge, Marc and Ivan. The bone of contention among them is a work of art, from which the play is given its title. Serge has just bought what appears to be a useless white-onwhite painting for hundreds of dollars, which he proudly shows to his friend, Marc. Marc looks at the “painting” with contempt because he can see nothing there. He does not hide his feelings to let his friend know that he has wasted his money on buying a piece of nothing. Serge, however, believes that he has made a “best buy” and tries to let Serge see the beauty of his latest collection. Marc, on the other hand, attempts to make his friend understand that what he has bought is worthless. The burden that rests on Ivan is to mediate between the two, persuading both parties to be less assertive in their views. There is a good message in the character of Ivan as a mediator: he does not take sides; there cannot be effective conflict resolution when the mediator or arbiter is biased. The arguments reach a climax as the two friends want to achieve superiority with their fists. The good Ivan would

No one is a monopoly of wisdom and it is not in all instances that we are right not allow this childishness to happen and prevents the fight as he becomes the victim of thrown punches. The injuries he sustains distract the combatants who have to apologise to their friend and thereby allow their rising tempers to simmer down. It is at this point that Marc “sees” what Serge is trying to portray. The blank painting at the end of the day is a symbolic representation of the wide space and the peace that permeates it. In that blank painting, the audience too can “see” a happy young man skiing down the broad plain that is at the same time a snowfilled cliff at the next moment. In essence, as Marc realises and as the audience is also made to believe, there is always something in what may appear to be nothing. Even zero is an important number, not just nothing. The key to friendship and harmony is attaining concord, to a large extent, even if just to please the other and avoiding discord and unnecessary antagonism. If Serge is much concerned about a piece of art for which he has paid a lot of money, Marc has nothing to lose by making his friend feel good that he has bought a treasure. After all, as it is said, “beauty is in the eyes of a beholder.” In essence, both Governor ElRufai’s post and Reza’s comedy are pointing towards the same direction. No one is a monopoly of wisdom and it is not in all instances that we are right. This is why we should be open-minded enough at every instance to receive alternative ideas to complement ours. The sky is wide enough for all birds to fly without collision. That you are right does not automatically mean I am wrong. The sky can be white; it can also be blue. The end-result of our misplaced priority is the dark cloud of tension, conflict and war that pervades the global horizon. Flying to the space will be meaningless if the earth is not made conducive for its inhabitants through the cultivation of friendship, camaraderie, compromise and cooperation. It is part of education that we realise that ego is the only requirement that can destroy any relationship. We should always be bigger by skipping the “E” and letting “GO” of issues that degenerate into hair-splitting antagonisms in interpersonal relationships.

BUSINESS |Money Line

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Analysts fault FG on import substitution policy

ANXIETY CBN forex restrictions hurt firms Stories by Tony Chukwunyem

nalysts at Financial Derivatives Company Ltd (FDC) have urged the Federal Government to review its import substitution policy, stating that the strategy as currently implemented, will not effectively address the country’s economic challenges. In a note issued at the weekend, the analysts pointed out that Nigeria’s high import content was mainly responsible for the depletion of the nation’s external reserves, the attendant crisis in the foreign exchange market as well as the crippling of the manufacturing industry. According to the experts,

it was in order to address this problem that the government developed an import substitution strategy, which supports the country’s manufacturing sector and involved the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introducing a policy that limits access to foreign exchange. They, however, stated that while, “The intent is noble, there are many factors that relevant authorities must consider to ensure that import substitution is effective, and that it does not lead to unnecessary economic woes for Nigerian businesses.” The analysts noted, “Many businesses, especially those that require key imported raw materials, are still counting losses incurred due to the CBN’s forex restriction. Additionally, the broad based import substitution that is being implemented in Nigeria lacks the focus neces-

IMF: Côte d’Ivoire tops Africa’s fastest growing economies

ith an expected growth rate of 8.5 per cent for 2016, Côte d’Ivoire will be the fastest growing economy in Africa, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook. Côte d’Ivoire’s economy has benefited from government policies and structural reforms, which have resulted in strong inclusive growth and has increased both private and

public investments, according to the World Bank. Placed second is Tanzania with a projected growth rate of just under 7 per cent and Senegal completing the top three with 6.6 per cent. According to the World Economic Forum, Africa’s positive economic outlook is under pressure with the growth rate expected to remain just under 5 per cent. Foreign direct investment flows are expected

sary to develop a comparative trade advantage. As a result, any advancement in the manufacturing sector as a result of the programme will not be selfsustaining. Thus, it is imperative that the government has a clearly pragmatic approach towards import substitution and that it learns from countries that failed at successfully implementing import substitution”. They emphasised that even though import substitution would appear to be a viable strategy towards tackling import dependency and conserving foreign exchange, it does not always result in a positive out-come. As the analysts put it, “In general, countries that practice import substitution are usually characterised by trade protection and overvalued exchange rates, which increase domestic prices and make exports less to continue to grow, although at a slower pace. Rwanda has transformed dramatically since the 1994 genocide and is now placed 5th in the fastest growing African economies. The country is one of the continent’s most competitive economies and a top reformer in improving the business environment. Ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa in May, it is important to recognise the major challenges that many African economies face. Some of the major threats include commodities slump, currency devaluations and geo-security risks.

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 12.8 12 10.77 US$43.4 US$27,266,414,179

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 Mar, 2016 23/03/2016 Mar 2015 25/4/2016 22/4/2016

Source:CBN

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

FGN Bonds

TTM

Price 104.54 114.58 111.91 120.62 109.79 100.32 83.54 97.16

1.06 3.23 3.86 5.81 7.94 9.80 14.30 18.29

NIBOR

Rate (%) 4.2500 8.2420 10.1127 11.7162

Bid Yield 10.45 10.54 11.61 11.43 12.23 12.43 12.49 12.54

Change (%) -0.21 ▼ -0.87 ▼ -0.90 ▼ -0.66 ▼

Change (%) 0.07 ▲ -0.01 ▼ 0.01 ▲ -0.01 ▼ -0.04 ▼ 0.04 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 0.06 ▲

Price 104.69 114.88 112.21 120.92 110.09 100.62 83.84 97.46

Tenor (Months)

Offer Yield 10.30 10.44 11.52 11.36 12.18 12.38 12.44 12.50

Change (%) 0.07 ▲ -0.01 ▼ 0.01 ▲ -0.01 ▼ -0.04 ▼ 0.04 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 0.06 ▲

NITTY

Rate (%) 5.1731 6.4137 7.3300 8.8857 9.6247 10.5416

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Change (%) -1.82 ▼ -0.82 ▼ -0.75 ▼ -0.32 ▼ 0.04 ▲ 0.04 ▲

Money Market

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) 7.34 7.47 -0.35 ▼ Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 3.75 30-Jun-16 7.59 7.73 -0.35 ▼ 6-Oct-16 8.37 8.12 8.47 -0.24 ▼ Overnight (O/N) 4.25 8.74 -0.24 ▼ 16-Mar-17 9.40 10.32 0.04 ▲ 9.15 10.02 0.04 ▲

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.14

Offer 199.24

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

NIFEX

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.0000

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

196.00

197.00

0.00 ↔

Offer 199.1000

Change (%) -0.08 ▼ -0.08 ▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

competitive. As a result, import substitution countries are often unable to export enough to purchase required imports. Thus, government authorities restrict imports to certain essential goods while the currency is devalued to make imports more expensive and exports attractive. The economy faces budget deficits due to government spending on industrial investments outpacing its revenue. More money is printed to cover the budget deficit, thereby stoking inflation, making domestic goods more expensive and reducing exports further”. Besides, they said, “The current import substitution strategy in Nigeria seems to be borne out of fear and capricious thinking rather than clear economic rationalisation. For instance, the CBN’s shutting official access to forex for the importation of selected items uses import substitution as a smokescreen for the real exchange rate issue of currency misalignment and forex scarcity facing the country.

“In addition, rather than have a blanket policy towards import substitution and trade controls, a case by case approach that limits the importation of goods based on a comparative advantage analysis should be used. In essence, a temporary import substitution for select commodities in which Nigeria has potential comparative advantage should be pursued.” It will be recalled that in a report issued last February, Fitch Ratings had stated that Nigeria’s response to the global slump in oil prices has fiscal and growth risks. The agency said, “The Nigerian authorities’ recent economic policy announcements show the response to the oil price shock is coalescing around state-led development to boost economic growth and import substitution to blunt the effects of declining oil receipts. It is yet to be seen whether the associated measures will promote growth while containing fiscal pressures, but we believe there are a number of downside risks.”

‘Mainstreet Bank purchase’ll hurt Skye Bank’s 2015 earnings’

firm of financial analysts, Proshare Nigeria, has said that Skye Bank Plc may experience reduction in its earnings for the 2015 financial year. According to the firm, Skye Bank’s expensive acquisition of Mainstreet Bank and the high cost of integration of its IT platforms and processes would also drive up its operating expenses, as reflected in the bank’s high cost-to-income ratio, which was put at above 70 per cent as at the third quarter of 2015. Besides, the financial analysts said the bank had noted in its profit warning that the growing bad loans in oil and gas and real estate sectors hit the bank’s operations considerably. Proshare said deductions from recent audited reports of a few of the banks presented so far indicates that average turnover growth (as at April 12th2015) stood at 12 per cent and profit margin of 16 per cent with an attendant surge in impairment charges and bad loans. In its publication entitled, “Why investors should expect contained earning in 2015 result” published on its website, Proshare said the effects of some government policies such as the public sector funds freeze

will lead to loss of trading revenues for banks, among others. “The bank will have to deal with its significant exposure to an elongated commoditiesprice slump that has sparked defaults for it in the Oil & Gas, Power and Real Estate sector(s),” report published by the analysts said. The financial analysts envisage that 26per cent of total loan portfolio of the bank in Q3’15 was in Oil and Gas while the same troubled sector owns 28 per cent of total non-performing loans (bad debts) as revealed in its Q3’15. It said the crash of price in oil market had made it significantly difficult for risk assets in the sector to perform. “The challenge for the bank, as for virtually all the banks in this risk adjustment crisis must relate to how they treat/ recognise the underlying assets that collaterised both the loan and the cash flows thereon,” it said. The analysts also noted that the banking sector generally experienced a regime of high cost of funds in a distressed economy with the twin issues of loss of revenue from public sector funds, fines and integration costs on the one hand and a real estate market in a flux.

Ex-Barclays CEO, Carlyle eye bid for Africa unit

ormer Barclays Chief Executive Bob Diamond is teaming up with private equity group Carlyle to prepare a bid to buy the bank’s African operations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters yeterday. Diamond is looking to structure a deal to acquire Barclays’

62 per cent stake in Barclays Africa Group Limited via his investment vehicle Atlas Merchant Capital, set up to invest in financial services after he left the UK-based bank. Barclays on March 1 said it would sell down its stake in the business, to focus instead on a new ‘transatlantic’ strategy.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Financial Market News FMDQ Daily Quotations List

25-Apr-16

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

Bonds FGN Bonds

Price

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description 13.05 16-AUG-2016 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 ^15.54 13-FEB-2020 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 ^12.50 22-JAN-2026 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 ^12.40 18-MAR-2036

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

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

13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 12.50 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493 12.4000

581.39 480.13 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 576.93 605.31 719.99 266.02 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 1075.92 80.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

6,407.46

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

6,411.88

Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 22-Jan-26 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34 18-Mar-36

0.31 1.00 1.25 1.35 2.09 3.18 3.49 3.80 5.76 7.88 9.74 12.59 13.07 13.57 14.24 18.23 19.89

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

7.84 11.08 11.22 11.28 11.72 12.36 11.79 11.24 12.49 12.80 12.95 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.10 13.30

7.36 10.92 11.09 11.15 11.64 12.25 11.67 11.15 12.42 12.74 12.89 12.95 12.96 12.96 12.97 13.06 13.26

101.52 103.73 98.40 97.62 98.12 109.28 86.61 112.95 115.61 106.80 97.53 112.21 96.76 71.55 80.56 93.38 93.71

101.67 103.88 98.55 97.77 98.27 109.58 86.91 113.25 115.91 107.10 97.83 112.51 97.06 71.85 80.86 93.68 94.01

6362.457269

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12

17.25

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

1.20

03-Apr-17

0.51

2.94

11.82

102.64

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

0.18 0.18 0.98 0.70 1.68 1.50 1.51 1.47 1.48 1.66 2.09 3.58 2.05 4.59 4.68 2.72 2.74 3.97 3.53 3.56 4.03 6.46 3.65

4.46 3.48 1.00 5.71 2.39 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 3.82 2.02 2.96 1.00 1.30 3.76 2.53 1.00 1.52 4.01 1.00 2.52 1.79 3.04

10.63 9.65 11.99 15.44 13.87 12.37 12.38 15.17 14.92 15.29 13.74 14.68 12.69 13.05 15.57 14.62 13.10 13.48 15.77 12.73 14.16 14.29 14.70

100.52 100.96 98.20 98.87 100.14 102.10 102.12 99.12 98.81 100.23 103.00 99.48 103.53 101.50 98.10 99.70 104.03 104.97 101.76 110.03 108.88 110.56 105.96

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

0.43 0.50 0.62 0.98 1.20 1.43 0.88 1.21 1.38 1.38 2.43 1.48 1.56 1.68 2.28 4.55 3.05 5.57 5.68 6.05 4.22 8.43 8.43 9.56

1.00 1.34 1.00 6.96 6.41 1.88 1.88 3.15 6.35 1.00 1.17 4.42 6.11 3.28 4.47 1.00 3.55 2.51 1.00 1.00 2.77 1.00 1.00 1.00

9.44 10.15 10.35 17.95 17.59 13.21 12.42 14.34 17.64 12.29 13.09 15.78 17.52 14.76 16.30 12.72 15.75 14.87 13.40 13.53 14.28 13.84 13.84 13.93

101.42 101.95 103.28 98.73 98.78 99.71 105.26 101.72 100.30 104.40 101.82 99.93 100.56 101.71 97.74 108.51 99.37 97.69 111.80 111.88 105.13 111.93 97.09 104.82

10-Oct-20

2.58

3.37

15.37

98.74

Agency Bonds Nil

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1.20

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1.23

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

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

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

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

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

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

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

446.12 451.93

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

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

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 15.00 FCMB 6-NOV-2020 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 15.50 TRANSCORP 4-DEC-2020 14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021 16.48 FIDELITY 13-MAY-2022 16.00 TRANSCORP 26-OCT-2022 182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 14.90 NMRC 29-JUL-2030

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

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

15.00 5.53 112.22 116.70 66.49 20.00 0.46 3.60 1.82 0.50 35.00 1.50 0.27 4.50 23.19 2.05 9.76 26.00 30.50 30.00 10.00 0.10 15.44 7.90

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

538.53

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

547.61

Sukuk BBB-/Agusto

*OSUN

10-Oct-13

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

14.75

9.40

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

9.40

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

9.28

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

1.80

1.00

10.93

98.81

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

*AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

3.02

1.00

11.59

99.15

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

24.95 24.70 Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value ($’mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

7.59

7.34

96.69

97.65

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

5.56

5.13

99.09

99.99

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

7.81

7.63

92.18

93.14

Issuer

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,439.80

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

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

373.41

19-May-16

17.42

1.05

99.39

100.37

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

8.07

7.17

99.02

100.08

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

20.85

19.28

77.77

79.92

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

8.23

95.00

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

9.69

91.25

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

16.62

15.90

81.65

83.15

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

FIRST BANK PLC ACCESS BANK PLC II FIRST BANK LTD

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

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

8.25 9.25 8.00

300.00 400.00 450.00

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

13.69 13.89 14.52

82.25 83.00 76.00

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

12.23

11.76

84.88

86.63

DTM

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Discount Rate (%)

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

3,523.41 3,083.54 Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Yield @ Issue (%)

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Commercial Papers Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP II 4-MAY-16

04-Nov-15

13.25

7.23

04-May-16

6.03

9.08

9.06

Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP III 29-JUL-16

04-Nov-15

13.75

2.77

29-Jul-16

6.18

13.77

13.29

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

10.00

**TREASURY BILLS^ DTM 10 24 31 38 45 52 59 66 80

FIXINGS Maturity 5-May-16 19-May-16 26-May-16 2-Jun-16 9-Jun-16 16-Jun-16 23-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 14-Jul-16

Bid Discount (%) 4.08 4.08 4.22 5.52 6.52 6.71 6.41 6.19 6.79

Offer Discount (%) 3.83 3.83 3.97 5.27 6.27 6.46 6.16 5.94 6.54

Bid Yield (%) 4.08 4.09 4.24 5.55 6.57 6.77 6.48 6.26 6.89

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 4.2333 8.0302 10.2136 12.0632

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

3.50

O/N

4.08

Tenor Call 1M 3M

REPO

Rate (%) 4.00 5.17 6.00

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

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

199.24 199.27 199.55 200.23 201.54 202.93 207.10

199.34 199.79 200.11 200.93 202.45 204.17 209.09

9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 ^15.54 13-FEB-2020 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 ^12.50 22-JAN-2026 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 ^12.40 18-MAR-2036

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE NEW TELEGRAPH

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

9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 12.50 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493 12.4000

20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 576.93 605.31 719.99 266.02 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 1075.92 80.00

27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 22-Jan-26 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34 18-Mar-36

1.25 1.35 2.09 3.18 3.49 3.80 5.76 7.88 9.74 12.59 13.07 13.57 14.24 18.23 19.89

11.22 11.28 11.72 12.36 11.79 11.24 12.49 12.80 12.95 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.10 13.30

11.09 11.15 11.64 12.25 11.67 11.15 12.42 12.74 12.89 12.95 12.96 12.96 12.97 13.06 13.26

98.40 97.62 98.12 109.28 86.61 112.95 115.61 106.80 97.53 112.21 96.76 71.55 80.56 93.38 93.71

98.55 97.77 98.27 109.58 86.91 113.25 115.91 107.10 97.83 112.51 97.06 71.85 80.86 93.68 94.01

BUSINESS |Financial Market News 6,407.46

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

6362.457269

6,411.88

Stock market begins week on bearish territory Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12

17.25

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

Risk Premium (%)

1.20

03-Apr-17

0.51

2.94

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

11.82

102.64

Agency Bonds

Nil

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1.20

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

LOW CONFIDENCE

Sub-National Bonds

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

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

Market closes downward with loss of N29 billion

Stories by Chris Ugwu

rading activities on the floor of the Nigerian stock market yesterday opened the trading week in the red, sustaining bearish trend that began last Friday. TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

The downswing according 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 to market watchers was due to 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 profit by market spec10.00takings LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 ulators following appreciable 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00some DELTA 30-SEP-2018 gains blue chip compa14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 nies14.50 achieved recently. 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 The market performance 15.50twin ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 measures, the NSE All Share In14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 dex (ASI) and market capitalisa13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 tion15.00 dropped by 0.34 per cent on KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 the back of blue chip companies. 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 15.50 BAUCHI 9-DEC-2021 At the close of business, 12 16.50 OYO 16-FEB-2022 16.50appreciated, BENUE 27-FEB-2022 while 20 othstocks 17.50 PLATEAU 30-MAR-2022 ers constituted the losers’ table. 17.00 KOGI II 31-MAR-2022 17.00 CROSS RIVER 27-MAY-2022 Consequently , the All-Share

Index dropped by 85.01 basis 30-Jun-11 points or 0.34 per cent14.00 from 30-Jun-09 15.50 24,850.11 index points last Fri19-Apr-10 10.00 30-Jun-10 13.75 day to close31-Dec-10 at 24,765.10 points, 14.00 30-Sep-11 14.00 while the market capitalisation 04-Oct-11 14.00 14.50 of equities 09-Dec-11 depreciated by N29 12-Dec-13 14.00 billion or 0.34 per cent15.50 from 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 15.50 N8.547 trillion to N8.518 trillion. 22-Nov-12 14.50 12-Dec-12 14.75 Shares of27-Nov-13 soft drinks maker, 13.50 31-Dec-13 15.00 ap7UP Bottling Company Plc, 31-Dec-13 14.50 preciated by N2.41 to N145 06-Jan-14 15.00per 09-Dec-14 15.50 share, while brewery giant, 17-Feb-15 16.50 27-Feb-15 16.50 by Nigerian Breweries, rose 30-Mar-15 17.50 N0.39 to N106.09 01-Apr-15 a share.17.00 27-May-15 17.00 On the flip side, shares of

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

Market infractions: SEC seeks partnership with police, EFCC Corporate Bonds

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

NAHCO FSDH

***LCRM

UBA *C & I LEASING

he Securities*DANA and Ex- wards ensuring that laid down *TOWER change Commission rules and procedures are ad*TOWER UBA (SEC) has urged law hered to in the capital market. *LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS enforcement agencies to colHe was said to have appreci*DANA laborate with the Commission ated the police on the work they *FCMB NAHCO in its quest to ensure zero tol- have been doing since the col*TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC *FCMB erance on infractions in Nige- laboration started and sought ria’s capital market.UBA for more in areas of specialised FIDELITY *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC The partnership according discipline such as forensic inSTANBIC IBTC IBTC vestigation to enhance the opto a statement, is alsoSTANBIC to ensure *NMRC erations of the capital market. that perpetrators of fraudulent TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE acts brought to book approIn his response, IGP Arase TOTALare MARKET CAPITALISATION priately. gave assurance to the CommisSukuk Director General*OSUN of SEC, sion14.75 that the Nigerian Police BBB-/Agusto OSUN II 10-OCT-2020 Mounir GwarzoVALUE said this when under his leadership will do TOTAL OUTSTANDING TOTAL CAPITALISATION he ledMARKET members of the manage- all that it could to assist the ment of the Commission on a Commission in ensuring that Supranational Bond 10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 AAA/S&P to the Inspector IFC General visit incidents of infractions within 11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021 Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P *AfDB of Police, Solomon Arase in his the capital market are brought TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION office in Abuja, yesterday. to the barest minimum. He commended the DG SEC Gwarzo solicited the support Description Rating/Agency Issuer of the IGP to enhance the on- on his desire to make the capiFGN Eurobonds going co-operation between the tal market free of malpractic6.75 JAN 28, 2021 BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P Force and the Commission to- es, saying that no nation can BB-/Fitch; #{r}

#{r}

FGN

BB-/S&P

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

12-Jul-13

5.13

develop with the increase in crime and corruption, adding that life and property, which include tangible and intangible assets must be protected. He said the inter agency collaboration is in the right direction, as both Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and SEC are committed to deliver mandate of protecting life and property of the people. Arase added that the ad10-Oct-13 14.75 ministration would deal with anybody found defrauding the people in the capital market. 11-Feb-13 10.20 The Investment and Securi10-Jul-14 11.25 ties Act of 2007, section 304 requires the Commission to refer matters of Issue criminal nature to Date Coupon (%) the appropriate criminal prosecuting authorities including 07-Oct-11 6.75 the Nigeria Police.

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

1.23

major petroleum products 1.30 30-Jun-16 0.18 by marketer, Forte Oil, tumbled 2.05 30-Jun-16 0.18 N25.12 at N250 a share, 57.00 to close 19-Apr-17 0.98 16.45 30-Jun-17 0.70 while Nigeria shares 25.00 Guinness 31-Dec-17 1.68 30-Sep-18 fell23.44 by N1 to close at N97. 1.50 4.22 04-Oct-18 1.51 10.98 the activity 09-Dec-18chart, bank1.47 On 8.14 12-Dec-18 1.48 ing21.68subsector dominated 14-Feb-19 1.66 in 12.55 02-Oct-19 2.09 volume terms with 89.4 million 80.00 22-Nov-19 3.58 21.65 12-Dec-19in 951 deals. 2.05 shares exchanged 87.50 27-Nov-20 4.59 31-Dec-20 4.68 The5.00sub sector was enhanced 4.03 4.04 14.37 4.39 4.53 27.10 3.00 7.68

12-Jul-13

6.38

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

angote Cement Plc has B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC I reported a profit after B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC B/Fitch; B/S&P BANK PLC tax of N52.779 FIDELITY billion for B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC the first quarter ended March B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC B/Fitch; B/S&P from N68.620 DIAMOND BANK PLC 31, 2016 billion B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC posted in 2015. B-/Fitch; B/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC II B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK LTD The group in a filing with B-/S&P ECOBANK NIG. LTD the Nigerian Stock TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUEExchange TOTAL MARKET (NSE) alsoCAPITALISATION reported a profit before tax of N54.539 billion in Rating/Agency Issuer 2016 as against N70.168 billion Commercial posted aPapers year earlier. Corporate Eurobonds

Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

Revenue stood at N140.521 shareholders. 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 19-May-11 7.50 billion as against N114.738 Highlights of the result 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 25-Jul-12 7.25 MAY 09, 2018 09-May-13 6.88 up revenue was recorded in 2015, 6.88 indicating a showed that 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 08-Nov-13 6.00 growth of 22.47 per by 25.6 per cent to 491.7 billion, 6.25cent. APR 22, 2019 22-Apr-14 6.25 8.75 May 21, 2019 an21-May-14 8.75 The Company had as new plants perform strongly 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 07-Aug-13 8.25 nounced a profit tax Earnings before 9.25/6M USDafter LIBOR+7.677 JUNof 24, 2021 across Africa. 24-Jun-14 9.25 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 23-Jul-14 8.00 N181.3 billion for the finan- interest, taxes, depreciation 8.75 AUG 14, 2021 14-Aug-14 8.75 cial year ended Dec. 31, 2015, and amortization (EBITDA) while profit after tax grew by rose by 17.5 per cent to 262.4 13.7 per cent. Accordingly, the billion at 53.4 per cent margin. Description Issue Date Yield @ Issue (%) firm paid N8 per share as diviAlso, earnings per share dend to the amazement of the appreciated by 15.2 per cent to GUINNESS CP II 4-MAY-16

04-Nov-15

13.25

GUINNESS CP III 29-JUL-16

04-Nov-15

13.75

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

2.72 2.74 3.97 3.53 3.56 4.03 6.46 3.65

500.00

12-Jul-18

5.56

500.00

12-Jul-23

7.81

2.53 1.00 1.52 4.01 1.00 2.52 1.79 3.04

14.62 13.10 13.48 15.77 12.73 14.16 14.29 14.70

99.70 104.03 104.97 101.76 110.03 108.88 110.56 105.96

Lender grows Q12016 PAT by 42%

ccess Bank Plc has reported 42 per cent growth in profit after 29-Sep-16 0.43 tax15.00 for the first quarter ended 5.53 25-Oct-16 0.50 112.22 08-Dec-16 0.62 March 31, 2016. 116.70 19-Apr-17 0.98 The unaudited 66.49 06-Jul-17 first quar1.20 30-Sep-17 1.43 ter20.00 2016 financial results re0.46 30-Nov-17 0.88 3.60 1.21 leased to the09-Apr-18 Nigerian Stock 1.82 09-Sep-18 1.38 Exchange (NSE) 0.50 09-Sep-18 yesterday, 1.38 35.00 30-Sep-18 2.43 showed that the bank’s Profit 1.50 18-Oct-18 1.48 0.27 17-Feb-19 1.56 Before Tax (PBT) for the period 4.50 01-Apr-19 1.68 rose to ₦22.6 billion, represent23.19 06-Nov-20 2.28 4.55 ing2.05 a 37 per 14-Nov-20 cent y/y growth 9.76 04-Dec-20 3.05 26.00 compared 20-Nov-21 when to ₦16.55.57bil30.50 30-Dec-21 5.68 lion in Q1 2015. Profit After Tax 30.00 13-May-22 6.05 10.00 26-Oct-22 4.22 (PAT) was up by 42 per cent y/y 0.10 30-Sep-24 8.43 15.44 30-Sep-24 to ₦19.4 billion in Q1 20168.43 from 7.90 29-Jul-30 ₦13.7 billion in Q1 2015. 9.56 538.53 Gross earnings for the peri547.61 od under review stood at ₦80.3 billion in Q1 10-Oct-20 2016, up five per 9.40 2.58 cent 9.40y/y from ₦76.8 billion in Q19.28 2015, with interest income and non-interest income con12.00 11-Feb-18 1.80per tributing 69 per cent and 31 12.95 01-Feb-21 3.02 cent respectively . 24.95 24.70 Access Bank maintained its profitability ,Maturity recording an anOutstanding Value Date Bid Yield (%) ($’mm) nualised 20.7 per cent return on average equity (ROAE) from 500.00 28-Jan-21 7.59 19.2 per cent in the first quar446.12 451.93

Dangote Cement reports N53bn Q1 2016 PAT 6.38 JUL 12, 2023

31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21 09-Dec-21 16-Feb-22 27-Feb-22 30-Mar-22 31-Mar-22 27-May-22

by the activities in the shares of 4.46 10.63 Plc and GTB 100.52 Access Bank Plc. 3.48 9.65 100.96 boosted 1.00Premium 11.99 subsector 98.20 5.71 15.44 98.87 by on the shares 2.39 the activities 13.87 100.14 1.00 12.37 102.10 of FBNH Plc and Zenith Bank 1.00 12.38 102.12 3.82 followed 15.17 with 14.9 99.12 Plc million 3.56 14.92 98.81 units traded 3.82 15.29 in 485 deals. 100.23 2.02 13.74 103.00 In all, investors exchanged 2.96 14.68 99.48 103.53 a1.00 total of 12.69 144.6 million shares 1.30 13.05 101.50 3.76 15.57 98.10 exchanged in 2,729 deals.

1,500.00 1,439.80

10.86. Also, dividend went up 373.41 19-May-16 17.42 by350.00 33.3 per cent to 8 per share at 25-Jul-17 8.07 300.00 02-May-18 20.85 73.7 per cent payout ratio. 400.00 08-Nov-18 Group cement volumes8.23 rose 500.00 22-Apr-19 9.69 16.62 by200.00 35 per cent21-May-19 to nearly 19 mil300.00 07-Aug-20 13.69 lion tonnes, 24-Jun-21 price reduction 400.00 13.89 450.00 23-Jul-21 drives strong14-Aug-21 rebound in 14.52 Nige250.00 12.23 rian market in the fourth quar3,523.41 3,083.54 ter, as volumes increased by 36 per cent and full-year volumes Outstanding Value DTM Maturity Date up(₦’bn) 3.2 per cent despite severe economic challenges. 7.23

04-May-16

2.77

29-Jul-16

ter of 2015. The GMD/CEO of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, 1.00 9.44 101.42 while commenting on the re1.34 10.15 101.95 1.00 103.28 with sults said:10.35 “I am pleased 6.96 17.95 98.73 the quarter 6.41 Group’s 17.59solid first 98.78 1.88 13.21 99.71 performance characterised by 1.88 12.42 105.26 3.15 14.34 101.72 improved margins and strong 6.35 17.64 100.30 profit growth despite preva1.00 12.29 104.40 1.17 13.09 101.82 lent macro headwinds and 4.42 15.78 99.93 100.56 a6.11slowed 17.52 economy. Today, we 3.28 14.76 101.71 are realising the benefits of 4.47 16.30 97.74 1.00 12.72 108.51 initiatives that were deployed 3.55 15.75 99.37 2.51 14.87the retail 97.69 last year in banking 1.00 13.40 111.80 space, evidenced by the 1.00 13.53 111.88 rapid 2.77 14.28 105.13 adoption and utilisation of our 1.00 13.84 111.93 1.00 13.84 97.09 enhanced digital platforms. 1.00 13.93 104.82 This translated to growth in our retail-related fee and commission income”. He said as the bank cau3.37 15.37 98.74 tiously grows its loan portfolio in light of macro realities, it would continue to uphold the 1.00 10.93 98.81 manhighest standards of risk 1.00 11.59 99.15 agement in order to sustainably maintain asset quality. WigweBidsaid: “We are encourOffer Yield (%) Price Offer Price aged by these results, and in Prices & Yields the coming quarters, we will 7.34 96.69 97.65 intensify the implementation 5.13 99.09 99.99 of our strategic cost reduction 7.63 92.18 initiatives in order to93.14 improve our bottom-line. We will also explore and activate other innovative avenues to expand our digi1.05 99.39 100.37 tal banking proposition so as to 7.17 99.02 100.08 19.28 77.77 79.92 achieve improved revenues and 8.23 95.00 95.00 deliver sustainable shareholder 9.69 91.25 91.25 15.90 81.65long term”. 83.15 value in the 13.69 82.25 82.25 Reacting ana13.89 83.00to the results, 83.00 14.52 76.00 76.00 lysts at FBN Quest said com11.76 84.88 86.63 pared with their estimates, PBT beat by 27 per cent but the Risk PAT was in Yield line because they Valuation Discount Rate (%) Premium (%) forecast zero on the other com(%) prehensive income line. #

6.03

9.08

9.06

6.18

13.77

13.29

10.00

25-Apr-16

**TREASURY BILLS^ FIXINGS Money MarketThe Information does The DQL contains data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial market (the “Information”). not constitute financial or Foreign Exchange professional, (Spot & Forwards) DTM We attempt to ensure the Maturity Bid Discount Offer Discount (%) Tenor Rate (%) investment advice. Information is accurate; however, the (%) Information is provided “AS IS” (%) and on an Bid “ASYield AVAILABLE” basis and may not be accurate or up to date. We do not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance NIBOR 10 5-May-16 4.08 3.83 4.08 OBB 3.50 Tenor Bid ($/N) Offer ($/N) or fitness for a particular purpose of any of19-May-16 the Information, neither do we accept action taken on the 4.09 basis of the Information. 24 4.08 liability for the results of any 3.83 Tenor Rate (%) 31 38 45 FGN Bonds 52 59 66 80 Rating/Agency 87 94 101 108 115 129 136 150 164 171 178 185 192 NA 206 220 234 255 269 283 297 311 325 332 346 360 TOTAL OUTSTANDING

26-May-16 2-Jun-16 9-Jun-16 16-Jun-16 23-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 14-Jul-16 Issuer 21-Jul-16 28-Jul-16 4-Aug-16 11-Aug-16 18-Aug-16 1-Sep-16 8-Sep-16 22-Sep-16 6-Oct-16 13-Oct-16 20-Oct-16 27-Oct-16 3-Nov-16 NA 17-Nov-16 1-Dec-16 15-Dec-16 5-Jan-17 19-Jan-17 2-Feb-17 16-Feb-17 2-Mar-17 16-Mar-17 23-Mar-17 6-Apr-17 20-Apr-17

VALUE

4.22 5.52 6.52 6.71 6.41 6.19 6.79 Description 7.92 7.49 13.05 16-AUG-2016 7.87 7.68 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 7.76 9.85 27-JUL-2017 8.78 9.35 31-AUG-2017 8.91 10.70 30-MAY-2018 8.65 9.06 ^16.00 29-JUN-20198.76 7.00 23-OCT-2019 8.98 ^15.54 13-FEB-20208.46 9.27 ^16.39 27-JAN-20229.31 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 9.07 ^12.50 22-JAN-20268.41 9.04 15.00 28-NOV-2028 9.43 12.49 22-MAY-2029 9.73 8.50 20-NOV-2029 9.55 ^10.00 23-JUL-20309.98 9.58 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 9.54 ^12.40 18-MAR-2036 10.13 10.18

3.97 5.27 6.27 6.46 6.16 5.94 6.54Date Issue 7.67 7.24 16-Aug-13 7.62 7.43 27-Apr-12 7.51 27-Jul-07 8.53 31-Aug-07 8.66 8.40 30-May-08 8.81 29-Jun-12 8.51 23-Oct-09 8.73 8.21 13-Feb-15 9.02 27-Jan-12 9.06 14-Mar-14 8.82 8.16 22-Jan-16 8.79 28-Nov-08 9.18 9.48 22-May-09 9.30 20-Nov-09 9.73 23-Jul-10 9.33 18-Jul-14 9.29 18-Mar-16 9.88 9.93

4.24 5.55 6.57 6.77 6.48 6.26 6.89 (%) Coupon 8.07 7.64 13.05 8.05 7.86 15.10 7.95 9.85 9.06 9.35 9.21 8.97 10.70 9.45 16.00 9.14 7.00 9.39 8.84 15.54 9.74 16.39 9.83 14.20 9.59 8.89 12.50 9.65 15.00 10.13 10.53 12.49 10.36 8.50 10.91 10.00 10.47 12.1493 10.44 12.4000 11.20 11.31

Bonds

*for the Amortising the average life is calculated and not the TTM TOTAL MARKETbonds, CAPITALISATION #

FMBN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Modified Duration Buckets

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

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

<3 3<5 >5 Market

O/N Tenor Call 1M 3M (Yrs) TTM 6M

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

4.08

REPO

Rate (%) 16-Aug-16 4.0873 6.3671 27-Apr-17 7.7850 27-Jul-17 9.2800 31-Aug-17 10.0622 11.0006 30-May-18

351.30 29-Jun-19 233.90 23-Oct-19 NIFEX 576.93 13-Feb-20 Current Price ($/N) 605.31 27-Jan-22 BID($/N) 199.0000 719.99 14-Mar-24 OFFER ($/N) 199.1000 266.02 22-Jan-26 75.00 28-Nov-28 150.00 22-May-29 200.00 20-Nov-29 591.57 23-Jul-30 1075.92 18-Jul-34 80.00 18-Mar-36

Rate (%) 4.00 5.17 Bid6.00 Yield 6.83

(%)

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

0.31 7.84 7.36 NOTE: 1.00 11.08 10.92 :Benchmarks 1.25 11.22 11.09 * :Amortising Bond 1.35Bond 11.28 11.15 µ :Convertible AMCON: Asset of Nigeria 2.09 Management Corporation 11.72 11.64 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 3.18 12.36 12.25 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 3.49 Finance Corporation 11.79 11.67 IFC: International LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables 3.80 11.24 Management 11.15 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 5.76 12.49 12.42 O/N: Overnight 12.80Company 12.74 UPDC: UAC7.88 Property Development WAPCO:West 9.74Africa Portland Cement 12.95 Company12.89 12.59 13.00 12.95 13.07 13.01 12.96 13.57 13.02 12.96 14.24 13.03 12.97 18.23 13.10 13.06 19.89 13.30 13.26

6,407.46

199.24 199.27 199.55 200.23 201.54 202.93 207.10 Bid Price 215.68

199.34 199.79 200.11 Price 200.93 202.45 204.17 209.09Price Offer 221.14

101.52 103.73

101.67 103.88

112.21 96.76 71.55 80.56 93.38 93.71

112.51 97.06 71.85 80.86 93.68 94.01

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

NA :Not Applicable 98.40 98.55 ^ : Market Prices 97.62 97.77 # : Floating Rate Bond ***: Deferred coupon bonds 98.12 98.27 DTM: Days-To-Maturity 109.28 109.58 TTM: Term-To-Maturity 86.91 ‡ : Bond 86.61 rating under review †: Bond 112.95 rating expired 113.25 N/A :Not Available 115.61 115.91 {r} :Issuer in receivership 106.80 NGC: Nigeria-German Company107.10 UBA: United 97.53Bank for Africa 97.83

6362.457269

Outstanding Value (₦’bn) FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Agency Bonds Nil

4.2333 8.0302 10.2136 12.0632

6,411.88

Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

Rating/Agency

O/N 1M 3M 6M

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

Porfolio Market Value (₦’bn)

1,012.98 1,468.72 1,481.28 3,962.98

Total Outstanding Volume (₦’bn)

03-Apr-12 Weighting by Outstanding Volume

908.23 1,325.30 1,667.49 3,901.02

23.28 33.97 42.74 100.00

30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 31-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12

Coupon (%)

17.25 Weighting by Mkt Value 25.56 37.06 37.38 100.00

14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50

1.20

Bucket Weighting

1.20

0.23

1.23 0.34 1.30 2.05 57.00 16.45 25.00 23.44 4.22 10.98 8.14 21.68 12.55

0.43 1.00

Maturity Date

03-Apr-17 % Exposure_ Mod_Duration 12.61 29.32 58.07 100.00

30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19 02-Oct-19

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

0.51

Implied Yield

11.62 12.67 13.08 12.78

0.18 0.18 0.98 0.70 1.68 1.50 1.51 1.47 1.48 1.66 2.09

Risk Premium (%) 2.94 Implied Portfolio Price 138.5294 150.5438 114.0089 132.1298

4.46 3.48 1.00 5.71 2.39 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 3.82 2.02

11.82

INDEX

1,260.30 1,305.12 1,374.49 1,258.22

10.63 9.65 11.99 15.44 13.87 12.37 12.38 15.17 14.92 15.29 13.74

102.64 YTD Return (%) 13.7607 28.8921 36.4918 19.2419

100.52 100.96 98.20 98.87 100.14 102.10 102.12 99.12 98.81 100.23 103.00

News|south-west

4th Mainland Bridge: Lagos to demolish 800 structures

Muritala Ayinla

agos State government yesterday said that it would save 2,200 houses from demolition, while no fewer than 800 structures may have to give way for the construction of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge which its Memorandum of Understanding would be signed with investors next

month. Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ganiyu Johnson, an engineer, who made the disclosure during the 2016 Ministerial Press of the state’s infrastructure Ministry, explained that several shanties would be demolished while assuring that plans had been made to relocate and compensate affected property owners. According to him, the

government had been able to come up with a plan that would minimise the large scale demolition unlike in the last administration in which the project would have claimed about 3,000 property. He said:” Previously, we had 10 alignments but we have narrowed it to one and the reason was that most of the past alignments we had could lead to the relocation

of over 3000 structures and shanties but with the alignments we have now, it would not take more than 800 structures and changes. This was one of the things we were doing in-house on the project. “In its determination to solve the perennial traffic gridlock experience almost on a daily basis by commuters on the 3rd Mainland Bridge and roads within

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde; Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ganiyu Johnson and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ajibade BadeAdebowale, at the commencement of the 2016 ministerial Press Briefing to commemorate the first year of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos…yesterday.

Alleged N16.7bn fraud: FG arraigns nine Consolidated Discount House officials Akeem Nafiu

he Federal Government through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) yesterday arraigned nine officials of the Consolidated Discount House Limited before Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N16.7billion fraud. The accused persons who were docked on a 24-count charge included: Stephen Olawale Akinretoye, Mudashiru Adeleke Shittu, Larai Claude-Ennin, Hassan Jamiu Gbenga and Ajibola Jolaosho. Others are: Omisore

Osogbo

sun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola yesterday said that the economic relationship between the state and the Chinese investors was a “win-win prospect.” This is as it added that the state had opened-up opportunities for robust business investment in all sectors of the economy. The governor made this known while addressing a

Victoria Island, Eti-Osa/ Lekki-Epe Corridor which according to the World Economic Study, 2015 is the fastest growing corridor in Africa, the Lagos State Government welcomed proposals for the construction of the 4th Mainland Bridge. “The bridge would serve as an alternative route to solve the incessant traffic congestions on the earlier mentioned routes as well as help redistribute traffic efficiently and act as outer ring road for conveying of goods from the Free Trade Zone, Fertilizer Plant, Deep Seaport, Dangote Oil Refinery and the proposed Airport. “Lagos State Government has held discussions with a consortium of consultants in furtherance of the project, while M.O.U will be signed before the end of May 2016.” Johnson said the project was meant to address the pe-

N379.04bn The total value of crude oil export to Spain in 2014 fourth quarter. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

3.91m

The number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy in SubSaharan Africa in December 2009. Source: Who.int

rennial traffic snarl in the area and reduce the travel time of commuters in the state. The commissioner said various alignments had been proposed by these consultants for consideration, as a preferred alignment had also been proposed as most ideal. According to him, the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge traversed from Ajah to North West direction towards the Lagoon Shoreline to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway via Ikorodu while the approximate length of the road/bridge is 37.9km with a design speed of 140km/h. Johnson said: “The significance and value of the proposed construction lies in its capacity to rapidly decongest the traffic gridlock within the Lekki Corridor and redistribute traffic towards Lagos Mainland which serves to meet increased future road infrastructure demands. The proposal further reinforces the policy thrust of this administration on the provision of efficient transportation system as a catalyst for social and economic development of the state, complementing the on-going efforts and vision of achieving a MegaCity status for Lagos State Improvement of Ikeja Network of Roads.”

Bishops ask Buhari to appoint Petroleum Minister Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

Olawale, Omisope Johnson, Onimole Mobolaji Adebowale and Emmanuel Akiola Odedina. The AGF through its lawyers, led by Joseph Daudu (SAN) informed the court that the nine accused persons committed the offences at the firm’s office located at Eagle House 38/39 Marina, Lagos, between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2013. The accused persons were also alleged to have used their various positions in the company to divert several funds belonging to the company to different accounts. The AGF also alleged

that the accused persons between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013, with intent to defraud, failed to keep proper books of account in order to give a deceitful impression about the state of affairs of the firm. They were also said to have failed to exercise due diligence in the conduct of the firm’s financial transactions. The offences, according to the prosecution, were contrary to Sections 15(2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended in 2012, and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

gathering of business investors at a dinner party organized by the state in honour of Chinese investors at the Government House in Osogbo. He, however, said that he had provided an enabling business environment for meaningful investment in agriculture as part of his determination to boost the state’s revenue base. Aregbesola stressed that the state under his watch would not relent in its strive to transform, reposition and develop the state for the betterment of

all. He said: “Our stance on agriculture sector has been genuinely demonstrated since our assumption of office as we have successfully harnessed the opportunities in agricultural sector to turn around the state’s economy. “The present government has significantly raised the level of cassava production in the state and as I speak to you, Osun is the largest producer of cassava in Nigeria just as we are equally blessed with huge gold deposit.”

review of a formula ceding greater percentage to the Federal Government from the federation account, describing it as no longer unacceptable. He, however, asked President Muhamadu Buhari to present a bill to the National Assembly that would review the sharing formula of the revenue accruing to all the tiers of governments from the federation account. Speaking after swearing the local government chairmen and their elected deputies under the

orried by the continued hike in price of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise called petroleum across the country, the Council of Bishops of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, yesterday in Ibadan advised President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a substantive Minister of Petroleum who will be answerable directly to him. According to the Bishops at their 34th conference presided over by the Prelate,

His Eminence, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Uche, the persistent scarcity of petroleum products was becoming unbearable to many Nigerians, stressing that “President Muhammadu Buhari should urgently appoint a substantive Minister of Petroleum who would be answerable to him and not assume the role of Minister of Petroleum by himself, as this has proved counterproductive.” The Bishops reasoned that “Mr. President has so much work to do for us and so should not be a Minister

of Petroleum”. Against the anti-corruption effort of the Federal Government, the conference also advised that Buhari should as a matter of urgency, “take census of all Nigeria’s oil wells with a view to ascertaining their rightful operations and also to ensure justice, equity, probity and accountability.” The Council, however, expressed worry over the menace of Fulani herdsmen, which it said had become worse than the onslaught of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Mimiko seeks review of revenue allocation formula Babatope Okeowo Akure

ndo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko Aregbesola partners investors to boost Osun economy O yesterday canvassed a

Adeolu Adeyemo

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the weekend, Mimiko said the time for the review of the revenue formula was now considering the present state of finance of states and local governments. He said: “With the present state of finance, it will just be apposite to call the attention of the Federal Government to our skewed fiscal federalism that vests a disproportionate 52 per cent of revenue in the federal government while the states and local governments – the very tiers with considerable contacts with the populace – are given 26 and 20 per cent respectively. “By virtue of Para-

graph 32(b) Part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the RMAFC is empowered to prescribe a periodic review of the Revenue Allocation formula every five years in accordance with Section 162 (2) of the Constitution. “Regrettably, this has not been done since 1999. We are appealing to RMFAC and the Federal Government to take the appropriate bill to the National Assembly.” This, the governor said the lopsided in the sharing of the revenue would only cause a major hindrance to the development and implementation of policies at the local levels.

News|SOUTH-EAST

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

IPOB berates FG, AGF over Kanu’s continued detention Charles Onyekwere and Igbeaku Orji

he leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has flayed the Federal Government, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja over the prevention of its leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu from exercising his fundamental human rights. It accused the government and its agents of turning down Kanu’s appeal through scheming.

In a statement signed by the Media and Publicity Officer of the group, Comrade Emma Powerful and made available to newsmen in Enugu yesterday, the group accused the Federal Government and others of playing hide and seek game through the Appeal Court where Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB filed a suit in the court challenging his illegal detention. It also decried the secret trial being suggested by Justice James Tohso of the Federal High Court Abuja. The statement con-

demned in strong terms the appeal court judge who had fixed April 25, 2016 and failed to hear the case without any reason. It said the court refused to entertain the case without lawyers and the people were not told that the court was not going to seat. The statement also accused the judiciary of carrying out the order of the presidency by not entertaining the matter as according to it, “ the presidency was not satisfied with the failure of its agents to come up with evidence to nail Kanu.”

‘’The whole world knows that Kanu did not commit any crime against Nigeria or the world. We want to let the world know the mess the judiciary is into in this ‘contraption’ called Nigeria and how Buhari is using the judiciary to delay the release of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu whom three different competent courts have discharged and acquitted. “They arrested Kanu but are not ready to prosecute him. They disrespect court orders with impunity’’, the group said.

Umahi declares war on illegal revenue collectors Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

bonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, yesterday vowed to arrest all the people posing as official revenue collectors in the state to defraud government of accruable revenue. Umahi disclosed this at the Government House, Abakaliki, when

leaders of the Amalgamated Traders Association in the state paid him a courtesy call. He said in 2015, there were so many fake tax collectors in the state. So anybody you paid a revenue or tax to, hold him/ her very well because we are coming. “When I finish my enumeration, I will recover taxes collected from 2015. He urged the traders

in the state to pay the N14, 000 business premises levy per annum and the income tax to the government. The governor said the N14,000 levy being demanded by the government annually from 10,000 traders across the state was affordable. He noted that other traders in Enugu, Abia, Imo and Anambra pay higher than that amount.

He lamented the continued fall in the state’s Internally Generated Revenue and said that the slight increment in taxes and rates in the state by the government was to beef up the IGR. He restated his resolve to transform the state and said it was only when taxes were paid by traders that the government would be assisted to achieve its objectives.

Former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Kalu, with Monsignor Ralph Nwosu, shortly after the 39th anniversary thanksgiving service of the priest at Regina Caeli Catholic Church, Ogbehe Asa, Abia State … on Sunday.

ICPC report vindicates Ikpeazu’s prudence on bailout–Abia Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

he Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State Governor, Mr. Godwin Adindu, has said that the report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the management of the bailout fund by the state has vindicated Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s prudent management of the N14 billion the state received from the Federal Government. The ICPC last had week published the names of 23 states and the disbursement of the bailout funds and singling Abia and two other states out as exemplary models in the disbursement and management of the funds. Adindu said the report lauded Abia State for judiciously managing the Federal Government bailout funds giving to states to pay workers salary arrears and other emoluments last year. According to him, “The ICPC said Governor Ikpea-

zu’s sincerity of purpose in managing the funds goes to confirm the credibility and transparency of governance in Abia State today.” Adindu said the endorsement by the ICPC was a vindication of the governor‘s discreet use of public funds. He said that the commendation from the ICPC would not come to Abia people as a surprise as the governor had earlier assured that though the N14 billion was a far cry from the N39 billion requested by the state to cover outstanding salaries, pension and gratuities of the entire civil servants in the state, including local government workers but that the money would not be diverted to other use. Adindu further disclosed that to achieve the feat the governor had to adopt a unique approach of setting up an independent committee headed by the leadership of the labour unions in the state with the mandate that the funds be judiciously deployed for the clearing salary arrears, pensions and gratuities of workers.

Anambra Central: ADC drags INEC to court over Obi Pamela Eboh Awka

he candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the postponed Anambra Central rerun senatorial election, Anayo Nweke, has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a move to stop former Governor Peter Obi from taking part in the election. He also wanted the Federal High Court sitting in Awka to restrain INEC from fixing a date and conducting any fresh election for the senatorial zone without the conclusion of the pending appeal between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the candidate of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA),

Chief Victor Umeh. In the suit number FHC/Awk/CS/69/2016 dated April 12, 2016, the plaintiff is seeking a declaration that it was only the candidates and political parties who participated in the initial election that were eligible to participate in the fresh election ordered by the Court of Appeal, Enugu Judicial Division.

N1,741.8bn The annual actual collection of taxes of Nigeria in 2005. Source: Firs.gov.ng

€6m

The annual salary of coach Antonio Conte of Italy in 2015 season. Source: France Football

You owe people obligations, Uzodinma Youths protest blackout in Anambra Zik Avenue as early as Mr. Ikechukwu Okoye to Pamela Eboh tells church leaders 7am, causing heavy traf- calm frayed nerves. Awka Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

hurch leaders have been challenged to cushion the hardships being experienced by the people as a result of lack of good leadership in the country. The senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly Senator Hope Uzodinma, gave the charge yesterday at Ntuke

in Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State, where he delivered this year’s Synod Lecture of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Providence of the Anglican Communion. Uzodinma in the lecture titled; “Church and Politics: The problem of lack of Interest,” referred to a biblical verse, saying, “when the righteous is in authority, the people rejoice, but that when the wicked is in power, the people mourn”

and wondered whether going by the numerous woes of Imo State, the wicked were not in power. He observed that many people believed that the church had played a role in the enthronement of the wicked who were in authority and challenged church leaders to take necessary steps to ensure the enthronement of righteous people in the coming years so that the people can be better off.

undreds of AguluAwka youths and community leaders in Anambra State yesterday took to the streets to protest the consistent black out experienced in the area in the last six months. The protesters led by one Chidozie Oforah, barricaded the gate of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), located along t

fic gridlock in the area and prevented customers and staff of the company from gaining access into the premises. They demanded to have an audience with the manager of the company, identified as Mr. Ogunmola but, were turned down security officials. It took the intervention of a former Chairman of Awka South Local Government Area,

According to the leader of the protesting youths, the area had experienced black out for six months, despite the fact that the consumers paid their bills regularly. He said the situation had become unbearable for the seven villages that make up Agulu-Awka, regretting that many tenants in the area had deserted the area, while several businesses had folded up.

NEWS | south-south

I'm not plotting to kill Oshiomhole – Dep Gov

Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

mbattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu, yesterday said he should be counted out of any plot to kill Governor Adams Oshiomhole as being circulated by some unknown people in the state. Odubu, who said he knew nothing about any such evil plot, said efforts by some unnamed individuals to link him with such plan were aimed at fueling a crisis between him and the gov-

ernor. He said those circulating the said fliers around the state capital were doing so with a view to destroying his image. Odubu in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary and made available to newsmen yesterday, denied allegations that he sponsored native doctors to kill Governor Oshiomhole. He said: “The allegation was the handwork of mischief makers and blackmailers, who were bent on destroying the long existing cordial relationship with the governor.

“As a practicing Catholic, I will not do anything that is unbecoming of a true Christian in the name of politics.” According to the statement, “God knows that he has never had any pact with any witch or native doctor to kill anyone or avenge for him and he will never condescend to that extent as long as God lives. It is against his faith. “The Bible teaches that even when the innocent suffers and mischief makers and traducers appear to triumph by their chief blackmail, it is for God alone to avenge.

tuesday, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

“The Deputy Governor will by the special grace of God, continue to disappoint the dubious expectations of those who are bent on driving a wedge between him and the governor. “It is his nature and character to be loyal to those who God has set over him because they are His instruments. At times like this, blackmailers are at their best, but the Deputy Governor has decided to take solace in God, who knows the hearts of men, trusting and believing as always that God will vindicate the just,” the statement reads. The Deputy Governor’s aide reiterated that “he (Odubu) has no rift with the governor, who he reverence and deeply appreciates,” the statement further added.

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole (right), with Chief Tony Anenih, at the St Anthony's Catholic Church, Uromi, where the governor bagged an award for his service to the church…at the weekend

Indigenes sack Bayelsa monarch over absenteeism Chris Ejim Yenagoa

lders and indigenes of Oluasiri community in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State at the weekend passed a vote of no confidence on its traditional head, King Iyerite Chiefson Awululu, over alleged poor leadership, absenteeism and administering the community from outside. The decision to pass a vote of no confidence on him, thereby sacking him, was taken at the community town hall and attended by traditional chiefs, community elders, women, opinion leaders and youths. The sacked monarch was alleged to have failed to maintain peace in the community as advised by the Bayelsa State government, administering the community like a sole administrator and illegally constituting Oluasiri Development Union (ODU) and Oluasiri Youth Federation (OYF)

against popular opinion. An indigene of the community, Duomo Gabriel, moved a motion to pass a vote of no confidence on the monarch. , King Iyerite Awululu, who was also absent at the meeting. The motion was seconded by Ebiegberi Akari, while the gathering unanimously affirmed the decision. Chief John Otama immediately moved the motion nominating Ogara Baribote as the new Regent and the motion was seconded by Joel Isaiah and the decision was unanimously affirmed by the gathering through a thunderous voice vote and the new Regent was immediately chalked by elders of the community. The town hall meeting was convened to deliberate on the incessant conflict among indigenes and persistent absence of the sacked paramount ruler to provide needed leadership. The community agreed to set up a vigilante group to secure the community.

70.04%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Andorra in 2008. Source: Itu.int

Bayelsa lecturers cry out over salary arrears

Anenih: Oshiomhole remains my son

Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

he seeming rift between Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, was settled at the weekend, at the 10th anniversary of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, held in Benin, the state capital. Governor Oshiomhole at the ceremony was conferred with an award for his services to the church. Oshiomhole while

noting the efforts of the church in nation building noted that citizens of the country live in relative peace and harmony despite the failing and weaknesses of political leaders at all levels. He said such peaceful co-existence was possible because of the power of prayers and intercession by Christian faithful. Oshiomhole said: “For me, the church has caused all of us to reunite. So, I reunite with my daddy, Chief Tony Anenih and several other PDP leaders and APC leaders." And the Catholic

Church brought together the National Chairman of APC sitting side-by-side with the national leader of PDP.” “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ continue to moderate our actions and remind us of our oneness, of our commonality and of our shared commitment to work together to uplift our state and our great nation.” On his part, Anenih, who used the opportunity to publicly say he has ‘forgiven’ the governor, who he referred to as his son, said his immediate past health challenges

Man to sue Edo govt over N2m judgement debt Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

businessman in Benin, Edo State, Nosayaba Obakpolor, has threatened to sue the state government for failing to pay him the sum of N2 million being judgement debt over illegal seizure of his car by officials of the state traffic control and management agency.

Obakpolor said his car was impounded along a major street in Benin City in 2014, a development that led the two parties to court and the court ruled in his favour. According to him, the state government through one Mr. Yakubu Aliyu, private secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, had in a letter by his attorney, acknowledged the judgement debt, but decried the

state government’s continued delay to settle same. Obakpolor, who addressed newsmen at the weekend, said he secured the judgement in a suit number B/37M/14 between him, the Edo State government, the defunct Edo State Traffic Control and Management Agency, EDSTMA, the state Ministry of Transport and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

made him realise the need to rise above politics and embrace peace with all men. According to him, "I was in St. Paul's Church in Benin, and as my son, Adams said, we were all there appreciating the efforts of the Archbishop. “I want to say this; it is not because Adams is here. Last night, I was telling my wife that I met Adams in the church, and with my immediate medical experience, I have decided to forgive all those who offended me. And I specifically mentioned Adams."

Chris Ejim Yenagoa

ecturers in Bayelsa State-owned university, the Niger-Delta University (NDU), Wilberfoece Island, yesterday cried out against the failure of Governor Seriake Dickson to pay them four months’ salary arrears being owed, saying that they are suffering. The lecturers under the auspices of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) said though the representatives of the lecturers had met with the government severally over the issue, the administration of Governor Dickson seems reluctant to pay. The lecturers also ac-

cused the state government of ‘hiding under the banner of paucity of funds’ for not meeting its obligation to the lecturers. The leadership of ASUU, Port Harcourt Zone, led by the Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Bekeyei Tuboukiye Sese, Dr. Stanley Ogoun (NDU), Dr. Peleyate Sobere (UNIPORT) and Austin Sado (RSUT), said the refusal by Governor Seriake Dickson’s administration to pay the lecturers is threatening the peace of the institution. According to ASUU Port Harcourt Zone, "we are well into the second quarter of the year, yet the Bayelsa State government has not paid salaries since the beginning of the year with little or no justification."

OkowatoFG:ImplementNIPSSrecommendations elta State Governor, NIPSS, who were on study tional Mechanism for Poverty Reduction and D Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, tour of the state. has called on the FederAccording to the gov- Inclusive Development,” al Government to implement the recommendations of the different study groups of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, for the benefits of the nation. Governor Okowa made the call in Asaba, when he received members of the Executive Course 38 of

ernor, NIPSS comes up with topics designed to reposition the country economically every year but it was sad that recommendations from the institute were not implemented for the benefits of the people. While noting that the theme of the study tour; “Strengthening Institu-

was apt based on the current economic realities in the country.

change OF NAME

Best

I formerly known and addressed as Ayakazi Woyinkuro now wish to be known and addressed as Ayakazi Woyinkuro Best. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

WORLD \ NEWS

NEWS

Wike: I’ll support Buhari if... Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

ivers State Gover nor, Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has declared that he will support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration if he puts in place policies that will lift the people of the state. He said he was committed to the well-being of the people of the state, and for that reason, would support any policy that favours them, not minding who initiated them.

The governor, who stated this yesterday in Government House, Port Harcourt when he received the Local Study Group from the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPPS, Kuru, noted that he was not out for unnecessary politics. He said: “I will support any policy of the Federal Government that will enhance the living standard of the people of Rivers State. It doesn’t matter who initiated such policy as long as it favours our people”. He urged the Bu-

hari administration to implement the recommendations of different NIPPS study teams especially as they relate to poverty alleviation, adding that his administration will support the NIPPS study team in carrying out their research into poverty alleviation in the state. The Director of Studies and Leader of Delegation of the Study Group of NIPPS , Prof Celestine Oyom Bassey, had earlier said that the team was in the state to carry out an assessment of the impact of poverty alleviation programmes in the state.

Police launch 1004 housing units for officers  Emmanuel Onani Abuja

he Nigeria Police have launched a 1004-housing unit for officers and men of the force in a deliberate move aimed at addressing their accommodation and welfare needs.  The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, who performed the groundbreaking yesterday at Gousa settlement in Abuja.  In a brief remark, Arase said the project

was unique in view of the fact that it was the first time international bodies will be collaborating with the Nigeria Police in the area of housing.   “This landmark event symbolises the continuation of efforts by the force’s leadership to address one of the most fundamental challenges facing officers and men, which access to decent accommodation for themselves and their supportive families.   “Aside this, today’s event represents another historic step to-

wards advancing the welfare oriented policing component of my Strategic Police Plans as Inspector General of Police.  “...this project is being undertaken by the Nigeria Police Force Property Development Company in conjunction with Shelter Afrique and UN Habitat. The partnership will lead to the construction of 25,000 units of low cost houses for members of the Nigeria Police nationwide. Today, the construction of 1,004 units of this initiative is being launched in the FCT.

FRSC calls on motorists to pay attention to their tyres

ith the increasingly hot weather condition and owing to the fact that tyre bursts of recent accounted for most road traffic crashes, the Federal Road Safety Corps has called on all vehicle owners and drivers to pay attention to the conditions of their vehicles’ tyres more than ever before.  According to the Head, Media Relations and

Strategy of the Corps, Bisi Kazeem, tyre burst is one of the factors responsible for road traffic crashes.  He said: “Some tyres are expired while some are substandard, some are under-inflated, some are over-inflated and some have been handled wrongly by vulcanizers.”  While he called on vehicle owners and drivers to pay attention to

the way and manner their tyres are fixed and to ensure that their tyres are installed with all the knots tightly fitted and intact, Kazeem also called on vehicle owners to be conscious of the fact that the prevailing hot weather condition also have significant effect on the tyres, hence the need for all motorists to adopt common sense speed limit.

Economic downturn: Katsina to explore alternatives to oil

atsina State government has said that it was determined to free the state from the shackles of financial crisis rocking the country by diversifying its economy. This was disclosed by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Mustapha Muhammed Innuwa, at a press briefing in Lagos, ahead of an economic summit billed for May 9 to 11, 2016, in the state. The summit, themed: “Unlocking investment potentials for sustainable development,” Innuwa said, is aimed at showcasing the areas where the state has

comparative advantage and ensure they are exploited to the benefit of both the investors and the state. Chairman of the Economic and Investment Summit Committee, Alhaji Ibrahim Tukur Jikamshi, in his address at the briefing, said that the event was basically aimed at opening up the state for investment in line with the idea of the present administration in the state. Jikamshi described the state as being very rich in mineral resources such as sorghum, kaolin, silicon and granite, adding that the state is doing well in agriculture, especially the

production of sugarcane, cotton and tomatoes. He noted that the summit is being packaged in collaboration with NDIC and USAID, among other agencies, to ensure the linking of producers with buyers and eliminate hiccups in trade. The committee chairman further said that the technical session of the summit would have in attendance the President, Economic Committee of West African State (ECOWAS) Investment Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, among others, while President Mohammadu Buhari is expected to declare the summit open.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Tear gas, arrests as Egypt protesters defy ban

gyptian police fired tear gas at protesters in Cairo who defied government warnings and held a rally yesterday calling for the “downfall” of the regime, quickly scattering them and making arrests. A coalition of leftist and liberal groups had called for the protest, ostensibly against the handing over of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. But in a country where most protests are banned, the gesture was aimed more at defying what activists call the heavy-handed

rule of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In the lead-up to the protest, police arrested dozens of activists over the past week, in some cases raiding their homes. By yesterday morning, police had closed off a street leading to the Journalists’ Syndicate, where the protesters had announced they would gather, and deployed in force in central Cairo. Instead about 50 activists, including leading leftist dissidents, gathered suddenly at a square in central Cairo chanting against the government.

“The level of (government) panic shows that they don’t feel secure. And they believe the only option is repression,” said Leila Seif, a prominent dissident whose activist son Alaa Abdel Fattah is jailed. Shortly after she spoke, an armoured police van careered into the square, and an officer fired tear gas after a few protesters hurled rocks at them. The protesters scattered into side streets. Police chased down people and arrested them, filling three vans with detainees, including several journalists.

Protesters defy governmentwarnings and march through the street.

Bangladesh LGBT editor hacked to death

olice in Bangladesh say two people including a leading gay rights activist and editor at Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine have been hacked to death. The US ambassador to Bangladesh condemned the killing of Xulhaz Mannan, who also worked at the US embassy. Another person was also injured when the attackers entered a Dhaka flat. Since February last year suspected militants have killed several secular or atheist writers and members of religious minority groups. The two men were murdered two days after a univer-

sity teacher was hacked to death by suspected Islamist militants. So Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility but the Bangladeshi government insists there is no IS presence in the country. “I am devastated by the brutal murder of Xulhaz Mannan and another young Bangladeshi,” said US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat. “We abhor this senseless act of violence and urge the Government of Bangladesh in the strongest terms to apprehend the criminals behind these murders,” she added. BBC Bengali Service editor Sabir Mustafa said

staff at Roopbaan, which had not been condemned by the government and received some support from foreign embassies, had been careful to protect their identities but had not believed their lives were at risk. Suspected extremists in Bangladesh are gaining a sense of security that they can carry out killings with impunity, he says. A British photographer who knew Mr Mannan and the other victim, known as “Tonoy” and named in Bangladeshi media as Tanay Mojumdar, said they and other friends had set up Roopbaan with the aim of spreading tolerance.

African stars pay tribute to Papa Wemba

usic fans across Africa a re mourning the death of Congolese musician Papa Wemba who died at the age of 66 after collapsing on stage on Sunday morning. Stars have been paying tribute to a man whose music influenced artists across Africa. Angelique Kidjo was speaking to the BBC’s Newshour programme. “I’m sad, and I’ve been struggling since the death of Prince and now we have

the passing of Papa Wemba and I’m wondering what this is all about. I worked with Papa Wemba and he was a very nice, genuine soul and very shy at the same time. I did a duet with him, Ami Oh, on a Manu Dibango album, and when you heard him sing it was magical that a guy who was that big had such an angelic voice. He was a generous soul when it came to helping people, and he didn’t say much, but he observed a lot and when he spoke in that

gentle voice everything he said was right on the spot. His whole attitude about dressing well was part of the narrative that we Africans have been denied our humanity for so long. People have always had stereotypes about us, and he was saying dressing well is not just a matter of money, not just something for Westerners, but that we Africans also have elegance. It was all about defining ourselves and refusing to be stripped of our humanity.”

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Sport News

Did you know?

Sport

That Riyad Mahrez is the first African footballer to win the PFA Player of the Year award in the English Premier League.

Balogun faces sanctions over violent conduct

International Toure set to miss Real Madrid clash

46 47

Galadima

Galadima: Football body not for reconciliation ...says committee is advisory

Ahmed Musa (right)

Adekunle Salami

former President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, on Monday said that the committee set up by sports minister, Solomon Dalung, was inaugurated to chart a direction out of the current crisis in Nigerian Football. Galadima said the body was never set up as reconciliatory committee for the current NFF President, Amaju Pin-

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Sport Editor

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

nick and Club owner, Chris Giwa, who are the major characters in the ongoing imbroglio. Galadima maintained that the body was charged with a mandate to recommend feasible ways of avoiding the recurrence of the NFF crisis. Speaking with footballlive.ng Galadima, a former President of the NFF, stated that the committee would only advise government on the steps to be taken to “stop or avoid” the peculiar

nature of crisis that has beleaguered the federation for over a decade. He said the process might also include finding ways to have the current warring factions bury the hatchet, but stressed that the term of reference was to chart a new direction out of the ongoing crisis. “We are going to consult with people widely, we have people with experience in our committee and we believe there will be a way out soon,”

Galadima said. The football administrator also added that the committee would only submit its report after two weeks and not one week as earlier reported. “It’s a big task and the work is not one that has to be rushed. Our work starts today (Monday) till the next two weeks. I am confident that we will turn out a good report that will move football forward in the country,” he added.

Dalung hails LMC, La Liga partnership Emmanuel Tobi

he minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung, has reaffirmed government’s commitment towards making Nigeria investment friendly. The Minister gave the assurance when a delegation of the Spanish Professional League La Liga and officials of League Management Company paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Monday. “It is of significance that the NPFL and La Liga are entering into an under-

standing that will improve the business aspects of the league in Nigeria. Such areas will boost the earnings of football which will in turn impact positively on the welfare of the players while creating new frontiers for business,” Dalung said. LMC chairman, Shehu Dikko, said, “We need to get our league to conform to international standards and best practices. Dalung

La Liga is one of the best leagues in the world. Dikko added that the Memorandum of Understanding would have a technical arrangement where the LMC can work in all areas to develop the league. These include training of our local coaches and administrators, youth and players’ development, commercial activities, digital media and marketing. T h e leader of the La Liga delegation Mr Javier

Tebas said the body was ready to set up a liaison office in Nigeria to drive the process. “We are here not only to teach but to share experience and we are sure we can also learn from the Nigerian Football League. We will also offer our expertise not only to football but to the Nigerian government,” he added. The President of the Nigeria Football Federation Amaju Pinnick said the partnership was a result of the many capacity building projects embarked upon by the federation. The partnership between the NPFL and La Liga takes place today Tuesday 26, April 2016 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

SPORT NEWS

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Balogun faces sanctions over violent conduct Emmanuel Tobi

uper Eagles defender, Leon Balogun, has been placed under investigation by the German Football Federation for violent conduct. The FC Mainz player is alleged to have deliberately kneed Eintracht Frankfurt’s Carlos Zambrano in the stomach in the 89th minute of Sun-

day’s league match between the two clubs. Match referee, Felix Zwayer, did not see the infringement but it was caught be the television cameras. Balogun has been invited to give a statement relating to the incident. The federation’s disciplinary committee will make a judgment after considering the evidence and Balogun’s statement.

Nigeria, Egypt, others for ITTF Juniors Prince Obiaku

Balogun (left)

Idoko blames Lobi’s poor outing on player’s death Cephas Iorhemen MAKURDI

ice Chairman of Lobi Stars Football Club, Mr. Mike Idoko, has linked what he described as poor outing of the club in the match against Heartland FC of Minna last Sunday to the death of its player, John George. Idoko who spoke to sportswriters after the match at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi, said the players were not in a good mood as they were still mourning the demise of their colleague. “The players were psychologically affected by the death of John George and you see that they missed many scoring chances, but

I am confident my boys will perform better in the next encounter,” said Idoko. Alluding to the penalty kick that was awarded to Lobi Stars by the centre referee, Idoko said: “The referees had the final say. When the first goal was scored, they (referees) cancelled it, but we believed it was a goal and we never argued, but they went back and awarded a penalty, so the Heartland people need not protest because the referees had the final say,” said Idoko. It could be recalled that George was on loan at Lobi Stars before he passed away due to a brief illness suspected to be malaria. A minute silence was observed in his honour before the kick-off of the match.

he African Table Tennis Federation has confirmed Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria as the continent’s flagbearers at the 2016 ITTF World Junior Championship holding in Cape Town, South Africa in October. In a statement by the President of ATTF, Khaled El-Salhy, the four teams confirmed their qualification among the 12 teams that featured at the last ITTF African Junior & Cadet Championship in Algiers. Egypt and Nigeria will compete in the boys and girls events at the global tournament while the girls’ team from Algeria and the boys’ team from Tunisia will join the two

continental superpowers at the tournament holding in November this year. Aside the four countries that will represent Africa at the championship, host – South Africa – will also be presenting its boys and girls teams for the competition. Cadet champions – Egypt’s duo of Marwan Abdelwahab and Rinad Fathy– top the list. Others are Tunisia’s pair of Aboubaker Bourass and Manel Baklouti as well as Algeria’s Malissa Nasri and Abdelbasset Chaichi. Other members of the team are Nigeria’s Esther Oribamise and Congo Brazzaville’s Regis Kiassi. The ITTF World Cadet Challenge holds from October 21 to 29.

Ighalo goes home as NFF commiserates with Odion Emmanuel Tobi

he remains of Chief Paul Ighalo, father of Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo, was committed to mother earth on Monday amidst tears at the family compound in Edo State. Pa Ighalo who died in the early hours of Monday, only two days after complaining of weakness, was buried at Emaudo, Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. Watford striker, Ighalo said his father complained of being weak only two days ago and was treated, but passed on some minutes after

2am on Monday. “I’m short of words at this moment. I can’t believe my dad is no more. I spoke to him on Saturday and he prayed for me. I never knew that would be the last time we would have a father-andson conversation. I’m going to miss him a great deal because he has been the greatest motivator

Pa Ighalo

for me in my career.” Meanwhile, The Nigeria Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick, on Monday, put a call through to Ighalo to mourn with him and assure the player of the empathy of the NFF and the Nigeria football fraternity. “I know that no amount of words can console you at this moment. But I want you to know that the NFF and the Nigeria football family are mourning with you at this period. It is always tough to lose a parent. But I want you to be strong at this period and be there for younger members of the family. That is very important.”

L-R: LMC chairman Shehu Dikko, NFF President Amaju Pinnick and the leader of the La Liga delegation Mr Javier Tebas during the Spanish team visit to Abuja... Monday

NFF plans mega office in Jigawa

he Nigeria Football Federation on Monday, said it had concluded plans to site a mega office and sport kits showroom in Jigawa. Jigawa FA Chairman, Sabo Eka, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Dutse that the facility would be provided in Dutse, the Jigawa capital.

Ubah supports Yobo Centenary Game

ith barely one month to the befitting testimonial match planned to mark the retirement of former Super Eagles Captain, Joseph Yobo, from football slated for May 27 in Port Harcourt, one of Nigeria’s top businessmen, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, has thrown his weight behind the project. The Capital Oil chairman at the weekend endorsed the Yobo Centennial Game and promised to use two of his companies, FC IfeanyiUbah and the Authority Newspapers to be brand ambassadors of the testimonial match.

Coordinator of the Yobo Centennial Game who is also a former Super Eagles player, Waidi Akanni, confirmed Ubah’s magnanimity and his involvement in the plan to give the Ogoniborn former Nigerian captain a befitting farewell from the beautiful game. “Dr Ifeanyi Ubah has endorsed the Yobo Centennial Game. He has promised to use two of his companies, FC IfeanyiUbah and the Authority Newspaper to be brand ambassadors for the testimonial match,” Akanni said. While expressing his happiness

over the coming of the top businessman to the testimonial project, the former chairman of Lagos State Football Association stressed that Dr Ubah has shown to football loving Nigerians that he is truly a man of the people. “His long association with the senior national team is legendary. How he supported past testimonials for the likes of Austin Okocha, Taribo West and Nwankwo Kanu remain very fresh in our minds. Dr Ubah remains a father figure for us ex-internationals,” Akanni added.

He said the project would be executed by the NFF with the counterpart fund provided by FIFA. “About three months ago, during our Annual General Meeting, the FA, out of the counterpart fund given to it by FIFA, decided to execute the FIFA Goal Project. “The project is known at the local level as `FA Goal Project’. The chairman said the building would also contain a sport kits showroom and a modern conference hall. “This mega office will have a Nike sport kits showroom, where people can purchase jerseys, boots, balls and other equipment at company price. “The conference hall will also be used for revenue generation by the FA’’. According to him, the state government, through the Commissioner for Information and Sports, Bala Ibrahim, has donated a piece of land for the project.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

INTERNATIONAL SPORT

OPINION

Money transfers and presidential campaign funds CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE

UCL FIXTURES

Man City vs Real Madrid 7:45pm Yaya Toure (right)

Toure set to miss Real Madrid clash

anchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is expected to miss his side’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid on Tuesday, manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed on Monday. The Ivorian did not take part in City’s final pre-match training session on Monday after picking up a muscular injury towards the end of Sunday’s 4-0 Premier League win over Stoke City.

“I think he’s going to be out,” Pellegrini told a press conference at the City Football Academy training complex. “He hasn’t recovered from a muscle injury.” With Toure likely to miss out, Brazilians Fernando and Fernandinho are expected to be paired together in central midfield. “The two Brazilian lads have played well when they have played together, and in Europe as well,” Pellegrini said.

Akwa United suspend Cooreman Tony Anichebe UYO

kwa United’s loss to Enyimba at home has claimed its first casualty as the Technical Adviser Maurice Cooreman has been instructed to go on an indefinitely leave. A letter from the Chairman’s office on Monday asked the Technical Adviser to proceed on leave while his assistant, Ere Dokubo, and the rest of the Technical Crew have been given a three match ultimatum to “deliver or be fired”. The Management considered the loss “one too many, especially the unacceptable dropping of eight precious points at home and a dent on the league title aspirations of the club”. Unconfirmed reports also have it that the players have also come under the axe with their salaries to be halved while six of them are candidates of the transfer market for declining productivity and “act unacceptable of profes-

sionals”. “We have the best welfare package in the country because we do not owe the players any salary or bonus. They don’t have any excuse not to perform,” a management staff said. Akwa United have dropped from the precious fifth position on the league table last week to 10th and are travelling to Lagos this weekend for an away match against MFM FC.

Cooreman

NFF ratifies LMC decision on Giwa Charles Ogundiya

he disciplinary board of the Nigeria Football Federation on Monday ratified the League Management Company’s decision on Giwa FC in the aftermath of the club’s abandoned game against Rangers of Enugu on April 17. Giwa was fined N5m and ordered to play their next three home matches at the Ilorin Township Stadium amongst other sanctions placed on the club and its Media Officer by the LMC. Some supporters of the club disrupted the fixture severally by hauling dangerous objects on the field aimed at the Second Assistant Referee forcing the Referee to a finally call off the match on the 74th minute.

In a release by the disciplinary board, all sanctions earlier pronounced by the LMC were adopted by the board after observing that they are in line with the Rules and Regulations Guiding the activities of the LMC. LMC had issued Giwa FC with a Summary Jurisdiction Notice containing six separate breaches of the Nigeria Professional Football League Framework and Rules and accordingly sanctioned that the match would be concluded behind closed doors from the 74th minute on Wednesday, April 27 at the Abuja National Stadium with score at 1-0 in favour of Rangers. The NFF Disciplinary Board recognises the right of appeal by Giwa FC which should be lodged within 48hrs from the receipt of this verdict.

I made a point of asking what the source of the funds in this account were and I was told by the Director of Finance that the funds were sourced from private individuals and private companies who opted to support and fund President Jonathan’s campaign. She told me that no money was paid into her company from any government official, account or agency. This she told me in the prescence of witnesses and I believed her. I was told that there was a fundraising event held by our party (PDP) which took place in early January 2015 in which billions of naira was raised specifically for the Presidential campaign. I believed this to be true and I had no reason to doubt it. Our funds were given to us by the President who was the leader of our party through the Director of Finance of the PCO and we were not in a position to inquire into the sources of funding of the party’s campaign. Indeed, it was not our responsibility to do so. Once I got these clarifications and confirmation I agreed to receive the funds into my bank account and use them for their stated purpose. The transfers were made and I used the funds to carry out all our operations during the course of the presidential campaign. It was an aggressive and well-run campaign and we gave our opponents a very hard time indeed. It was also very expensive and we barely had the resources that we really needed but we did an effective job with the little we were given. The whole nation, including our friends and our enemies, can bear witness to that and they saw the excellent quality of our work. Hardly anyone can dispute this yet some fail to appreciate the fact that such a strong showing costs a lot of money. Media and publicity campaigns cannot be run on goodwill alone: you need cash and plenty of it. During the course of the election and after its conclusion I submitted detailed accounts of our expenses and evidence of our work to the Director of Finance of the PCO for onward transmission to the Director-General of the PCO and ultimately President Jonathan himself about how the money was spent and they were satisfied. Given the fact that these were not public funds the only legal body that can inquire into our expenditure of campaign funds is President Goodluck Jonathan who set up the PCO. I was commended for my efforts by him and I can proudly say that my Directorate did not owe any individual, service provider, organisation or media outfit that provided any services to us one kobo at the close of the campaign. All our debts were paid and obligations met during and just after the election. The suggestion that there was any fraud in any of this or that I colluded and conspired with others to use government money to run a campaign is false and very insulting. The suggestion that the money was some kind of “cash bonanza” or “bazaar” as has been reported by the leading progovernment newspaper in the country today is childish and absurd. If that had been the case I doubt that I would have been foolish enough to open a bank account to receive government funds or “bazaar funds” as this would have been easily traced. If I had anything to hide or if I was doing anything wrong I would have insisted on

collecting cash for my operations which would have been far easier to conceal. The fact that the EFCC gained access to my bank account and leaked details of it to the media including my inflows is not only a gross violation of my privacy but it is also unlawful. I was a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ten years ago and I was a key official in the Presidency thirteen years ago. I had the honour and privilage of serving my country in these two capacities when the father of our nation, President Olusegun Obasanjo, was our President. Consequently I am familiar with the workings and importance of accountability, due diligence and due process. This is why I was very careful with how we managed our resources at the Directorate and why I appointed a seasoned civil servant who retired from the civil service with commendation at the Director level as my Director of Finance in my Directorate. I was also mindful of the fact that I had to be very careful with the management of funds that were put under my care given the fact that I had been wrongly accused and viciously persecuted by the Yar’adua administration and the Farida Waziri-led EFCC with trumped up and baseless criminal charges for the previous seven years. That whole ordeal almost ruined my life and my career but God was with me throughout and He delivered me from their evil because I had done nothing wrong. On 1st July 2015 I was acquitted by a duly constituted court of law of all those charges and I give God the glory for that. Yet the struggle continues. I am appalled at the behaviour of the EFCC in this latest matter but I am not surprised because they have had it in for me for many years. Their almost obsessive interest in me and their motivation to destroy me is essentially political and partly personal and this has always been so. In short, just as was the case seven years ago, they are being used by the powers that be and by forces that are far above them. To that extent I sympathise with them. Yet if this is an attempt to intimidate, silence or distract me they shall fail because I am not a coward and I do not fear them or those that sent them to torment me. And neither will I sit by idly and watch them trying to destroy me again. Their allegations are malicious and self-serving and there is no substance or truth in them. We did not run the Presidential Campaign Organization or my Directorate with paper or hot air: we ran them with money. There is no crime in that. A substantial portion of that money was paid by my Directorate directly to the media for rallies, television, radio and newspaper adverts and jingles together with many other services rendered and we have all the records and documents to prove it. As stated earlier those records have been duly submitted to the relevant quarters and they commended us for our work. I did not run the Directorate alone and I had at least 10 Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors and Sub-Directors, who were all also appointed by President Jonathan, working under me. I was responsible for the funding of each and every one of their various operations. Our entire team was dedicated and we all worked very hard because we believed passionately in our candidate and our party.

On Marble I’ve learned that people will forget

what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Clem Aguiyi

Sanctity of Truth

The Fulani herdsmen and the rest of us

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

– Maya Angelou

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016

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Money transfers and presidential campaign funds “The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it lose and it will defend itself’’ –St. Augustine.

or the last few weeks I have been the subject of absurd and outlandish headline stories in various newspapers who have accused me of being a fraudster and who have claimed that funds were transferred into my bank account by the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki and by the Governor of the Central Bank Bank of Nigeria. They have also claimed that I used public funds for the Presidential campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan. The attempt to tarnish my name, paint me as a common criminal and convict me of wrongdoing in the court of public opinion without even hearing my side of the story is petty, shameful and nauseating. It is also a reflection of the desperation of those that seek to pull me down and destroy me simply because my opposition to this government has been unrelenting. In January 2015 I was appointed as the Director of Media and Publicity for the Jonathan/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation by President Goodluck Jonathan. The Director-General of the Campaign Organisation was Senator Ahmadu Alli and the Deputy DirectorGenerals were Alhaji Ibrahim Turaki SAN (North) and Governor Peter Obi (South). Chief Tony Anenih, an elderstatesman and one of the most distinguished and reverred leaders in our country, was the Presidential Adviser to the Campaign Organisation. There were at least 10 other Directors and Directorates apart from me and mine including the Directorate of Mobilisation which was led by the respected Professor Jerry Gana and the Directorate of Administration which was led by Alhaji Aliyu Modibbo. There were also zonal and state Directors of the Presidential Campaign Organisation in all the zones and states of the country. All these names that I have mentioned including all the other Directors whose names I have not mentioned are, as far as I am aware, men and women of immense integrity and good character and they have mostly been either Ministers of the Federal Republic or state Governors at one time or the other in our history. It was an honour to serve alongside such people and I have absolutely no regrets about doing so. Yet given the fact that I was not the only Director in the Campaign Organisation and in view of the fact that all the Directors and zonal and state Directors got their funds from the same source and account as I did, one wonders why only I and three others should be singled out for this reprehensible treatment and these false allegations. I chose to remain silent on the issue up until now simply because the allegations have not been officially made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or anyone else but

Crossfire FEMI FANI-KAYODE ffk2011@aol.com

Former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele

the newspapers keep citing their sources “inside the EFCC” as their basis for these shameful allegations. Mr. Josef Goebbels, Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s Information Minister when Germany was in the terrible grip of the Nazi party, said that once a lie is repeated enough times it becomes truth to those who are continuously subjected to it. This is especially so if it goes unchallenged. I cannot sit by silently as my name is dragged through the mud in this way and I am convicted in the court of public opinion. This has happened to me once before and it took me seven years to clear my name. It will not happen to me again. Consequently I am constrained to take this opportunity to state the facts of this matter, set the record straight and await my traducers and accusers to make their next move. It is indeed time to challenge those that are making these allegations and to kill the lie. The fact that my bank account was frozen on the orders of the EFCC two weeks ago without any explanation is proof of the fact that I am being targetted and that those that seek to have their wicked way with me are about to pounce. Given this it is important that all the relevant facts are put before the world before I am subjected to the Dasuki treatment, put away indefinately and not given the opportunity to defend myself before the public. Meanwhile, in their usual manner, after this is done the EFCC will then flood the media with all manner of lies about my so-called atrocities which only exist in the figment of their imagination.

The allegation of fraud and the receipt of public funds from the National.Security Advisers Office and Central Bank into my bank account is false.

These allegations are baseless, wicked, shameful and irresponsible. It is not true that ANY money was paid into my account by or from the National Security Adviser’s Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria or any other government agency or institution last year or at any other time. As the Director of Media and Publicity of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation I was asked to submit a budget for my Directorate by Chief Tony Anenih, the Presidential Advisor to the Presidential Campaign Organisation and Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the Director of Finance. My team and I prepared the budget and it was approved. Rather than collect cash, for security reasons and the purposes of accountability I was advised by the Director of Finance to open a bank account for this purpose, which I did. The funds were paid into that account in installments at the beginning of last year by the Director of Finance and each deposit was authorized and approved by the Presidential Adviser to the PCO, Chief Tony Anenih. The account that they used to transfer the money to me was a private company account which was owned or under the control of the Director of Finance. It was the same company and account that was used to send money to all the other Directors of the PCO and the Zonal Directors, State Directors and all our PDP governorship and legislative candidates during the various campaigns. CONTINUED ON PAGE 47

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